About Me

Hi, Julia here.  I am a wine geek, writer, vagabond, former cube dweller, vintage worker, coffee lover, aspiring photographer, and many other things at once. I’m restless for wine-related adventures, interesting work, earning income via writing, and anything that involves travel.

I have the curiosity of a seven-year-old. As in, constant. Hence the wanderlust.

In 2009, two years shy of thirty, I left a long-term stint in cubicle land (glorious finance) to pursue the love of wine and work in the wine industry full-time. Since then, I’ve worked in two wine stores as a sales/marketing persona, manager and wine buyer. I’ve learned what it means, and how much fun it is, to align your natural hobbies and skills with what you do for income. The industry of the fermented grape juice is my trade.

In the spring of 2011, with a little bit of luck and a lot of effort, I got a gig to work the vintage in New Zealand’s Marlborough region.

I got hooked at the first step up the catwalk. Smitten with New Zealand and hopelessly addicted to the winemaking side of things.

Upon returning to the states, I sought out winery work on Oregon. At the beginning of September, I packed up and drove 4300 miles across the country to the west coast to make some Pinot Noir in Willamette Valley. The rest is in the making as I go along.

I’ve come to view my life as a series – or maybe a combination – of projects and passions, rather than one straightforward path. Some of us are not wired to pursue “just one thing” in some structurally accepted way. The world is big and fascinating, and I am intent on drinking it in. So I’m set on leaving an unconventional life – not by breaking all the rules and all established traditions, but by challenging assumptions, and using my own damn judgments as I make up my mind about things.

My philosophy on life is that it should be an adventure. It’s just too boring without risks and stimulation. And it’s too short to put off what excites you for an indefinite “later”.

This blog is about the building of this multi-faceted life, unified by a common thread – wine. Wine, food and travel let me explore and learn, by very physical sensations, about people, cultures and the world. And I don’t want it to stop, ever. Cheers.