+1
Interesting question. By “support”, it looks like we’re talking about “buy from” (as in vote with $).
Not all purchases are rational…by a long shot. How many here buy wine they don’t need…or even have room for?
Anyway, to the extent that my own wine purchases are governed by logic…QPR comes first. Quite a moving target. There’s a threshold, below which any money spent is either a mistake or a misdirected charitable contribution.
Next comes “artisan”, as in a small family or cooperative. I prefer to buy from “artisan” retailers as well as producers. Chambers St. > Total Wine. Maison Ilan > Jadot ( ![[head-bang.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/b1cd199e4b2b2988b5107c3c9598fd28dc92a776.gif "[head-bang.gif]"){kind=small}
…so much for ideology).
Mixed in to the process is a preference for local… PA isn’t there yet. NY, improving within limits. I’d be a CA proponent if I lived there, but by submerging myself in to OR, I’ve satisfied much of my QPR and artisanal itch…primarily for PNs and Chards. I love the wines of Burgundy (a no brainer if the pricing wasn’t nuts) but QPRs have become illusive (considering that 30% of my cellar remains Burgundy).
IMHO there just aren’t any similar US QPRs to those from Beaujolais, Champagne, Chianti/Tuscany, Loire reds/whites, Muscadet, Northern Italian Nebbs and a number of others.
I enjoy buying US, but it doesn’t override the other criteria.
RT
Country of origin has little to do with the bulk of my purchases. I will say that I do spend some $ for local/regional wines to support growth for east coast wineries. In many cases I have been pleasantly surprised and the wine quality is showing continued improvement.
There is a plethora of world-class wine made within 20-200 miles of my doorstep. This allows me to visit vineyards, inspect vines, experience the weather that impacts vintages, discuss techniques and sip wine with winemakers. I’ll buy a bottle of French wine occasionally to compare and contrast with local wine. My cellar is 97.5% California.
The majority of my wine budget is spent on wines produced within 50 miles of my home. I enjoy wines from all over the world but deep down I like to support the local guys and girls. Especially the ones I get to meet in person and form relationships with. That connection always seems to make the wine drinking experience more memorable and special.
I drive a '93 Ford Pick-Up, my work truck is a 2000 GMC 
'Merca!
For years 99% of what I bought came from Burgundy, Beaujolais and Germany. Now I buy almost exclusively Californian wines. Partially its because Ive gotten to know more California winemakers and want to support them and partially there are just more Californian wines made in the styles I like here than there used to be. I still buy Jura reds though. Those are a unique expression.
Most nations have at various points in time tried this line, either subtly or less so.
These days I’d say ‘buy quality’. If that happens to be the same as buying locally, then that’s great, but supporting an unsustainable business is never going to work.
Example of where buying local works - local produce, picked in season and picked when ripe, vs. produce picked unripe 1000s of miles away, chilled/frozen and selected so it looks good, but tastes of nothing.
Supermarkets have been a disgrace for the way they’ve taken looks and availability over taste, and I fear people become used to the flavourless rubbish on offer. However I was reassured by the evidence of my colleagues on Friday. I popped out at lunchtime to the market and picked up two large bunches of Italian grapes. The black grapes were juicy but bland, whilst the white grapes were bursting with muscat / violet flavour. An hour later just the stalk remained of the white grapes, whilst most of the black grapes remained.
For someone who lives in proximity to a great wine region it makes sense that one might purchase and drink the majority of their wine from there, for numerous reasons. As someone living on the east coast, no where near a world class wine making region (NC and VA wines are potable but…) I have a different affinity and outlook. My observations in Europe are that people there are very parochial in their wine drinking, seldom drinking wines outside their region. I have often wondered if that was driven more by 1) cultural/geopolitical allegiance, 2) availability/cost or 3) symbiosis with the local cuisine. While all of my European friends love to drink the best wines from all around the world, I would say most, not in the wine trade, get more enjoyment from drinking the very best examples of wines from their own region. As for me, I could be perfectly happy just drinking Champagne, Burgundy and Barolo.
