Economic sustainability

Economic sustainability is equally important for a wine as environmental sustainability. This because not everyone and not always can we spend the money needed to buy expensive products.

According to some food and wine gurus, every product from the earth must be environmentally sustainable, the product of organic farming, without any preservatives and be as “natural” as possible. No one would disagree that this would be a good thing but for me there is an overdose of politically correct that borders on hypocrisy. That said and done, we should be not ignore the consequences of such an approach, which in the majority of cases results in an inferior level of production and retail prices that are significantly higher.

It goes without saying that investing a few euros more in the name of environmental sustainability and public health is a good thing. But this only if one does not go too far and forgets that there also exists another sustainability, an economic compatibility that should not be underrated because not everyone has money to spend on expensive products. There exists a gauche caviar attitude I have often seen in people who consider themselves socially orientated or leftwing and prefer to refer to excellence and not “overall quality” and criminalize the food industry out of principle. People who consider wine cooperatives to be a sin and who never drink wines that cost less than 10 euros. I often wonder what world these people live in, how long it has been since they shopped in a supermarket and whether they know that the average price of wine produced in Italy is just over three euros per liter.

I suspect they have lost touch with reality and do not realize how difficult and important it is for many people to make it until the end of the month and that people who buy food at discount supermarkets should not be looked down upon as ignorant paupers by those who feel they are very posh and part of an elite.

Economic sustainability is equally as important as environmental sustainability and this is a fact that should not be ignored. Especially by intelligent people with a social conscience who should put their skills at the service of the people, rather than climb to some pulpit, and badger the food industry to offer a better product for the majority of the population. They should not close themselves in an ivory tower made up of elite and radical chic attitudes.

In the wine sector, just to cite an example, some important international wine critics are above all focusing their attention on wines offered at reasonable prices and thus available to more people. Everyone knows that Barolo is a good wine. But it is also good and useful to know a sparkling white wine that costs three or four euros is good as well. And I’d say this is also a sign of the times.