The Exchanges

Q When you, um, when you finished high school, what did you decide to do? Um, did you, did you want to go to college? Did you want to just go right into the workforce?

A Yeah, so actually, I mean, academia was always a challenge for me, just in terms of the structure and, and the method of learning, and by, you know, a couple of years into high school, I was just like, this is, this is not for me, um, and I was a really bright child, and I kind of felt like, you know, I can learn anything that I want without all of this rigmarole, and I actually left high school early. I tested out early with, there's a Special tests if you're too young to take a GED. And so I wanted to go to school, and I went to the local community college. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do, but I really did love science. Um, so I started taking some courses there, and then while I was, you know, this was, I was 16 at that point.

AI assessment note: “I actually left high school early... and I went to the local community college.”

Q And what did that, what did that letter say?

A Yeah, she, she called me because she was a little, she was a little off guard because a letter arrived from, uh, last name McBride in Alabama, which is where our dad was originally from, and she fully was not expecting a letter from him or his family, so she said, I've, I've got this letter, and it's dressed to you. Do you want me to open it? So I was like, yeah, absolutely, and in the letter, it was written by our, our aunt. Our dad's sister, who lives in, um, Camden, Alabama, which is a, a little tiny place outside of Selma, and she's introduced herself in the letter and said, um, we're reaching out to you, um, and, you know, want to let you know that your, your father's passed away. At this point, he had passed away in 1996, the letter I got in January of 1999, and said that your, your father's passed away, and We went desperately to find you. You have a little sister. Her name is Andrea, and, um, you know, at the time she was 16 years old, and she, she lives in New Zealand, and, you know, we're desperately trying to find you and connect the two of you.

AI assessment note: “and in the letter, it was written by our, our aunt... said that your, your father's passed away”

Q And when you were growing up, you didn't have much contact with your dad, right?

A None at all. You know, a little context. My mom wasn't thrilled with our father when they divorced, um, and, you know, it was no accidents that they weren't in communication. It was something that she wasn't interested, you know, in doing. So for me, um, from a really young age, I was just always, you know, as a child who has, you A missing parent. I was just always like, you know, where is he? What's going on? Why don't, why isn't my dad in my life? You know, I had a lot of questions for my mom. And she was like, well, you know, she always told me like, well, you know, he's probably in LA somewhere. And she's like, I don't want to have any communication with him. She's like, grow up and do your thing. You know, she's like, when you're 18, you know, if you feel like you want to start a search to find him, Go ahead and do that. And so I'd always planned. It was always something that I wanted to do because I did want to figure out who this mysterious person was and, you know, hopefully have a chance to meet him.

AI assessment note: “None at all. You know, a little context.”

Q Um, I mean, at the same time, Robin, um, you were living in, in Monterey, and you were totally unaware of your dad's condition, or where he was, or, or even the fact that Andrea existed. How did you find out about your sister?

A So, you know, from that point when our dad was able to make contact with Andrea, his family, um, stepped in to help with the efforts to try to find me. And, you know, between the point of our dad making contact with Andrea and between the time that they found me was, uh, you know, three or four years, I guess, that it took. And I had actually moved from California, from Monterey to Atlanta. Um, and I was working in Atlanta, and evidently, our, our father's family had started to look up through public records and whatever means were necessary. I hear that there was an episode of Oprah that helps them with some tips to, you know, how you locate somebody who you're not in contact with, and they started sending, um, Letters out to people that they could find with my name. They knew my name.

AI assessment note: “they started sending, um, Letters out to people that they could find with my name”

Q I mean, was that just totally shocking to you?

A It was absolutely shocking because, you know, I had not yet started my own search to find Our father. Um, and, you know, as a little girl who's missing a father in her life, I think, you know, there was, uh, always a hope and a dream, you know, somewhere that I would one day be able to meet my dad and kind of fill that, that gap, you know, that's created by having, you know, a parent who's not there. So just reading that first line that he had already passed away, you know, sort of all, all at once, um, It kind of, I was very emotional, and, you know, I had to deal with the fact that I was, I was never going to know that person. He was never going to see me, you know, as a, as a grown woman, and that was really difficult to deal with sort of all at once, but, you know, here was this other bit of information that I have a sister, and so, although the letters, you know, stated that she was in New Zealand, and so I was like, I wasn't even sure where New Zealand was exactly on the map, so

AI assessment note: “It was absolutely shocking because, you know, I had not yet started my own search”

Q You've been raising a daughter. So, so all this is happening. And then, like, this opportunity presents itself. But the wine industry is super tough. Like, it's super intimidating. So the first question I would have is, is all right, like, what's the first step? Like, okay, do I want to start a wine business, a brand? Like, what do we do? And so how did you answer that question?

A Well, adding even more complexity to the situation, I had just given birth to twins. So, um, and, and that was kind of part of the, uh, the deciding factor or our motivation because at that point I was like, I have given all I have to give to traditional corporate America. Like, I have no more to give, and I have my daughter who's, you know, 10 at this point, and I have two brand new baby boys, and there's no way that I'm gonna go And, you know, grind for someone else's company. It's just, it's not going to happen. I don't, I don't have all day to, to toil away for someone else. So, and, you know, timing being what it was at the same time, Andrea is like, crap, I need to think about my future and what I'm going to do. So for us, you know, all through our story, there's these points where it's just everything lines up. Um, and things are laid out in front of us, and we just happen to be good at recognizing, um, these opportunities as they're set forth.

AI assessment note: “and that was kind of part of the, uh, the deciding factor or our motivation”