Behind the Label
On destiny, magic, and the hard-earned fine print
We uncorked the bottles, four wide grins spreading across our faces. We raised a toast, looking one another in the eyes across the table. Then, we savored our wines for the very first time.
“If you’d have told me in JV2 Volleyball that we’d be here right now, I wouldn’t believe it,” I said to Bekka across the table.
At our table of four, our first two Foretold wines sat beside us—a rosé and a white blend. Like my co-founders, each wine carries its own story. All share a common vision, distilled in the tagline on the back of each bottle:
Uncork the destiny that your dreams foretell.
As any marketer will tell you, a tagline is meant to inspire—to evoke a feeling and a connection to the brand.
And, as any marketer will tell you, the full story is a bit more nuanced.
Different Paths, Same Compass
Thirty years ago, I met Bekka. In high school, we were required to participate in a team sport every season. In the fall, our athletic abilities landed us on the JV2 volleyball team. Not Junior Varsity; Junior Varsity Two. Winter offered a welcomed reprieve: the annual musical counted as a team sport. But the requirement did its work: we cultivated a friendship, born from awkward volleyball dives and misses and goofy songs and choreography on the high school stage.
Many years later, our paths stitched closer together. I married her brother. Our friendship forged into family, expanding even further with the birth of my son. Then, my divorce drove a hard, painful fork in the road. Only through many years of patience, compassion, and intentional outreach were we able to reclaim the route back to our friendship.
I first visited Argentina in 2010. Bekka and her partner, Nicole, first visited in 2018. Separately, we each felt called to the place. For me, the expansive plains and imposing mountains reminded me of my home in Montana. For them, the beauty of the landscape, the people, and the wines left an indelible impression.
So, three years ago, when Bekka stumbled across the opportunity to purchase a vineyard in the Uco Valley, we were all in.
Navigating Mysterious Mazes
A beautiful wine is layered with mysteries—what about the place, the soil, the vine, the grape, the agronomist, the winemaking, the aging, the bottling—what makes it taste this way?
Shortly after I met LeVon, I sought the answers in a wine degree. I wanted to understand the invisible story inside my glass. As my studies progressed, the path became more grueling. Friends and family questioned my why. I did, too. But ten years later, I graduated from my Level 4 WSET Diploma. In my hands, my diploma symbolized countless hours of study and a wealth of knowledge towards unlocking one of my favorite mysteries.
Our wines have taken a long, winding path to arrive. We bought unplanted land. As our fledgling vines continued to grow, we sourced grapes from other vineyards. In April, the first of our wines reached the U.S.
The trouble was: we had no idea how to get them.
Together, we hit the books. Bekka, Nicole, LeVon and I navigated the intricate web of the three-tier distribution system. It wasn’t fun. With each new layer of knowledge we uncovered, a new set of complexities was revealed. Through endless phone calls, meetings, and investigation, we unlocked a solution together.
When our wines finally arrived, we gleefully hoisted 50 cases from a moving van into Bekka and Nicole’s foyer. Dripping in sweat, we marveled at our efforts. In our arms, each case symbolized countless hours of research and hard-won knowledge, all resting on our doorstep.
Tasting Notes
The next day, we gathered at my house. LeVon and I prepared a meal, curated to pair with our two Foretold Wines.
Wielding a wine key LeVon gifted me after my first sommelier exam, I uncorked both bottles and poured.
We marveled at the pink hue of the rosé in our glasses. On the palate, notes of red cherry and strawberry burst forth. With time, the white wine opened up, blooming into notes of citrus, pear, and almond.
Together, we tasted far more than the wine. We savored our story. Individually and collectively, we blended and bottled so much into these glasses.
From the outside, wine tastes like magic. Unseen and unknown forces culminate in an array of colors and flavors that spark your curiosity and evoke some ineffable feeling within.
From the inside, wine tastes like magic of a different kind. The magic of following a dream for no apparent reason, blended with the tenacity to keep going when the dream gets tough.
Destiny doesn’t operate in isolation and fate isn’t formed of fairy dust alone. The mysterious pull of the unknown is as real as the firm footsteps that push you forward.
Uncorking the destiny that your dreams foretell isn’t quite as easy as it looks.
But it tastes as sweet as it sounds.
So exciting!