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

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With Christmas/holiday feasts coming soon, what is the ideal alcohol percentage for wine paired with food? The answer is 10-14%. Why?

U.S. labeling laws are loony, so the ABV amount on the label can be inaccurate, but this is a discussion of wine-food pairing quality not bureaucratic gobbledygook. Lower alcohol wines allow the grapes to show off and complement food rather than flaunt over-ripe fruit and alcohol.

We got to high alcohol wines several decades ago when American wine drinkers were neophytes. Big, blowsy, high alcohol red wines tended to get higher scores, and high scores moved bottles off shelves.

My theory on how this came to be: wine tasting can be intense. Professional tasting protocols—small pour, see, swirl, smell, sip, spit, write evaluation—usually involve multiple wines. For some reviewers that could be 30 or more wines at a time. When tasting that many, nuances vanish. Yes, you spit the wine, but the alcohol and flavors still dull your senses. Wines with the most impact on dulled senses—over-ripe, high alcohol wines. Most people do not taste and spit 30 wines at a sitting, so “professionals” evaluate in a different world than average drinkers.

For a grape variety to best show its stuff, it is harvested a skosh earlier than when higher-scoring, higher alcohol wines are harvested. For higher alcohol, grapes must hang longer to get riper to boost sugar that will be converted into alcohol. That creates wines that are more fruit-forward and concentrated and alcoholic. It creates wine that appears to be slightly sweet—from ripe grapes, not residual sugar—and sweeter because alcohol fools our palate’s sweetness evaluator. Sweeter wine sells, especially to occasional wine drinkers.

The process creates wines with less acidity that are less authentic to the variety of the grape. It also creates wines that pair less well with food. Big alcohol wines often are not even intended to be food wines. They are more “cocktail” wines, an alternative to people who aren’t into tequila shots. They are wines to be sipped milling about at an event or sitting at a bar ogling tonight’s prospects.

OK, it is your life, live it as you wish. For me, wine’s best place is as part of a meal, to be savored over time and food and convivial conversation. Wines with less alcohol that more accurately reflect the grape, terroir, and skill of the winemakers are a better fit for that paradigm. Something to consider for the holidays.

Last round

Why do Christmas trees hate knitting? They keep dropping their needles. Wine time, and Merry Christmas.

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If you have a wine lover on your Christmas/holiday gift list, some recommendations.

Wine always is appreciated. Gift wine they enjoy, a proclivity you likely know, but if you do not, ask. If you are trying to disguise your gifting intentions, there are many clever ways to inquire. Wine lovers are never hesitant to discuss wine.

There are almost infinite options depending on the depth of your friendship and your pocketbook. For casual friends, a single bottle festively wrapped works. For deeper friendships, several bottles or large format bottles play well. You also can go with one or more bottles of high end wines costing three figures. Just do not give with the expectation they will share it with you, although that certainly can happen. Win-win.

For very close friends or family, consider a gift membership in a winery’s wine club or a non-winery subscription service. That becomes a gift appreciated all year.

Practical non-wine gifts:

• Waiter’s friend hinged corkscrew. Has everything you need to open a bottle of wine, cheap enough to be a stocking stuffer. Worst choice—winged corkscrew. Everything about a winged corkscrew is wrong.

• Simple wine decanter. Avoid fancy, showy ones that are easy to break and impossible to clean.

• Wine chiller. Essentially an insulating shield to keep wine at the proper temperature. The most popular are made of stainless steel or marble.

Wine reading/research material:

• Magazine subscriptions. Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast are the leading monthly magazines.

• Website subscriptions. Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast are excellent online; unfortunately, they are not bundled with the printed magazine. Wine Folly offers on-line classes, informing videos, and Wine Folly—The Master Guide ($21) is an excellent, easy reference book. RobertParker.com and JamesSuckling.com are filled with searchable wine evaluations and features. wine-searcher.com and vivino.com are search engines for almost every wine made. And there is my Substack blog: gusclemens.substack.com .

Books:

• Rosé Revolution by Rasmus Emborg and Jens Honoré—massive, beautiful coffee-table tome. $45

• Wine and the White House: A History by Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.—massive, beautiful coffee-table tome. $65

• Malbec mon amour by Laura Catena and Alejandro Vigil—definitive work; Catena is Argentina’s leading spokesperson for (and maker of) malbec. $20

• The Mad Crush: An Obscure California Vineyard and the Quest to Make One Great Wine by Sean C. Weir—engaging, expanded version of cult winemaking memoir (paperback). $15

Last round

Q: Why is Christmas just like your job?

