Oh Canada! Our Wine and Not So Native Grapes
Yesterday I drove from Seattle to Mission, British Columbia, a town north of Sumas, WA - only about fifteen minutes from the U.S. border. Meeting up with my Canadian father who “immigrated” to Canada about ten years ago, it has been a few years since I have been up there and I thought it prudent to find out what our neighbors to the north are up to in the wine trade.
Dinner was prepared…a penne pasta with vodka sauce was the main course, and my uncle presented a few “Canadian” wines. During the casual chatter, hysterical laughter and other ramblings, I found myself compelled to investigate the wine a little further.
I had heard that areas like Okanagan in BC could produce some fantastic ice wines, but I had not heard much about them producing much in the way of the “mainstream” stuff. At first swig, the 2005 Wild Horse Canyon Chardonnay wasn’t half bad. Light, crisp, and quite fruit forward, this chard seemed a little out in left field - but nonetheless it went down easy (and knowing how my dad pinches pennies, was probably low priced). However, on further inspection of the bottle I noticed a peculiar appellation I had never heard of. Obviously it must have been Canadian, right? WRONG, West Coast Appellation! Which apparently is California, Washington and British Columbia (Oregon was left out of the party).
An empty feeling in my stomach ensued. For some reason it just doesn’t feel right! Trucking grapes or bulk wine from the States, perhaps thousands of miles to be blended for a Canadian-branded wine. What sense of “source” may be derived from an “appellation” that includes an entire continental coast! I may be an alarmist, perhaps a little too “local” gung ho, but I feel trucking grapes across the U.S. into Canada removes any sense of place from the wine–an essential component to the full experience of wine.
Unfortunately in this hyper-globalized phase of commerce, it seems that practices like these will continue. It is in all our best interests that wine buyers look to buy wines grown and produced in their backyards, supporting local economies and reducing other dependencies involved with shipping goods internationally. Thats my two twoonies…..
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August 21st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I agree with you that it seems odd and somewhat wasteful to truck grapes hundreds of miles to make wine. I say that and recall that I had a tomato from Mexico, a banana from South America and some other produce from Ecuador this week alone. Wine though, should be, and can be, different. It should reflect the region its from and the people who live there… but so should most food.
Personally, I am making a new resolution to buy food as local as practical. In January, I will be eating south american bananas because I like them and I can but I will look at where a wine is made and make a reasonable choice.