Mexican-American Vintners: The American Dream 2.0

Saturday evening, I was privileged to see the American Dream come to life.

I attended the kick-off celebration for the Napa Valley Mexican American Vintners Association (NVMAVA) at the Maldonado Vineyards in Calistoga and was proud and humble to shake the hands of people who have created a dream from hard work, sweat, dreams, hope, family, ethics and the freedom that America offers for individuals to succeed … or fail.

These are the success stories and from every mouth came the commitment to extend a hand up to those still pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

And I had the total pleasure to drink their wine and feel the warmth of such a broad, bright, warm aura of optimism.

It served up a striking counterpoint to the pessimism wrought by today’s current recession and unemployment. And I should point out that no matter how bad we think things are here, they have been a lot worse for many people  — and are a lot worse for many people still.

SUCCESS FOUNDED ON FAMILY

These success stories involve people who arrived in America, some with documents and others without  — just like previous waves of immigrants — with a dream and the willingness to do whatever job earned money. And in the absence of a job, to create a job or a business for themselves and their family.

Family. It was all about family.

In all the speeches and all the talk, no one stepped forward to say: “It was Me … I did it.”

There is a tough-love lesson here for American culture where more than half of all marriages end in divorce. The lesson is commitment and the vital necessity to make things work. Bring that commitment to marriage and you can bring that to life, work and business.

The thanks, the credit went to family, along with faith, determination and hard work.

HARDSHIP BREEDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Hardship breeds entrepreneurship. If someone won’t give you a job, then you need to create your own.

Here in Sonoma, all you have to do to see Mexican-American entrepreneurship at work is to drive the stretch of Highway 12 through Boyes Hot Springs. Store after store, restaurant after restaurant, groceries, carnicerrias — it’s a little slice of Michocan culture in the same mold as the Little Italys all over the U.S. … and I truly cherish the experiences I had as a student at Cornell when we’d visit Little Italy in lower Manhattan — especially with a classmate who spoke good Italian.

MEXICAN AMERICANS ARE THE ITALIAN-AMERICANS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

In fact, I believe that Mexican-Americans are the Italian-Americans of the 21st Century.

The parallels run on into the night: With both Italian and Mexican immigrant communities, we have people speaking a Romance language, with darker Mediterranean complexions and boistrous, expressive southern cultures who have been rejected by the reigning power structure out of misplaced feelings of ethnic superiority.

Both have succeeded through sheer determination…and strong family, faith, hard work, a sense of doing the right thing and the conviction that success lies in becoming an American without losing the sense of where you came from.

NAYSAYERS WILL GRUMBLE

Naysayers now — as in the first part of the last century — will grumble about immigrants taking American jobs: Get real. Any American who wants to work in the field, wash dishes or scrape the barf off a bar room bathroom floor can find a job if they’re willing to bend their back and do work that they’ve come to believe is beneath them. Every attempt to prove the opposite of that has failed.

And no work is beneath anyone. Work should be honored and the laborer respected regardless of the task. If the work is necessary, it is worthy and so is the worker.

Oh, detractors will also say: “Mexicans have gangs! Their country is in turmoil!” Well, please let me know a time when Italy has not been in turmoil. And as for the latter, I might mention La Cosa Nostra, but then someone would have to kill me. Same could be said about Irish Gangs, Chinese Tongs, Bugsy Seigel and the Russian Mafia.

Point is that the unsavory few have always plagued the honest, hardworking many and serve as a straw dog to whip those who keep America alive and vital. It’s BS. Get over it and recognize that America’s present and future  … has no future without the Mexican-American community and other immigrants.

American agriculture and most other businesses would collapse without immigrant labor from Mexico and points south.

I also believe that the backbone that sustains this immigrant community will provide America with a backbone grown all too soft in modern culture. When you know how to survive adversity, you have the strength to succeed in prosperity.

These characteristics are not unique to Mexican immigrants. But they were the specific  America 2.0 I saw Saturday night.

ORGANIZATIONAL NAME IS ONLY DOWNSIDE

I suppose that the only thing I can say that I don’t like is the name of the organization.

The Robledo family is a member of NVMAVA and from Sonoma. And there  are other Mexican-Americans working and succeeding in Sonoma and other areas of California and throughout the United States whose efforts would rightly belong to a nationwide organization.

However, as a beginning organization (and the founding chapter of what could go nationwide) they chose well in leading with Napa which clearly has the greatest global recognition of prestige and quality. As a Sonoma resident who has tasted widely, I think the best of Sonoma wines can stand up to the best of Napa’s.

But Napa Valley — thanks to Robert Mondavi — has created a unified front, a singular mission and a global presence which (while often arrogant in its presentation) has a worldwide reputation as America’s greatest wine region. Organizing Sonoma County Vintners, on the other hand, is like herding a mixed crowd of cats and chickens.

At any rate, from having long talks with many of the NVMAVA officers and members, I sense a good heart and broad vision shot throughout the drive and effort. I would imagine that they would foster regional spin-offs  and a national organization.

NVMAVA FOUNDING MEMBERS

As reported by Wine Industry Insight on July 7, NVMAVA’s founding members include:

• Alex Sotelo Cellars,
• Ceja Vineyards,
• Delgadillo Cellars,
• Encanto Vineyards,
• Maldonado Family Vineyards,
• Marita’s Vineyards,
• Mi Sueño Winery,
• Renteria Wines,
• Robledo Family Vineyards,
• Rios Wine Company,
• Voces Wines, and
• Volcan Winery