Most people (and rightly so) think that traipsing around Italy hunting for wine is easy. It is definitely much easier than my former job as a chef. Undeniably, it is a breeze compared to the work of the people I am seeking- high quality farming. The long flights, the driving and the time away from my family are all bearable when things go smoothly. But the truth of current farming and winemaking practices mean that things rarely go smoothly. I met with an interesting, intelligent and genuinely nice guy. He and his family were more than hospitable. The vineyards were well cared for. The wines were very good.  We would be able to sell the wine at a good price. The labels are pretty. All of these factors together would make these wines a slam dunk for most importers. Sounds good, right? But, at the end of the day, I don’t feel comfortable putting a Farmstead seal on the bottle. Our selection criteria are really difficult to meet. In this case, they grow the grapes themselves (his father runs the farm), but they hire a consultant to make the wine. Although I might drink some myself, it does not qualify as a Farmstead Wine. It is not made by a vinaroon.

Many farmers, especially in the Old World, where delicious food and wine is simply a part of everyday life, favor quality over quantity. For example, artisan poultry farms would never use the antibiotic doping procedures of their factory counterparts. The reason is not just for tastier chicken, but for the health of their families. Although most people would “love to eat beef that receives massages all day,” they still regularly grab the feedlot variety from the supermarket. In this time of renewed focus on all things green and at the same time in a tighter economic environment, what is a conscientious person to do? The answer is an age-old practice still used today by many farmers we know. The problem of not being able to afford quality over commercial products is just part of everyday life, not a mere recessionary blip. Their solution is to buy in groups. People go in together for a whole pig, sacks of potatoes, and split cases of wine. Yes, this might require actually talking to your friends and neighbours, but food and wine are meant to be shared.

When Gian Piero Marrone and his daughter, Serena were in Vancouver they were surprised that farms at the farmer’s market had to advertise themselves as organic. "What else would they be at the farmer’s market," Serena wondered. We live in a sad world when people who grow food the way it should be have to defend that it is different from petro-chemical industrial agricultural. 

I regularly read Jeff Lefevere’s writing at Good Grape, but was surprised to see him reviewing $5.00 beverages. I argued that it was unfair for him to refer to these drinks as “wine.” In a world where  the bottle, label, closure, etc cost nearly $3.00, there is no chance that there can be anything but a manufactured product in the bottle. Dr. Debs, from the highly regarded  “Good Wine under $20” blog responded, “All wine is manufactured–in the sense that it’s all made. We don’t grow wine. We grow grapes and then have to make them wine. As for industrial, I’m wondering do you mean “mass produced” or “produced by machines” which is something different?”

Not true. Wine is grown.  Any great farmer would disagree with the sentiment that grapes have to be “made” into wine. In a healthy vineyard, the grapes have everything they need to transform themselves into wine. Once picked and placed into a container, they will begin the fermentation process due to natural yeasts on the grapes. Wine is fundamentally an agricultural product. It surely can also be a result of industrial agriculture- meaning a product of industry, rather than farming. But just because something can be made industrially and also farmed naturally does not mean these are equivalents. Heritage pork is something quite distinct from the industrial product from feedlots. In case you haven’t heard, watch this video to see the difference.

 Instead of having to define wine as authentic, industrial producers should have to list all of the pesticides, herbicides, tannin powders, reverse osmosis and other additives they use to make their industrial beverage. Any thoughts about what we should call this beverage? 

I am writing to you from a cafe in the Napa Valley and overhearing a conversation about where food comes from. A woman is afraid to buy food in the supermarket because she has no idea where it comes from. Ironic in the Napa Valley.

Dr. Frankenstein would be proud. Do you know that many wineries use invasive technology to eliminate flaws instead of farming properly? You can only cheat nature for so long…one day you will have ugly kids with your plastic surgery Ken or Barbie and be sorely disappointed. If you want to skip to the scary part, scroll to the end paragraph quoting the owner of Winesecrets.

According to industry magazine Wines & Vines, one of these technology companies has been acquired by, in an ironic twist, a company called American Winesecrets. "Acquiring Vinovation’s mobile service allowed Winesecrets to offer taint removal as well. Winesecrets has since developed a fleet of trucks, trailers and trained wine technicians to deliver the tartrate and taint removal services to wineries across the United States and Canada.
With the acquisition of Vinovation’s reverse osmosis-based technologies and alcohol adjustment services, Winesecrets will offer more filtration services, including reduction of volatile acidity, alcohol adjustment, Brettanomyces taint removal via reverse osmosis, tartaric stabilization and pH reduction using STARS, cross-flow filtration and ultra-filtration.
During the last few years, Winesecrets has added the technology to remove smoky flavors from wines affected by forest fires. "They can make your wine smell like an ashtray," Dahlberg says. The company first offered the service in Ontario, where extensive fires affected vineyards in 2003.
Unlike the other filtration services, alcohol adjustment involves distillation, so it can only be done at a facility with a distilled spirits permit (DSP), including the plant in Sebastopol. Winesecrets has mobile equipment that can be taken to other facilities. It has sites in Sebastopol and Napa, Calif., Dundee, Ore., Penticton, British Columbia, and Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
Though not often discussed by winemakers, the filtration technologies are widely used. "Almost everyone who is anyone in the wine business has used Vinovation’s services," Dahlberg says. He says that between his existing business and the new services, 300 to 400 companies now use Winesecrets’ capabilities."

Most people are beginning to figure out that knowing where your food comes from is kind of important. Unless you like ecoli, whether in your beef or your tomatoes,  I am not sure that government assurances about food safety are trustworthy. Farmers markets are not just for locavores anymore, as everyone becomes more concerned about the provenance of what they eat. Are you someone who keeps thinking that way when you buy a wine to pair with your market fresh meal? How do you know what to buy? Do you just reach for something organic? Share your thoughts with us- comment below or share a longer story.

Special thanks to Francesca and Margherita of Fonterenza (their wines will be available with Farmstead Wines soon). Watch the video below, and remember the Padovani sisters are actually certified organic and they don’t trust the process!