Amid this incredible, worldwide, subprime mortgage furor, comes this reprint from the London Independent: Fine wines beat stock market with 39% gains. I guess this is good news for me in the winecellar business but somehow, I'm not amused.
For me, the excitement comes from talking with the farmers and winemakers still jazzed about their creative process. Kenny Likitprakong comes to mind; the visionary winemaker/owner behind Hobo Wines, Banyan Wines and winemaker at Moshin Vineyards in Sonoma county. He is a dedicated freespirit and the antidote to what Eric Asimov recently wrote about $50 Napa cabs in The New York Times. Asimov's quote is: "we were disappointed by the wines".
I believe he is speaking about how the marketing of an appellation overshadows the actual creative expression. My college psychology prof used to speak of the power of "perceived reality". As a guy who loves drinking a carafe of cheap Cotes du Rhone in a small French village bistrot, I find it hard to fathom dissing a $50 wine? Certainly, its unfair for me to compare the attributes of bistrot fare with Napa cab but his point was: where is the unique character that sets the experience apart from another. Asimov hints that there is a dumbing down of standards to satisfy economic desires. Where does this end?
I wish more folks could experience the food and wine events we have in CA like the upcoming Petite Sirah Dark and Delicious 2008 at the Palace of Fine Arts in SF and the 17th. annual Zinfandel Festival get together at Fort Mason in SF. At least once a year, spirit is alive and well in a communal setting.
So... yes, one has to charge a certain dollar amount in order to create wine in Napa or the Cotes du Luberon. And yes, collectors will continue to auction wine based on perceived future economic values. And, somewhere on the frigid slopes of the Santa Cruz Mts. or the Mendocino coast (where critics have said its not profitable to grow decent wine/artistic expression), some nutcase will be formulating a new direction.
Somehow, I feel duped from paying $50 for that Napa cab that "someone" says is whimpy . Tonight, as I slurp an $8 Renwood Sierra Foothills zin, I want to consider that basket that is in front of me. I don't want to be a tourist in this conversation. I want to make deep choices based on all the elements and trust of that which is before me. RP
