Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/402796
1 3 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | N o v - D e c 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m END POST TYLER COLMAN ormally, spitting is not praised. Think of those défense de cracher signs in the Paris Metro. Lla- mas do it and are not considered the friendliest animals. Spitting is so ingrained in baseball that my 6-year-old son returned from baseball camp not only shag- ging fly balls but also cracking spittle (I had high hopes for him at camp but not great expectora- tions). But it can even go too far in baseball, as the great Ted Wil- liams was once fined for spit- ting on a fan. So it was newsworthy that the Cal- ifornia state l e g i s l a t u r e p a s s e d a bill involving spitting and that Gov. Jerry Brown signed it in July. But this s p i t - p o l i s h e d l e g - islation is indeed wor- thy of praise: Starting in January 2015, the "sip and spit" law will allow students enrolled in wine courses to taste wine start- ing at age 18, rather than wait for the legal drinking age of 21 (it also applies to beer in beer-making classes). That's a big difference, since freshmen can now enroll in wine classes and not wait until they are juniors or seniors. Ah, sip and "spit," I hear you cackle. Yes, 18-year-old students will never swallow the wine they are sipping for analytical purposes! Sure, there is a bit of I-smoked- but-didn't-inhale silliness to this. But the law that the entire wine industry – both producers and dis- tributors – can get behind is a real breakthrough that should be repli- cated in other states. It may even serve as a thin edge to wedge into a discussion about the national drinking age. Let's tackle these issues in turn. First, the bill is huge for Cali- fornia. Not only does California produce 89% of U.S. wine, it also has many faculties engaged in v i t i c u l t u r e a n d e n o l o g y, i n c l u d i n g U C D a v i s , Sonoma State, Cal State Fresno, Cal Poly San Luis O b i s p o a n d several com- m u n i t y c o l - l e g e s . T h e G o l d e n State is also a n i m p o r - t a n t c e n - ter for craft brewing, with such stalwarts as Sierra Nevada, S t o n e B r e w i n g , Russian River Brewing and Lagunitas. So giving students the legal ability to taste as well as study fermentation sci- ence is a good thing that will only make for more educated produc- ers at younger ages. That should have knock-on effects as they talk up their wares to their peers (an easy sell, no doubt) and further educate them. A m e r i c a n s a r e a r g u a b l y t h e world's most educated wine con- sumers, so this will only help broaden the base, especially if other states follow California's lead. For all the state legislators out there: Wine is now made in the 49 other states, and yours c o u l d h a v e a s i m i l a r p o s i t i v e , youthful image. As younger wine- makers are venerated in maga- zines and social media, it will make wine a more appealing beverage, and present career paths. Who knows, maybe one day, Napa Val- ley will have the same allure to 20-somethings as Silicon Valley has today. A second reason the new Cali- fornia law is important in that it could eventually open a discussion about the national drinking age. If these young'uns in California can be seen as responsible and the law has positive effects, maybe it will lead to a changed view of wine as a drink of moderation, in the Jeffer- sonian vein. With marijuana laws softening across the land, perhaps a coalition of thirsty undergrads and the drinks industry could pull off a reduction in the minimum drinking age? But be careful what you wish for, since the anti-alco- hol lobby, forcefully active in the 1980s when state alcohol con- sumption standards were raised to 21, could be stirred to life again, which could undermine feelings about wine more generally. But one thing is for certain: California's new law is terrific, one worth savoring, not spitting. Tyler Colman, author of the wine blog Dr. Vino, teaches wine class- es at New York University and the University of Chicago, and wrote t h e b o o k " W i n e P o l i t i c s : H o w Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink." Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwmmedia.com. (Opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of Vineyard & Winery Management.) Great Expectorations