I saw another thread where a comment was made about ‘Buy American’. It got me to thinking, as I too have had this topic cross my mind recently. I’m not posting this topic to troll for political debate or press hot buttons but I would like to have some respectful discussion about whether it matters how you spend your $$, relative to the country of origin of the wine.
I will say it does matter more to me than it used to. I do believe that France has the chops and experience to make the best bubbly in the world. I spend a portion of my wine budget on Champagne and will continue to do this. I also pick up an occasional Northern Rhone or Muscadet . Aside from that, the lion share of my wine budget really though stays in California. I feel like I want to support the place where I live, the winery people who have chosen to try and make it, do business here (and to whom I can more readily touch and see versus say International).
As far as the origin of the wine I buy, which you know is mostly French, it matters not.
Where I buy it from, however, does matter to me. I will always go local first and small business over a chain, even if it costs me a bit more. As an example, I buy about 1/3 or more of my wine, and have for 20 years, from a fourth generation local store called B21 Wine. So while I am buying mostly French wine, I am getting it from a local business that hires local workers, pays local taxes and is a good business community citizen. I also buy some of my wine from ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, though while a chain, it is a local family business, also fourth generation Central Florida. These things do matter to me.
I only go out of state for more artisinal products that I cannot find in Central Florida. I really appreciate the small business costumer service and unique selections from places like Weygandt, Crush and Chambers. It is infrequent that I buy direct from wineries, but Copain and Bedrock are two that I have supported over the years. I have appreciated the direct communication with them and the quality of what they produce.
You are very fortunate to live in California where you can cultivate the relationships that you do with the growers and the land. If I had that opportunity, I would likely have a similar mindset as you do.
Jeremy, I do still have some stuff, like Lafarge, Chevillon, D’Angerville and Clavelier. I just have not bought a damn thing from Burgundy in say almost 2 years. In that span, though, I have re-doubled my effort to buy into the CA burgundy varietals I enjoy, and spend a lot of time with those producers, both their wines and the people behind them. Like doing dinners with the winery being featured here at my house, with the people who make the wines and the relationships behind them. I can’t do that with the Burgundy people, at least not well in terms of travel expense, language barrier and overall relationship building. It does make a difference. It was the point I made in the other thread this week that Mike Dildine posted.
Alf, I get it. You made a middle ground accommodation via the way you get after the French stuff. It is some level of local support. I do feel a great fortune, to have the wineries so close and to have these wonderful relationships.
Andrew, yes, that was the post that made me put mine up.
Given the distribution of cars I see on California freeways whenever I visit, I’m going to guess that a fair number of folks out there who only buy American wines are driving around in Toyota, Nissan and Mazda cars.
And talking on their cell-phones, none of which are made in the US.
I don’t have any obligation to “support” any area. Sorry. If someone makes good wine I’m happy to taste it and drink it. If producers are obviously anti-US in sentiment, I wouldn’t support them, but otherwise I don’t feel any need to support or withdraw support from any region.
All in all, I’d prefer to support a “smaller” enterprise, but what does that mean? There are plenty of co-ops that provide income and work for many people and they also put out a lot of wine. In the same way there are producers like Abadia Retuerta, owned by Novartis. When they purchased the former owner, Novartis had no reason to sink a dime into the winery, but instead they did and they put out good wine and the growers in the area have a market for their fruit. So I’m happy to buy their wine as well.
But as a rule I don’t worry too much about supporting a region when it comes to wine any more than I for most things I buy - toothbrushes, toothpaste, razor blades, towels, socks, oranges, etc. I don’t want to buy fish that’s over-fished or endangered, and prefer not to buy industrial pork and chicken, and I never eat fast food, but I’m not too concerned about supporting one chicken farmer over his neighbor, provided the chickens are equally good.
It’s an interesting subject, and one I’ve thought a lot about for my discretionary spending. At the highest level I consider myself a citizen of the world. I’m not especially interested in creating or supporting barriers to communication or commerce. I’ve had the incredible good fortune in my professional life/career to travel widely and make friends all over the globe. What I’ve discovered is that we’re all so much more alike than not that the differences are ever more charming.
But I live in California - familiarity and proximity indeed breed little contempt, instead make it so much easier to access and try things that can be hard to find elsewhere. Meeting the wine makers is fun and adds to the experience of drinking their wines. It does lead me to go out of my way to support them, but it’s only part of the decision calculus.
My primary goal is to drink what I love. Since I naturally tend towards liking diversity, I’ve ended up being interested in many varieties/regions/style. So I guess I’m not concerned with supporting a particular area/country but instead want to support communities who seek to make wonderful products. It’s easier for me to connect with the local folks, but I won’t ignore the rest of the world because of it.
I buy 90% percent American wine and probably 75% within 100 miles of my home. I choose to do this because there is plenty of great wine here. Now I know everyone doesn’t live on the west coast or have access,but since I do, I buy local. I went through my “foreign is better” stage during my beer days.and maybe in the 70s and 80s that was true. If I lived in a strong wine producing area anywhere in the world, I would hope to drink local. So for me, unless it is dessert wine or Riesling, it’s California.
Could care less about country of origin. Only the wine matters.
That said, accessibility always matters. European wines take a bit longer and travel a bit or a lot further to reach me here in California, so it can be hit or miss. If there are comparably good local wines which are more readily available via retail, I might buy those ahead of foreign wines that might be slightly better but which are difficult to source.
Also, I enjoy the personal interaction with local wineries, but I would do that with a Frenchman such as Thierry Allemand or an Sicilian such as Arianna Occhipinti just as quickly as Jamey Kutch, Bradley Brown or Wells Guthrie. Who am I kidding, I’d pick Arianna Occhipinti over those boys in a heartbeat. Seriously, I could care less about country of origin.
This is an easier question to answer with a straight face in California in 2015 that it was as recently as 2009 or even 2010. At least to me, it seems a wider variety of styles has hit the market in the past few years, and there seem to be more experimentation with obscure grapes, many of which satisfy old world palates. California and other parts of the US have more to offer a wide variety of palates than ever before, so it lessens my desire to chase foreign wines that might be scarce or of sketchy providence.
There are several great replies on this thread with which I agree. I do end up more interested in wines made in the part of the world where I spend the most time.
Yes. 80% of the wine in my cellar was made and/or purchased within a one-hour radius of my current home…all Piemontese. The relationships with producers and retailers are easy to cultivate and maintain, provided that one speaks Italian (and occasionally, even if one does not). No mailing-list loyalty here, however…no mailing lists!
Sad world anyway…40-50 years ago, McDonald’s fries were made from scratch and double-cooked (blanched in water, then fried) like the finest frites to be found in France and Belgium. I know. I was a 14-year-old kid with a work permit making the fries!
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