Archive for November, 2010

Demonstrators protest at the site of a new bridge over Germany's Mosel River.

The wine business has almost always had a complicated relationship with the natural environment. There is little natural about vineyards–nonnative species, terraforming, soil amendments, artificial drainage and/or irrigation systems, metal, plastic or treated-wood stakes and metal wires–all lead to a profoundly altered environment. Not to mention the various chemical treatments used in viticulture, even in certified organic and biodynamic vineyards.

Yet in the past couple of decades, wineries and vineyards have become more aware of environmental issues and made great strides in reducing chemical inputs, providing nesting boxes for native predators (as at Shafer Vineyards) and restoring native and riparian habitats (see the tremendous efforts by the Rutherford Dust Society to protect fish spawning grounds in the Napa River).

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Certain countries are known for producing particular sorts of wines. New Zealand for its Sauvignon Blanc and (increasingly) Pinot Noir. Argentina for its Malbec. Australia for its Shiraz.

Although these reputations may be helpful to producers with plenty of these wines to sell, marketers promoting these countries or perhaps to consumers desperately seeking rudimentary guidance, it doesn’t help producers who have other grape varieties planted, marketers who want to show greater depth or consumers interested in learning more about what these countries can produce.

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At the dawn of the age of nouvelle cuisine, call it the early ’80s, servers at American restaurants took to boring the pants off us poor diners, reciting the chef’s every dish, every method, every ingredient down to its elementary particles in a such a precious, self-congratulatory tone that the only menu choices became: a) kill him; or b) kill self.

Don’t let this happen to you, bartenders (er, mixologists) of the world.

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