Gus Clemens on Wine explores and explains the world of wine in simple, humorous, fun posts

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Thanksgiving 2022 11-16-2022

Some people are intimidated by wine choices for the big Thanksgiving family feast. There is no reason for discombobulation.

The Thanksgiving meal arguably is the easiest repast of the year for wine pairing. Typically there are so many different things to eat and so many different people to eat them, almost any wine will pair with something or someone.

Suggestions, presented to help you prepare:

• Start with sparkling. You don’t have to go the expensive Champagne route, unless you want to, but avoid the bottom shelf plonk that really is mediocre white wine injected with CO2.

• If there is a starter course—fruits, fish, raw veggies, charcuterie—sauvignon blanc is an almost faultless choice. New Zealand makes the zingiest, but quality sauv blanc—sometimes described as “salad in a glass”—has many makers. You can pass on the sometimes pricey Pouilly Fumé or Sancerre, but also avoid the bottom shelf stuff.

• If the centerpiece of the  festive feast is turkey, it is hard to go wrong with pinot noir. Washington and Oregon make delightful, often light and sophisticated pinots. California pinots tend to be heavier. Cheap, mass-produced pinot noirs tend to have as much as 25% non-pinot grapes, and the pinot grapes are not the best. Spend some money here, $20 or more. After all, this is the centerpiece of the event. Pinot noir also pairs well with ham, if that is your preferred protein.

• If you go with beef, cabernet sauvignon, cab-merlot blends, and malbec are safe choices. Those wines also pair with lamb. Like the pinot, avoid the bottom shelf, spend more than $20. Don’t go, however, for three-figure pours. Your meal likely is a gastronomical marathon filled with boisterous family fun and bonhomie. Save the high-dollar reds for a more intimate, less hectic repast.

• Dessert? Port. Rule of thumb: the wine must be sweeter than the dessert.

Tasting notes:

• Gruet Brut Rosé NV: Superb, accessible, correct pinot noir brute sparkling. $13-20

• Siduri Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2020: Superb entry-level pour into delicious world of Siduri. Elegant, easy drinker. $17-22

• Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Porto 2016: Easygoing, approachable, affordable. Legendary vintage. $25

• Gary Farrell Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, Hallberg Vineyard 2018: Lilting delight from special vineyard. Excellent fruit, superb acidity, deft use of oak. $55-60

Last round: I love how people claim Thanksgiving is the only day of the year they overeat. Give me a break. Give me a glass of wine. Wine time.

If you are pleased with your experience here, please consider a paid subscription to support this effort and gain access to bonus material and archives. Just $5 a month—less with the year plan—and you can opt out at any time.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Everyday, commodity wines 11-9-2022

November and December are the heaviest wine-buying months of the year. People not into wine—or even alcohol—indulge during the harvest feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas and the bacchanalian excesses of New Year’s.

Insufferable wine aficionados may glorify the virtues of a bottling of an obscure grape. Wine you can’t pronounce, much less purchase, unless your wealthy grandparent enrolled you in the allotment program. Okay, fine. That leaves the rest of us.

We drink wine made in much larger batches—tens of thousands, even millions of bottles—costing from $10 to $30 and available at your local supermarket or wine store. There are brands that cut corners and bottle any juice they can buy by the tanker-truck, but there are scores of makers that create wines of substance made by real people dedicated to consistency and value. You have an excellent chance of enjoying one this holiday season.

E. & J. Gallo—the world’s largest family-owned winery—offers many examples. So do Constellation Brands, Treasury Wine Estates, The Wine Group, and others. Their portfolios may contain labels where massive supply and cheapest are lodestars, but they also produce a plethora of delicious, drinkable, affordable, accessible wines. No reason to blush when you pour them at your holiday table.

