Red Oak winery
in Middleton, MA, is no longer in business.
I became aware that the winery was up for auction via Richard Auffrey’s “The Passionate Foodie” blog just a couple of weeks ago. I spoke with the auctioneer this morning who told me that the winery was actually doing quite well business wise. The closing is due to an unfortunate legal situation.
I visited this winery about a year ago, tasted several of its wines and bought a few bottles. I didn’t really like their Chardonnay but thought that the reds were good. In fact one of their Cabernet Sauvignon was quite good, BUT...
I feel sorry that this winery is closing and wish the best to the owner and everyone involved. However, I have to be honest and say that I just don’t get excited about wineries like Red Oak. Red Oak’s brand was built on “Bringing the best of the West to the East”. West being California grapes, East being the Massachusetts winery that turned those grapes into wine. The wine may even be great but what are you drinking? A California wine or a Massachusetts wine? If you believe, like I do, that what determines the origin of a wine is the place where the grapes are grown and not the hand of the winemaker in the winery, then you are drinking a California wine. If I want a California wine, I buy it primarily at the local wine shop, not at a Massachusetts winery. I don’t care what sort of spin you put on it… that California wine is not transported appropriately and that it’s better to transport the grapes in a refrigerated truck than to transport the finished wine, etc.… that’s just not going to fly for me.
One thing I will give to Red Oak… at least they were very clear about the origin of their grapes, unlike several Massachusetts wineries who blend California grapes with their own locally grown/sourced grapes and do not clearly disclose this to the public. Wineries do this under a law which allows them to blend a percentage of "foreign" grapes with the grapes they grow themselves and not have to clearly state this on the label. Sure it’s legal, but this practice leads the wine drinker to develop the wrong impression and incorrect expectation for what Massachusetts wine tastes like. I find this “blending” practice damaging to the Massachusetts wine industry. But I’m off topic now… this really deserves its own post.
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