It's not Us, it's You!
Year-end reflections...
Like seriously, did you expect a blog post to be published on time in accordance with our self imposed deadlines? If we were still behaving like that, then what would be the point of all this?
We have come to realize that when we fail to hit one of those deadlines, that is a sign of success. Yes. Yes it is.
To misquote President Clinton: “It’s the [lifestyle] stupid!”
When things are delayed in Italy, when the idraulico (plumber) can’t come today (or tomorrow if it’s sunny) or when our financial statements arrive 9 months in arrears, these are not signs of inefficiency, bureaucracy, inability to organize a pissup in a brewery. No. These are signs of the lifestyle, the culture, the effects of that mediterranean sun, olive oil, vino and clean(ish) living. These are, in fact, clear signs of cultural maturity, the work-life balance thingy.
So, what does Slowing Down Actually Looks Like?
December here is quiet. Purposefully so. The vines are asleep. The cellar is calm. Nothing is being rushed because nothing can be rushed. And that, it turns out, is the real luxury.
(A short video from our walk at Tenuta Golo yesterday)
People imagine harvest as the hard bit. It’s not. Winter is.
This is when decisions are made that won’t show up in a glass for years. Take pruning. You get one chance to prune correctly. The work is precise and unforgiving. This year we had dense fog for the first two weeks so, it’s damp and [to use a phrase from The Lexicon of Niall] fecking miserable. If you cut too much, you weaken the vine; cut too little, you lose balance.
Christmas here is less about excess and more about balance.
Meals are long. Bottles are opened early and finished slowly. Conversations wander – just like herding lawyers. Nobody asks what you “do” — they ask how the year tasted.
Wine is not something you consume – it is something you share. In Montepulciano you are often sharing wine you made with others who are sharing wine they made. Niall just has to say this or he will explode – I have never seen two lawyers share a bottle of wine while complimenting each other on their drafting:
“Your boiler plate clauses are just the best man.”
“Ah gee thanks, I always loved your house style and font”.
This is the bit nobody tells you when you fantasize about leaving corporate life: the biggest upgrade isn’t freedom. It’s pace.
If vineyard life teaches you anything, it’s this:
· Rushing rarely improves outcomes
· Good things need rest
· Timing beats intensity
· Control is mostly an illusion
You don’t force a vine to grow faster. You create the right conditions in the vineyard, then you get out of the way. When your focus is quality wine you don’t want the vine to grow more – you intervene so it grows less!
That’s a lesson worth stealing for life — and business — in 2026.
So at the end of this year as we face into the next, whether you’re opening something special or just something open, do it properly. Sit down. Slow down. Let it breathe.
The wine will thank you.
And so will you.
A final thought for 2025: One of the best things we have gathered on this journey is the people we have met and enjoyed along the way. You see, it’s not us, it really is you….
With best wishes for a happy, healthy and wine-filled 2026 - cheers! 🍷
Niall & Paari