In the Wine Light is National Drink Wine Day. National Drink Wine Day is celebrated annually on February 18th. This is not to be confused with National Wine Day which is celebrated annually on May 25th.
According to the the National Drink Wine Day website, the wine holiday is meant “to spread the love and health benefits of wine.” The site goes on to say, “Wine has played an important role in history, religion and relationships. We embrace the positive benefits of wine such as new friends, reduced risk of heart disease and the enhancement of food and life.”
National Drink Wine Day was founded by Todd McCalla. In addition to their website, you can learn more and celebrate by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
Some of you could be like us and celebrate this wine holiday regularly. But give it an extra special try on February 18th!
In the Wine Light is Drink Local Wine Week. Drink Local Wine Week is celebrated annually during the second full week of October, so for 2020, the dates are October 11th – 17th.
This week started in 2008 by the Drink Local Wine organization to encourage wine writers and bloggers to write about and celebrate local wines. The organization has since taken a break, but this week long celebration has continued annually.
Local wine means different things to different people. Some say a wine is local if it’s sold locally. Some say it’s local if it’s produced locally. And still others say it’s local only if it’s both sourced from locally grown products (grapes, other fruits, honey) AND locally produced. We have some thoughts on that in another post.
Whatever you consider a local wine, celebrate with a local wine or two this week and tell others about it.
The locavore movement has exploded over the last few years. Folks are really interested in eating food that is grown and cooked locally. It harkens back to the days when folks grew a lot of the food they ate. With all of this interest in local food, why not local drink? Well, there has been more interest in locally produced beer and now locally produced spirits. Local wine is starting to take off too, but is more difficult to find outside of the local winery. Let’s take a look at wine specifically and talk about what it means to drink local wine.
Drink Local Wine!
Local wine is more than just wine produced by a local winery. Truly local wine is wine that is fermented, aged and bottled at a local winery, but it is also wine that is made only from local grapes, fruit, or honey. These grapes should come from vines that are planted in North Carolina soil. The fruit should come from North Carolina trees, bushes, etc. The honey should come from a local bee hive. Let’s be clear, a true North Carolina wine is made from a North Carolina product. This means that wineries that produce wine from grapes, fruit, juice, or honey from California, South America, and/or Europe are NOT making local wine. They’re making wine locally, but it’s not a North Carolina wine and can’t legally be labeled as such. Think about that the next time you visit a local winery. Ask where the grapes, fruit, or honey originated. Look at the label. Is it labeled accurately? Inquire as to why local grapes, fruits, or honey weren’t used. The “North Carolina doesn’t produce quality grapes” line no longer holds water. The same goes for fruit or honey. Drinkers of truly local North Carolina wine know better! Let’s be sure our voices are heard.
We must insist that local wine bars and local restaurants sell locally grown and made North Carolina wine. Farm to Fork restaurants and the like who aspire to serve food made from locally grown ingredients are quite hypocritical if they don’t have locally made wine on their menus. The same would be said for locally made beer and spirits. Let’s do our parts to help promote truly locally made wine. Remember the costumer is always right!
Finally, it’s ok to drink something other than locally made wine. However, let’s be sure we do know the difference between a local wine and not. And be sure that we don’t use the #NCWine and #NCFineWines to promote a wine that’s not truly local. Just remember, drinking locally helps the local economy, which in turn helps you!
Let us know what drinking locally means to you! Cheers!
In this episode we feature Linville Falls Winery in Linville Falls, NC! We talk to Linda Wiseman and her two daughters, Jessica and Lindsay, about all things that make Linville Falls Winery Mountain Grown and Mountain Made.
Jack Wiseman, Linda’s father, is the winemaker and the man responsible for the vision that is Linville Falls Winery. Jack fell in love with the wine industry in California and when he came back home to Linville Falls, he wanted to follow his passion. He slowly began to convert portions of his Christmas tree farm into vineyard and how they have 12 acres under vine.
Over the years, Linville Falls Winery has experimented with grape varietals to determine what works best for their property. Their flagship grapes include Marechal Foch, Marquette, Noiret, and Riesling. Being in the Appalachian High Country AVA, they have a vineyard elevation ranging between 3,200 and 3,400 feet. This results in a cozy spot for grapes to grow and produces some excellent North Carolina Wine.
Wine Class with the Wine Mouths is back. This episode they discuss Cabernet Sauvignon and some of its interesting backstory. For more information about the Wine Mouths, head to https://www.winemouths.com/ or find them on Facebook and Instagram @Winemouths. The Wine Mouths theme was written and performed by Joshua Morris. You can find him at twitter.com/joshtimejosh.
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This episode was made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council. For more information, please visit https://www.ncwine.org/
