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February 2017 WINES&VINES 33 VIEWPOINT Double inside bar 1.5" x 2" bar BIG FOOT has more than double the footprint of a standard two-barrel rack. The BIG FOOT allows you to stack barrels 6 high. With over twice the base, your barrel stacks are more stable. The extremely durable BIG FOOT barrel rack can be powder coated in your favorite color. Contact us for our complete brochure on barrel room layout design. Stockton, CA 95205 209.944.0921 westernsquare.com WESTERN SQUARE I N D U S T R I E S We don't sell forklifts. We just keep them very busy. Why we call it B IG FOO T a product of Western Square Industries cause if you follow No. 5 and never stop pushing, you'll be hard-pressed to take it. But also know that you'll only take half of that scheduled time off, because you like what you do, and you've got work to do! 9. Make your business profitable. Be- cause vanity or lifestyle wine busi- nesses don't work unless you have multiple, multiple zeros in your (or your family's) bank account. And even if you have a lot of zeros, you'll only want to lose money for so long. My best advice, for what it's worth: Work a side job, build reasonably, get into DIY in a semi-masochistic way, and build a business for the long term. Because it's a hell of a lot cheaper to buy someone else's wine than to make your own just for kicks. 10. You will lead a very rewarding life. Crafting a product that people will enjoy, appreciate, wax on about, share with friends and use to console themselves is pretty awesome. There's an inherent satisfaction in being behind a well-made product. This business will also keep you grounded: close to the earth, close to the weather, close to what you can see, smell, taste and explain. Close to your senses, and to family, and to all these amazing parts of life. This is what makes Nos. 1-9 worth it. Be- cause that taste of that wine from that vintage causes amnesia in the best way, much like the amnesia that happens after you have a child. The hardships of the first years just slip away, among all the precious mo- ments, like the trials of each harvest fade, and you jump back in again the next fall. Having children and making wine seem to be the same sort of happy insanity. Kristy Charles is a founder and co-owner of Foursight Wines, a family winery specializing in estate-grown Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon in California's An- derson Valley. Charles also consults for the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association and other wineries in media relations and marketing. Work a side job, build reasonably, get into DIY in a semi-masochistic way, and build a business for the long term.