On Local Wine

Eating locally has become a big trend, and the hunger to find all things local and artisanal is far from being satiated. But how does that trend reflect on how we drink? Beer is a relatively easy item to find produced locally, as are many spirits, but wine continues to buck that trend. In New York City, it is entirely possible to find several examples of fine Long Island and Finger Lakes wine, but even the best of these can hardly compare to the powerhouses readily available from the worldwide market. And forget about buying local wine if you live in Missouri, Texas or Idaho (consider these all emerging regions). Wine is indeed produced in every state, but barring California, Oregon, Washington, and to far lesser extents, New York and Virginia, the novelty far outweighs the quality at this point.

Part of the problem with producing wine in emerging regions hearkens back to the previously discussed issue of Old World versus New World wine. If you consider the example that Sancerre tastes like Sancerre because it's produced in Sancerre, with a certain requirement for varietal, yield, and viticulture and vinification processes, also consider the fact that wine from emerging regions tastes like nothing except what the winemaker wants it to taste like through grape selection and manipulation. This is hardly an indictment of the winemakers in these areas.

The long and the short of it is that the wine that has been grown in classic regions - and these don't have to all be necessarily Old World - is classic because it consitently conforms to the idea that wine that comes from that region will taste like it comes from that region. Wine from areas where winemakers haven't yet found the correct recipe for production that makes the wine speak of that region necessarily falls short of the wines made in regions that have, through considerable trial and error, found the formula that works well for them.

Local food, beer and spirits are all far easier to come by. Food is the simplest. Just grow what grows arond you. Beer and spirits are rather more easily produced as well. The connection to the land and climate is far less impactful to the final product, as both beer and spirits are by definition more manipulated.

The simple fact is that, while local food, and to a certain extent, beer and spirits, have always been part of the American landscape, albeit falling in and out of fashion, local wine has never been a part of that conversation. While I maintain high hopes for the North Dakota wine industry, it will be many years before it finds the footing it needs to compete on a worldwide level.

Thank goodness California produces world-class wine (though to what extent and why begs another discussion). But until the time comes when your region's vineyards produce the wine you really want to drink, the practicality of buying local wine remains elusive.