SIDEBAR
Fair Game By Sylvia Jansen, DipWSET, CSW, Sommelier Sylvia Jansen with Phillipe Zinck, Alsace, France
What’s fair to you? When I was giving a talk on the history of wine a few years ago, I mentioned that the average vineyard landholding in much of Europe is about the size of a major league baseball field (one hectare, 100 m x 100 m). That detail led the group down an interesting rabbit hole. Participants were astounded that thousands upon thousands of wine producers in the world work hard on small wine farms. And thousands upon thousands of these people also use the fruit from that small area to make wine and sell it. Their trade is growing grapes from their vineyards and making it into wine that bears their name, often simply a family name. How many thousands of producers takes some deductive work. Consider this: 50% of the world wine production comes from just three European countries: Spain, Italy, and France. Yes, you read that right: one out of every two bottles sold in the world comes from one of these places. Add to that detail the fact that, in Spain and Italy, the average vineyard holding is just over one hectare. Even in France,
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where the average holding is larger, the wine industry is represented by some 20,000 wine producers. Very few producers make a ton of money from production that small. Mostly they just get by. The people behind these wines are, by and large, farmers. Sometimes they work with their friends and neighbours to produce wine. Their labels are not often eye-catching, but the wine inside is often interesting, nuanced, and sometimes amazing. They sell it from their winery door, rent small booths at wine shows, travel (if they can afford it), and do their own social media (when they have time): the wine equivalent of farmers at our local garden markets. These farmers love making wine, not just growing grapes, but to make a good living, they need to have a wider market than their own front door. They need fair access to international markets and a short supply chain. They need fair, long-term trading partnerships. Importantly, they need consumers and wine lovers—us—to understand and care about who they are and what they produce.
This also adds up to a lot of different wine choices in the world market. The challenge is that we live in a world accidentally tipped against those who make only a few thousand bottles of wine. We often shop for wine the way we shop for jeans: by familiar label, by the known brand, by the safe choice. But if we do so, we accidentally discourage these small producers from going it on their own. Earlier this year, when the COVID lockdown began, I decided to stock up on wines from small winemakers, as a project in fair trading through pulling corks and pouring wine. A few of my friends did the same, and we coped with our isolation by video conference, enjoying the same wine on the same evening. For the producers of these wines, it was truly a meaningful gesture, worthy of personal responses to my posts, emails, and texts. I should not have been surprised. Wine is not just a commodity. It can be a connection among people. So here’s to you, in all fairness.