Mega winery or mom-and-pop enterprise, fundamentals are the same. Good fruit. Winery skills. Good wine. Jessica Tomei, vice president at Cupcake Vineyards, the largest brand in the U.S. in the $8-11 category, notes: “We have more efficiencies, but it is the same process—just at a larger scale. It’s still agriculture. We’re subjected to weather, drought, smoke—all the different things that are thrown at us during the season.”

Mega-makers strive for consistency. With a nod to The Fantasticks—“Plant a radish. Get a radish. Never any doubt.” Nothing wrong with that. As the seasons of joy cascade upon us, don’t fret when you go safe and familiar for your family festival. All wine should be what you enjoy, not what what some snob tells you to enjoy. If you take away anything from my weekly efforts, let it be that.

Tasting notes:

• Valdo Floral Rosé Brut NV is a bright, delightful, substantial rosé. Easy drinker that invites you to take another sip, and—at 11.5% ABV—you can. $16-19 Link to my review

• Bota Box Breeze Dry Rosé, California NV fresh red fruits in a low-alcohol, low carbs, refreshing boxed wine. $20-23 (three liters) Link to my review

Last round: People who eat snails must not like fast food.

This is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month and receive exclusive material and access to the full archives.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Cheap and sweet 11-2-2022

The recent death of Fred “Two Buck Chuck” Franzia, gave me pause to think about what the average, non-wine-geek enjoys in an occasional glass.

I wrote a column about Franzia back in 2009. The lead: “Fred Franzia drives fellow winemakers crazy mad. At the same time, he makes wine drinkers who value value wines crazy happy.”

When a newspaper editor challenged me to write a wine column back in October 2008, the assignment was to inform people about wine and to write about wines the average person could find and afford. Fifteen years and more than 780 columns later, I still hearken to that original assignment.

Staying grounded to the general public’s taste is a challenge. On the one hand, wine writers often drink wine every day, often from more than one bottle. For the most part, the wine comes free, sent by wineries with notes imploring us to review their wine. That puts us well away from the general public’s wine experience.

We often are attracted to obscure varieties. There is just so much $15-25 cabs made in the international style you can drink and review without feeling you are trapped in a Groundhog Day loop. That is a far different experience from the person who drinks a cab once a week or so with their grilled steak.

We also typically are drawn to drier, more “sophisticated” wines. I blame our palates, which is what lured us into being wine writers in the first place. Many popular wine brands taste sweet, bland, and confected to my palate. I fight the urge to label drinkers of those wines as rubes and my palate as superior.

“The wine you like is good wine for you” has been a lodestar for this column for 15 years. I review cheap and sweet on occasion, and when I do I strive to appreciate it on its own terms.

I do attempt to entice wine drinkers to expand their palates. I do endeavor to point out that cheaper wine is not necessarily bad wine. Nor is expensive wine necessarily good wine. There are plenty of over-priced pours that target “label drinkers” who hustle to impress others with their buying power rather than wine picking ability.

Sweet and cheap or polished and deep, whatever you enjoy, enjoy.

Last round: The other day I bought a thesaurus, but when I got home and opened it, all the pages were blank… I have no words to describe how angry I am.

This is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month and receive exclusive material and access to the full archives.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Wine and Halloween candy 10-26-2022

Every few years I recklessly throw caution and good judgment to the wind and confront pairing wine with Halloween candy. So here it goes.

First, if you are a prudent person you will not pair wine with candy. But, heck, prudence is not a common virtue around Halloween, the first and most willfully foolish of the great harvest feasts of fall.

M&Ms with their milk chocolate and extra smack of sugary coating will never do well with tannic wines. If you must, you can go with light, fruity, unoaked red. Gamay can work, sort of. So can sweet wines—white zinfandel, many Barefoot offerings. When you pile sugar upon sugar, however, consider low alcohol and responsible consumption or the real horror of Halloween will be your morning after.

In some surveys, candy corn scores as the most-hated Halloween candy. If you are someone who does not detest the marzipan-like treat, think a sweet, sparkling riesling or sweeter, fruit-forward prosecco.

