What's Allochtone?
Allochtone is something or someone outside the norm. I guess you could say an outsider - which is exactly what I am here in France.
I'm Daren Miller and my home was in Pennsylvania. I grew up on my family's farm baling hay, picking potatoes, and selling sweet corn at the road-side stand. Those were great times. But life rolled on and I found myself working at a local winery with truly no interest whatsoever in making wine - until ... SHE showed up. She was a beautiful french girl on a 4-month internship poised to take over her parent's winery in Bordeaux after her studies.
Funny how wine-making suddenly became so much more interesting to me.
Two years later I packed my bags, headed back to Bordeaux with her, and the roller-coaster ride hasn't stopped since!
Americans working in the Bordeaux vineyards are quite rare, so when the word got out around town that one of their girls had brought home a "Ricain", everyone in a 20-mile radius knew I was there.
Ricain is a pejorative term that the French use for Americans, amer-rican - but spelled in the French fashion. I am the Ricain and I am proud to wear it as a badge of honor.
I've spent more than two decades now as part of one of the most envied wine making communities in the world - BORDEAUX. I discovered that the French are truly great people and I have learned so much about the wines and the French way of life. They taught me the trade as I worked to help build our family business. Along the way, I earned the respect of my fellow french vineyard owners who never thought that this RICAIN would stay for the long haul.
Allochtone Wine Company is the new chapter in my story. These are wines that I grew to love and Allochtone is my opportunity to share these great wines with you. So if you're interested in learning more - stick with me - I've got a lot to show you.
A lot has changed since those days on the farm in Pennsylvania, but a couple things will never change - I was born in America and made in France.