The 6 minutes and 52 seconds that Planted the Seed that would become PROJECT M.

At the time, I had 15 vintages behind me. What had become a winemaking career started as a collection of experiences in various cellars in Oregon and around the World. Opportunities kept presenting themselves, progressing from one-man shows making a couple of thousand cases to large global icons. As I look back, the whole thing is as surreal as it was improbable.

With each vintage, my skills were honed. Each ferment, barrel, and blend served as an opportunity to solidify ideas and experiences into a solid foundation, what I would later realize as my "truths."

Each new opportunity came with increasing levels of organizational complexity. As my "truths" became more defined, the pressures pushing and pulling on my work grew. I began to feel that something was missing. A void was developing between the images in my mind and the work I was producing. I was becoming lost.

Then, one day, I found this on my Facebook feed

I was mesmerized by precision, detail, and focus. Each piece shared an identity with its creator. I found myself thinking about where these pieces came from. Not in the sense of a city or country, but where did the inspiration, idea, or archetype come from? Did they come in dreams? On long walks? Were they deliberately contemplated? I wondered if each new piece was just another attempt that might fall short of their idea. Were they driven by a restlessness that the idea was not reached or the image not exactly replicated?

And the Beauty! Their hands created something made of more than water, clay, and glaze. The works were pieces of them. The fruit of their labor was something beautiful. And doesn't beauty make the World a better place?

What would go on to become Project M was born in that Six minutes and 52 seconds. There were wines that haunted my dreams, and they were demanding to be manifested.