Valle de Uco, or the ‘Uco Valley’, has over the last decade become the great center of Argentinian Wines. Here, beneath the glimmering sun of the province of Mendoza, between the hills to the east and the snowy Andes to the west, is a flat valley filled with grapes. If not for the carefully planted trees around the impressively big vineyards, the entire valley would be an ocean of well-ordered grapes. Architects, international wine business and century-old traditions are gathered in the same valley to produce the immense amount of grapes that have put Mendoza on the map.
To me, this entire trip is double-edged and ambivalent: on one hand curiosity and amazement, on the other ideology and criticism. Since I became an active abstainer of alcohol more than 5 years ago, I’ve regarded the red or white liquid as somewhat of an enemy, the symbol against whom I’m fighting. So many difficulties my friends went through, because the wine played an important part of their parents’ lives, so many problems, injuries, injustices and shattered families these simple beverages carry on their conscience. To visit the source of all of this, the modern farms where harvest, fermentation and wine-tasting are at the center of the process, poses an enormous challenge to me. What do I do now? How do I react?
I look out over the vines of O Fournier’s vineyard, an aesthetically beautiful state-of-the-art facility where harvest is taking place as we speak. Hundreds of skilled hands pick the tiny clusters of dark-blue fruits, stack them in tiny white boxes that are quickly transported to the main building. Here some ten women of different ages await them, to manually sort away leaves, twigs or branches, while the grapes pass the big stainless machinery. High above, the airplane-shape roof makes sure the ramp is always filled with a breeze. The scent of fresh fruit and the surrounding summer heat is inviting and reminds me of beautiful summers back home. So many thousands of liters of grapes are quickly squashed and poured down gigantic tanks of around 15 000 liters each. A man squishes the dark-red sludge from a top-opened tank nearby. He carries a long, silvery-colored pole he uses as if he was pushing a shovel into the ground.
With the image of the vineyard in front of me, I realize how far away from my reality I’ve come. Here, wine isn’t about tax levels, about addiction or problems I’m used to discuss. Instead, it’s about completing a job, create a tasting experience or explain to tourists like myself how this process works. Here, the wine is sacred, and to me on the verge of repulsing. I know very well what these wines do in the hands of those who use them. I have seen what comes from this almost cult-like admiration, from wine-tasting on national television to the suburban family dinner or the regular Wednesday bottle of wine. In front of me I see the shattered dreams accompanied by a well-aged Chardonnay.
But on the other hand, the nature out here is so beautiful, the wine is a source of pride in every Argentinian soul and the cultivation of grapes a laboratory-precise knowledge. My ambivalence is complete and when the tour is eventually over, I leave the vineyard more perplexed than when I got there. The weight is shifting and I’m almost falling. I don’t know how to address this, how to deal with all of this and it leaves me in a state of resignation. What now?
Meanwhile, the grapes slowly keep growing in the most popular wine district of Argentina.
Grapes, grape-juice and alcohol free wine are all wonderful products that any wine farmer can be proud of. I don’t see a conflict in interest here, we just have to change the fact that currently many wine farmers put poison in their wines!
Such command of the English language, Joaquim – I’m so very impressed. 🙂
It’s okay to evolve in your thoughts, attitudes, and opinions as you age – quite frankly I would be hesitant to listen seriously to any grown adult who had not at least examined their belief systems from the time they were 15 or so. And certainly traveling to the opposite side of the world and exploring new cultures gives you the opportunity to examine those belief systems from a totally different perspective, so it is only natural that you should feel some “shifting of weight”. But evolving and growing doesn’t equate with “falling” in my book – trees grow up and only fall when they’ve reached the end of their life/growth cycle.
There are so many things in our lives that can become both self-destructive and destructive to those near and dear to us. Excessive sugar causes diabetes, red meat clogs arteries and causes heart attacks, driving too fast causes car accidents, sexual activity can lead to unwanted pregnancy or disease, watching too much television can lead to a sedentary lifestyle and problems with weight related health issues, too much online gaming can lead to inept social skills in the real world. Is there any room for cautious moderation here? Or is “abstinence only” the way to go?