If you are a little more discrete and go with Hershey’s Special Dark you have a plausible opportunity to enjoy. Special Dark lacks the sugar assault, so you can venture into the drier nether realms of your wine stash. A nice, fruity zinfandel will work, and you can even do a Halloween play with Seven Deadly Zins or other kitschy-named offering from California.

A plausible opportunity exists with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and oloroso sherry. The oloroso nuttiness and some sweetness will balance with the peanut butter flavors and sweetness of the chocolate.

If you do not have children who are empowered this one night to become extortionists roaming the neighborhood promising property damage if they are not paid off with cheap sugar confections, you can always enjoy the frivolity of a costume party and real wine pairings. Charcuterie boards work well with almost the entire panoply of wine. Answer the doorbell, pay off the moppets demanding tribute, practice moderation, and wake up the next morning to prepare for the next holiday, giving thanks you survived this one.

Tasting notes:

• Zenato Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2017: Ripe, rich, supple, very easy drinker. No big tannins or acidity, just a delicious red wine delight. $14. Link to my review

• Angels & Cowboys Brut Rosé NV: Lively, fun sparkling. Creamy easy drinker with excellent acidity. Straightforward bubbly. $23-26. Link to my review

• The Mill Keeper Cabernet Sauvignon NV: Smooth, easy-drinking 100% cab from esteemed, environmentally responsible Napa wine family. Vibrant, balanced. $32-38. Link to my review

Last round: What do you call a medieval lamp? A knight light. Wine time.

This is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month and receive exclusive material and access to the full archives.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Champagne boom 10-19-2022

As the leaves don new colors and the great harvest feasts and festivals approach, the demand for bubbly continues to increase. A soaring trend.

In 2021, Champagne exports into the U.S. increased by 69% over 2020. Those are eye-popping numbers. And Champagne was just part of the story—prosecco sales increased 25%. Cava sales increased by only a small percentage, but that was built on years of increases. America—and the world—clearly has an increasing fondness for fizz.

Earlier this year, the Comité Champagne, the organization representing independent Champagne producers and houses, announced the region had achieved record sales of 322 million bottles in 2021. This year the number is on target to be even higher. In the first half of 2022, Champagne sales were up 13.8% compared to the same period in 2021.

The increased demand for sparkling wine is not new. Daniel Mettyear, the head of research at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis: “Sparkling wine has been enjoying a sustained period of long-term growth over a number of years, driven in large part by a shift away from exclusively celebratory occasions, towards more everyday consumption.” He notes that casual consumption significantly increased during Covid.

To the great joy of winemakers, the bubbly trend appears driven by younger drinkers, a coveted cohort. Wine Intelligence research indicates half of sparkling wine drinkers are under 40 years old. In contrast, only 30% of still wine drinkers are under 40. Wine Intelligence data indicates younger consumers have turned to sparkling because social gatherings are more celebratory post-pandemic. Also, “sparkling wine offers easily-grasped categories, with delineated price brackets which make choices relatively easy: is it a Prosecco occasion or a Champagne occasion?”

Increased demand provides a problem—strains on supply. Smaller wine shops have increased difficulty securing product. A Florida seller notes there are certain famous Champagnes you can no longer buy in her state as an independent retailer.

A problem, certainly, but it would not be surprising to find sparkling wine producers popping corks in celebration.

Tasting notes:

• Gancia Prosecco Brut DOC: Light, lively sparkling that is easy on your wallet. $11-14 Link to my review

• Anna de Codorníu Brut Rosé NV: Delicious pleasure at pleasurable price. Cava. $13-15. Link to my review

• Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée Extra Brut Champagne NV delivers elegance, balance, racy acidity, creamy mouthfeel. $50-60 Link to my review

Last round: What do you get when you cross an insomniac, an agnostic and a dyslexic? Somebody who’s up all night wondering if there’s a dog.

