A reaction to Jon Bonné on local wine in California

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Jon Bonné, the wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, just published “5 more themes for California Wines” to mark Independence Day.http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2012/07/11/5-more-themes-for-california-wine/

Under the heading, “Local wine, for real,” Jon hints at something very interesting: having a local market for small producers contributes to the development of terroir. It resolves the following dilemma: distinctively local wines almost always start with very small producers. On the other hand, small producers have no access to markets — no brand name, no distributors, and often no appellation or even a tasting room. The fix is a specific and motivated interest among retailers to find and offer local wine. Good and caring farm-to-table restaurants like El Take It Easy, The Linkery, and the Rose Wine Pub, and specialty retailers like Sol Markets and Seaside Market helped Los Pilares start in San Diego. Without them and the interest of Alice Feiring (whom we hounded until she tasted our wine), Los Pilares would not be distributed by Amy Atwood, sold by Garagiste, or poured in places like Terroir in San Francisco.

 

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