“EIGHT HUNDRED GRAPES” by Laura Dave

I loved the analogy between a family and a vineyard.
Especially nowadays, in the era of technology, when nobody has the patience anymore to “cultivate” a relationship.
Who, among us, has the patience to become friends before the marriage, who has the patience to grow old together and not run away at the first fight? 

Who has the patience to make a strong foundation for a relationship?
“My father believed that the most important aspect of winemaking was the soil. That his wine got better, from year to year, because his soil did. He would monitor his soil carefully, treating it with the nine biodynamic preparations… This created a lot more work, but also created a more stable ecosystem. This was what he was the proudest of, that he made the land stronger.”

Who has the patience and the faith to believe in a relationship?
“My father didn’t add anything to the grapes. Spontaneous fermentation. Where for 15 to 30 days, the grapes begin the process of turning into alcohol. No help from chemicals or additives. The patience it took was extraordinary. The faith it took too.”

Who has the patience to wait for the other partner to bloom on his own time?
“My father said this was the best part of winemaking. When the grapes you had taken such good care of did their thing, not because you were forcing them. The wine fermented because after the care you had taken with the grapes, they knew what to do. They used their own juices to move toward the wine they were meant to be.”

“Here’s why my mother fell in love with him. She was hearing him talk of soil, about the importance of foundation. And she heard the rest. His belief, at the centre of his winemaking, that with work, you can give something the strength at the beginning that it needs later on. Before it even knows how it’s going to need it.”

Kindle, 2016