Time to Savor the Wine and Think of All We Often Take for Granted

Ventura County’s industrial parks--those ghettos of commerce that seem to take root, like wildflowers, between freeway off-ramps and cornfields--are natural environments for makers of widgets, tools and, these days, even newspapers. We generally don’t think of them as prime spots for the production and fermentation of fine wine.

Yet it is in just such settings in Ventura and Camarillo that three of five local enologists are attempting to turn grape juice into liquid gold, while their two rural counterparts do the same in the more picturesque setting of Oak View.

And while the number of bottles these country cousins/city cousins take to market every year is meager when compared to quantities from even small commercial California wineries, the contents are often blue ribbon, winning praise from national wine experts and cellar space in top restaurants.

If any of this comes as a surprise to you, you’re not alone.

Staff writer Leonard Reed has suffered and savored wines all over the world and at both ends of the enological scale--from French Pomerols to New Jersey blueberry champagne. When he was invited by the chef at Wheeler Hot Springs to sample a glass of Chardonnay from the Ojai Vineyard, Reed said he wasn’t expecting much.

“I did so reluctantly at the chef’s suggestion, thinking basically: ‘How quaint, Ojai wine,’ ” he said. “I was completely blown away. I was struck by its depth and the broadness of its flavor. And I was immediately aware that I was dealing with a contender amongst fine white wines. And that’s what led me to Adam Tolmach, the maker of the wine.”

And that’s what led us to the story.

FROM WINING TO DINING

In a week we will be decanting our best wines and laying the table in preparation for Thanksgiving, that great, groaning eatfest that kicks off the holiday season. It is a time of extra helpings and thickening waists for many, while for some others it is the one-day break in a relentless period of hunger.

Earthwatch columnist Richard Kahlenberg reminds us that Thanksgiving is a time to share what we have, not just the fixings for next week’s meal, but the staples we all take for granted: fresh produce, disposable diapers, canned goods.

What does this have to do with the environment?

According to Kahlenberg, plenty. For one, hunger, malnutrition and disease are not exactly the recipe for a perfect world. For another the stuff we waste--as individuals and as businesses--ends up in the landfill, and not in the hands of people in need.

Local organizations, such as FOOD SHARE Inc., said Kahlenberg, will help keep dented and mislabeled cans and paper products out of the landfill and instead direct these items where they can do the most good.

According to John Healey, director of the California Emergency Food Link in Sacramento, local residents already have a lot to be proud of: This county gives regularly and annually to those in need. And donations have not gone down during the recession, said Jewel Pedi, executive director of FOOD SHARE Inc.

This week--which Congress has declared “National Homeless and Hunger Week”--when you make that pre-holiday trip to the market, toss in some extra groceries for those who need them. Then dig in, Ventura County, you’ve earned a second helping.