the rarely asked questions

I get asked about regions, producers, grapes and ‘what is natural wine?’ all the time - if you come by the shop, read my musings or hang out with me much at all, you know that I am an outspoken proponent of supporting small business - woman, LGBTQ+, BIPOC owned small business above and whenever possible! I believe that uplighting & amplifying the ethos of community over competition is paramount! What surprises me is that rarely do I get asked about how the wineries take care of their support staff - we talk about it in the trade talks and occasionally something happens that brings it to the forefront of public knowledge. 

But it is truly something that we should be talking about in all aspects of our lives! If something that requires human hands is really cheap - we should wonder how is that possible and why!

I’m noticing more and more winemakers are being transparent about how they pay the seasonal workers, how the seasonal workers are housed, fed, etc. - among other topics of conversation of course - and that makes me happy!

these are super important topics that need to be discussed in our communities. It’s a question we should be thinking about in every aspect of things you purchase. as a society espcially in relation to wine, we tend to focus on the winemaker - on how the grapes are grown & how the wine is made. Sometimes we may think about the supply chain that gets the wine from the winery to the shop but rarely do we ask basic questions about the people involved in picking the grapes, bottling, labeling, etc. etc.?

questions like:
-how do you treat your staff? do you encourage and empower them?
-are seasonal workers paid an actual living wage? how is that determined? are the workers treated with respect and given access to housing that provides access to drinking water, food, access to showers and time-off? etc. etc.

tbh, we should be asking these questions of the importers, distributors, shop owners, restaurant owners

all these aspects of wine production contribute the cost you pay on the shelf so if something seems cheap or even a little expensive, pause and ask yourself if you know the answer to any of the questions above.

and always know that at Molly’s, we do ask these questions so you can rest easy!