“Let every nation know…”
“…whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of [our wine industry].” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The 4th is nearly here, and the wine industry is buzzing with blog posts, emails, etc. about this holiday and it’s relation to wine. Most popular topics include suggestions about what wine you should drink on Saturday based on what the founding fathers were supposedly sipping on during the signing of the Declaration of Independence (and what they drank in general also seems a topic of interest). Thomas Jefferson, at that point in his life was into Madeira wines.
These wines are traditionally made in, well…the Madeira Islands off the coast of Portrugal. Similar to the drink well known as Port, Madeira wines are fortified. Historically, this technique was used to prevent the wines from spoiling on their journey to Europe (and America), but the irony here is that during one of these early travels across the Atlantic, the wine was exposed to high temperatures, which transformed the flavor of the wine – apparently made it better. So, in short, this became their style, and now a days, part of the Madeira winemaking process is to heat up the wines to approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods of time, in addition to deliberately oxidizing the wine.
But that’s enough about Madeira for now – the point was that the founding fathers were drinking it, and in an attempt to google-together a connection to wine on the 4th of July, the internet is buzzing with suggestions to drink as Thomas Jefferson did in 1776. I would like to suggest the opposite, and more so, to insist that Jefferson would side with me as well. According to wikipedia, the 4th of July is a holiday to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence which officially proclaimed that the people of America were fed up with Great Britain, and that Americans, all-in-all, did not think that these Brits were so Great. Americans did not break all ties, just declared political independence. And in the spirit of the official beginning of what is now known as the United States of America, I would like to boldly suggest that you drink AMERICAN wine for the 4th of July. To bring it all back, I would like to quote Thomas Jefferson, “”We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good.”
Mr. Jefferson (if I may speak to you directly), you were right. We could, and we did. Not only that, but we are finally becoming a wine drinking nation, Mr. Jefferson – this wonderful nectar of life which you and so many of the founding fathers enjoyed on a regular basis is slowly becoming a staple in many American homes. We have over six thousand wineries, and are the world’s 4th largest producer and 3rd largest consumer of wine. You would have been proud to see the U.S. become such a nation of winos, Mr. Jefferson, and I bet that if you had lived to witness such a thriving wine industry in this country, you would support it whole heatedly and pop some bottles of Cali Cab, Oregon Pinot, and Washington Syrah (these, by the way, are the wine stereotypes of the top 3 wine producing states). Even if you enjoy your Burgandies, Riojas, and Madeiras, I’m sure you, Mr. Jefferson, of all people would agree that Saturday of all days, is one to celebrate and enjoy the national fruits of our oenophilial labor.
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Here Here!