Mich Wine asks if the time is becoming ripe for the state to do what Ontario has done and form a Vintner's Quality Alliance (VQA). Wines with a VQA stamp are guaranteed to be completely from the appellation, and undergo a screening process, including a taste test, to ensure they are high quality. Considering where Michigan is in their development process, it makes perfect sense.
Indiana is nowhere near considering a VQA, but I do find myself frustrated by the inability to find the origin of many Indiana wines. I found this passage from the Mich Wine article particularly telling:
"This is the Michigan wine industry's dirty little secret: how many wines made and sold by Michigan wineries contain, in whole or part, juice from non-Michigan grapes. And how many wineries go out of their way to blur the distinction."
Amen to that. I agree there are plenty of wines not suitable for Indiana's climate, and juice must sometimes be imported. But why blur the distinction? I have never been outright lied to about the source of the grapes, but have seen plenty of obfuscation. Why?
We know all the grapes didn't come from your vineyard-and trust us, we're okay with it.
14 years ago
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3 comments:
Just a few observations:
-The Indiana wineries have discussed a "Quality" program, the idea certainly has some merit, but a number of winemakers question the need within the winemaking community.
-There are less then 500 acres of grapes grown commercially in Indiana; a rough estimate is those acres can produce maybe three tons of grapes each; another rough estimate is each ton gives us 200 gallons of juice; for a total of 300,000 juice gallons; Indiana wineries produce over one million gallons (yes, Oliver is over half that) a year.
-So we have to import (less a small amount of fruit and honey wines made from in-state suppliers) about 70% of our juice/fruit.
-Some wineries hestitate to admit they use juices or wine-juice concentrates because they think the consumer will see their wine as lower quality.
-In our small winery we do see that some customers tend to gravitate towards wine made from locally grown fruit. But even within this segment, what they like the taste of is what they buy...
rick
Charles, thanks for the shout-out.
There's one other important reason for VQA-style label, even in states with limited vineyards and much imported juice. And that's to begin to educate palates about what wines made from local grapes really taste like.
Michigan's cool-climate Cab Franc can be excellent in the right vintage. One from 2007 just took a double-gold at the Finger Lakes Wine Completition.
But they taste nothing like Napa or Washington State Cab Franc. Every time a Michigan winery blurs the origins of out-of-state grapes, it teaches Michigan consumers to expect our wines to taste like those from these other, far warmer, places.
And that, in turn, does a horrid disservice to every other state winery making wine that actually reflects the way grapes grow in our soil and climate.
Rick,
I agree with you that some customers might see wine made from imported juice as inferior, but is that partly due to the winemaker's hesitancy in naming the source? There's lots of ways a person can market imported juice, with a local twist.
Joel,
Always happy to plug your blog. It's a great one, and I wish more states had a counterpart.
I have had Michigan Cab Franc, and as a fan of Cab Franc, I appreciate and love the distinction in taste. What's the point in all this talk about terroir and drinking local if we are not going to take advantage of it?
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