Robin Shreeves, Independent Journalist and Co-Founder, Thinking Outside The Bottle (New Jersey, USA)

Years in Industry: 

The short answer to this is that I’ve purposely been in the wine industry for a little over five years.
 
The longer answer is that I slowly grew into wine writing when I started writing for Mother Nature Network 12 years ago. I wrote daily for the now defunct environmental news network about all aspects of the food and beverage industry. Wineries began to contact me and tell me about their sustainability initiatives. They’d send me their wine. I’d interview them and tell their stories, mentioning the wine at the end of the piece and what I thought of it. I had no formal training in wine. Then in the fall of 2015 I was invited to go to Italy to Ferrari Winery to write about their sustainability initiatives, and on that trip I realized I wanted to focus on wine.
 
Since then, I’ve studied at the Wine School of Philadelphia, read dozens of books about wine, and filled notebooks with tasting notes trying to wrap my head around wine. There’s always more to learn. I’ve written a column about New Jersey wine for my local newspaper and wine features for many publications, and I recently launched Thinking Outside the Bottle, a drinks industry content writing business with my business partner Kathleen Willcox.

My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:  

My top challenge is eating healthy and managing my weight. I’m a stress eater. I’ve always struggled with my weight, and I’m on the high end at the moment. I’m fortunate that I still have a lot of energy and pretty good health despite my weight, but I am sure the good fortune will not last forever. It’s something that I need to focus on – soon.
 
A full work schedule is another challenge. I sit at my desk by 9am and don’t shut down my laptop until 10pm or later. I don’t schedule in time for exercise on weekdays very often. My kids are college aged, and they work nights so I rarely plan dinners anymore. I find myself eating at my desk way more than I should.
 
Coronavirus restrictions haven’t helped either. Early in 2020, I joined a yoga studio and had started practicing regularly. I had fitness goals. Then we all hibernated in our homes. I tried doing virtual yoga, but I couldn’t focus. My boyfriend Ray and I went on many hikes over the past year when the weather permitted, but regular exercise flew out the window in mid-March 2020 and hasn’t flown back in yet.

How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:

Clearly my physical wellness needs some work, but my spiritual and mental wellness is faring better. Journaling is essential to keeping those two things together. In my journal’s pages I work out what I’m thinking and feeling. My brain tends to jump from one thing to another quickly, but when I’m writing in a journal I can focus and think things through from beginning to end.
 
Music also helps me keep it together. Whether I’m listening to artists that inspire me, singing as my boyfriend plays the guitar, or breathing in the vibes at a jam band inspired music fest (last weekend I went to my first live outdoor concert in what seems like 100 years and it was glorious), music is highly therapeutic for me.

What Inspires Me:

People who are kind, patient and vulnerable despite life throwing all sorts of difficulties at them inspire me.  Standing in the cool grass in my bare feet inspires me. Sitting alone by my fire pit and spending time with my bouncing thoughts on a Sunday night before starting a new week inspires me. The people I love inspire me.

A Quote I Love: 

“The grass ain’t greener, the wine ain’t sweeter, either side of the hill” from Ramble on Rose by The Grateful Dead.

You can connect with Robin on Twitter (@rshrevees @thinkingbottle), Instagram (@rshreeves and @thinkingoutsidethebottle), and Facebook (robin.shreeves and thinkingoutsidethebottlecontent)