Vintners take different paths to find wine-making

(Poughkeepsiejournal) - Some people dream of opening a winery. The easiest way to do this is to make a substantial amount of money in another business, “retire” to the country and start a winery.

Of course, it was anything but easy to make your money in the first place, and once you open that winery, you’ll quickly realize it’s the most difficult and expensive job ever.

One of the best stories that followed this path is that of Shafer Vineyards. John Shafer spent two decades in publishing before he moved his family to Napa Valley. It took six years of hard work before they crushed their first cabernet grape. Some 35 years later, they’re still making great wine, and the Shafers remain humble and hard-working role models.

Another way to the winery is to save every penny, hit the road and create your own luck. This path involves putting in 10,000 hours to gain expertise and starting modestly, with a shoestring budget. This is the path David Fish took with Fox Farm Vineyards. Fish started in the wine business as a young man in Vermont (known then for pastoral splendor littered with cows, then Ben & Jerry’s, but not a drop of wine). When the Boulders Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., first opened, he went west to work as a sommelier and spent 10 years tasting and occasionally spitting. He moved on to a few other local institutions and all the while he saved his hard-earned money.

Fish’s frugality became legendary in Arizona (although it’s common in the upper New England states).