A: You do all the work and the fat guy with the suit who only works one night a year gets all the credit. Wine time.

This is the weekly colum

Nebbiolo is the extraordinary grape closely identified with the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy and particularly with the region’s great wines: Barolo and Barbaresco. Let’s explore.

The origins of the nebbiolo name is a bit foggy. It likely derives from the Italian word “nebbia” or the Piedmontese word “nebia.” Both mean “fog”—a reference to fogs that come to the Langhe region, where the grapes are grown, during the October harvest.

Italian Piedmont region vineyard

Nebbiolo grapes make wines with bold flavors and very high levels of tannins and acidity, which is why they require several years of aging to become drinkable, and can age for decades. While the wines are bold, the color is not—more the pale ruby also associated with pinot noir.

Nebbiolo flowers early and ripens late, so vineyard site selection is important. Vines are vigorous, requiring significant management to ensure quality grapes. This finicky nature challenges grape growers and increases the price, but the reward is some of the world’s most prestigious wines.

Barolo and Barbaresco—named for the small villages in the center of their production areas—are the iconic nebbiolo wines. They are produced in adjacent areas in the Langhe hills of Piedmont. Barolo is southwest of the city of Alba. Barbaresco is northeast of Alba, 14 miles away from Barolo.

Although geographically close, the wines have somewhat different characteristics. Barolo—called “the wine of kings and the king of wines”—is more robust and full-bodied with higher tannins and acidity. And the “kings” quote is not just a clever 18th century tagline. The Savoys, Italy’s first (and last) kings really did love Barolo.

Barbaresco is more approachable and elegant with softer tannins and lighter body. There is a royalty quote about Barbaresco, too: “We call Barolo the king, and Barbaresco the queen.”

Italian DOCG regulations are strict for both. Barolo must have a minimum of 38 months total aging, with a minimum of 18 months in wood. Barbaresco must have a minimum of 26 months total aging, with a minimum of nine months in wood. In both cases, winemakers routinely exceed the minimum requirements.

Tasting notes

• Riva Leone Barbaresco DOCG 2017: Prominent tannins, as expected in Barbaresco, well-balanced by acidity. Recommend decanting, pretty much standard on a young Barbaresco. $35 Link to my review

• Pio Cesare Barolo Pio DOCG 2018: Polished, approachable, delicious from signature maker. Rich dark fruits framed by approachable tannins and oak. You can let this age gracefully, but when decanted it is wonderful now. $75-85 Link to my review

Last round

Why did the math student do multiplication problems on the floor? Because the teacher insisted students could not use tables. Wine time.

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Wine is in turmoil. People are turning to alcohol alternatives. Red wine sales are down, white and rosé are up. French and Italians and Spanish are drinking less wine. There is a glut of wine. What?!

This scenario was improbable just a few years ago when wine world was surfing on the wave of the global wine boom. Old world drank almost all they produced, China guzzled, U.S. boomers joyously enjoyed. Then COVID and anti-alcohol reports—all alcohol is bad for you—and alcohol alternatives. Semi-full stop. Too much wine, too few drinkers. Industry semi-panic.

Well,  take a deep breath. The wine industry is not in the ditch with donkey’s feet pointing toward the sky. Yes, there is retrenchment, which every industry experiences. Welcome to the real world dot-com millionaires who overpaid for Napa acres so you could experience your Falcon Crest fantasy. You likely will lose money. You got into this because you had money to lose.

White wine’s ascendancy is the interesting part of this evolution. Red wine has long been king. Not now. White wine’s typically lower alcohol content, compatibility with heathy foods like salads and lighter meats and fish, and fruity deliciousness is celebrated while massive oak and malolactic fermentation/conversion are in the rearview mirror of commodity wine makers. Less flamboyant efforts have pushed whites—and rosé—to the front of wine buying queue.

Which should be ecstatic joy for wine makers. Red wines take time. Usually at least three or more years from vintage to store shelf. White and rosé can easily get there in one or two. If you are a business person, consider a situation where you produce or buy a product and know you will not be able to sell for two, or five, or ten years, how much intestinal pucker are your prepared to endure? Such is the world of wine.

Wine drinkers should not despair. White and rosé wines are wonderful. They especially go well with heart-healthy foods. Rosé wines in particular straddle the divide between fish and lighter meats, not to mention vegetarian fare.

Look, I get it. A rich red wine with assertive tannins and high alcohol remains on my list, especially when munching on fatty cow flesh. But that is only one box on my dietary check list. White and rosé certainly are OK.

Last round

Little girl in a drawing lesson. Teacher went over to her and she said, “What are you drawing?”

