James Conaway, chronicler of Napa Valley wine industry, warns money threatens to ruin America’s Eden
Author and journalist, Conaway has been the foremost chronicler of
Valley for more than three decades. His "
He followed that book with "The Far Side of Eden: New Money, Old Land, and the Battle for
His new book does not hide his current feelings for
As he visited the region on a book tour last month, Conaway noted that he received a chilly reception from many in
"The establishment has never really cared for me. Now they are trying to undermine me," said Conaway, 76, who started out as the wine writer at the
Press Democrat Staff Writer
Back when
You contend many of these people are not actually vintners, and don't know the essentials for winemaking or growing grapes?
These guys do tend to know that sort of stuff. It provides conversational opportunities for them. They may be intimately involved in the promotions side, but they aren't doing the work. It's questionable about how much they actually know. Large amounts of money changes all parameters really. There is so much of it now. Vineyards have become real estate deals as much as they have become opportunities to put in a vineyard. If you have a vineyard permit, you can flip it and you can make a lot of money. The thing is there is not endless resources. And doing this up in the hills really has an impact on the water supply.
Most Popular Stories
Out of the ashes,
Clash over cannabis shadows county's legal industry
Search for 3 kids continues in
Gunfight between rival
Author
What about the role the media plays, especially the constant focus on such exclusive brands as Screaming Eagle and
Wine writers ought to be tougher than they are. Not so much on the wines, but on the operations. I think readers are increasingly interested in that. Wine journalists need to work a lot harder. Not just talking about mouthfeels and soft tannins, but what is behind the operations.
What about the focus on cabernet sauvignon in
A lot of the new money doesn't need to get the return. One of the problems is they don't want to get the return. They just want it for the cachet. They can never make enough just by selling the wine to put in the cost of a
Vineyard land is much scarcer in
That is really the message there.
Environmentalists have put forward a
This initiative that has been put forward in
How powerful is the wine industry in
The wine industry is quite spoiled in
Would wineries benefit from a cap on the number of vineyards because it would limit competition?
It's the corporate way in America -- grow or die. That might have fit at one time. But it doesn't fit today with all the resources disappearing. Drought is coming back. Grow and die is more like it. Grow and sell out is what a lot of these operations are thinking about. Instead of getting involved in agriculture, you are getting involved in branding. You can make a lot of money in the short term until people find out what you have done.
What are your notable examples of wineries that sold out to bigger investors and lost their luster?
But why should wine be immune to business pressures of other products?
Business is supposed to be good for the citizens of America. It's not just supposed to be good for corporations, the CEOs and stockholders. This whole notion we are talking about is very instructive of community. They will say, "We are job creators" and all that stuff. The bigger point is the quality of life, especially when you are cutting down the trees and subverting the definition of agriculture so you can build more real estate within the
Climate change will likely play a major role in coming years. What is the local wine industry doing to plan for such a scenario?
The wine people that we are talking about, they don't like to talk about that. They will have to make some hard decisions, and they have to look at things realistically. A lot of them don't even want to admit that climate change is taking place. It's put them in an untenable position on what is dictated by the politics of the issue. I think it's clear that they are in a losing game. It's short-term thinking.
What about
The subtitle is "America's Eden in an Age of Calamity." I just don't mean
The cannabis business has essentially been shut out in
It brings in a whole different clientele. Tourism in
Are there people in the wine business you still admire?
What should
The only answer is to stop creating new enterprises that are ancillary to wine; that is bringing in new people with activities that have nothing to do with agriculture. Tourism is what I am talking about. Tourism has never saved anything. It's destroyed many things. Tourism devours what it loves.
You can reach Staff Writer
___
(c)2018 The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Visit The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) at www.pressdemocrat.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Self-diagnosis: Is turning to ‘Dr. Google’ for medical advice a good idea?
A crash, road rage and alleged threats to kill led to charges against an upset husband
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News