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Breaking the rules | page 1, 2
When something has been produced in the same place for hundreds of years, it gets locked into a tradition that may no longer be valid. And in many cases there are political and economic forces that work against change even if that change would be in the best interest of the product and the consumer. Throughout Europe there are old rules about distilling spirits, making wine and producing foods that hold back development. In Napa, those rules don't exist. In France you can make champagne from only three specific grape varieties. In Napa you can make champagne or sparkling wine using the champagne method, and if you want to add a fourth grape because everyone agrees it makes a better drink, you can. The same is true for cheese and olive oil and mustard and brandy and many other foods and wines that are coming out of Northern California. Mumm Napa Valley and Schramsberg are making excellent sparkling wines that could never be produced in France. From wine to cheese In 1920, Prohibition put dozens of California winemakers out of work. Some of them realized that their facilities could be used to ferment artisan cheeses. Today they are producing mozzarella, mascarpone, fromage blanc, ricotta and dozens of other cheeses that are excellent and free of the political rules that control production in Europe.
David Viviani of the Sonoma Cheese Factory exemplifies this transition. The grandson of a winemaker who was forced out of wine and into cheese in 1931, Viviani today makes small batches of teleme, an outstanding cheese that is similar to brie. Just down the street from Viviani is the Vella Cheese Company, which is one of two companies producing dry jack, a cheese that was developed during World War II when the Italian community in San Francisco was unable to obtain romano. Or consider the case of the RMS Alambic Distillery in Napa. This distillery is owned by Remy-Cointreau in France, so its production is called brandy rather than cognac. But it is not restricted by the production laws of Cognac -- and as a result it has developed a product that does a better job of capturing the essence of the fruit, especially in its delicious Pear De Pear. If we are going to have a respectable national cuisine, if the quality of the food and wine produced in the United States is going to evolve and improve, it is not going to happen at the giant corporations that dominate our present food supply. It is going to come from small independent producers searching for liberation and the freedom to improve and create -- as is happening right now in Napa Valley. Mumm Napa Valley Schramsberg RMS Sonoma Cheese Factory Vella Cheese Company
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