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60 JANUARY 2020
5 Tips for Taking
Care of Yourself
If you want to cut
back, start here.
TAKE STOCK
“Why do you want to
change? Be honest, and
be honest with where you
are. Everyone’s different,
and there’s no judgment,”
says Hopkins.
CHANGE ONE THING
“Count the glasses you
drink. Decant half a
bottle so you don’t drink
the whole thing. Put the
glass down between sips.
Drink two to one, water
to wine. Just make one
change.”
GET CONNECTED
“We’re in a space where
social opportunity for
moderation or absti-
nence is the highest I’ve
ever seen it. Seek out
who else is in it because
isolation is normal when
you’re questioning what
you’re doing.”
BREATHE
“It doesn’t matter if you’re
in bed, in the car, on
the subway—find a way
to count your breaths.
Breathe in for a four-
count, but exhale for a
six-count. Then repeat.
Your body wants to be
calm by nature, and this
helps it self-regulate.”
TOUCH THE GROUND
“Get to a park, get out-
doors, get to a green
space, take your shoes
off, and get your feet
on the earth. The wine
business is ultimately
connected to agriculture.
Reconnect and remem-
ber why you do what
you do.”
GET A ROUTINE ON
THE ROAD
“Pack a tennis ball to
roll under your feet, a
resistance band to help
your body stretch, an
eye mask to cover the
light, or earplugs to help
you sleep—and put it
out somewhere obvious
when you get to your
hotel room.”
PROFILE
PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE CAREERS IN WINE are not
typified by their restraint. For grape growers,
vintners, sommeliers, and everyone between, the
goal is the sensual pleasure that the person who
finally tips the wine into their mouth feels. But
it’s also easy for people in this profession to find
themselves off-kilter in that pursuit. Rebecca
Hopkins, vice president of communications for
Folio Fine Wine Partners, began to notice that
constant travel, revelry, and excess were taking
an unspoken toll on the well-being of her col-
leagues across the industry. She wrote an article
on the subject for a German trade magazine, and
the response was so profound that Hopkins
founded A Balanced Glass (abalancedglass.com).
Together with co-author Cathy Huyghe, a journal-
ist and yoga instructor, she runs a global com-
munity that helps people in the wine trade seek
a healthier way forward, together. —KAT KINSMAN
KK: Consuming alcohol is part of the gig. How
did you know it was time to speak up?
RH: In Australia, drinking is part of both our
social structure and professional lives. Being in
the alcohol business, moderation and abstinence
were not top priorities. I’d had a meditation and
yoga practice to manage how overwhelmed I
was, but it was so culturally disparate from my
work life. And I’d watch people become increas-
ingly unwell, which really upset me.
Tipping Point A Balanced Glass founder
Rebecca Hopkins wants to recalibrate the wine
industry into a healthier place to work.
KK: What exactly is A Balanced Glass?
RH: It’s a weekly email with 600-plus subscribers,
a website, and a Facebook page. Some people just
want a running partner, a yoga recommendation,
a protein powder. I don’t care how you do it, I’m
just going to give you the space to find ways to
connect. Journeys are so fricking fragile, and I
never see it as my place to prescribe anyone’s own
course. And it’s not just for people in the wine
business—anyone can check the site out, see if
they like it, and sign up.
KK: There’s also a quiet way for people to find that
solidarity—via the A Balanced Glass pin that you
make and send to people.
RH: People were like, “How do I help, and how
do I support?” These things are difficult because
they’re so personal, and the deeper they get, the
more confidential they need to be. I literally woke
up and said “I’m making a pin.” It’s an unspoken
way of starting a conversation.
KK: Have you encountered any pushback?
RH: Oh yeah. It comes from people who don’t
understand the concept or the premise, i.e., that
this is not about selling less wine. In terms of the
wine business, we’re actually about creating
teams that can function longer and more suc-
cessfully. That conversation takes a while, but the
effects are immediate. PHO
TO
GR
AP
HY
:^ C
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