Happy August.

I hope you're enjoying the waning days of summer. I took a moment yesterday to share some thoughts on The Decant -- I'm sending them directly to you here since you should not have to go anywhere else to read them!

More to come, to be sure.

Thank you,

Kristen

On Holding Back

Long fermentations and fame

Wine as a topic is always ready to supply me a convenient metaphor and comparison — I’m ever able to cherry pick, so to speak, examples from winemaking to illustrate or substantiate my point. Do my comparisons bear further scrutiny? Not always, but further scrutiny is a peril of the more famous — so I proceed undettered.

Today, I borrow from some of the more storied wine regions and producers in the world, and reflect on the art of waiting. Brunello di Montalcino, one of the most elegant and dimensional expressions of sangiovese, must be aged at least two years in oak before spending more time in the bottle. Holding a wine back to age costs time — the most expensive ingredient in more ways than one. Chateau d’Yquem, the most lauded producer of Sauternes, the honeyed, ageworthy dessert wine of Bordeaux, simply won’t release a vintage that isn’t up to par, skipping it entirely.

Which is to say, reputations of greatness require patience and ruthless discernment.

This year, I’m releasing my fifth album, Intoxication. It’s taken about four years to make — at first, I thought I would cut a few tracks about wine to release an EP, but it developed into a full album’s statement about the altered states of desire and memory. It required expertise, expression, and evolution that all needed time.

I’m also on the cusp of presenting my one-woman original musical show that’s been seven years in the making. I am astonished at the way my perception of time has changed in making it: from being a thing to move through as fast as possible, and then into an active partner with me in creation.

Nearer to our subject, it seems my wine and life writing is on another trajectory — that of a full book of reflections and stories from the sommelier’s perspective. This is yet another undertaking that must be blended and cellared before emerging in its fullest expression.

I wish I could end there and say ‘that’s it, I’m making Brunello, so bye until the Big Projects are ready.’ But sadly, my metaphors don’t survive even my own scrutiny.

Scarcity is not itself a great business plan, even in these examples: the producers of the greatest Montalcinos still make a happy everyday Rosso that will remind you, over pizza, of the simpler pleasures of the region at an easier price. D’Yquem has built itself over centuries, cultivating prestige and fame enough that a year skipped only adds to the anticipation of the next one.

Familiarity and recognition require a different kind of labor. After years spent fermenting big projects, I’ll be doing my best to show up in smaller ways, all the while making sure the work that is worthy of time and patience is protected.

I’m looking forward to sharing the fruits of all these harvests with you, the long awaited and the fresh, in the year to come.

Cheers,

Kristen