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French farmer and activist José Bové is due soon to begin serving a prison sentence for damaging fields of genetically engineered rice and maize in 1998 and 1999. Only a presidential pardon can now spare Bové 10 months of state-sponsored hospitality, amenities which M. Bové experienced last year for having aided in the deconstruction of a McDonalds "restaurant." (The curmudgeon hopes that President Jacques Chirac will exhibit a display of spine similar to that which has garnered him an Atlantic's worth of ink of late.)

Granted, Bové did destroy property, but what about the participants of the Boston Tea Party — criminals or patriots? Freedom isn't about the apparent absence of restraint; law doesn't necessarily define justice; nor is quality defined by a particular seal of approval, sanction or even by popular acclaim.

While Bové is being censured for his principled actions, countless European wine growers (that's right, the "Old Europe") who toil year in, year out at sustainable viticulture never even seek a seal of acknowledgement for their diligent labors. These producers grow vibrantly flavored, character-laden wines in vineyards that are treated much like members of the family (which in effect they are).

Their vineyard practices are impeccable, scrupulously avoiding the use of any substances that compromise the sustainability of the vineyard in favor of expedience or short-term profit.

Wine Tastings at PCC
for April 2003

Tastings at West Seattle
Thursday, April 17
6:30-9 p.m.
The Latest and the Greatest
Everything that's new and delicious.
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Tastings at Issaquah
Thursday, April 10
6:30-9 p.m.
The Latest and the Greatest
Everything that's new and delicious.

Thursday, April 24
6:30-9 p.m.
Sangiovese!
From Calistoga, to Columbia to Chianti, one of the world's great grapes.
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Tastings at Greenlake
Thursday, April 10
6:30-9 p.m.
The Latest and the Greatest
Everything that's new and delicious.
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Five dollars per person. Attendees may drop by any time during these casual tastings. Reservations advised. To RSVP, leave a message for Jeff Cox at
206-547-1222 x185

Great wines are made from healthy, robust grapes, which are in turn the product of healthy vines, grown in healthy soil. In the big picture, using chemical pesticides and fertilizers is like feeding one's children a diet of antibiotics and steroids — not a recipe for health, body and soul.

If, as a grower, my vineyard practices reflect the traditional, sustainable approach, why should I wish to seek the right to certify that I do what I've always done, simply as a matter of common sense? Good wine is the goal, good viticulture is the means and labelling, as such, is secondary. This is a world where production is small, where relationships are based upon trust and much business is transacted on a handshake.

Granted, for the consumer, certification is an important means of insuring that unscrupulous types cannot make claims to purity that their products don't merit. Like a high school diploma, certification provides a respectable credential that certain criteria have been met. But then, what about the Einsteins of the world who simply skipped the credential? How does one recognize the real deal when it isn't labelled?

For those of us who value great, honest wine, trust is an integral part of our buying decisions. But who can one trust? I might suggest that the key is to think small. Buy your wine — and your fruits, vegetables etc. — from people you trust, who deal with people they trust, who put quality and integrity rather than pure profit at the bottom line. Meanwhile, we can work to insure that the credibility of organic standards isn't eroded by profiteers who seek to use certification as a marketing tool.

Bové probably isn't going to win a Nobel Prize, nor are these vignerons soon going to be enjoying lifestyles of Napa Valley glitterati. But all, in exercising their freedom to choose, maintain something that can't be bought, leveraged or legislated — integrity of principle.

It's not about the carrot or the stick, it's all about simply doing the thing that is right and good. It's not about having everything, as quickly and expediently as possible, it's about having enough. Living the good life doesn't mean living large, it means living well.
 

If it tastes bad, that's not good.
Because it is an organic substance, wine is subject to all manner of biological ravages, particularly due to the imperfect method with which it is sealed into bottles — the cork. If you have any doubts about a particular wine, don't begin by assuming that the wine itself is of poor quality. You probably have merely encountered a bad bottle. Cork it up and bring it back to us, we'll gladly replace it. Our goal is to offer our customers nothing less than the quality we expect at our own tables. We will stand behind any wine you purchase from PCC.

Jeff Cox is the Beer and Wine Merchandiser for PCC Natural Market

Questions and 
answers about wine.