American (Wine) Ingenuity

Happy Independence Day everyone! Here’s wishing America a great and grand 237th birthday! Let’s show our patriotic pride by raising a glass of something vinous and domestic to relish with our baseball, hotdogs and apple pie! If you’re short of hot dogs, perhaps a succulent rack of delicious, fall-off-the-bone baby-back ribs will suffice.


Over the last five decades or so, the world has witnessed America’s modern wine revolution transition from naked infancy, through fitful rites of adolescent promise, reaching full maturity in a much lauded and well-respected adulthood. Nowadays it approaches a crossroads in a secure yet cautiously pessimistic mid-life. This then begs the question: do we build on our triumphs of the past or recede into the mediocrity and sameness that have befallen other equally great wine jurisdictions?


If we want to stay relevant in a competitive environment, we can’t rest on our laurels. Our ascendancy to the top of the wine pyramid is anything but assured.


 
If I seem like a critic instead of an acolyte, allow me to set the record straight. Back in the days when I worked a Fortune 500 job instead of manipulating the geek-end of a corkscrew, I first experienced the very definition of fine wine through a glass of Napa Valley Cabernet circa vintage 1987. True, over the years my tastes have changed. And although I currently might wax poetic vis-à-vis French Burgundy or Spanish Rioja, I’ve never completely relinquished my fondness for thought-provoking California wine; or, for that matter, equally compelling expressions from Oregon or Washington State.


To borrow a notion from a holiday deeper in the seasonal calendar, we as a wine producing nation have much to be thankful for. In fact, we have many winemakers today that embody the ideals of skill, creativity and resourcefulness that have traditionally made America great.



Ojai Bien Nacido Pinot Noir


I’ll state my case on a stellar glass of ’09 Ojai Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard that recently grabbed my attention. Since 1983 winemaker Adam Tolmach has excelled at producing wines of conviction rather than convenience. Over the years he has fine-tuned his methods embracing sustainable and organic practices and utilizing a more minimalist winemaking approach. The result is a wine with richness, depth and finesse that evokes a sense of place.


You can find this delectable Pinot Noir at your local ABCFWS location, plus several other exceptional offerings from The Ojai Vineyard, all part of our Direct to You wine portfolio, including Solomon Hills Chardonnay, McGinley Sauvignon Blanc, and Santa Barbara Pinot Noir and Syrah.


Jim Greeley, SW Florida Wine Supervisor



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