Kelly
Very true of Italy and France, though Italy seems to be opening up a little (but still mainly remains a parochial collection of regional tastes - not even Italian-centric but still clinging to regional traditions). I recall a lady who ran a tea shop in a modest town, being very keen to hear of English biscuits to go with her teas, and English cheeses seem to be well-regarded in Italy. More wine shops these days seem to carry a small international range, but this tends to be other European countries rather than from the new world. Speciality food shops (from other regions/countries) do appear more common in big cities.
I buy from everywhere though I am friends with a lot of California and Oregon winemakers so they get the bulk of my purchases. I also don’t buy much of the alternate wine regions such as Greece, Croatia, South Africa and only certain Aussie or New Zealand wines.
It is all about the wine for me. The best made wine that I can afford no matter where it was made or where it was sold.
I prefer local, family-owned wineries.
Okay, maybe except for Holdredge
lol I’ll see if he’s listening
and I drive a Ford
I buy, drive and enjoy what I like. If it happens to be American…GREAT… It’s a win-win… After all this is the United States of America!
BTW: I prefer German cars and California Cabs…
There are some wine varieties which just don’t have counterparts in California: Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Gamay (for example). While there may be a few producers making those wines, I have yet to find any that can compare in quality (Sauvignon Blanc is more widely produced here, but I haven’t found one I care for). So for those types of wines I’m pretty much forced to buy from producers outside of California. I’ll add Rose to the list, though there are more and more Rose’s being producer here, and some of them are pretty good - still, the best are from France.
When it comes to “mainstream” varieties like Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot, I split my purchases between California and old-world producers; though 3/4 of my purchases are probably old-world.
Do I value supporting local producers, and the relationships to them? You bet! But the wine itself has to come first in the choice to buy. Being local, and being able to interact and get to know a producer is worth something, but can’t overcome wine that doesn’t really suit my palate.
Are you speaking simple of “National” vs “International”? Because the United States is a big country, and being on the East Coast do not consider California or West Coast producers to be “local” at all. And besides, they tend to be overpriced for what is in the bottle. I like a wine to have longevity, a track record for aging, and development with age, and you tend to find these among estates mostly in Europe, but could be just as much in South Africa or Australia and usually at better prices than what you find here. I also like estates to grow what they produce, and the West Coast model has few parties that grow there own grapes and make there own wine. I think the separation of winegrower-winemaker is such a deep chasm that it doesn’t make much sense: it is a dissection of the way things should be. Also, many of the grapes I enjoy are not even grown in this country, so where else does one look? Abroad, of course, and at prices that make much more sense.
And if I remember correctly, it was frying them in beef tallow that made them so delicious.
Like the other California posts I too buy “local”, but that’s how I got into wine. We’re 90min from Napa and up there every 2-3 months. After tasting and buying direct from wineries I’m dabbling in tasting overseas wines at K&L, but haven’t found many that strike my fancy. I am hoping to find a more affordable causal wine as opposed to the average $50-60/bottle we spend in Napa. But even so, I can tell you it feels like there is something very much lacking from the experience any time I buy a bottle from a store. I enjoy my art better being bought directly from the artist and like my wine better right from the winery.
I am still in the variety/qpr camp. I enjoy wines from all corners of the globe including quite a few from the Golden State. I have a large handful that I support locally and really enjoy the improved quality in the last 10 - 15 years. Unfortunately, as us locals know, California is not an easy place to run a business - therefore the wines are generally pricey. There are exceptions but not nearly as many as I can find abroad.
But I also really like Chablis for the qpr available there as well as the overall quality and expression of chardonnay. I like Chianti’s for the same reason. Ditto Bordeaux. A lot of the bourgogne and village level pinots from Burgundy are still a better expression of the grape and bargain compared to the entry level stuff from Calif. Of course you have to dig deep but that is half of the fun for me.
50 years from now California will have figured out what grows best where and will truly be a world beater on the Int wine scene - that is if Gallo doesn’t consolidate the whole industry!
While I do like to support some of the smaller domestic wineries that I’m a fan of like Ceritas, Littorai, Thomas, Arterberry Maresh, etc, domestic wines only make up about 15% of my cellar. Diversity is what I love most about wine and that’s reflected in my cellar.