In the USA weight related health issues seem (to me) to be more of a concern than alcohol related health issues. I’m not sure that advocating for people to abstain from food, though, is quite the right answer. ^^
…And don’t even think of asking me to give up chocolate!!! 🙂
Joakim writes: “To visit the source of all of this, the modern farms where harvest, fermentation and wine-tasting are at the center of the process, poses an enormous challenge to me. What do I do now? How do I react?
With the image of the vineyard in front of me, I realize how far away from my reality I’ve come. Here, wine isn’t about tax levels, about addiction or problems I’m used to discuss. Instead, it’s about completing a job, create a tasting experience or explain to tourists like myself how this process works. Here, the wine is sacred, and to me on the verge of repulsing. I know very well what these wines do in the hands of those who use them. I have seen what comes from this almost cult-like admiration, from wine-tasting on national television to the suburban family dinner or the regular Wednesday bottle of wine. In front of me I see the shattered dreams accompanied by a well-aged Chardonnay.”
This gives you a clear point: alcohol use causes social harm, like chocolate and unhealthy diet do not do. Alcohol is socially the most harmful drug evidently and that means that living free from alcohol is both important for an individual, any individual because of health reasons. There is no safe amount or healthy amount of alcohol use – which also renders any talk of moderation utterly irrelevant. It also means that living free from alcohol is the socially right thing to do because less children and young people will suffer, less families break apart and more people, communities and societies will thrive in freedom.
In the USA alcohol harm causes much higher costs to the economy than weight related health issues (because alcohol causes social harm to many other people than the user him/ herself). The problem is that there is more attention to weight issues and very little attention to all the harms caused by and related to alcohol. SO, it’s important not to tanle up those two.
Hey! Sorry for responding so late.
Thanks for your comment Jack, really makes me happy!
Despite where we disagree, I’d adress your claim “abstain from food is not the answer” with the simple statement that food is essential to our survival, alcohol is not. To me, this is the frame to which we should evaluate most (if not all) out actions. Is this essential to me, if not, what does it carry with it, and is it justiced for me to create this effect?
Added suger in food, drinks etc is completely unneccesary, which trades health for a tiny flavor difference. Alcohol trades health, social problems for taste/social setting. Are the trades worth the price? PARA NADA, like the South Americans say:D
Saludos
I also enjoy the language and poetry, rhythm and melody it – but I am not surprised by.
I am also very thankful for this text because I think it takes up an important topic: alcohol as a toxic substance causes tremendous harm to individuals, families, communities, societies all around the world. And we need to work heart driven to reduce it, and prevent it. But who is to blame for the harm? The people in Valle De Uco picking the grapes? The women in East Africa brewing at home? The CEO of some Big Alcohol multinational corporation? The politician who is member of some EU Parliament Beer Club? The ordinary citizen?
And the challenge of this question gets even a bit harder for us, who choose to live free from alcohol as our way to making the world a better, freer, more equitable and happy place. How should we treat people involved in any way in creating alcohol harm?
I like and am thankful for your blog entry because it helps in this soul searching. And as Frodewin writes we have good reason to have respect and show appreciation for the craft and mastery it takes to grapes, grape-juice, alcohol free wine.
Another point is then: what happens to the product, for example what happens after “So many thousands of liters of grapes are quickly squashed and poured down gigantic tanks of around 15 000 liters each” – as you describe:
a whole process kicks in of adding chemical substances to the craftily produced grape juice – which is why Big Alcohol to the day refuses to put labels on their bottles telling the ingredients of their wine. Wine is less regulated than milk today in terms of labelling. Which brings me to the next point, the aggressive alcohol marketing and lobbying of Big Alcohol, largely evading measures that would protect children and young people, economic development and society and creating a culture – as you mention: of wine tastings on TV, like it was any other product, any other commodity – that causes so much pain and suffering.
Somewhere in this dichotomy I find my answer: who carries much of the responsibility.