It's unbelievable how they got away with it, but annual Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California went on without me.

I would have loved to have been there for a number of reasons. Certainly, I'd love to have been there to stir the pot but also I would have loved to have seen/heard Food & Wine mag's Lettie Teague’s moderating, (brilliant, I heard. Witty. Sharp. Provocative.)

I heard equal reports about Wine & Spirits Mag Editor & Publisher Josh Greene’s talk on Jeremy Parzen’s blog

Extremely interesting to compare notes between the Parzen report and the Sacramento Bee's (Jim Downing) story entitled California Winemaking Style May Be Out of Step.

Parzen cites Josh Greene bravely saying that what matters most is natural winemaking, even though it is risky (provoking snickers from the crowd.) The Bee interprets Greene’s quotes as this: “More than their predecessors, the new generation of sommeliers is looking both to have fun and to make a statement through wine, Greene said and that often means looking for something handcrafted and unique.”

Mr. Greene at the Battle For Wine & Love tasting the other week, chez moi.

The writer for the Bee turned Greene’s talk into marketing speak. A sommelier or a wine person is interested in making a statement? Well, yes, I suppose but I think the statement is about finding terrific wine and California has fallen down on the job.

Every winery in California will tell you that they make natural wine and are handcrafted, handcrafted because they hyper-control every flavor nuance. The result is boring at best, down the sink at worst.

The blunt truth is that most of California is out of step because their wine is mostly unenjoyable an entirely unexciting in the way a Devils’ Dog is a lump of sawdust instead of delicious chocolate cake.

It was reported that California increased domestic sales 2% and are losing ground to foreign imports even though the dollar is falling.

One of the California disconnects is growing grapes to the taste of table grapes and then ripening and micromanaging the wines out of drinkability and enjoyablity. Yes, high alcohol is a problem but it is not the only one.

The problem is profound and begs for a bra-burning revolution. How else does one change a mindset of cool or not, appealing or not? Wines aren't the latest skinny vs. baggy jean 'look.'

I could care less about which tomato is 'cool' this year. I want last years tomato taste! And the year before that. Give me the taste I long for and wait for during the bleak tomato-free February. Don't second guess what kind of tomato I want and modify it accordingly. And the same goes with wine.

The reason California is singing the blues because still dollar for dollar I can get better wine, I can get a wine that is alive and vibrant out of France (and as more winemakers come around, yes even Italy). I can rarely find such an animal in California (read:The New World).

As long as that industry runs around courting the market and not making wine from the gut, they are going to lose.

Amen. Have a good shabbos.