September 11th, A day to remember and reflect

There are days in history to reflect upon for their sheer weight. September 11th is one of those days. It was a day of innocence lost, one in which trust and the warm comfort of safety were replaced by mourning, outrage and shock. Our lives were shattered, both literally and figuratively. It is a day we will always remember for the pain it caused our nation.

But there are other aspects to 9/11 that are often left unspoken. Of course they do not require the honor and love that we bestow upon the family members lost or of the brave first responders who charged so valiantly into harms way, but they speak of other truths, of other lessons that we have learned and should never forget.

On September 11th, 2001 and in the days that followed we came together as a nation. Our neighbors became our friends, not just our neighbors. The person walking down the street was an American and therefore my brother and my compatriot, not just some dude that I didn’t know. I remember visiting my local convenience store and the store owner was crying. He had moved his entire family here from Iran in hopes of a better life, and the attack on our country had wounded him as much as it had me. Our world had become as one.

This was what we shared with the rest of the world. Anger, dismay and empathy for our wounds poured in from all corners of the globe. The world grieved with us. They were a part of us. We felt their love and their kindness, and we embraced the smallness of our planet.

This is what I believe that we have lost since the days of 9/11. We have lost our togetherness both as a people and as a planet. We have forgotten how the rest of the world is our friend and neighbor, not just another country to read about in newspapers or view on travel shows.

But there is one aspect that remains a shining beacon to togetherness. Wine is the most international of products. It has a sense of place, of style and of taste from the soils in which it was born. A great wine speaks of its home, of its nation and of its people.

As Americans we are enthralled by international foods and culture. Our society is built upon the shoulders of immigrants, foreigners and strangers coming together in this great nation of ours and becoming Americans. It is what we are and who we are. Subtract the Native Americans and we all hail from somewhere else. The great melting pot is a delicious blend of cultures, histories and backgrounds. Call it the spice in the Great American Stew.

How often though can we truly say that what we enjoy is authentic? Italian has been transformed into Italian American. Fast food Chinese is just that- fast food. We may see glimpses of authenticity, in both the meals that we eat and the wok that we purchased at World Market, but it lacks a certain charm and truth behind it.

Wine is not so. Thousands of bottles line the shelves of your local shop that come from authentic soils tilled by authentic families and bottled by wine-stained authentic hands. These wines come from many countries in many parts of the world. They come from many cultures and backgrounds and they are as authentic as it gets.

I run a wine shop. It is my own little United Nations of wine. The Israeli wine and the Lebanese wine share a shelf. I don’t care if the Israeli wine thinks that that the Lebanese wine is harboring terrorists, or if the Lebanese wine worries that it will be pushed off of the shelf by an Israeli wine land grab. This is my little wine world and they play by my rules.

In the real world it is not so simple. Vineyards in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon were destroyed during the recent war between Lebanon and Israel. Bekaa Valley is thought to be one of the best areas for grape production on that side of the Mediterranean, and home to some lovely wines most notably those of the great Chateau Musar. It is also thought to be a pipeline for arms traveling from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah. The Upper Galilee of Israel also did not escape harms way, as Hezbollah rockets rained down on vineyards and wineries. It is hard to pick grapes when most of your workers have left and the rest have been called up to active duty to fight in a war, though some bravely stayed donning flak jackets and helmets.

And what of the political ramifications of war and conflict? Much was made of the disagreements between the United Sates and France before the invasion of Iraq. Fries turned to freedom, and French wines were poured down the drain. One popular restaurant chain that will remain nameless went so far as to have a press release announcing they were boycotting French wine, except for the 1st growth Bordeaux and the Champagne which remained. Heaven forbid you make that much of a statement.

Hogwash. This wasn’t so much a statement as a marketing ploy, playing on our fears and the current political winds to convince the public that they were a good American company. They didn’t stop serving French wine, they stopped serving some French wine. That this coincided with a raise in prices for French wine because of losses in value by the dollar against the euro are I am sure just maybe a coincidence.

I can tell you that farmers and small family wineries in France that struggle to make a living during these times couldn’t give a crap about what our military does, as long as we don’t invade them. I am sure that Didier at Château Noel-St. Laurent is not out in his vines with his sweaty brow and dirty blue jeans plotting the downfall of his best customers over here.

It is trade people, pure and simple. But what if the wine came from a decidedly anti-American country? Boycotting a product from a country is a convenient way to make a statement, but it smacks of hypocrisy when you won’t drink the French wine, but you will watch the T.V. made in N. Korea, or wear the shirt made in Syria, or eat the dried figs from Iran. An axis of evil consumerism to be sure.

The point here is this: The globe is getting smaller. Our place within that globe is also getting smaller. We are a part of the world, not rulers of it. We have the right to protect ourselves, but part of that protection comes from acceptance, understanding and brotherhood. We lost so much that day five years ago. The world felt for us and cared for us, because we are a part of it and them. We are still a part of that world.

Let us look to the world of wine as an example of togetherness and friendship. Wines from all over the planet share the shelves and lists and sometimes even the dinner table. That bottle of Italian wine is as close as you can get to having someone over for dinner from 5,000 miles away. It was grown by Elio, and fermented by Giuseppe, and shipped by Marco. It is their home, and the earth that their family has worked for generations, and we have asked them to be a part of our family dinner. That is the message.

A part of our heart was stolen on 9/11. The healing process has been long and slow. Lives have been lost, battles waged both at home and abroad. We will never fully recover without the help of the rest of the world. It is not U.S. against them. It is our planet, and theirs, and our place within it dictates how our future will be determined. Let us start by embracing what makes our country so great- our diversity and our heritage. We are a reflection of the best that humanity has to offer. Let us celebrate that aspect of life, and hope and togetherness.

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