March 18, 2024 |
Monthly Newsletter |
Kate Dubost
It's not easy being small.
I am an unapologetic adult Muppets fan. As a math educator I loved The Count. Lucas and I danced our mother/son dance at his wedding to Kermit the Frog's "Rainbow Connection". But it is a variation of Kermit's ballad, “Its not Easy Being Green” that keeps popping into my head these days. More and more as a small winery owner, it seems I mutter under my breath , “its not easy being small”.
Kermit's lament -
“And people tend to pass you over
Cause you’re not standing out
Like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky.”
Those words made me think about what being small really meant. We produce under 2000 cases a year. Many wineries produce more than that of any one wine. We have one full time employee, several part time employees, one consulting winemaker. We have a dirt road, sometimes weeds growing where we don’t want them, a vineyard that always wants more attention, feral cats, wild hogs, mountain lions and chickens just to name a few of what can be found at Dubost.
What we, also, DO have is some of the best wine in Paso Robles, thanks to Zachary’s hard work. Small lot hand crafted with love and just back breaking labor.
We are on property that the Dubost family has owned since 1882. I think we must be the OLDEST continuously family owned property with a family owned winery in Paso Robles. We are small but mighty. We have over 300 club members. Many have been with us since the first shipment in 2007. Many others have been with us for years and years, many just a short time or recently new to our wine club.
So I say to myself - That is standing out!
We do have "flashy sparkles" maybe just a different kind of flashy.
And as for the stars.....well, we have those too. Our family, our history, our employees, our members and if there is any furthher doubt about stars we just look up at the night sky.
We are small and " it'll do fine. It's beautiful, and I think it's what I want to be". Thanks, Kermit, for those words of encouragement.
Please continue to support small family wineries. They are our neighbors and our friends. It isn’t easy being small, but with customers and members like you, it sure is a whole lot easier.
With love and appreciation,
Kate Dubost
Comments
Nick Karavidas
@ Apr 2, 2024 at 11:01 AM
http://https://flexcubewest.com, https://wineryconsulting.consulting, https://linkedin.com/in/nicholaskaravidas
As a small producer myself, this resonated with me and probably will for every small producer in the country. Being small is actually the foundation for passion in the wine industry as it is always the 'single drop of rain' that initiates the deluge of a flood of creativity. Being small is the most difficult place to be in society that rewards 'big' and paradoxically is the most authentic of all wine production around the world. In the barrage of massive attempts to coerce a consumer into buying a bottle of 'global wine', the nuggets of gold are realized in little places like this where only the passionate and inquisitive look to find treasure. Nick Karavidas, The Wine Firm, CA