Handcrafted item as seen on Ebay

The words crafted and handcrafted are being waved around like flags on Labor Day. I've been mulling these wine qualifiers, rolling it between my gray matter like a ball bearing in my wheel, for a year or so. Every one wants a wine made by human hands and a handcrafted wine means hand built. What's not to like?

You build color, you build character, you build a building, you craft a sweater and barrels. But I do wonder who the marketers have in mind when they use it in connection to wine.

Last week at the Skurnik tasting the word popped up here and there. The Downing Family Vineyards, use a ‘handcrafted’ approach. There is praise for their prices. "Fair," they write. Between $280 and $496 a case wholesale. ($35-$60 retail.)

The Downing's crafted their wine concept in 1998. The wines are made by a hired hand from purchased grapes. On the Downing site you can read about the Downing passion: "The labels represent things about which John and Tracy Downing are passionate—flying, fly fishing, sailing and cycling."

Wine was not one of them.

Admittedly, mine is a sloppy, uncrafted entry. I’m blaming distraction by divorce. Not mine.

Last month people were breaking bones. I had my own "piss break," in fact. Then they were getting colds. Now heartbreak is randomly taking hostages. Too many people I know have been struck down. Regrettably some of their endings are quite crafty indeed.