Or maybe I should say more magic than science.  After spending the day at some amazing Napa Valley wineries and being in the presence of Craig Underhill, a partner at Brotemarkle, Davis & Company, I have a tremendous amount of appreciation for the skill, expertise, and pure faith of any winery owner and their team. I marvel at the impact of nature on their annual results and at the lack of control they have over many aspects of the finished product.  It was also fascinating to be able to relate the wine business to accounting concepts like Uniform Capitalization, LIFO inventory, and Revenue Recognition (did I mention that I am a nerd?)  thanks to Craig and his firm's expertise in this unique industry. 

I wonder how many accountants would have the stamina to run a business that is impacted by temperature, rainfall, by soil quality, plant spacing, insect infestation, disease, not only in their local area but in other areas that might provide grapes for their finished product.  There are so many factors that are totally outside of the winery's control. 

And to think about all the advanced decisions that have to be made based on an assumption of future crop yield.  These same issues plague every business that involves agriculture,  but it is certainly clear to me why wine is so highly prized as a magic elixir. 

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