Thursday, August 14 2008
High Scores for Washington Wines
Those don't look like Vinifera leaves . . .
Talk about mixed-use agriculture: according the to the Yakima Herald-Republic vineyards in Washington State's Yakima Valley are being used as cover for illegal cannabis plantations. From the Wine Spectator:
After a record haul of nearly 300,000 plants in 2007 (which was double the confiscated crop in 2006), authorities have already confiscated nearly 150,000 marijuana plants growing in Yakima Valley this year, many of them hidden in area vineyards. For those not keeping their ear to the vine, those 150,000 plants were valued at more than $140 million, equal to the value of the entire state's grape haul last year.
Zounds! Here in British Columbia we have quite a societal issue with indoor cultivation of cannabis: it's been estimated that the value of the total crop is over $8 billion, most of which is exported to the USA. Various initiatives and enforcement actions seemingly have little effect on the quantity or pervasiveness of cannabis in the province, but I've never heard of vineyards being used in this manner.
Compost? Cover crop? Mulch? Oh, wait . . . gadzooks, it's like college all over again!
Note: product in picture not from kit wine. Seriously, that's not a good pairing.
Increasingly over the past five years, vineyard owners in the area have reportedly been approached with exorbitant offers for their vineyards, many of which were in ill repair, and some vintners jumped at the opportunity. The vineyards were then used as a cover crop for the marijuana plants, which initially made them difficult to detect.
All is not quite what it seems, however: most of the vineyards raided have been table-grape plantings, principally concorde grapes. These have very heavy cover of vegetation from the leafy canopy, allowing for concealment. In addition they use flood irrigation, and much more water than vinifera grapes, making the changeover harder to detect.
There's also a strongly anti-immigrant sentiment at play in the reporting of the issue. According to the Associated Press (AP), the vineyards are bought by organised criminals living in Mexico and then registered under fictitious names, or those of relatives, to avoid suspicion or investigation. While some of these operations are undoubtedly owned by Mexican nationals, it's an eerie parallel to the early days of the US War On Drugs where it was claimed 'hopped up Mexicans' were endangering law-abiding citizens.
Another funny parallel would be from a much earlier time, when immigrants brought a heretofore unknown drug into an area and started growing and distributing it right under the noses of the local citizenry, pushing their intoxicants and their wayward lifestyle onto the locals. Of course, these were Romans, and their drug of choice was wine from the vineyards they planted everywhere they went. I wonder if there were eradication efforts by the Gauls?
For me, it's 'Just Say No Thank-you'. Aside from the illegality, I find that a significant number of the people who use cannabis seem to do it to make themselves even more boring and incoherent. On the other hand, I find that after only a few glasses of wine I'm handsomer, smarter and more interesting. And as usual, I'll drink to that.
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