I earn a living taking as a wine bottle and winery/vineyard photographer, but even still, my days off find me seeking personal pleasure in my vocational climes. One day I was walking around a vineyard desperately looking for a decent composition when I was drawn to this tenuously remaining small cluster of leaves. Upon closer inspection I discovered, nestled amongst this last vestige of fall an altogether different cluster—a perfectly ripe and amazingly still intact cluster of Cabernet grapes! At least I think they are Cabernet grapes. It wasn’t exactly my vineyard or one owned by my employer and I am not actually an expert on grape or vine taxonomy. I do know, however, that most red grapes planted in the Napa Valley are Cabernet grapes and I can say with almost 100% certainty that these are, in fact, red grapes.
This got me thinking about, er, you know, things. Life, however slight or diminished it might seem to be, is quite possibly the most resilient thing in the world outside of anything made from Styrofoam. All it needs is a toehold, a chance, a brief moment in time, and what was once barren can suddenly burst into life. And once established, life, in any form, does not shuffle off the old mortal coil without a serious fight. Even if it looses, and all seems lost, it manages to come back someplace new, stonger, forever changed for the better. Life is truly extraordinary. Life is a wondrous thing to behold, in any form. Life is good.
– Bryan Gray, Napa Valley Wine Bottle and Winery Photographer