Girl: “I’m drawing a picture of God.”

Teacher: “Nobody knows what God looks like.”

Girl: “They will in a minute.”

Wine time.

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Thanksgiving is the great American gastronomic holiday. Halloween is for foolishness, costumes, and candy. Christmas is for worship, family, and unseemly lust for gaudily wrapped material goods (somewhat antithetical to the Christian origin of the holiday).

Thanksgiving is the quintessential harvest feast. Turkey and ham and cranberry sauce and corn on the cob and cornbread and pumpkin pie and whatever else you can conjure up from the cornucopia of agricultural abundance the good Lord bestows on American tables.

The wine: pinot noir. I know arguments can be made for zinfandel and Bordeaux blends (American Bordeaux blends), even some whites and rosés. All well and good and maybe part of the groaning Thanksgiving sideboard of excess of everything. But if you want one wine for this bacchanalian extravaganza, it is pinot noir.

Pinot is among the lightest of the red wines. It thus works well with a wide array of foods you conjure up for your Thanksgiving feast. It is especially suited for turkey, goes very well with ham. The stronger California versions of pinot can hang with slow-cooked brisket. It especially is nice for family members put off by tannic, assertive red wines. Thanksgiving is a meal of comity and convaiviality. Pinot noir encourages that.

Pinot noir is a famously fickle grape, also one of the oldest varieties used for winemaking. The Catholic church was critical to its development beginning in monastery vineyards in the 6th century, then specifically named in the early 1300s. It spread to Germany as spätburgunder and in Italy as pinot nero. France’s Burgundy region is the cathedral of pinot noir, but California’s Russian River Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley now produce some of the world’s best pinots.

Pinot noir is a challenging grape due to its thin skin—thus its reserved tannins—and susceptibility to various viticulture challenges. It is called the “heartbreak grape” for a reason, which means pinot noir can be expensive. It also is worth it for your biggest gastronomic celebration of the year.

Tasting notes

• Project M Wines Personify Oregon Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley AVA 2022: Delicate, silky on initial attack, rising to power, complexity later in the palate. $40 Link to my review

• Dobbes Family Estate Eola-Amity Hills Cuvée Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2021: Excellent fruit effort. Nice tang, clean, precise, complexity, length. $45 Link to my review

• Soter Vineyards Estates Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2021: Juicy, concentrated flavors. Plush, complex, elegant, impressive structure, length. Warm vintage well played by Soter, producing a more assertive pinot noir that you anticipate from Willamette. $55-63 Link to my review

Last round

What did the farmer say when he accidentally squashed his pumpkin? Oh my gord! Wine time.

This is the weekly colum

It takes two to four centuries to grow the oak tree for a wine barrel. Then, after tree harvest, four, usually more, years to season the wood and the staves. Finally, it is time to turn the staves into a wine barrel.

Staves are planed into the correct shape, tapered and beveled to fit exactly together. A master cooper—the barrel maker—arranges 30-32 staves in a circle held together by temporary hoops. At this point, the future barrel resembles a flower with the bottom of the staves together and the tops splayed out.

The “flower” then is toasted over an open oak fire and sprayed with water to soften the wood and make it pliable. A cable system draws the splayed ends together to create the iconic barrel shape, with very careful attention to the grain of the wood.

The basic barrel shape then is “toasted” over an oak fire to develop flavors and aromas. This is a key part of the operation. The amount of the flame—light, medium, or strong—determines the character of the barrel. Low toasting emphasizes fresh fruit and elegance, while strong toasting delivers smoke, coffee, vanilla, crème brûlée, butterscotch, meats, and other flavors.

At the same time, heavy toast makes for silkier, softer tannins because heavy toast breaks down the oak tannins. Smoke is another characteristic of heavy toasting. Heavy toast is often used for big, bold red wines that can stand up to the oak influence. Heavy toast also can require longer aging for the flavors to integrate and add complexity to the wine.

In addition to how the barrels are treated, the type of oak also influences the wine. French oak produces a more subtle and delicate influence, but more tannin structure and mouthfeel. American oak imparts flavors more quickly and adds roasted coffee, coconut, sweet spice and more robust oak.

Cooper making wine barrel—Creative Commons

French, American, and eastern European oak all contribute oak nuances. The different origins of the oak deliver various levels of the oak influence.

The bottom line is wine is an agricultural product—grapes and wood. It also is the work of human hands and experienced minds.

