The point that sticks out to me here? Profit. We all seem to want the good stuff, the healthy stuff — organic or pasture-raised — but we flinch at what it all costs. Farmers should make money and restaurants should make money. It seems obvious but it also seems often forgotten.

As for the local economy? As I jump in the deep end I am realizing how many laws there are that dictate much of what happens in the wine industry. I recently received an e-mail for a highly sought wine from a west coast shop selling the wine at retail. The cost was 33% less than the wholesale cost in Missouri. I am not mad at my distributer… they have to make their margin and have to manage the burden of heavy inventory costs. But when a shop can buy directly from a winery and sell to any customer in the country it makes it hard for those of us that have to live by the 3-tier system. I know that most local wine shops have had to face the fact that high-end wine sales are leaving the local market for coastal markets or even auctions. The Internet has taken away much of the ability to compete on price. I posted the following on James Laube’s blog with the Wine Spectator recently and was met with some affirmation:

“A big piece of the problem stems from the lack of free trade. The ongoing needs of distributors combined with the relative small production size of most of the new wineries make it challenging to sell wine through on- or off-premise channels in many states. This dramatically reduces awareness of wines, forcing the brands to focus on a few markets (CA, NY, etc.) and mailing lists. These lists, of course, add even more issues. Consumers have to plan purchases well in advance of consumption and feel the pain of shipping charges. I have plenty of customers that would try $40 pinots. They do not, however, have wine cellars and don’t spend time figuring out the next boutique gem. Instead, they rely of what we can offer them on the day they want to drink it. I am not pointing fingers at the distributors… they serve a role and play a risk in carrying inventory. But times like these suggest that we should seek to uncover any method of matching product with consumer. We can all win.”

We in St. Louis can look at other cities and lament not being a part of the bubble. I can tell you, however, that finding local, happy eggs is way easier (and cheaper) here than it is in the Bay Area. As such, I eat a lot more eggs (and a lot less seafood).

Very interesting reading, and too broad in scope for me to comment on quickly.