The other day I saw a press release from Sam’s Club touting the introduction of a certified Fair Trade Wine to its stores. The wine is from Argentina. The subheading was ‘Noble Malbec Reaps Awards and Sows Seeds of Change’. It stated that ‘workers participating in Fair Trade Certified programs are guaranteed a fair price for their goods based on an analysis of the cost of living in their area that will allow them to lead their lives with dignity and to fund the development of schools, medical clinics and other basic necessities’.
I was very frustrated after reading this press release/advertisement. Don’t get me wrong, I am all in favor of Fair Trade programs. However, I would prefer to tackle the issue of getting a fair price for one’s grapes closer to home, say in Lodi. The problem Lodi winegrape growers have faced for the past several years is they are not getting a fair price for their winegrapes. In fact many growers have been getting less for their grapes that it costs to grow them. If this is not a fair trade issue I don’t know what is.
There are several reasons for this situation and one of them is due to the globalization of the wine industry. Large wineries are sourcing their grapes from all over the world. If they do not like the price they have to pay for Chardonnay in California they can try Australia, France, Argentina, or Chile. If they get a better price they ship it over in containers and bottle it here. One of the reasons winegrapes or wine is cheaper in some countries like Argentina and Chile compared to California is that labor is much cheaper there. The playing field is not level. In both places growers are not getting a fair price for their grapes, the only difference is the price is much higher in California. Therefore the big wineries go where the price is lowest. This scenario has played out over and over in many commodities like steel, clothing manufacturing, electronics, etc. Now it is happening with winegrapes.
While Sam’s club sounds very socially responsible for bringing Fair Trade wine to their store shelves they are helping create a Fair Trade problem in Lodi! So why not create a Fair Trade program for Lodi wines? Because no one would believe us.
Filed under: Cliff Ohmart Tagged: | fair trade, Lodi, Sam's Club, sustainable farming, sustainable winegrowing
Great post, Cliff. Just like Lodi was a champion of sustainability before it became popular, area winegrape growers have been fighting for “Fair Trade” prices for too long! Now that “Fair Trade” hits a nerve with consumers, I wonder if anyone will pay attention…