Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Time to tell you that even busy winery owners need time off!

Leaving Wellington on a cold winter day (about 10 C) we flew to Fiji for 3 weeks holiday. It has been great, as the accompanying images show - warm days (25-30 C) and mild nights (20 C). Very pleasant indeed! Unbelievable as it may appear, it has been hard to leave work totally behind, even though we have a very capable team at the winery. I think when one owns a business, it is almost impossible to totally switch off. It is almost like having a child!!

While we have been away, lots of things have been happening at work; the bottling process mentioned in earlier posts, finalising the 2009 wines and site developments. Most important of these is the sealing of our long gravel drive. No more dust in the café or cellar door, no more mud and potholes in winter and easier access for winery visitors.

To be able to afford to do this after 10 years is a real thrill.

I will include some images of the work in a future post. This improvement will help us sell the winery and cafe for more weddings and functions, an important revenue item for us. We hosted over 20 wedding in each of the last 3 years - all of which were great fun for us and the wedding parties