Trader Joe’s has run out of Bodegas Iranzo’s Finca Solano!
Luckily, they still had the organic Five Hills Blue wine, so I got a couple bottles of that.
As I drank, I mulled over Chris the Beer Activist‘s comment about fair trade wine. By mulling over, I mean going to the UK faitrade site, finding the list of fair trade wines (PDF) avaliable, printing it out, and googling every single one of them.
Let’s just say that in terms of fair trade wine, the US is way behind the UK.
The good news is, California makes excellent wines — which really can’t be said for the UK. So although we can’t grow our own coffee, Angelenos can get their wine fix from close by :)
Except when one just must have organic Spanish wine — in which case, you might send a pleading email to Bodegas Iranzo…
A Cali organic wine list is in the works –
Oh my — you buy wine? Good grief girl, get yourself a five gallon water bottle and make your own . . . can’t get more fair trade than that. Admittedly, we like home pressed raw cider (see this piece and this one and we like hard cider even better (see here and here) than wine for most things, and so that’s what we’ve been putting down . . . and the cool thing is we not only reuse our own bottles year after year, we know exactly what’s in the stuff too . . .
Comment by Roger, Gone Green — December 26, 2005 @ 7:56 pm
Dude — A single gal with 2 roommates living in an apartment in the middle of LA doesn’t have room or the grapes to pull of that kinda thing –
Comment by Siel — December 26, 2005 @ 8:20 pm
“can’t get more fair trade than that”
Sorry for being pedantic, but it depends if you’re using Fairtrade ingredients.
Comment by beev — December 27, 2005 @ 12:07 am
SERRV considered importing some of the fair trade wines and making them available in the U.S., but they found the wine distribution laws to restrictive to bother dealing with it. You might want to email them encouraging them to reconsider. I’m sure they’d find an eager customer base.
Comment by Chris 'Beer Activist' O'Brien — December 27, 2005 @ 7:43 am
Siel — It takes no room at all, and I have done a five gallon corboy in a *dorm* room, for cryin’ out loud. Of course, organic grapes (and other fruit) are available, and I am more than happy to let you use my fruit press so your dainty feet don’t turn funny colors.
(Rofl) On the other hand, it does take weeks and weeks (sometimes years) to get your first bottles . . . (grin) . . . and sometimes they aren’t what you might hope for . . .
Beev — too true; note the lack of capitals. I meant to say fairly traded, but just like I sometimes stupidly type “free trade” when I mean “fair” I blew it. BUT since I bought the apples I used from the farmer at his price, relatively locally, and used my own labor to press the cider, ferment and bottle it, I know the trading history is ok. (grin).
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“After car-maggedon, and the end of oil, only those people that know how to make alchohol will be truly happy; blessed be the vintner and the brewer, for they shall have both something to drink and fuel for ther cars!”
– Gaffer Hawkswood
Comment by Roger, Gone Green — December 27, 2005 @ 9:40 am
Ha ha — The accidental “free” instead of “fair” typing is quite common — We were inculcated with the whole free trade thing when we were too young and innocent…
Roger — You’re so not sweetening the deal with the it’ll take sometimes years and might taste ungood thing. I think I’m gonna have to leave this to the experts for now.
Between you and Chris, who in the past has excitedly urged me to brew my own beer, I’m gonna be a raging alcoholic in no time –
Comment by Siel — December 27, 2005 @ 4:51 pm
Fair Trade Certified Wine from FLO-CERT Certified Co-ops may come to the US. I’ve tasted some of it (Chile and South Africa) and some of it’s pretty good. The problem remains the USA’s arcane and archaic alchoholic beverage control laws (the infamous “3-tier” system and state/county sub laws…) We’ll see what happens…
Comment by the un-wine guy — January 3, 2006 @ 2:15 am
Wait — but why are you un-wine? Anyway — I’m wondering if the fact that Cali grows alcohol, the control laws are mitigated somewhat — Will have to do some research –
Comment by Siel — January 5, 2006 @ 11:30 pm
I have tried the five hills blue cab… how are the others????
Comment by heidi — May 5, 2006 @ 3:29 pm
All pretty good :) Though I’m not a huge fan of whites — I think I used that to make Kir –
Comment by Siel — May 5, 2006 @ 3:32 pm
Okay – so 4 or 5 years of aging how’s that Fair Trade wine? It is available in the US, right?
Comment by How's the Fair Trade wine — June 30, 2010 @ 4:52 pm