today's delivery

At 6:30 this morning the wine was delivered. I didn't hear it arrive, though I had left a cheque taped to the front door, and knew it was coming sometime before dawn. It was the sound of the car turning around on the gravel drive that woke me. I made it to the front window in time to see a battered white utility van, an old Citroen maybe, rolling slowly towards the front gate.

I found the wine stacked neatly by the kitchen door, a thank you note placed on top where I'd find it. A note with no fuss, quiet, like the delivery itself. Thank you for your confidence.

Though I missed the delivery man, I wasn't worried about letting him in the house while we slept. I know him. I know the time he spends pruning, clearing, picking. Keeping the weeds down. There's something respectable about a man who knows how to keep an old tractor running. Then there's the cellar time, that strange transformation from farmer to culinary magician. That's how I see it; but he lacks my hubris, and sentimentality.

I didn't order much: a couple of cases. Six rosé d'Anjou, six Anjou rouge. A mixed case of Coteaux du Layon. The Anjou was under 5 euros, the most expensive SGN just under 13. The quantity was unimportant, the winemaker would have delivered starting with any 6 bottles. He thanks me, for my confidence.

I would have liked to meet with him this year, if only to shake hands. But he needed to get an early start. It's nearly 2 hours drive from the vineyard to my house, then an hour and a half to a delivery in Caen, another 2 to Laval. Onward from there. It's hard to imagine making much money that way, given the cost of gas in France. Of course there is no delivery charge. But times are hard. His father, and his grandfather, taught him to work to keep the vineyard going for his two kids.

Some people say that it's a good thing that so many small producers are going out of business. The market rules, if you can't compete, you're out. They say the overall quality will be improved. The consumer will benefit from a more homogeneous product. It's an ocean of swill, anyway.

Maybe they don't see the struggle. Perhaps they haven't met someone like the man who quietly spent his day battling to stay afloat, haven't met his wife or mother, the only staff there is to welcome clients, or seen the kids playing in the courtyard. They prefer to laugh about strikes and surrender. Well, the winemakers I know here do neither. Many are struggling, but like a man making an important delivery, they quietly do what it takes to get the job done.

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis
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Reply to
Richard Neidich

In article , snipped-for-privacy@esserda.oc.ku says... [SNIP some excellent prose - is everyon in this NG a good writer?]

I find it difficult to believe that anyone would, or will, benefit from the small producers being absorbed. It will be bad for the consumer, as every decision will be made by focus group, and no one in charge will have their hands in the soil, only on a calculator. While some MBA's probably make good wine, that is not the area of expertise, that I would tap, were I setting up a winery.

Just had the opportunity to comment to the marketing department (probably the shipping department, and maybe even the cooperage) at Robert Biale. They wanted to know how I knew of Rober Biale wines - what made me want to seek out Robert Biale wines. My answer was that I had met Mr Biale some years back. His enthusiasm was so infectious. His love for the earth, the vine, and his wines so obvious, that even if he didn't create some to the best Zins I had ever tasted, I would still be a fan. He is the type of winemaker, who is likely to fade away, should the corporations take it all over. He is an anachronism in this time. His wines are about love, not what some investment bank demands as a ROI.

Emery, thank you for your post. I, too, wish I had met this man.

Hunt

Reply to
Hunt

Fortunately, I can't think of anyone I know who thinks this way. Even my non-wine geek friends generally respond more to wines made by the "small guys" than the commercial stuff. And don't forget the "Mondovino effect" ;-)

It's a shame that wines from the Loire can't command higher prices on the international market. I'm currently drinking a 2004 Clos Roche Blanche Sauvignon Numero 5 that is gorgeous: fruity, vibrant, expressive. And it sells for $15 a bottle after travelling across the Atlantic and through the three-tier system. If it came from a Napa winery, it'd be $30 and still worth the price. I realize that the problem you speak of is hardly confined to the Loire, but you're in a region that (for better or worse) is still undervalued.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote in news:KyEYf.80484$oL.27623 @attbi_s71:

"Mondovino

Mark, How many cases do you think it will take to get the Citroen guy to come over here? Conversely Emery, do you know any well priced real estate???

Reply to
Joseph Coulter

What a charming and melancholy story. Thanks, Emery!

Tom S

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Reply to
Tom S

"Emery Davis" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@loki.domain.org...

Loved your post.

Last spring I read a few issues of Decanter, read about the best wines from this or that country, got hung up on Hungary. Saw which ones were the "best" according to the, obviously eminently knowledgable cognoscenti of that worthy magazine. Got a hunch, checked it up. I found that, of the listed companies, if I remember correctly, seven out of ten (or 5 out of eight, no matter) were wholly or to a major part owned by foreign operators - English, French ...

So it goes.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

Reply to
Nils Gustaf Lindgren

Emery, Beautiful post. Thank you very much.

As a resident curmudgeon/devil's advocate/debater, though, I'm going to take issue with the idea that small is always better. To me it's more a matter of care than size. There are plenty of small growers who don't put pride into their wines; they just regard it as a crop, go for maximum yield, bottle according to formula, produce plonk. And there are bigger producers that make fine products. In my mind it's more about attitude than plot size.

Reply to
DaleW

Glad you all enjoyed the post. It's a hard time for many small producers here. There are some that don't stack up on quality, but for many it's really a question of adapting to a different time, new channels of diffusion, marketing, etc.

Ha, you couldn't resist. Last time I try pathos with you, pal. :)

I would never contend that small is always better; there are large operations that take great pains and succeed in all ways. It would be ridiculous to imagine otherwise. And as you point out there are small operations that follow the formula, treat with whatever chemicals the coop's got going, produce indifferent or worse year in and out.

But that said, the small-holder has some inherent advantages, especially if the vineyard has been in the family and the intent is to keep it there. He can, like his elders, plant for the long term, even though he may know he won't personally benefit from it. Parcel management can be truly minutious. Many of these guys know each "pied" individually, and how to coax the best from it. He knows the micro-climate of every dip in his fields, from where it's a little wetter to where there might be a late frost. And on and on.

Of course attitude has everything to do with it, which is exactly why the great small producer is great: he has everything personal, financial, familial, invested in the outcome.

-E

Reply to
Emery Davis

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