Harvest!!  If you’ve been checking our social media, you know harvest officially began last Thursday.  Despite being a week behind last year, this year’s start date is actually more normal compared to our average.  As I’ve explained in the past, grapes that are going to be used to make sparkling wine are picked first – so as to capture high acidity levels which will in turn make a lighter, more delicate, effervescent sparkler.  Reds and whites for rosé follow.  And reds for reds come last.  We’ve picked Pinot Noir and Chardonnay so far.  Both will go into our 2016 Sparkling Rosé.  Next up will be Merlot for our Bridge Lane White Merlot and Cabernet Franc for our Rosé.  We’ll be picking on and off through the first or second week in November.  Cross your fingers for dry weather.  Rain this time of year can dilute the grapes’ flavors and prevent us from being able to pick when we need to.  No rain!

Since it’s too early to deliver a full harvest report or make any predictions about this year’s vintage, I’ll save that for next month’s post.  For now, I think I’ll get a little more personal than I normally do.  Sorry wine geeks.  Enough about the vineyard.  Time to talk about being a working mom at a winery.

Some of you may have noticed that I didn’t post last month.  That’s because I was out on maternity leave with my second daughter, Gabrielle Jane, born July 28 at 3:03am.  If you do the math, that puts me at being back at work 6 weeks after her birth.  Now before you try to slam my boss (our CEO, Richard) for an inadequate leave policy (a controversial topic these days I know!), be advised that returning to work this early was my choice.  Our official company policy complies with New York State’s recommendation for 12 weeks of unpaid leave.  But as I was the first Lieb Cellars employee in our almost 25 year history to have a baby 2 years ago (my first, Renny), there was no precedent.  Trusting me with the decision back then, Richard generously overlooked the policy and offered to let me take as much time as I needed … and paid me for it.  He made the same offer to me this time as well.  I took about 5 weeks with Renny, and as I said, 6 weeks with Gabi this time.  He wasn’t pressuring me.  I came back on my own.

Given the option to stay out longer, why, then, the choice to return so early?  Well, a few factors.  First and foremost, I have excellent childcare.  A reliable, loving, doting nanny who comes to our house and watches them 4 days a week and my mom, a retired nurse and the best mom I know, who watches them 1 day.  I trust both of them completely.  In truth, the girls are probably safer with them than they are with me!

Second, my supportive husband.  When I told him my leave plan, he never once argued with me about it.  He never said – they need their mom, you have to stay home.  Or, that’s too soon, you won’t feel well enough.  He trusted me to make the best choice for our girls, for our family and for me personally.  (The upside to marrying someone who’s my perfect complement and super laid back.)

Third, my sanity.  Now I know all the judgy stay-at-home moms out there might pounce on this, but I’m not afraid to admit that being a mom doesn’t totally fulfill me.  Don’t misunderstand.  I LOVE my girls and cherish every moment with them. I can’t overstate how much joy and love they bring to my life.  I’m smiling while I type this just thinking about them.

But here’s the thing.  I just can’t be with them all day, every day, forever and feel … like myself.  6 weeks may seem like a short amount of time, but it was enough time for me to start to feel like I was losing myself in diapers and baby talk and 3am feedings.  I needed balance.  I needed something for me.

And that’s where my job comes in.  The final reason I came back to work is because my job is the thing that completes the circle, makes me feel whole.  Perhaps if I was still in my previous (grinding, cutthroat, thankless) career as corporate marketing executive, I’d be perfectly content with giving it all up to stay at home.  But I’m lucky enough to have found a job that I love, in a place I love, with a team that has come to feel like a second family.  While I do sometimes miss the perks of my former career (my fat salary, expense account, travel and the fully stocked, FREE coffee bar on the 7^th floor to name a few), I’m so eternally grateful that I gave them all up 6 years ago to take a chance on a position at an up-and-coming winery “back home” on the North Fork.  Helping to run this company and lead our growth and make awesome wine is challenging, inspiring and pretty damn cool.  Because I’m type A and driven to succeed professionally, it’s all the things that I need to feel … like me.

Plus, the best part?  Since Lieb is a small company that values its employees and has a culture that promotes work-life balance, I can do it all while being a great mom.  That’s right, I said it.  I work full-time AND I’m a great mom.

This morning, I nursed Gabi, pumped more milk for her for the day, made coffee and breakfast, got everyone dressed and changed 4 diapers all before 8:00am.  With Richard’s permission, I then came to work late so that I could bring Renny to her first day of preschool.  Our family dog, Jersey (the best, most gentle golden retriever in the world!) came to work and will walk the vineyard with me later.  And tomorrow, I’ll throw Gabi in the Bjorn and let Renny run around the vineyard and help pick grapes.

I hesitate to type the words for fear of jinxing myself, but for me, being a working mom at a winery means … having it all.  I love this job not only because of the job itself but because it affords me the opportunity to give my girls a balanced, happy mom and a great life.  In beautiful wine country.

Several ex-coworkers and good friends of mine have come to me over the past few years and asked for advice on leaving their corporate, city jobs to reinvent themselves in a new, more modest career.  They want to know how I did it, if I have regrets, how I survived starting all over again from the bottom.  A few were new moms and realized very quickly that their demanding careers were going to be impossible to maintain given the demands of motherhood.

I always tell them the same thing.  It wasn’t an easy decision.  I doubted myself many times along the way.  And I could never guarantee that it would work out for them the way it worked out for me, that they could find a position and company like this one.  But man, I always say – it’s worth a shot.

Ok, next month will be back to business.  I’ll connect with our winemaker, Russell, and share our preliminary thoughts on this vintage and share our plans for what we’re going to produce in 2017.

Til then, cheers! (Me with a cup of coffee and Jersey resting under my desk)

Ami Opisso

General Manager & Certified Sommelier, Lieb Cellars