Page 115 of Gone With the Wine

“Even being nominated is amazing. Wait, that’s a cliché, isn’t it?” I laugh. “But it’s true.”

“I’d love to try new things like that,” Vitto says, lifting his glass to his lips, sounding a little wistful.

I tilt my head thoughtfully. “You’re happy working here, though? Right?”

“Oh yeah. A little envious of you, though, I have to admit.”

I can only blink. Oh.

“Belmonte’s been doing the same things forever,” he says. “Tradition is really important to Dad.”

“But you’re the winemaker. You should have a say in what you make.”

“Have you met Dad?” he asks with a rueful smile. “Also, he still makes the Carleo. He won’t let anyone else touch it.”

I make a face. “And it’s not even that great.” Then I slap my hand to my mouth.

Vitto chuckles. “Don’t worry, I agree. But Dad’s so attached to it, he won’t hear about trying to make it better, or trying something new.”

“Ugh. Rosa and I have disagreements, too.”

“Of course you do. You’re the winemaker.”

I smile but my eyebrows pull down. “Yeah…”

“And she’s not,” he goes on matter-of-factly. “When you aren’t as invested in the fundamental qualities of the wine you produce, it’s easier to make business decisions.”

“She cares,” I object.

“Sure, but not like you do.”

I slowly lower and raise my chin.

“That’s why good winemakers don’t usually make good CEOs of wine businesses, and good CEOs usually aren’t good winemakers. The businessperson wants to keep things simple. To compromise. But good winemakers are really bad at compromising.”

I let that all sink in.

I’m about to tell him about my idea of making orange wine when Rosa appears. “Hey. I thought you came to get more wine.”

“Ooops.” I flash a smile at Vitto. “We got talking shop.”

“Of course you did.” Rosa comes over and picks up the bottle. Holding it aloft, she shakes her head. “You’ve already drank most of it.”

“We were carried away,” Vitto says, grinning. “Thanks, Bee. It’s fun talking to you about that stuff. I love hearing about what you’ve been doing, and you have great ideas.”

My heart kicks against my ribs. I stare at him as he follows Rosa back to the living room. Hearing that from one of my cousins is…touching. Significant. His interest and respect for my experience and opinions means so much to me. My eyes actually water a bit, and I blink back tears. Damn.

“How did you end up working at Bar Down?” Leo asks as I rejoin the group with another bottle of Cabernet.

“Ana and Millie introduced me to Jansen.” I open the wine. “They said he needed help because he didn’t know anything about wine.”

“So you just jumped in to help a stranger? When you have a winery here you’re trying to get up and running?”

“Basically, yeah.” I shrug and pour wine into his glass then mine. “Although I did have an ulterior motive.”

“What’s that?” Leo frowns.

“We don’t have a lab here. Jansen has a beautiful lab. I agreed to help him in exchange for using his lab.”

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