This is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month and receive exclusive material.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Decanting 10-12-2022

Decanting wine is a strategy you often find recommended. Here are some of the whys and whens.

The main reason to decant wine is to expose the wine to oxygen. You also can decant wine if you want to avoid sediment in the bottle or to make a better presentation of the wine on your table, but exposure to oxygen is the principle reason for the effort.

Oxygen exposure boosts wine’s aromatics. That is vital because smell is the major force behind your experience of wine. Oxygen exposure also affects wine texture, making it smoother and rounder in your mouth and reduces tannic bitterness, the other main elements of your wine experience. So decanting improves wine in the most important factors of your wine enjoyment.

Young red wines are always candidates for decanting, but decanting can enhance white wines, rosé wines, and even sparkling wines. And decanting does not kill the bubbles in sparkling, BTW.

In general, white, rosé, and sparkling wines should be decanted for around 15-20 minutes. You are looking for freshness in such wines and tannins are unlikely. You also decant for a shorter period than red wines because you do not want those wines, especially sparkling, to warm past their ideal drinking temperature.

Red wines, particularly young and tannic reds, benefit from longer decanting. An hour or more is not uncommon, but you also can use decanting systems that include aeration elements to speed up the process. The point is to expose the wine to as much air as possible. Rule of thumb: the more tannic the wine, the longer the decanting time.

Tannat, barolo, and Bordeaux and Napa-Sonoma blends—which can be the most tannic wines you can find when young—are prime candidates for longer decanting. Experiment. Decanting also helps blow away off-putting odors found in wines—barnyard in some Burgundies, for instance. Typically those odors are not flaws because the wine becomes lovely after exposure to air.

Be careful when decanting older wines. When the bottle is 10 years old or older, extended decanting time can rob the older wine of its liveliness and complexity. The patience you exhibited by resisting opening it accomplished much of what decanting does for a younger wine. You usually decant older wines in order to eliminate the sediment that is much more likely to be found in older bottles.

Last round: If you are attacked by a mob of clowns, go for the juggler. Wine time.

Gus Clemens on Wine is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber and receive bonus material and access to complete archives.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Wine metaphysics 10-5-2022

Are wines made in the vineyard or the winery? The answer is both, but today more wine professionals say soil, grapes, and the skill of grape growers to deliver the personality of their acres is the essential component.

This tracks with the debate about what makes people who they are: nature or nurture? In wine, if the grape grower delivers magnificent fruit to the winery, the wine maker can either mess everything up or allow the magnificent fruit to be bottled as magnificent wine. It is a team effort. Nature and nurture.

At its core, wine reflects the soil where grapes grow. Reflects the grape variety. Reflects the weather. Reflects decisions made by skilled people who tend vines—by pruning, by choosing when grape clusters are harvested and which grape clusters are harvested. Vineyard management is an art, not a technical checklist.

For quality wines, all these variables deliver the individual character of that vintage. There are tanker truck loads of wine made for mass consumption where juice from everywhere is blended into a commodity product—“Coca-Cola wine” is the derisive monicker. Such wines have their place—I review and enjoy them. You have, too. But, then, there are special wines.

Special wines have a third element after soil and character—soul. Many wine makers insist you can taste the difference in wine made by happy people. This flows from families with generations of making wine on their special plot of Earth. It comes from well-treated winery workers, also often multiple generations. Joy begets joy begets special wine.

I get it that some of you are rolling your eyes now. You reject voodoo biodynamic growers with their cow horns filled with manure and Zodiac-guided schedules. You reject treating workers with dignity and respect because they make better wine. You reject their belief that they consider their acres of Mother Earth and the vines that grow there are a sacred trust to be nurtured and preserved for the next generation. And the next. And the next. Okay. But then, when the smoke clears, there is their superior wine. It is what it is.

When you pull cork on a quality wine, you taste the work of thousands of years, of thousands of fellow humans striving for excellence, striving to make this hour—this minute—special for you. Savor.

