Toby Bekkers, Co-owner of Bekkers Wine, McLaren Vale (Australia)

Years In Industry:
My original area of expertise is the vineyard side of the business. I’m still active as a viticulture consultant but spend most of my time these days looking after all aspects of Bekkers Wine with my wife Emmanuelle. That means we’re responsible for everything from strategy and sales to winemaking and pruning. Emmanuelle and I met during the 1995 vintage in McLaren Vale and I had been pruning all through my school and university holidays prior to that. I guess, (somewhat alarmingly!), it adds up to about 30 years in wine.
 
My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
We are privileged to work in an incredible industry. I often reflect on this when I hear people suggesting how tough the wine game is and wonder whether someone working in a windowless office or a factory would sympathise. I suspect not. However, it’s no secret that we’re constantly tempted by the good things in life. A life in wine means the constant lure of great food, wine and socialising, so my greatest challenge to wellness is maintaining some discipline.

Travel can be punishing and I’m in awe of those sales guys and girls who can string together 28 days of wine dinners and after-parties until 3am. I just can’t do it anymore!  Setting a reasonable schedule within the limits of one’s capacity would seem to be a challenge worth working on.

Slowing everything down a bit is another challenge. Many of us are spinning too many plates at once. Consciously slowing down and sorting what’s really critical from the insignificant is vital but difficult to maintain at times. The longer I go the more accepting I am that simply being busy doesn’t necessarily translate to being productive.
 
How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
An appreciation for good food and wine means we value high quality, nutritious produce so I think I eat pretty healthily at home. With respect to alcohol we tend to work on the principle of “drink less but drink better”.
 
I find that our industry and its diverse elements- vineyard, winery, sales; are not conducive strict scheduling. Therefore, historically I’ve done a poor job of maintaining an exercise regime with any sort of consistency other than surfing whenever the waves are good. Over the last few years I’ve been making sure to drop my son at football training a few times a week and take the opportunity to go for a run myself. Making a commitment to someone else seems to be a good way to maintain discipline.
 
Believe it or not, I love pruning. I look forward to it all year. It demands such focus. It’s like meditation for 9 hours straight day after day.  I spend a lot of time outdoors and don’t credit that as exercise but all that vineyard walking adds up to a hell of a lot of kilometres. It’s rare when I spend an entire day cooped up in the office. 
 
Being connected to nature and the rhythm of the seasons is probably a more natural existence than big city living. It’s hard to define but I feel like most farming people have a certain calm, pragmatic view of life that appeals to me.  
 
Finally, I think we’ve built a business model that caters to our personalities. It’s a lot of work to run a direct to consumer business like ours but the rewards are there in the form of lasting, genuine friendships formed with our customers. There’s a great satisfaction in providing pleasure to people and I think that’s at the heart of what draws people to be part our efforts. It’s true of wine and hospitality as a whole.
 
You can connect with Toby and Emmanuelle Bekkers online at Facebook @Bekkerswine and Instagram @bekkerswine and online at www.bekkerswine.com