Most mornings I have my coffee and walk the vineyards around my house with my dog, a ten year-old Aussie Shepherd named “Bear”. This is as close a replacement I could find to what I’d rather be doing first thing in the morning which is paddling to a right point peeler in tropical waters. For me, this is the time to let the mind wander and enjoy the stillness in the air and take in that sweet smell of fresh soil still moistened by the morning dew. Today, as I was looking at the grapes about to ripen and thinking (ok, worrying a bit) about the fate of the wine business, it occurred to me that maybe it would do good to get on a little soap box and try to give you a little farmer perspective of where we are.
Like most businesses in a down economy, we in the wine business had to adapt to a new 
reality; the Pinot party is over and some emperors are wearing no clothes… Gone are those (not so healthy) days when hoards of new wine drinkers were chasing us to “please” allow them to buy our precious nectar of the gods. In my opinion, this is a good thing for us in the long term for it flushes those with unrealistic expectations of fame and glory out of the business, and makes it easier for those who are in it for love. In the past year, I have noticed that humility and common sense are making quite a comeback in the wine circles. There is nothing like hard times to bring people together.
As a grower and business owner, I can tell you (the consumer) that California wines are now mostly fairly priced (ok, some megalomaniacs are still out there…). They are also better than ever because many marginal vineyards have been ripped out. We have been forced to cut back on some of the excesses we took for granted and now deliver a better value with every bottle. But we now need your support more than ever.
When you go to most good restaurants these days, you often hear the staff talk with pride about the fact that local produce is used to make your meal. Here in California, we started many of the trends that support farmers who are growing our food locally, we believe that our heritage is important enough to preserve. You now can understand why I get irritated when I go to the grocery store and see a person wearing a ‘Slow Food” t shirt putting a $5 Argentinean Malbec in their shopping cart. I ask myself how come they don’t chose a local wine that may cost more because here, we actually pay the vineyard workers a living wage… It’s time for us to start voting with our dollars, in grocery stores, wine shops and mainly in restaurants.
So please, make you next purchase from us, your neighbors. Next time you are in a restaurant and see no California wine (and I mean California, not the stuff that was watered down with 25% Languedoc swill) ask to talk to the wine buyer and give them a piece of your mind. Understand that supporting your local winery helps preserve a heritage and make our local communities more diverse and therefore stronger. We will keep taking our dogs for walks in the vineyard and grow the best wines for your dollar, we promise.
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