The End of Civilization As We Know It

Read this bit of news over brunch this morning from Saturday's Globe and Mail. I nearly choked on my smoked salmon eggs benedict. Thank God I had a mimosa handy to wash down the bile.

EU and U.S. toast wine deal to end 20 years of haggling

The European Union and the United States signed a new wine deal yesterday that allows the United States to export wines made using practices many European vintners shun.

Talks on a "more ambitious" agreement are slated to start within 90 days, as both sides build on last September's breakthrough that recognizes each region's wine making practices after 20 years of haggling.
Americans will now be able to sell wood-chip-aged wines throughout Europe, a move some European wine makers fear will undermine their traditions as they face aggressive competition from a host of New World wines.

While the upside is that previously categorized "generic" nomenclatures such as Champagne, Chablis, and others will now have better protection in the US, it means the floodgates of cheap assembly line produced central California plonk will find a broader market.

Rather than investing in the expensive oak barrels for traditional aging, more and more low-rent California producers are using stainless steel tanks and chucking in a few buckets of WOOD CHIPS to get the simulated toasted vanilla oaky undertone.

I almost never drink California chardonnays for precisely this reason. The forced oak undertone actually invokes my gag reflex just by the bouquet. Don't even have to taste it to know it is unquaffable. The cartoon wine bandwagon further exacerbated by the Yellow Tail and Little Penguin phenomenon leaves me worried.

A glimmer of hope does exist. Some creative minds in the Niagara region are looking to put unique regional stamps on the wines produced here in Canada. Check out Featherstone Estates who have started producing a Cherry Barrel aged Cabernet Franc. Very limited production (23 cases) but the unique aging turns the inherent cherry undertones of Franc into something quite magical and stunning.

There is also an interesting experiment that is picking up steam using Canadian Oak barrels for aging. Canadian Oak, because grown in colder climates than American or French oak, is much tighter grained, thus lending much more subtle slow-release oak influences. Lailey was among the pioneers and I have a few of their first Canadian Oaked Pinot Noir stashed away for a rainy day. Can't see any downside to building a locally sustainable cooperage industry using environmentally sensitive forest management techniques.

Life is too short to drink shit wine. Support your local producers and stop encouraging the destructive factory farming and production techniques of the industry giants. It's your palate. Treat it with respect. Choose your wines like you'd choose your fruits and vegetables. Think about how it gets to your table and decide accordingly.