I picked this up at The Daily Beast and although I was all too familiar with the food industry bastardizing all things positive about food to make a profit, I guess I remained ignorant about my beloved wine.
The article describes how the American's romantic idea of small wineries we envision from the picture on the bottle is dead wrong. Indeed, many of the biggest producers do not even grow their own grapes, instead buying fermented grape juice and slapping a label on it.
My favorite part is a statement from an executive from Total Wine, a huge wine seller ont eh East Coast:
Steve Faith, Vice President of Wine Operations for Total Wine & More says, “I think people are looking for a good bottle of wine that they can take home every night, the quality will be there, and the taste profile they want, and they don’t care if it’s from a homey winery.”
HOW THE HELL IS HE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT I DON'T CARE ABOUT??!!!
Also, another useful piece from the article:
The trick is to read the fine print. In wines made in America, look for the term “produced and bottled by” on the label. It may not sound like much, but it’s all you need to know. Terms like “cellared and bottled by” or “vinted and bottled by” do not mean the same thing. In fact, they imply that the wine was not actually made at the winery at all.
In wines from other countries, look for similar terms. For instance, French wines will sport the term Mis en Bouteille au Domaine or Mis en Bouteille au Château. On Italian wine labels, look for Azienda Agricola or Imbottigliato all'origine.
The moral of the story- Don't drink out of ignorance either.
The article describes how the American's romantic idea of small wineries we envision from the picture on the bottle is dead wrong. Indeed, many of the biggest producers do not even grow their own grapes, instead buying fermented grape juice and slapping a label on it.
My favorite part is a statement from an executive from Total Wine, a huge wine seller ont eh East Coast:
Steve Faith, Vice President of Wine Operations for Total Wine & More says, “I think people are looking for a good bottle of wine that they can take home every night, the quality will be there, and the taste profile they want, and they don’t care if it’s from a homey winery.”
HOW THE HELL IS HE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT I DON'T CARE ABOUT??!!!
Also, another useful piece from the article:
The trick is to read the fine print. In wines made in America, look for the term “produced and bottled by” on the label. It may not sound like much, but it’s all you need to know. Terms like “cellared and bottled by” or “vinted and bottled by” do not mean the same thing. In fact, they imply that the wine was not actually made at the winery at all.
In wines from other countries, look for similar terms. For instance, French wines will sport the term Mis en Bouteille au Domaine or Mis en Bouteille au Château. On Italian wine labels, look for Azienda Agricola or Imbottigliato all'origine.
The moral of the story- Don't drink out of ignorance either.
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