I saw a post from Steve Heimoff this morning about a blog he read by Oded Shakkedt at Longboard Vineyards.  Oded was on his soapbox regarding buying locally. I am in complete agreement and wanted to showcase his thoughts and add a few of my own.

How many of you are taking the time to find locally grown produce, dairy, meats and eggs? It’s important to me—not only health-wise (organic/sustainable farming practices are usually done by smaller farms, which are found closer to me) but I want to keep my dollars (and taxes!) as close to home as possible.  Especially here in California, where our state is in a financial crises—keeping my money here is only helping schools, roads and public programs in the long run. Also, local businesses support local communities. They donate their time and wares to local schools and other fundraisers.

I know there are a lot of people that think like me. The Farmer’s Markets are packed. Restaurants brag on their menus when all the ingredients on their menus are sourced from less than 25, 50 or 100 miles away.  But yet they also brag about their French, Spanish, and Italian wine lists.

Are US citizens proud of their wines from the United States?   When I try to sell my wine in Europe, it is very, very difficult because the locals are so geared to buying wine locally. In Bordeaux, they drink Bordeaux….and they are arrogant about it. Ask anyone from Bordeaux, and they will tell you that Bordeaux wines are the best wines in the world. Period. Try selling California Chardonnay or Pinot Noir in Burgundy. You would NEVER even find a California wine on a restaurant list in France’s wine country.  

I am all for trying wines from all over the world—but in times like these (remember “Freedom Fries?) we should hunker down and support our local producers. Whether its milk, lettuce or wine.

There are approximately 88,000 people in San Martin, Morgan Hill and Gilroy (all within 10 miles of Clos LaChance). We make approximately 80,000 cases annually. If everybody locally bought just one case of wine every year, then we are DONE. San Jose is 20 miles away and there are 1,023,083 people in San Jose. That’s just 1.06 bottles per person in San Jose.  Is that too much to ask?  Okay, well maybe those totals include kids and those under 21, but you get the idea.

We grow here, we employee people here, we support local schools with donations and fundraising events. That $5 Malbec from Argentina—I bet they didn’t donate a 2 bottle gift pack and Tour and Tasting for 10 to your kid’s school for their annual fundraiser. Just this past weekend we raised $6,300 for Cal Fire of Santa Clara County at a Chili-Cook Off. So, community out there, support us and drink our wines. Whether you buy it here, in the local market or at a restaurant, I don’t care….just support your local vintners. We could use it right about now.

Our Office here at the winery is comprised of all women—and 1 token male (my dad). There are 7 of us, and we are all pretty tight. We eat lunch together on most days and chat about all kinds of things.  We have this silly thing that we do when someone does something well…..we will  say to each other “You are so Smart! And Beautiful!  And Skinny!”

One out of three ain’t bad (just kidding ladies). A study came out yesterday that wine can actually be good for our waistlines. 

A quick summary: A hospital in Boston followed about 20K healthcare workers over 13 years. What they found was that those that drank alcohol in moderation (1-2 glasses per day) on a regular basis gained about 3 lbs and those that did not gained 8 or more.

What I found really interesting is that women who drank alcohol and gained less weight over time appeared to ingest more calories than those that didn’t. Hmmm, I can drink AND eat more?? Sign me up!

I drink a glass or two of wine almost daily. I think it actually helps me to eat less. During the week, I give myself a choice—wine or dessert. Umm, wine ALWAYS wins, despite my sweet tooth. If I compared the calories in a few glasses of wine vs. dessert—then the compromise is healthier with the wine anyways so YAY.

One thing in the study is that it followed women that drank all kinds of alcohol (wine, beer and spirits).  “Consumption of red wine showing the strongest link with lower weight gain, and white wine showing the weakest, but still a significant association.” Bummer. I drink white wine during the week…red on the weekends. I find sometimes that red wine makes it harder for me to sleep. Maybe I will switch to red during the week and try to build up my tolerance slowly. I do love a good Pinot or Grenache, but sleep is way too important at this point in my life.

I look forward to the study that proves that wine makes us smarter and prettier.