Tasting notes

• Funckenhausen Malbec Blend, Mendoza, Argentina 2022: Vibrant, juicy full-bodied malbec-led blend. Argentine wine with hint of German heritage. $12-16 (1-liter bottle) Link to my review

• The Prisoner Wine Company Saldo Red Blend 2019: Dependable celebration of ripe zin with supporting cast. Big, powerful, not quite as high alcohol as previous vintages, but still up there are 15% ABV. $32 Link to my review

Last round

A pregnant woman began shouting: “Couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t, didn’t, can’t, don’t!” She obviously was having contractions. Wine time.

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Wine is an agricultural product. Hardly an earth-shattering revelation. But consider its scope. Not just wine vines, as essential as they may be, but in many cases—trees.

Wine and wood have a marriage dating back millions of years. Wine vines are tree climbers, a relationship accelerated after the astroid-Armageddon when 75% of all plant and animals species became extinct. Trees and grapevines survived and flourished in the aftermath.

Fast forward to recent times and the intimate nexus of wood and grape juice becomes more significant. Not only do/did trees provide grape vines a trellis upon which to climb to sunlight, they provide flavors and nuances for finishing wine.

Time scales underscore the magnificence of wine creation. Vines must grow for three years before they deliver anything useable as wine fruit, and 20 or 30 or 100 years for the best. Forests are even more long term. Better quality oak in France and America are at least 200 years old, best longer than that—top French oak comes from 400-year-old trees. Think of that. Wood that enhances and finishes the quality wine you drink today began when the American Revolution began. George Washington could have seen the sapling that grew to make the barrel used in making the red wine in your glass tonight.

Just as there are grapes of varying quality and characteristics, so with oak trees. Wood factories divide raw product according to quality. Oak designated for wine barrels cannot have flaws, so only around 20% is used for wine barrels. The remaining wood goes for furniture, home construction, and other products.

After seasoning for several years, wood destined for wine barrels is sawed into staves. Staves are evaluated for grain and flavor. Smell is important here as staves of different flavors and smell are used depending on what characteristics the winemaker intends. Then staves age two or more years before they go into the cooperage to be fashioned into barrels.

Just as winemakers blend grapes from different plots and different grape varieties, so do barrel makers blend different types of oak, different types of wood grains, and other variables. The variable of grain ranges from extra fine grain to big grain. The tighter the grain, the lesser the micro-oxygenation, which is the interaction between the juice inside the barrel and the atmosphere outside the barrel. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on what sort of wine the maker wishes to make.

Once staves are cut, they go to the cooperage. Another complex story.

Last round

A fool and his money are soon parted, especially in a wine bar.

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Some facts and trivia to lighten your mood as we prepare for the horrors of “fall back” when the government gives back the imaginary hour it stole from us on the second Sunday in March.

• Do heavier glass bottles indicate higher quality wine?

Glass weight does not affect wine quality. But there has long been a marketing illusion that better wines come in heavier bottles, and winemakers have tended to put their premier efforts in heavier bottles. But so have lesser wines been put into heavy bottles so sellers can charge more. Happily, there is a mounting movement to reduce bottle weight, which cuts down on CO2 emissions and shipping and other costs.

Symington Family Estates recently switched to lighter bottles for its Cockburn’s Port line. Their new 750 ml bottle weighs 450g down from 585g. Other wineries, especially for wines not made for aging, have shifted to cans and “juice boxes” for even greater savings.

• Will the LED lights in my wine cellar cause light strike in my wine?

UV light and heat are enemies of wine, especially in long-term storage. Traditional lights give off UV and heat. Good news is LED lights give off minimal heat and almost no UV radiation.

• What do the fancy names for bubbles in Champagne mean?

“Mousse” generally refers to the overall fizziness, also the frothy head at the top of the glass. “Perlage” is French for a string of pearls and refers to the column of bubbles rising in the glass. “Bead” basically means the same as perlage.

• What are the most planted wine grapes in the world?

This answer changes and reporting is not uniform, but best answer in 2024 is cabernet sauvignon is the most planted red and chardonnay is the most planted white.

• How do you open a bottle with a wax seal?

Ignore the wax seal. Plunge the corkscrew through the wax and pull. When the cork is pulled, the wax will fall away. Just before you fully remove the cork, you can clean up any wax debris if needed.

• What does the wine descriptor “racy” mean?

Racy is more a style, not a descriptor of quality, smell, or taste. It basically means a wine with vibrant, fresh acidity. While it most often is associated with white wine, red wines can be racy, too. Racy is a positive comment and indicates the wine will “cleanse the palate” and work well with food.

Last round

A friend asked me how much I spend on a bottle of wine?

I said: “About 45 minutes, longer with a meal.” Wine time.