Last round: Duck: “Do you have bread?” Wine server: “No.” Duck: “Do you have bread?” Wine server: “No! Ask me again and I will nail your beak to the floor.” Duck: “Do you have nails?” Wine server: “No!” Duck: “Do you have bread?”

This is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month and receive exclusive material.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

What does chewy mean in wine? 9-28-2022

What the heck do wine writers mean when they describe wine with adjectives like “chewy” or “crunchy” or “meaty”? Aren’t those words descriptive of chocolate brownies, raw carrots, and T-bone steaks, not an alcoholic liquid?

Tannins cause the unexpected lingo. Tannins are a group of astringent, polyphenolic chemical compounds that bind to proteins and other organic compounds. The astringency causes a dry and puckery feeling when you drink red wine. You also taste tannins in tea and unripe fruit.

The word comes from the Medieval Latin word for oak bark, which was used in tanning animal hides into leather. Wine tannins come from the skins, seeds, and stems of grapes, also from oak barrels.

Oak bark photo by and © 2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons

When you drink wine, the proteins in your saliva interact with tannins. In higher concentrations, tannins strip your mouth of water to create a dry mouthfeel, which creates an instinctive desire to chew. The binding of saliva proteins with tannins also creates a sensation of crunchiness or meatiness. And thus the wine descriptor terms.

People usually associate tannins with wine and tea, but tannins are in noticeable concentrations in other common foods. Walnuts, almonds, and other whole nuts have tannins in their skins. Dark chocolate has tannins. Cinnamon, clove, and other whole spices have tannins. So do pomegranates and açaí berries.

The jury is still out on wine tannins and migraine headaches. If you think tannins cause your migraines, you need to stop consuming foods with significant tannins, not just wine.

If you embrace tannins in wine, tannat—Uruguay’s signature grape—and sagrantino from Central Italy are by far the most tannic wines. In descending order from those leaders come petite sirah, nebbiolo, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, and mourvèdre/monastrell.

There are red wines that are low in tannin. They include barbera, bobal, bonarda, malbec, cabernet franc, carignan, cinsault, valpolicella, gamay, and pinot noir. Merlot is a medium-tannin grape, but it often is made in a low tannin style in the winery.

Chew on and crunch this information to get to the meat of what you enjoy in wine.

Tasting notes:

• 19 Crimes Cabernet Sauvignon 2020: Simple, jammy introduction to red wine. $8-12. Link to my review

• Tilia Estate Bonarda, Mendoza 2020: Tasty, affordable way to experience bonarda grape. $9-12. Link to my review

• Robert Mondavi The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, To Kalon Vineyard 2017: Defines difference between good cab and exceptional cab. $150-175. Link to my review

Last round: When do you go at red and stop at green? When you eat watermelon. Wine time.

This is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month and receive exclusive material.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Fermentation vessels 9-21-2022

Winemakers have a choice of fermentation vessels—wood, stainless steel, and concrete. What is the difference between them?

While there are various variables, here is a general overview:

• Wooden wine barrels have been used for at least 2,500 years. The barrel we know today likely was developed by the Celts around 350 BCE. The Romans copied and improved the design and put them in common use by the 3rd century.

Wood barrels typically are made of oak, but can be made from other wood. French oak has a tighter grain and impacts wine less than American oak, which imparts more oak flavors. Barrels allow a small amount of oxygen to interact with the wine, a process called micro-oxygenation, and can add additional tannins. New or nearly-new barrels deliver flavors and aromas such as toast, spice, vanilla, cedar, and chocolate, dependent upon the “toasting” of the barrel with fire during manufacture.

Oak effects become more muted after each use. Many winemakers use a mix of barrels to reduce the impact of new oak, and just to save money. Barrels can cost as much as $1,000 depending on size and wood source.

