Before I get to the good news, I want to mention a plethora of reports, some journalistic, some opinion based, relating to the state of wine in America in these times. There sure as hell is a lot of unease over so many fearful aspects of the commerce of wine, from the boardrooms to the Substack macrocosm that is burgeoning with speculation. Even the business socials, like LinkedIn, showcases articles written by authorities (self-proclaimed “wine brand creators”, “wine media gurus” and otherwise) lamenting the deterioration of wine in society. Pieces running the gamut, from the supposed homogeneity of supermarket wine selections (maybe that critic has never been to a Central Market in Texas) to the shame of all shames, celebrity wines, and how those kind of wines are almost single-handedly destroying any progress towards the actualization of truly authentic and naturally derived wines. Maybe the supermarket managers need to put a stack of Kleenex in wine aisles to accompany the crooning coronachs that wine writers bellow – that is if they were ever to set foot in such a subjacent haunt. Of course, that would preclude them having to unlatch themselves from their laptop, phone or tablet and veer out into the real world and do a bit of journalistic digging for the more substantive stories.
A futurist-type recently suggested on a panel that “we need to put our personal fear aside and cultivate our resilience and faith in humanity rather than going down the rabbit hole of constant dread and panic over every. last. thing.”
Fourteen years ago, in the glory days of wine blogging, the wine blogger Samantha Dugan asked the wine critic Eric Asimov a question:
SD: I find that Rombauer Chardonnay makes me gag, you ever experienced that sensation with a wine?
EA: More with wine writers than with wine.
Moving on….
Ok, for the good news. Mind you, this is just one little place in the galaxy of Italian wine, but it is a place where I found no black holes – only light.
Several times a week, après-gym, I head to my nearby Italian store to do a couple of things. First and foremost, I go to collect old produce that is going to be thrown away. This will be taken home and put into the compost heap, and help to complete a cycle whereby the vegetables and fruits that got too old to sell will still have a life and a purpose (oh, that we could do that with the humans, eh?).
Secondly, I do what I call “cleaning the Aegean stables” some days, and “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” on other days. Simply put, I help to re-organize the wine set at ye olde Italian store. It is 99.999% Italian wine and some of the wholesale merchandisers (and salespeople) don’t always know where to put a Montepulciano (not in the Tuscan section, please) or a Soave (not in the Campania section). Stuff like that. Anyway, if a couple of us pay attention to it, it won’t get too out of hand. I’m also charged with making sure all the point-of-sale (i.e. shelf talkers and signs) have a clean and uniform look, and that the information is vintage specific. It’s not a full-time job, but it’s something I fit into my weekly schedule, easily. And it keeps me up-to-date on a lot of Italian wine changes, especially pricing and trends (and scores, which have meaning for some folks).
While I am involved doing that (often from a rickety ladder) people stare at the set of wines and look often like they are going into a trance over the possibility of choosing a Chianti Rufina over a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. They are overwhelmed, but they want to know more. They are interested in Italian wine, food, culture, and they want to explore. The shelf talkers help a lot, especially when no one is on the floor, which is most of the time. And one of the owners of the store has told me that sales of wine are rocking. Wines – not brands!
There is a way around the handwringing and lamentations we hear so much from the wine industry scribes and pharisees. What the wine world does not need, right now, or anytime, is the preponderance of schadenfreude that is hoisted upon consumer and wine lover alike, about why the world of wine is in crisis. Look, the universe is said to have started almost 14 billion years ago with a big bang. We came into this place from a mess and we will be leaving this place in a mess. Life is messy. Earth is messy. Move forward, like an arrow.
Or if you’d rather, a shot across the bow. For there is more to this story than one post or a smattering of prognostications from armchair experts, regardless of whether they call themselves wine writers, wine gurus or wine brand creators.
The real work is in the field work. In the foxholes – not the rabbit holes.
To be continued…
