Grape Shatter

Christian life is a race — long and rigorous. So, what is the challenge? Why is it so difficult? And how can we run better?  

The story is a familiar one.

A husband and wife, tired of the relentless pace of the corporate world, and having toyed with another idea for a long time, make a run for it. They leave the security of their jobs to make wine in an idyllic setting on a hillside in coastal Oregon, in the Loire River Valley of France or a green valley of California or Tuscany.

• There’s the doctor, 52, with a degree in neuroscience.
• The maître d’ of a Toronto restaurant and his wife who is employed in the pharmaceutical industry.
• The Nasdaq trader for Merrill Lynch.
• A cheesemaker and his wife living in Switzerland.
• An engineer working in the aerospace industry.

For each of these real examples, thousands more exist. And often, their story is the same. “It was harder than I expected, but the rewards were worth the expense and the effort.”

Every such viticulturist knows that the risks in winemaking are huge. The risks involve the price of grapes, the price of the land, ...