Maryam Ahmed, a Napa-based entrepreneur, is the CEO of Maryam + Company. A certified B Corporation, Maryam + Company translates vision and strategy into experience, often by focusing on food, wine and place. She explains why local hospitality businesses need to champion their regional wines. In another region, I had been taken to the “fanciest” restaurant in town, but they didn’t serve wines from local producers. Wine producers, tourism boards and hospitality operators share responsibility for the success of a region. There’s a disconnect between the U.S. and Europe. Why aren’t these businesses representing the best of their own home turf? One answer lies in the structure of wine industry. The market is dominated by large distributors, who are built for scale and not for specificity. They offer one-stop ordering, reliable inventory, and wines with built-in name recognition or special pricing-tools that make a buyer’s job easier and less risky but ultimately remove a sense of place from a local establishment.Smaller local producers often operate in spite of that infrastructure, but they aren’t exempt from the work of participating in it. Small production, low visibility, and self-distribution can all play a part. Without intentional efforts to build demand and relationships their wines can be just as absent from local list. So, revenue wins over region. Convenience is more important than community. The beverage industry is a complex, multi-layered system that moves according to demand. This puts the power in the drinker’s hands. What you order, how much you spend, and the questions you ask all influence what appears on a menu. Wine lovers and wine professionals alike can benefit from this list. You may choose based upon familiarity or convenience, not on curiosity or location. But when those patterns become the norm, they reinforce a structure that leaves local winemakers-especially small, independent, or BIPOC businesses on the sidelines in their own backyard.That’s a structural failure. When restaurants and hotels ignore local wine, the money leaves the community. It bypasses the vineyard team, the cellar crew, and the small business owner who is trying to pay fair wage. It weakens regional economies and bypasses local tax bases. Reinvesting in local businesses, at a time when federal assistance is becoming increasingly unreliable, and states are left to their own devices, is not a noble act. It’s a shared obligation. Without this reinvestment the places that we love to visit may lose the very character that attracts people. I’m not suggesting every wine list must be exclusively local. Diversity is important, and thoughtful curation makes for good hospitality. When you’re in a wine-producing region and there isn’t a single local glass of wine available, it’s worth questioning. Where will you choose to eat or stay? Smaller, independently-owned businesses are often more flexible in sourcing locally. Your dollars will be more likely to circulate throughout a regional supply chain, rather than strengthening national ones. What do you expect from the places that you visit? Mission statements are now as common as menus. If a business makes a claim about its commitment to local farmers and producers, this value should be reflected in the glass.
