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$5.00 beverages are wine and pork from the Meatrix is meat

July 17, 2008

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? 

 

  • Dr. Debs / July 17, 2008

    With all due respect, you cannot GROW wine. You grow grapes. From those grapes someone has to make them into wine. Now, they can either do it responsibly–which I support–or they can do it in a manipulative way.

    I am an enormous fan of organic and biodynamic winemaking and grapegrowing. I do feel, however, that by using terms inconsistently and imprecisely, we actually do active harm to the cause that I believe you and I both support.

    I am descended from generations upon generations of farmers. I like to know exactly where the grapes are grown that go into my wine, where my eggs come from, and who picks my raspberries. But I can and believe we must not confuse the situation by saying wine is not made it’s grown. Someone could grow organic grapes and then manipulate them in the making of wine, dump 3 vats of pesticides in them, and what would come out the other end would be far removed from what that organic farmer did in the field.

    Great grapes are grown. Great wine is MADE from great grapes.

  • Anthony Nicalo / July 18, 2008

    Hi Dr. Deb,

    Thank you for the comments. Your point is an important one- wine does not actually grow on vines. But, I think, that you agree that the most important part of the work is done there, in the vineyards. Wine is grown, not made. If the farming is natural and the plants are healthy there is nothing to do but harvest the grapes. They do not need to be manipulated to transform into wine. And the only solution to preventing industrial manipulation of the wine is to know the farmer, who also makes the wine.

  • Jeff / July 18, 2008

    Anthony,

    Thanks for the reference to my post. You know, I think I need to note that I write things not dogmatically, very pragmatically and from a marketing-oriented consumer perspective.

    While I would love to stick to a staunch world-view in regards to my wine drinking (and loving), the fact of the matter is I get around (metaphorically speaking).

    My post (and I’ll do another $5 wine post when I can find one worth a damn) was more about finding something quaffable in some tough economic times.

    That said, like Deb, if given a choice, I’d take a $35 biodynamic Pinot everytime, but those are finding their way to my lips on exceedingly rare circumstance, especially on a random Tuesday night in July.

    And, as a ancillarly point, i would love for all of my hamburger to come from a free range cow that gets daily hand massages, but the reality is I eat grocery store meat, too.

    Am I weird? No, I think I’m American. Though, I’m cognizant of better way of doing things.

    Jeff

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