GUEST OPINION: Wineries do take barrel-tasting drinking seriously
By Phil Grosse 2011-3-22 16:35:59
Phil Grosse
In his Close to Home column of March 6 (“The dangers of spring ‘tasting' season”), Martin Hogue manages to denigrate not only an entire industry but also the thousands of guests who visit our little corner of the world because of the excellent wineries here.
So let's start with an apology. To our visitors: We're sorry that you were greeted the first Sunday of Wine Road Barrel Tasting with an accusation that you're all a bunch of drunks and rowdies. We know that you're serious about wine. We're glad you're here, and we want you to know that you're welcome in Wine Country.
Hogue's thesis is that inebriation among winery visitors is “a serious and dangerous problem, but I don't see anyone taking it seriously.”
As to the first half of that sentence, it is clear that anywhere alcohol is served, there is a potential problem. There are people who abuse alcohol, and there are people who drive under the influence. So what do people in authority have to say?
In a July Press Democrat article, a CHP spokesman was quoted as saying, “Crashing after wine tasting is kind of unusual given the number of wineries around here.” In a March 6 article about the Wine Road Barrel Tasting event, the Healdsburg chief of police was quoted as saying that things looked “really calm.”
“Everybody is having a really good time,” he said. And I have personally heard the former director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control say that winery hospitality personnel are “light years ahead” of the personnel in other alcohol-serving professions.
And if you ask any law enforcement professional where and when alcohol-fueled misbehavior is a problem, you're much more likely to hear Kentucky Street at 2 a.m on a Sunday than on Westside Road at 4 p.m. on a Saturday.
So, a problem? Potentially.
What keeps that potential from being realized? That brings us to the second half of Hogue's accusation, that no one takes this subject seriously. How then to explain the thriving limousine and hired-van business in the county, that takes our visitors safely on their route to the wineries and back to their hotels or B&Bs? Or the very effective communications campaign by Wine Road-Northern Sonoma County and every single participating winery to inform guests and potential guests that drunken behavior is unwelcome and will not be tolerated? Or the special wristbands, coffee mugs and discounted price of admission for designated drivers? Or the 800 tickets sold to designated drivers this year? And how to explain the two CHP officers and two Healdsburg police officers hired by Wine Road to augment regular law enforcement during both weekends of the event?
And finally, how then to explain the “responsible hospitality” seminars sponsored by Wine Road-Northern Sonoma County multiple times each year, available to all tasting room personnel? Wineries and winery organizations do take this issue very seriously, which is why Hogue's problem remains potential and not actual.
Hogue makes no distinction between people having fun and people being inebriated. They are not necessarily synonymous. The fact of the matter is that wine is fun. It is meant to be enjoyed. We are very lucky that our home territory is also home to some of the greatest wineries in the world; their art, science and social responsibility are all world class.
So to our visitors from across the country and also to our Sonoma County neighbors, I'll say this: Go on out to the Wine Road. Visit a tasting room. There you'll find responsible, affable people who would like nothing more than to talk to you about their wine. Novice or knowledgeable, it makes no difference. They'll help you learn about wine. Enjoy a taste or two. Take a bottle home to enjoy later if the inspiration strikes you. And have fun. It's OK. It's supposed to be that way.
Phil Grosse works in the tasting room at Moshin Vineyards two days a month and has been going to barrel tasting weekends for 25 years. He lives in Petaluma.
From www.pressdemocrat.com