This past weekend I met a few people who aren’t just into wine, they are into "local wine". I did not pass on the opportunity to explain how I’m about to launch my own winery with wines made with grapes grown locally right here in Southeastern New England. They were excited to hear this and I was happy to have acquired a couple of new followers who may eventually become good customers.
I later realized that I had broken one of my own rules while speaking with these locavores. I over-hyped the "local product" aspect. I do believe that it’s important to tell people that my product is local and I will surely do it often. But while doing so, I don’t want to give people the impression that my wine tastes better and is better for the planet than any other wine which is not local.
I’ve studied the marketing approach of several small wineries which use the “local” mantra as their platform to greatness. Unfortunately, in most cases, there is a heavy dose of bullshit involved in their speech...
Local wine just tastes better
Quality in wine is an extremely subjective matter to begin with. It is up to you to decide the wine you enjoy independently of the hundreds of variables that exist in grape growing and winemaking. However, there are some standards that cannot be denied and sometimes a wine is just simply bad no matter how subjective wine tasting may be. And I’m not talking about technically faulty wine here. Where am I going with this?... There is a lot of local wine that nicely put, is just below standard of what a good wine is. From Chardonnay which tastes like Riesling to Merlot table wine that has been artificially sweetened post fermentation, some local wines are like home winemaking experiments gone bad that people should never even pay a $1 for. Just because the grapes are grown locally, it does not mean that the resulting wine is better than anything else.
Local wine is better for the environment
What is better for me as a Massachusetts resident… a California or Spanish wine made from organically grown grapes, OR… a wine made from grapes grown locally with the help of pesticides? The California or Spanish wine comes with an expensive carbon foot-print for transporting the wine from thousands of miles away across the country or across the ocean. But what about the potential cancer-causing pesticides that the local farmer had to use to grow an healthy vineyard? (note: the cancer aspect has never been scientifically proven) If the local grower is capable of growing grapes without the use of pesticides then he or she has accomplished something phenomenal. Unfortunately, growing consistently good quality grapes in New England without the use of pesticides is highly risky and close to impossible (as in most other wine growing regions of the world). Bottom line… don’t be fooled by someone who tells you that you are helping the planet by buying a local wine.
If you have read this far you deserve to know what my own choices are… In regards to quality, there are very few Southeastern New England wines that I’ve tasted (and I have tasted most of them) that in my opinion are of consistently good quality and better than most equally priced wines available from all over the world at the local retail stores. The Winterwine from Sakonnet Vineyards is an example of one of the few really consistently outstanding local wines. In regards to the “green” factor, the main pros and cons of organic and local cancel each other, at least for now. I do enjoy being closer to the source of the product and for that I will keep trying local wines. But don't ever let me fool you with the local B.S.
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