• Stainless steel tanks can be impermeable to oxygen and can be temperature controlled. They are easy to clean and use for years. Winemakers who want to emphasize pure fruit flavors and crispness often use stainless steel for white and rosé wines.

• Concrete fermenters—called “eggs” because of their shape—fall between wood and stainless steel in affecting wine. They are neutral vessels, so they do not add flavors, but many winemakers believe they soften a wine’s texture. Concrete allows a small amount of air to slowly mix in the wine, but less than oak. The egg shape promotes a gentle, natural circulation of the wine, mixing with the lees to add complexity. Thick concrete walls also reduce temperature fluctuations during fermentation.

Since different vessels influence wine differently, some winemakers use up to all three to further refine their wine. The grape variety also influences the winemaker’s choice of fermentation vessel.

Tasting notes:

• Cantine Ermes Vento di Mare Pinot Grigio, Terre Siciliane IGT 2020: Light, zesty with enough acidity to make it bright and fresh. $9-12 Link to my review

• Marichal Premium Sauvignon Blanc, Canelones, Uruguay 2021: Substantial SB from quality maker in South America’s third-largest wine-producing country. $13-14. Link to my review

• Chehalem Inox Unoaked Chardonnay, Willamette Valley 2021: Light, fresh. Good acidity, pure, tasty fruit. $20-25. Link to my review

Last round: What do clouds wear under their shorts? Thunder pants. Wine time.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.

This is the weekly newspaper column.

Wine’s glass bottle blues 9-14-2022

Winemakers are among the most conscientious stewards of the environment. When vineyards pass down for generations and some of your creations will not be consumed for decades, thinking long term and big picture becomes part of your DNA.

Several studies show glass bottles account for the largest percentage of the wine industry’s greenhouse-gas emissions. Glass production involves a large amount of heat and energy. Bottles and packing material needed to protect bottles are heavy, driving up transportation costs both in dollars and pollution.

Many wine bottles are a one-use item. Then they go to landfills where they will last for thousands of years. There is some recycling, but less than one-third of glass is recycled in the United States. Europe does better with around 75 percent. In many cases, however, recycling does not mean melting to make new glass. Much of “recycled” glass is crushed and used to make paving material.

Schemes to buy back bottles and reuse them haven’t worked well so far. Even when people return bottles, cleaning the bottles—especially removing labels—is problematic.

If you ignore environmental concerns, there remains the problem of cost. Wine bottle costs continue to spiral, increasing 20 percent in the last two years. Bottles from China, a major supplier for the U.S., face a 25 percent tariff. Many of Europe’s bottles were made in Ukraine. The Russian invasion virtually eliminated that source.

Winemakers respond by exploring options. Cans are easier to recycle, but require significant energy to manufacture and limit aging to about 18 months. Bag-in-a-box wine is environmentally friendly and costs much less to transport, but does not work for aging wine. Plastic bottles and cartons like those used for milk and juice have a similar problem. The alternatives work for wine expected to be consumed young, but not when bottle age is essential. Barolo riserva, for instance, legally cannot be sold until four years of bottle aging and is best after 10 years.

Glass wine bottles won’t go away. Reusing bottles and recycling more glass must be in the future, along with alternative packaging.

Tasting notes:

• Bota Box Breeze Dry Rosé, California: Fresh red fruits, low-alcohol, low carbs. $20-23 for 3 liters, equivalent to $5-6 a 750 ml bottle. Also comes in 1.5 ml box, 500 ml carton (similar to a juice carton). Containers are 100% recyclable. Link to my review

Last round: What do you call a Frenchman in sandals? Phillipe Phloppe. Wine time.

Thank you for reading Gus Clemens on Wine. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Gus Clemens on Wine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  gusclemensonwine.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/GusClemensOnWine/posts/

Twitter: @gusclemens

Links worth exploring

Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.

As We Eat Multi-platform storytelling explores how food connects, defines, inspires.

Balanced Diet Original recipes, curated links about food systems, recipe reviews.