One of the things that always bothers me about having wine shipped to the house is the horrendous amount of Styrofoam packing involved. There's really no good use for the stuff other than sending it back to the shipper. Unfortunately, more often than not, it simply ends up getting thrown away. We've probably gone though enough of the stuff to turn our house into a cruise ship. Today, we received a wine shipment from Claudia Springs and I was pleasantly surprised to see the packing marked with a recycling code of "1" which, means that we can recycle it where we live. So, in addition to making great wine, Claudia Springs uses great packaging. The VinoPak is made of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from recycled plastic bottles. So not only is it made from recycled materials, it can be recycled again and even turned into polar fleece. If you've got a favorite winery you order from, why not send them a message letting them know you would prefer this kind of packaging to the giant foam blocks? Better yet, support a winery that already uses it! I think we'll be seeing more of both Claudia Springs and Pride Polymers in our future.

// posted by Steve @ 7:06 PM 0 comments

OK, so maybe it was more like Wine Making 001 but it was still a heck of a lot of fun. Greg, our instructor at Beverage Art Brewer and Winemaker Supply greeted us as we entered the shop. Well actually, we entered a pet shop first. You have to go through the pet shop to get to the wine shop. Don't let the smell of wet dog bother you since you won't actually be making wine in the shop. Savor the looks of concern from fellow classmates as you exit the back of the shop into what appears to be the alley. Unhappy wives abound. Those frowns quickly turn upside-down as the first of the wine is poured. All the wine is locally produced (not grown) stuff from the Wild Blossom winery located right in Chicago. I have to admit the quality was varied but the wine that was good, was very good. The Syrah in particular was enjoyed by all. The favorites of the night were the meads. Produced from locally grown honey, they were quite excellent. Everyone left with smiles on their faces and grape stains on their pants. Oh, the wine making? Turns out making wine is cinch! All you do is dump a bunch of stuff into a 6-gallon bucket and mix it all up with a giant spoon. Some guy comes by later and does something with it. I'm not sure what, but they'll call when it's ready. Stay tuned for a quality update after it's bottled.

All kidding aside, we learned a few things about the wine making process and the ingredients that go into wine. It's not just grapes and feet! The instructor was very knowledgeable and he does offer classes where you start with actual fruit. Frankly, that sounds like too much work. It was a great group and everyone had a good time. I'll reserve judgement on the quality of the starter kits from Wine Experts until I actually taste the finished product.  No matter how the wine turns out, the Beginning Winemaking Class is a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon. A great gift to give that hard to buy for person in your life. 

// posted by Steve @ 3:25 PM 0 comments

You can drink wine and save the environment. Just make sure you're reaching for a bottle sealed with real cork. I've written about this before but I find it fascinating how every decision we make has a downstream effect on the environment. Scientists in Portugal have determined exactly how much carbon is retained by the cork in your bottle and the cork forests where they're grown. Drinking 122 bottles a year offsets 1,183.40 grams of carbon dioxide. If my math is correct, that's 9.7 grams per bottle. Burning a 60 watt light bulb for one hour produces 3.3 pounds of carbon dioxide (or 1,496.85 grams). So you'd have to drink 154.3 bottles an hour or, you could just drink in the dark. Either way, every little bit helps!

// posted by Steve @ 5:43 PM 2 comments

Maybe I'm simple but, I would like to think that a wine named "Calistoga Cellars" was actually produced from grapes (mostly) grown in Calistoga. Unfortunately, I know enough about the world of business to know that's probably a poor assumption. You see, a few years back, the good people of Calistoga filed a petition to have it declared an American Viticultural Area or AVA. Unfortunately for them, the owner of Calistoga Cellars objected. So while he continues to buy grapes from other areas and stamp the name Calistoga on them, it's really the consumers that suffer. Either our AVA system in the U.S. is based on geography or it's not but, some one has to decide. Please, let's make that decision based on the greatest benefit for wine drinkers rather than the highest profit for wine producers.

// posted by Steve @ 9:09 PM 0 comments

Found a good and short article on the Seattle Post Intelligencer on how to really taste your wine. I'll add one more suggestion to number 5, chew. It sounds weird but sometimes with a really big red wine, I find chewing it really brings out the flavor. Oh, and what's the deal with point number 6? Spit? Not an option.

// posted by Steve @ 1:17 PM 0 comments

I would totally do a wine cruise if I didn't get so horribly sea sick every time I set foot on a boat. Although, maybe with enough wine I could trick my inner ear into relaxing. IN any case, it sounds like a great trip up the coast of Spain and France.

// posted by Steve @ 1:13 PM 0 comments