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

This is the weekly column Continuing our investigation of wine descriptors. Last week we noted wine shares the same molecules as familiar, pleasant tastes and smells. But what about all those weird descriptors? Linnaea Mallette • Barnyard/sheep butt: Associated with pinot noir, particularly from Burgundy but also sometimes from elsewhere. Believe it or not, it is an earthy scent often associated w...

This is the weekly column Using words to describe wine is fraught with peril and leaves wine writers exposed to ridicule. Adapting a line from Martin Mull: writing about wine is like dancing about architecture. And we do it anyway. Many terms about wine tastes and smells are easy to understand, delicious to imagine. Cherry, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, plum, peach, pear, apricot, cranberry, l...

This is the weekly column Grapes remain the highest value fruit crop in the U.S.—estimated at $7 billion. There are a million acres of grape-bearing land in the U.S.—wine grapes, table grapes, and raisin grapes. The U.S. produces some 900 million gallons of wine, 12 percent of worldwide production. There are some 11,000 wineries in the U.S. located in all 50 states. A note: numbers are imprecise b...

This is the weekly column For Christians, the coming days are a transition from the promise of Christmas to the time of fulfillment of Easter. Jesus’s first reported miracle—the wedding feast at Cana—and his last miracle, at the Last Supper, involved wine. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox churches include wine in every celebration. Viewed differently theologically, Episcopalian...

This is the weekly column While wine has been an integral part of civilization for at least 8,000 years, it also is subject to the waxes and wanes of fashion. What is rad and fav today can be tomorrow’s meh. Think merlot. Think white zinfandel. Think Milli Vanilli. In the 1990s and 2000s wine enjoyed the intoxicating euphoria of being the next big thing. Wine sales  grew in double digits. Wine rep...

This is the weekly column Porto (port wine) often is mistaken to be a depth-of-winter libation sipped while gazing at a roaring fire, the finale to a robust meal. Porto certainly works in that scenario, but you miss out if you so limit your porto possibilities. Port can be enjoyed any time, including chilled in summer. In fact, tawny port is best appreciated slightly chilled. Ruby port and vintage...

This is the weekly column More interesting facts and trivia about wine: • World wine production averages around 6.5 billion gallons a year. • Portugal has the most wine consumption in the world at 13.7 gallons per person per year. • Italy drinks 12.3 gallons, France 12.2, Switzerland 9.4, Austria 7.9, Australia 7.3, Argentina 7.3, Germany 7.3, Sweden 7.1, Netherlands 6.4, Spain 6.3. • Although the...

This is the weekly column Some interesting facts and trivia about wine: • The Bible mentions wine 247 times. Forty of those mentions are negative, usually warnings against abuse. There are 145 positive mentions, usually in the context of meals, blessings, and worship. There are 62 neutral mentions, mostly describing situations. • The country of Georgia, at the intersection of Europe and Asia, is t...

This is the weekly column Wine has enjoyed quite a run. Consumption up for decades. Quality up—the best in the 8,000 year history of wine. Availability up, thanks in no small part to elimination of antediluvian restrictions on direct-to-consumer wine sales. Nothing, however, lasts forever. Consumption has leveled off. Quality remains, but now the problem is too much wine. For consumers, nice probl...

This is the weekly column Valentine’s Day, the inspired capitalist fabrication of greeting card makers, florists, and chocolatiers, happens next Wednesday. Here are some notions about wine to titillate your cherished someone. This is something of a sweet and soft day, so shy away from dry, acidic whites. Sauvignon blanc is a splendidly versatile food wine, but anything that sometimes is described...

This is the weekly column Terroir is that baffling French term you often encounter with wine. There is another French term that sums up the meaning of terroir— je ne sais quoi [something that cannot be fully described or expressed]. In broadest terms, terroir means an entire combination of factors—soil, climate, sunlight, people working the vineyard and the winery, natural yeasts, water, the kitch...

This is the weekly column You likely have seen the description “old vine” on a wine label. What exactly does that mean and is it  important? “Old vine” does not have a legal meaning, but generally in the wine world an “old vine” is a vine that is 35 years old. Thirty-five may not seem old, but in the wine world vines are their most productive between age three and 35. After that, vines produce loo...

This is the weekly column Laura Catena interview Part Five 1-17-2024 Dr. Laura Catena, managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata, is considered the face of Argentine wine and a major spokesperson for wine in general. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard and earning a medical degree from Stanford, she practiced medicine in San Francisco for 25 years while also helping run the family winery...

