Hello again!  If you have read our blog before you know we love wine.  We have a fantastic wine industry here in Arizona, and today I’d like to talk about why you should support your local boutique wineries. Here are our top 6 reasons to drink local wine.

Local Businesses

Let’s start with the obvious.  By drinking local wine you are supporting a small business owner.  Not only will you be getting good wine, but you are also fiscally supporting your area and that is always a good thing.  Additionally, the vineyards and wineries are employing local people as well so you are helping the local job market as well.

Quality

Here in Arizona, our wines are winning all kinds of awards every year.  Your local wine makers probably are as well. Some small wineries have wines for sale in a grocery store, Bevmo or Total Wine, but even those are generally not mass produced.  Local winemakers tend to put a lot of love and care into their creations and it comes through when you enjoy a bottle. If you have ever heard the term quality or quantity, your local vineyard is most likely a great example.

Health

There has been a lot of talk lately about the studies that show wine in moderation is good for your health.  I can’t really say that a local wine is better for your health than a mass produced wine, but as the quality can be better, it can be more enjoyable.  Boutique wine is generally made for a shorter term shelf life so it could potentially have less additives. And of course, your taste buds will probably thank you.

Environment

When you buy a bottle of wine, you probably aren’t really thinking about the environment.  However, when you think about it, the further a bottle has to travel to make it to a store the larger the carbon footprint will be.  By buying locally produced wine, the wine has to travel less distance so you are really helping reduce the strain on the environment. And let’s face it, every little bit helps.  Boutique wine is often hand picked, and there is less machinery involved than mass produced wines.

It’s Fun

I don’t know about you, but we love to go into a vineyard tasting room.  The process of wine tasting is fun! Even if you frequent the same places as we do, the experience will morph.  All wine changes over time in the bottle, but if you are drinking local wine frequently you will probably notice it more.  Sometimes you can even do a vertical comparison which is always fascinating.

Relationships

We are always meeting new people when visiting our local tasting rooms.  We have met lots of local people, but we even have friends we met a few years ago while they were visiting from Ohio that we see every year.  Plus, your local tasting room associates will get to know you, even if you are not a wine club member. Virtually all the local tasting rooms know us well. But don’t make it a one way street, ask questions and get to know them as well.

Conclusion

So that concludes our list of the top 6 reasons to drink local wine. This was not a complete list by any means, but still some good reasons to drink local wine. Do you frequent your local vineyards like we do? We’d love to hear from you and what some of your favorite places are. In the meantime, check out some of our other articles on wine tasting.

Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.

— Derek

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