| Saturday morning I attended a grape vine "head | | | | ever shop dedicated to California wine. Bravo to the |
| pruning" demonstration sponsored by the | | | | new owners. |
| Independent Grape Growers of Paso Robles | | | | But, why so long for this to happen? This is not |
| Association (the IGGPRA). Head pruning is a | | | | genius. Here you have a majority group of |
| technique of growing a wine grape vine as a kind of | | | | consumers who prefer California wine not being |
| small bush instead of on a trellis as a "vine." The | | | | served --this is marketing 101! |
| demonstration was done by Richard Sauret. Those of | | | | Buried in the story was a little gem. The new owners |
| you who love Zinfandel wine, know about Mr. Sauret, | | | | had extensive contacts in the industry, which of |
| the legendary Paso Robles Zinfandel viniculturist. He | | | | course is good. But the article pointed out that some |
| has been growing grapes for 52 years, and his | | | | of the wineries they were distributing were "quite |
| grapes are used in the world's top ranked Zins. | | | | selective" in their product placement. Give me a |
| I don't think you can find a more down to earth and | | | | break! That is the same attitude that leads wine |
| patient man in the wine industry. He still does all his | | | | shops to ignore customer preferences for so long. |
| own pruning, not because he has to, but because it is | | | | After all, the public is to too dumb to know what |
| something he loves to do. Even those of us who | | | | they like, right? And heaven forbid we might look for |
| "think" we know something about pruning will take | | | | new customers in places we are not "comfortable |
| the time to listen to what he has to say. He is | | | | with." Geeze... if you have a great product your |
| master of the art, and is very generous with his | | | | pricing power will dictate where is it going to be |
| advice and help. He is the polar opposite of a "wine | | | | placed. I don't think we will see a lot of Sauret |
| snob." I think he is very indicative of the kind of men | | | | Vineyard Zinfandel on sale at Walmart. |
| and women in the Paso Robles wine industry who | | | | Reflecting a bit on these odd stories and my |
| came out Saturday to listen to Mr. Sauret as well as | | | | experience of the morning, I realized that there must |
| enjoy the company of fellow vineyard workers (no | | | | be two groups of wine enthusiasts, the wine cult |
| one really owns a vineyard, its the other way | | | | members and the wine enjoyment crowd. These |
| around). This is hard work and it is down to the | | | | stories were about people who are into the "cult" of |
| ground and dirty. It's not glamorous, you do it | | | | wine versus those into the "enjoyment" of wine. |
| because you love it. | | | | To a cult member it is all about exclusivity. Owning a |
| A little story to illustrate this. Late this summer we | | | | marquee bottle of wine is more important than |
| harvested a block of Portuguese varietal grapes for | | | | actually drinking the wine. And like anything else, a |
| port wine. These grapes were very ripe, sweet and | | | | group of winery entrepreneurs has stepped up to |
| STICKY. The local wine maker and his brother who | | | | the plate to serve them. Part of that service is to |
| was visiting from back East came out to pick up the | | | | create a palpable sense of the mystique of wine. It's |
| load. Since we were not quite finished with the | | | | a magic elixir that must never be tasted, only |
| harvest they jumped in to give a hand. As we were | | | | worshiped from afar. Of course anyone who has |
| loading the full bins on the truck, the wine maker | | | | actually harvested wine grapes and sees what goes |
| bent down and grabbed a bit of dirt to "clean his | | | | into the bins to make wine has any notions of |
| hands." I couldn't help myself. I turned to the visiting | | | | mystique quickly dispelled --it's from God's hands into |
| brother and said, "there you have it, a glimpse of the | | | | your bottle ...with a little help from all his creatures |
| real glamor of the wine industry." We all laughed. The | | | | along the way I might add. |
| brother had been helping make wine for a week and | | | | Part of the reluctance for cult members to actually |
| was already well on his way of getting acquainted | | | | taste the marque wine might actually be due to fear |
| with the "glamor" of wine making. | | | | that the cult member won't recognize the 101 subtle |
| So imagine my surprise later that Saturday to see a | | | | layers of various fruits, spices and minerals that are |
| blog on Vinography Wine drinking still perceived as an | | | | supposed to be there. Thus indicating not that the |
| "Elitist" preoccupation? complaining about residual | | | | wine is a dud and they were cheated, but they are |
| snobbery in the wine industry. | | | | inadequate not worthy enough to own the wine, |
| Now, I think the blogger may have a bit of a point. | | | | which would be unbearable to a cult member. |
| To a lot of us, the personification of dull is an evening | | | | There is no travesty here, it's all about the company |
| of social wine drinking with the effete "White Wine | | | | you keep and where you place the value of wine. If |
| and Brie Set." To be honest, I like white wine and I | | | | you hang with the cult members, its all about |
| love brie cheese --a bit too much. But here is my | | | | exclusivity and collecting expensive wines. For the |
| point, for some reason at one time at least I | | | | rest of us, it just about simple enjoyment. |
| associated that combination with a group of people | | | | On a final note I have noticed that Generation-next |
| that bore me to death. Very unfair to white wine | | | | has adopted wine at least as their favorite dinner |
| and brie cheese I might add, and I try my best to | | | | adult beverage. They have grown up with wine |
| make it up to them whenever I can! | | | | drinking as a common part of our culture, not as a |
| Then, to top it off, on another website I saw a | | | | social class distinction. I imagine some will eventually |
| story about a new wine shop in Manhattan, the first | | | | join the cult anyway. Good luck to them. they are |
| ever devoted exclusively to California wine California | | | | just a different part of the wine market and all |
| wines find exclusive wine shop in New York City. The | | | | contribute to the whole. |
| new owners commissioned a study to gauge the | | | | But once in a while it might not hurt all of us, even |
| preferences of wine drinkers. California came out on | | | | the cult members, to stop, bend down and grab that |
| top, with France and Italy second and third | | | | hand full of dirt to remember where it all starts. |
| respectively. So the owners decided to open the first | | | | |