Veronica Ruiz, North America Export Manager for the Fernandez Rivera Family, (Québec, Canada).

Years in the Industry
I was born in Mexico City and moved to Montreal, Canada 23 years ago. My first challenge was to learn to speak English and French fluently, and to adapt to a new society. I worked full time and went to University at night, for seven years. Afterwards, I finished my Wine and Spirits Diploma in Montreal.

A few years later, I worked for the SAQ, the wine and spirits monopoly in Québec. Working in different departments (such as Logistics, Marketing and the High End Wines Purchasing Department) gave me a good understanding of the challenges of buying and selling wines. Almost six years ago, I decided to travel to Spain with my resumé and my heart full of hope. After knocking at some friendly and not-so-friendly doors, I returned as Export Manager for the North America Market for the Familia Fernandez Rivera.

My Biggest Challenge to Wellness 
At the beginning of 2020, my biggest challenge was to keep the level of stress low, and keep myself healthy and motivated every day. And then COVID turned our lives up side down.

I learned that we can take nothing and no one for granted, and I developed a sense of gratitude for everything in my life.

I am also learning to reinvent my job and the way that I communicate to sell wine. I want to keep thinking that there are a lot of opportunities, even during this worldwide crisis. I think that the best book to be reading now, if we try to reinvent ourselves, will be 21 Lessons for the 21th Century by Yuval Noah Harari.
 
How I Keep It Together To Stay Well
Every morning, I meditate for twenty minutes and I practice yoga. This ritual allows me to connect with myself, and then I am ready to start my day with a clear and focused mind. For meditation, and books about it, I love Deepak Chopra and Eckart Tolle.

On weekends, I bike or walk in the Canadian Woods, in the province of Québec, with my husband. That is another kind of mediation. John Muir, a naturalist, writer and advocate of US forest conservation, said that "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
 
If someone would like to connect with nature, my favorite book to recommend is The Hidden life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. After I read it couple of years ago, I started thinking about nature and the vineyards development from a very different angle.

You can connect with Veronica on Instagram.