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Halloween is next week, but if you are giving wine advice it’s best to give your audience some time to act on it.

First, I know of no decent pairing of wine with treacly sweet trick-or-treat candy. With somewhat less sugary candy, you can go with light, sweet wines. Wine must be at least as sweet as the candy.

If the treat is dark chocolate, you have real options. Dark chocolate typically contains 50-90% cocoa solids. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the better to pair with wine. Vintage or ruby port, sherry, and marsala are classic fortified wine pairings. Non-fortified pairing wines include zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and New World pinot noir.

If you are not part of the child extortionists plot, you can always enjoy the frivolity of an adult costume party and real wine pairings. Charcuterie boards work well with almost the entire panoply of wine. If you are enjoying a full regular meal, the usual food-wine pairings apply.

When you get to dessert, dark chocolate is in play. With pumpkin pie there are several choices:

• Mascatel sherry. Its honey, caramel, and raisin notes nicely pair with the pie.

• California chardonnay. A full-bodied chard with plenty of oak, butter, and vanilla flavors will work especially nicely with pie crust.

• Tawny port. Nutty and dried fruit flavors complement the pie.

• Oloroso sherry. Sweet, nutty flavors match with autumnal flavors of the pie.

• Late harvest gewürztraminer. Nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon flavors in this sweet wine complement spices in pumpkin pie.

• Riesling ice wine. Sweetness and acidity work with the pie’s rich, creamy textures.

As with candy, the key is the wine must be at least as sweet as the pie. In fact, that is a good rule of thumb for all wine and food pairings.

Now you are set for the last day of October ordeal or fun fest, however you roll. Answer the doorbell, pay off the kiddos demanding tribute, practice moderation, wake up the next morning to prepare for the next holiday.

Tasting notes

• Cockburn’s No. 1 Special Reserve Porto NV: Delicious, approachable. The world’s most popular special reserve premium port. $18-20 Link to my review

• Lustau East India Solera Sherry: Fascinating interplay of tangy, salty notes of oloroso grapes (80% of blend), sweetness of pedro ximénez grapes. $22-28 Link to my review

Last round

This Halloween I decided to go as a harp. At the party, a gentleman asked, “what are you supposed to be?”

“A harp,” I replied.

“No, no,” he protested. “You’re too small to be a harp.”

“So,” I asked, “are you calling me a lyre?”

Wine time.

Email: [email protected]

Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

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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.

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October begins the 17th year of this wine column. Reflections.

• Quality wine is made by grape farmers in a vineyard, not by lab coats in a winery. When this column started, I could enjoy mass production wines manipulated by oak and tartaric acid and Mega Red. As years and tasting passed, my palate grew to more appreciate wines truer to place and variety. Supermarket mass production wines have their place, but as your wine odyssey unfolds their role diminishes.

• Wine is more complex and interesting than you can grasp in a lifetime. Anyone who claims to know everything—or almost everything—about wine just proved they do not. Wine is an infinite Fabergé egg. Opening each shell presents you with a more beautiful and fascinating layer.

• Texas wines would get there. My first publisher—of a Texas newspaper—specifically told me to avoid writing about Texas wines. They were hard for readers to buy. Winemakers struggled to find grapes and cellar practices that worked in Texas. No more. Texas wines have made enormous strides. They compete on quality and are beginning to compete on distribution. They tend to be somewhat overpriced, but sell out because of the proud loyalty of Texans. If Texans will buy $18 wine for $25 dollars, Texans will sell it to them. Then use profits to elevate their wine to be worth $25.

• If you enjoy a wine, it is good wine for you. Ignore my and others opinion of it. I stated that in the first column. I believe it more today.

• You never run out of things to write about. Early on, people worried I would exhaust my subject. Not close to the truth. I have written more than 800 columns, all posted on my website. Not a single repeat. No expectation whatsoever I will run out of material.

• Supercilious tasting notes and wine scores are ridiculous. Sixteen years ago, I bet people wanted to know about wine. How it is made. The people who make it. The places it is made. What the jargon meant. With tens of thousands of readers around the world, I remain all-in on that bet. If you come to me for a pithy sentence and some score on a 100-point scale, you came to the wrong place.

My writing career has taken me many places. Sports editor of a major newspaper. Author or participant in some 20 books. A successful advertising agency owner. This column remains a beloved highlight in that career, and I deeply appreciate your being part the journey.

Last round

What washes up on tiny beaches? Microwaves. Wine time.

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Newsletter: gusclemens.substack.com

Website:  Gus Clemens on Wine website

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Long form wine stories on Vocal: Gus Clemens on Vocal

Links worth exploring

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

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