2020 has been a strange year. Heck, we’re into the second half of it already. With lockdown seeming to slowly ease around the world, and things beginning to feel a little more “normal”, it’s been a weird adjustment returning to jobs and local bars and public spaces. The past few weeks I’ve felt rather reflective: on the subliminal good that has come of this, and the obvious bad. Everyone has been affected in some way. The rich and the poor; the employed and the jobless. Every human being has been thrown out of their comfort zone, and something has changed for everybody. Certainly, the one thing that it’s afforded us all is time. We’ve had time to slow down and exhale. As a business owner, we’ve had time to really consider the meaning of our brands, and the value that they add to the world around us and the niche that they fill. And so I ask myself: What is Yo El Rey, beyond the wine I’m making and sending out into the world?
Yo El Rey as a brand is ultimately an extension of me, and the things I love and am inspired by: travel, fly-fishing, motorcycle adventures, the Blues. It’s impossible to mash these up into a single idea without looking like you’re trying too hard. But, stew all that down to the bare bones of it all, and you’ll find a spirit of optimism and hope, with a seam of freedom running through it all.Onward has therefore evolved into a single phrase that I think sums it all up, and has become a driving force for the brand in its nascent years. It implies movement and direction, and positive growth. It acknowledges change and evolution, and open-mindedness. You’ll see more of this in the branding and in the general chat, and it is a nod to the good things to come, and the desire to always be working towards bigger and better things, both as a brand, and as an actively involved member of the wine community.