Sunshine Noir: California Wine in the 2020s
I feel as if a black rain cloud lurks over my head anytime I find myself in California. And I never feel more like a New Yorker. Strangers waving and saying hello to me in a parking lot? Chatting me up in an elevator? "What the f@#% is wrong with these people?" is the thought going through my head, especially in the first 48 hours of arriving in the Golden State. The part of my brain that is constantly scrutinizing and raising a proverbial eyebrow feels very alienated out there. I feel like Daria on the set of Baywatch.
My attitude about California wines is no doubt affected by this same cultural clash, though I am constantly working to adjust that bias. I'm not even on the extreme end of the snob spectrum in NYC. That gets confirmed nearly every time I attempt to steer people to a California wine, wherein they unload a lot of prejudicial opinions: too much oak, too much fruit, not enough substance, et cetera. Oh — and too expensive.
California winemakers are up against it in many ways, and combatting the attitudes of New Yorkers is certainly one of the more demeaning. In our defense, we are spoiled here. Since we can buy directly from importers instead of the additional middlemen that tack on extra fees, we get first dibs, and deeper cuts, on anything arriving from Europe. You can get literal boatloads of fantastic wine from Europe for barely $25 in NYC. Organic, tiny production, world class wines: this wine club is a testament to that. And yet we seem to blame our California friends for not matching this. The truth is, they never had a chance, and accepting that it's not a choice is the first step towards embracing, enjoying, and ultimately supporting California's contribution to wine.
Read more about the glaring differences between making wine in California versus Europe — and learn about the winemakers challenging assumptions about California wines — in this month's issue of Direct Press.
By Jonathan Kemp
