The Wine Empire is like the Coal Empire

Various people challenging the Wine Empire have described it as an "extractive industry." It uses more than its fair share of limited water and land in industrializing, urbanizing, and commercializing ways. Most of its benefits leave the North Coast into the hands of investors, increasingly from China and elsewhere. Most of the costs are paid by locals, especially those of us who have decided to live in rural areas, often because we love nature. Few young people can buy land here any more to transform it into food farms. It's time to GoLocal!

I've been re-watching the old film "Songcatcher," with Aidan Quinn and Janet McTeer. It is partly about the coal industry buying up land in North Carolina, where I used to live. One of the local boys represents that fossil fuel industry. At risk is the Appalachian culture, rich with beautiful music. There is a rich agrarian culture on the North Coast, which is being threatened by the Wine Empire. Though there are differences, the extractive nature of the coal industry with its strip mining has similarities to the wine industry.

When the Gallo Empire moved to Sonoma County it began cutting down hilltops to enrich itself. Left uncheck here the powerful Wine Empire would continue to get away with breaking all kinds of laws and ethical principles by hoarding resources. When I sent these ideas out to some activists, a local geologist responded as follows: "The coal industry and Gallo have a lot in common — both cut off the hilltops and shoved the rubble into the valleys, to make a more even topography (destroying fish habitat in the process)."

The star of the film is a female professor who is passed over for promotion by a male. So she heads to the hills, as this military veteran and others have, for various reasons. At first she has her doubts about that mountain culture. Then she hears the music and works to preserve it. So much is threatened by mono-cultural Big Wine. We could use some more artistic ways of describing and challenging its threats.

"Songcatcher" is available through the Sonoma County library, as well as in other ways. It is a moving testimony to Appalachian mountain culture. Our struggle is partly to preserve agrarian culture on the North Coast. It is more than just a political struggle, having cultural and even spiritual dimensions.

I was reluctant to send out the email comparing the Wine Empire to the Coal Empire. I appreciated the responses that I received from members of the new Four County Network that is challenging Big Wine. I am sending some of them below. Will Parrish in Mendocino updates some important things that he is doing, including a KPFA radio program scheduled for this Tuesday. Sarah Ryan, who works as an environmentalist with a Pomo tribe in Lake, reminds us of "the Tribal landscape that was carefully stewarded." Geologist Jane Nielsen in Sonoma speaks to the "fish habitat" that is destroyed by cutting off hilltops. It is certainly time to contain the Wine Empire and return to a more balanced amount of grape growing and wine making.
Shepherd

I'll be sure to watch the movie. Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate the parallel you are making.

Just to let you know what I'm up to in the near-future as it pertains to challenging the wine empire: I'll be recording an interview regarding the wine industry for KPFA's Up Front morning public affairs show tomorrow (I think it will play on Tuesday), and I've got a cover story on California's extremely regressive water rights system coming out in the East Bay Express the week after next, where I plan to mention Sonoma County and the wine industry again.

Best wishes,
Will Parrish, Mendocino County

Beautiful - thank you for the comparison, that is powerful. I think if you dig even deeper, there is something older than the agrarian culture and that is the Tribal landscape that was carefully stewarded for thousands of years. Food and medicine were planted near each other, and locations were utilized for their functionality. We must preserve what still remains of those areas that might be unseen by some of us, but are providing critical habitat or acting as filters for runoff or drawing water up to parched areas...
Sarah Ryan, Lake County

I own Songcatcher; it’s one of my favorite films. The coal industry and Gallo have a lot in common — both cut off the hilltops and shoved the rubble into the valleys, to make a more even topography (destroying fish habitat in the process).
Jane Nielsen, Sonoma County

Thank you Shepard , once again you are so right! Having grown up in this area for a great deal of my Life, i see this mono crop take over as a hostile act. We have a well & we all respect Water use (personally i just wash private areas daily & ONLY take a full shower 1 a week so i can save my regular bath or shower Water for our Vegetable Gardens) so that we can grow FOOD..yes FOOD we can eat!!!

Our Food CAN SUSTAIN us NOT just "drinks" i.e wine/beer that actually create mindless behavior. It would seem that the "powers" that be really PREFER US ALL TO BE NUMB to the REAL reality of what they do every day to us..Between the MASS over dosing our "society" with "anti depressants" and the MASSIVE GROWING & producing of LIQUOR on EVERY level ; (numbing agents ALL)... you really need to ask yourselves WHY?

It is a slap in the face that some of my hard earned taxes go to fund never ending wars & giving unscrupulous BIG agrow corps (aka as THE biggest welfare recipients) WAY too much in subsidies! While the rest of us tiny Farmers suffer through ALL sorts of bureaucratic garbage. It is SO perverse.

The fact that big agriculture corporations get away with murder really.... is repulsive and WRONG..i say we should start a movement to boycott ALL industry that WASTES ALL our Water..i stand by the Commons NO ONE has the right to make huge profits on the suffering of others! NO ONE OWNS the Air, Water OR Earth YET we have allowed the so called "elite" to make HUGE profits on these "Commons" as we give them more power every Day to make plans for our future...WE MUST make a stand in solidarity now..it is almost too late ..we must do this now...Blessings :