Brighid Finds Her Footing; The Story of Tantrum Wines

Owner of a gourmet cheese shop, wife to a politically powerful man, and mother of her new baby girl, Brighid Mcloughlin seemed to have it all.

But her shop sat on Main Street in Cottonwood, Arizona back in 2010 – before it had quaint boutiques and was speckled with cafes and wineries. Business was slow. And then, her husband decided “he didn’t want to be married to [her] anymore.”

“He cheated on me. I don’t know… There’s no nicer way to say it. I found out and it was probably one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. Selfishly saying – for me to be able to grow and find out that life doesn’t have to be … like that.”

But the heartbreak didn’t end in divorce. Her soon-to-be-ex set his mind on cutting her off from the thing she loved most – her baby girl.

“The game was on to try and get my daughter away from me – to get her out of my life. He said he wanted to take half the money from the business, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this business isn’t even making any money.’ So I just closed it, and I was homeless, couch-surfing at my friends’ houses so I could visit my daughter when I could. It was just rough.”

There was no way Brighid was going to stand down. She began doing every odd job she could find, “anything [she] could get [her] hands on.”

“I saw a job posting for a winery in Jerome – a tiny little town up there in Arizona – an artist community. “

“I didn’t know much about wine, but that I loved wine. I was in cheese – and in food and beverage my entire life. It’s all I’ve done since I was 15. I never heard of the winery, but I wanted that chance.”

15 hours a week was all the job was. Without question, Brighid jumped on it and from there rebuilt her entire life.

“From being homeless, not knowing where you’re going to sleep next – wondering who’s friend is not tired of you being on their couch – to being an assistant manager, to a manager, to basically becoming John’s (the winery owner) right-hand and the director of operations for his company, and then onto winemaking.”

It didn’t happen overnight – Brighid stepped into the company, remained steadfast and slowly grew into each role.

“When you’re in wine, when you’re in a small family business – you’re in all of it. It doesn’t matter what you signed up for. You’re in all of it.”

A new era for Brighid was on the horizon. Her hard work was paying off. A love story and a successful business born from passion were awaiting her. Unfortunately, her hardships weren’t over just yet.