PressEthic

Today’s New York Times article by Timothy Egan,”A Vineyard Progeny Too Young to Drink”, is about Victor Palencia, a 20 year old wine maker.

Explaining how he gets around his underage status, Palencia is quoted as saying: “I try to trust my nose.” At this point I rolled my eyes, thinking “yeah, right.” Even Toucan Sam wouldn’t be able to make wines by scent alone. Then, later in the article, Palencia admits what everyone must know, saying "Of course I taste the wine. I have to." Later still, it’s revealed that:

Mr. Palencia prefers "a nice cabernet sauvignon, which goes well with enchiladas, brings out the fire." He also likes the syrah, "a very versatile grape," with carnitas.

I guess if you “have” to drink wine, it’s okay to break the law. My questions then, are: Could Palencia and/or his mentor get into legal trouble as a consequence of this article? Doesn’t this flamboyant flaunting of the law condone underage drinking? Would it be different if he were a beer maker or a liquor distiller?