Life in the Sensory Fast Lane and Opting for a Slow Lane
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
In our increasingly fast-paced, sometimes frenetic, lives there are few calls to “dial back” to a more conventional way of life.
Technology reigns supreme, overtly and covertly, threatening to dehumanize many of the little things in life we previously enjoyed. Sometimes I wonder if “The Matrix” hasn’t begun to seep into our lives.
This is not to say that we should all become Luddites, shunning the benefits and efficiencies of technology; it has clearly enhanced our lives in many ways. But there are certain quality-of-life issues that are being threatened, issues that another iPhone or Android app should not attempt to “improve.” Do we really need over 500,000 ways to be entertained, informed or otherwise dumbed down by a smartphone?
One of the quality-of-life issues that I embrace is the enjoyment of food and wine. The more I rely on my smartphone and social media to objectify my way of life, the more I lose my sensory appreciation of nature. Everyday pleasures are becoming more standardized and sanitized as we immerse ourselves in growing bytes and growing bites.
What has happened to the sensory pleasures of savoring our food instead of simply ingesting it; of consuming natural foods and wine instead of industrialized, manipulated foods; of watching the roses grow instead of watching our screen size grow?
I’m not alone. There is an organization called Slow Food that espouses this concept. Its stated vision: “to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.”
As a member, I take solace in this lifestyle and immerse myself in it as often as possible. I must say it is becoming increasingly easier to do so as natural and farm-to-table foods become more prolific in the marketplace. Just visit a local farmers market and see the bounty of our Hudson Valley on display.
A subsidiary movement within Slow Food is “Slow Wine,” which strives for counterbalancing the industrialization of wine around the world. Conceived in 2010, the Slow Food organization undertook a project to seek out Italian wines that were representative of the precepts of the Slow Food movement, wines nurtured by nature rather than exploited by man.
I read a description of the protocols and methods employed by the researchers: “They studied the areas, tramped the vineyards, poked around in the wineries and talked to the people. Slowly. They considered biodiversity, sustainable cultivation methods, virtuous winery procedures and ethical pricing, long before they tasted the wine. Slowly.”
The 2023 edition, “Slow Wine Guide, Stories of life, vineyards, wines in Italy,” includes feet-on-the-ground descriptions and reviews of nearly 2,000 wineries and their wines. A companion edition, “Slow Wine Guide USA,” focuses solely on the United States, encompassing 290 wineries in California, Washington, Oregon and New York.
As the titles indicate, these are not typical tomes of wine critiques. Instead, they are about wineries and the winemakers, describing the efforts of those committed to sustaining a life simpatico with nature. Each winery receives a review divided in three sections. The first focuses on the winemakers and their lives at the winery, the second on the management philosophy employed in the vineyards and the third to the individually selected wines currently available for sale.
I immediately embraced the concept of the initial book when it was published in 2010. I even found a few surprises among the recommendations – grapes and locales of which I was not previously aware. I’m looking forward to finding and tasting an Erbamat wine from Lombardy, an Aleatico from Elba or a Nosiola from the Trentino region.
Embracing the Slow Food and Slow Wine movements invites us to appreciate nature’s bounty, which is often sidestepped by the objectivity of big business and our penchant for all things technological.
Join the Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley Chapter of the movement at www.slowfoodusa.org.
Nick Antonaccio is a 45-year Pleasantville resident. For over 25 years, he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. Nick is a member and program director of the Wine Media Guild of wine journalists. He also offers personalized wine tastings. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