This is the weekly column California’s Goldilocks vintage 1-10-2024 It is a new year and time for some good news. Recent history has not been kind for wine. Demand, after decades of euphoric gains, has been flat. Mother Nature has not been kind to several regions with drought, hail, spring freezes, fires, bugs. All the usual suspects. California, however, enjoyed a Goldilocks year in 2023. And we...

This is the weekly column Meteorological seasons 1-3-2024 It is early January. Barely into winter. Except it isn’t barely into winter if you reckon by the more rational system of “meteorological seasons.” By that measure, we are one-third-plus finished with winter. Huh? Meteorological seasons are more logical and easier to work with than the longest day, shortest day, equal day kludge inflicted up...

This is the weekly column New Year’s bubbly 12-27-2023 While sparkling wine deserves to be enjoyed year-round, New Year’s Eve and special celebrations are when most people experience it. Suggestions on New Year strategies: • First, consider limiting your celebration to your home or friends/family very close by. New Year’s Eve is amateur drunk night, and even if you celebrated responsibly, there is...

This is the weekly column Wine for Christmas 12-20-2023 If you are reading this column, there is a good chance wine will be part of your Christmas/holiday celebration. Observations: • The big meal is a hectic time. Likely lots of food, also lots of commotion and distractions. Don’t waste your best wine on this event. Save your best for when it can be calmly appreciated and more of a focus of the m...

This is the weekly column Christmas gifts 12-13-2023 So, you want to give a wine-related gift for Christmas. Some recommendations. Avoid kitschy wine gadgets. Some include: • Colored wine glasses, glasses with illustrations on them. You want an adequately sized, tulip-shaped glass that is clear so you can see the color of the wine. • Stemless wine glasses. Yes, once a rage. But stemless glasses qu...

This is the weekly column Laura Catena interview Part Four 12-6-2023 Dr. Laura Catena, managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata, is considered the face of Argentine wine. She is an amazing woman— magna cum laude Harvard grad with a medical degree from Stanford. She practiced medicine for 25 years while helping run the family winery with her father, Dr. Nicolás Catena Zapata, who also was a profes...

This is the weekly column (sent out inadvertently on 12-2-2023 Laura Catena interview Part Four 12-6-2023 Dr. Laura Catena, managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata, is considered the face of Argentine wine. She is an amazing woman— magna cum laude Harvard grad with a medical degree from Stanford. She practiced medicine for 25 years while helping run the family winery with her father, Dr. Nicolás...

Qvevri 11-29-2023 It seems inevitable. Whatever is “in” eventually will be “out.” Whatever is out eventually will be the next big thing. In the wine world, orange/amber wine and qvevri are examples. Orange/amber wine is made in the simplest way. Grapes are dumped in a container and nature takes its course. In this process, the juice from white grapes is not removed from the skins, stems, and seeds...

This is the weekly newspaper column Laura Catena interview Part Three 11-22-2023 Dr. Laura Catena is the managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata and often called the face of Argentinian wine. A fourth-generation vintner, she also is a magna cum laude grad from Harvard and earned a medical degree from Stanford. She practiced medicine in San Francisco for 25 years while helping run the family wine...

This is the weekly newspaper column Thanksgiving strategies 11-15-2023 Thanksgiving is the greatest of all the food-centered holidays. July Fourth is hot dogs and beer. Christmas is sugar highs and multitudinous distractions. New Years is about regrets in the cold, harsh light of the next morning. But Thanksgiving has been a true, pure harvest feast since Abraham Lincoln established it in 1863. In...

This is the weekly newspaper column Laura Catena interview Part Two 11-8-2023 Dr. Laura Catena is managing director of Bodega Catena Zapata, one of Argentina’s leading wineries, and spokesperson for the brand. This is part two of my recent interview. Dr. Laura Catena • What is the greatest challenge running a large wine operation? We run our family winery like a small winery—every parcel of vineya...

This is the weekly newspaper column Laura Catena interview Part One 11-1-2023 Laura Catena is considered the face of Argentine wine and a wine world leader. I recently interviewed her and will share the interview in columns in November and December. Laura is a fourth-generation Argentine vintner. Her father, Dr. Nicolás Catena Zapata, not only ran the family winery, he also was a professor of econ...