Local Locales

Drinking for the sake of it doesn't really fit here

Recently, I have become so fond of the variety and depth of wines made in the United States. At the beginning of my wine career, I worked in an environment that only featured domestic wines. That coming into play, I won’t say that it was the most diverse selection that allowed for the most exploration of what was available domestically. However, I can also say that we’ve progressed so far in the last decade-plus as a winegrowing nation and our ability to showcase and highlight producers and growers who are doing interesting things has also scaled. Within circles that matter, the effort and labor that has gone into improving our vine diversity has not gone unnoticed and the boom of esoteric, or at the very least, less familiar grape varieties has pushed the domestic natural wine world into the forefront of national beverage discussion.

The importance of this is evident in spaces like Virginia, where I was recently fortunate to participate in Two Up, Wine Down, a wine festival focused on inclusivity as much as it is on exploring The South’s place in wine conversations. Many of the producers highlighted have embraced the usage of local and hybrid varieties as well as more favorable vinifera options to get the most out of a difficult growing region. For me, this is helping to take a more mindful approach to the wines that I drink and sell. How can you be committed to something like natural wine without considering the environmental impact of bringing products from all over the world? How could you ignore the quality and passion of your neighbors? Or at least acknowledge the effort and growing pains of producers trying to blaze a new path. These questions are not on drinkers' minds when it comes to natural wine, but are on the forefront of my brain when I speak about community in this sphere. Yes, I understand that people consume for different reasons, but this would undoubtedly be the place to put more thought into the how and the why.

At this point, you can realistically look at several places in this country that are producing world-class wine and are still overlooked because it is still somehow thought that European wine immediately means quality. Or maybe it’s how their wines are subsidized. Either way, I find it bold of so many to say that they care about natural wine yet their actions do not align with that statement. The end product is not the point. The choices that are made along the way are what matters, and that counts on the consumer’s part as well. Don’t talk the talk without walking the walk, or worse, skim the surface of something and become a taker. This is a community built on selflessness and giving, and that needs to be part of everyone’s ethos on this front.