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

This is the weekly newspaper column Random wine facts and hacks 10-25-2023 Random notes on wine conundrums, weird facts, and wine hacks. • How do you open bottle with a wax seal? Instead of foil, some winemakers now substitute wax as a wine capsule. What do you do? The original purpose of wine capsules was to provide a protective shield to prevent rodents and insects from harming the cork. As that...

This is the weekly newspaper column Wine is history 10-18-2023 Every bottle of wine is a history. Usually a wine is an expression of a single year. It tells the story of that year’s climate, the people working the vineyard, the people making the wine. Plus, there is the backstory of the grapes, the vineyard, the winery, the people. Many wineries and winemakers have compelling histories. In the Old...

This is the weekly newspaper column Texas wine AVAs episode #2 10-11-2023 Texas wine facts: Texas is the fifth-largest winemaking state, behind California, Washington, New York, and Oregon. And Texas wine is No. 3 in economic impact, just behind California and New York. Both rankings according to the National Association of American Wineries. There are eight Texas AVAs (American Viticultural Regio...

This is the weekly newspaper column Texas wine AVAs episode #1 10-4-2023 Texas wine once was an amusing blip on the wine world radar. There was interesting activity around Lubbock, an ambitious project in the Big Bend, dreamers in the Hill Country, and—of course—ardent over-achievers around College Station. But wine? In Texas? Come’on man. Seriously? Well, Texas winemakers are the ones laughing no...

This is the weekly newspaper column Wine geekiness 9-27-2023 It comes with the wine writer territory: people encounter me at the grocery store, in elevators, on the street and ask me about wine. “As a wine geek…” they begin their question. Hmmm. Wine geek? The original meaning of geek was a “highly intelligent, but introverted person.” When the term entered wine nomenclator, geek also suggested so...

This is the weekly newspaper column The religion of wine 9-20-2023 Is wine a religion? Wait—I am not suggesting wine will replace my Catholicism—but we cannot ignore religious elements associated with wine. This is not about wine’s long, historic, intimate relationship with the world’s major religions. I am referring to approach, rituals, and messianic fervor associated with wine and wine worshipe...

This is the weekly newspaper column How to pair wine and cheese 9-13-2023 You know wine and cheese were made for each other. You also know not all wine pairs with all cheese. What is a person to do? Relax. Most wine you purchase at your store will pair with most cheese you purchase at your store. Perfect pairing? Maybe not. But an abomination unto the Lord? No. Remember: it is better to pair wine...

This is the weekly newspaper column Wine ingredient labels 9-6-2023 Ingredients and allergy information likely are coming to a wine label near you. Much already is mandated in Europe. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is taking comments to fine-tune U.S. mandates. The process takes time. When decisions are made winemakers have two-plus years to get approvals and print label...

This is the weekly newspaper column Labor Day 8-30-2023 Next Monday brings us to the annual bittersweet pivot from the adventures and tribulations of summer to the prayed-for succor of autumn. Labor Day. For many of us this year, September temperatures dipping into the 80s and low 90s will be a welcome relief. Soon, hopefully, the days of triple digits and record breaking will be history. Fading,...

This is the weekly newspaper column Cheap wine troubles 8-23-2023 I hate to break it to you, but the days of good cheap wine are numbered. Very drinkable wine under $10 was a holy grail of wine drinkers and wine writers for years. Alas, those days are fading in the rearview mirror of our lives. Ten dollars retail no longer covers cost of production—of growing, of bottles, of corks or screwtops or...

This is the weekly newspaper column Wine and health debate continues 8-16-2023 Is a glass or two of wine good for you or bad for you? Experts: It is good for you, you will live longer. Experts: It is bad for you, it will shorten your life. Well, thanks for clearing that up. In the 1990s, experts asserted red wine consumption with its healthy resveratrol component helps prevent cardiovascular disea...

This is the weekly newspaper column Big wine 8-9-2023 Most wine is produced by a small number of large wineries. At the same time, most wineries are small producers. In February 2023, Wine Business Monthly reported there were 11,601 wineries in the U.S. Eighty-three percent of those wineries produced 5000 cases of wine or less; 49% produced 1000 cases or less. Most U.S. wine is produced by one-hal...

This is the weekly newspaper column Rise of rosé 8-2-2023 As this gruesome summer of heat domes burns on, incidents of rosé slurping likely have increased in your wine world. Rosé has long been considered a quintessential bellwether of hot weather, so global warming is a boost to the rise of rosé. Rosé relishing was ascendant even before this sad summer of sizzle. While rosé is wonderful well chil...

This is the weekly newspaper column Old vines celebrated 7-26-2023 “Old vines”—marketing hype or a real and important thing? For the creators of the Old Vine Registry (OVR), old vines are a real and important element of the wine world. Start with definition. OVR defines old vines as vines/vineyards at least 35 years old. For many, 35 doesn’t even seem old, but there is logic behind the designation...

This is the weekly newspaper column. America’s first AVA 7-19-2023 American Viticultural Areas attempt to tie wines to places. Ideally, vineyards in a specific AVA share similarities in soil, climate, geology, and elevation. Those various things, along with human interaction, comprise what winemakers call “terroir.” By definition, an AVA is a wine grape-growing region that provides an official app...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Beat the heat with wine 7-12-2023 If you live in the southern part of the USA, summer 2023 has been a horror. Record-breaking high temperatures, the sort of records no sane person wants to brag about. There is a wine solution, especially if you want to have an outdoor family event around pool, patio, porch, picnic, dock, backyard. Or inside with the AC cranked...

This is the weekly newspaper column. John Steinbeck, riffing from Shakespeare’s Richard III, wrote: “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun…” With respect to both august authors, now is the “summer of our excruciation” when—at least in my Texas—triple-digit, record-high temperatures produced by the “glorious summer by this sun” heat dome are making William Carrier, t...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Wine descriptions often refer to “texture.” What the heck does that mean? There is a texture difference between silk and sandpaper. There is a texture difference between a crisp apple and creamy mashed potatoes. Wine is a liquid. Liquid is liquid texture, right? Well, no. Not with wine. Red wines have texture, usually tied to tannins. Pinot noir texture often i...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Back to basics 6-21-2023 Arcane knowledge is the bane of wine writers. While we fulminate over nuance differences between bâtonnage and pump-over, readers roll their eyes over esoteric words with obscure, oddly accented letters. Reboot. Back to basics: Wine 101. • Wine is an alcoholic beverage. While wine can be made from any fruit, most wine is made from “wine...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Wedding Champagne 6-14-2023 Last week we argued Champagne was a poor choice for a wedding reception. Too many people, too high prices, too much cacophony to appreciate expensive French bubbles. Champagne has a place. Consider it for an intimate honeymoon meal. Consider it for an anniversary tête-à-tête. Consider it when you want to treat yourselves to a special...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Wedding bubbly 6-5-2023 June—the wedding month. Time for celebration and Champagne. Well, yes and no. Celebration, surely. Champagne at the wedding? Let’s think about that. Many weddings, at least the reception part, are boisterous, topsy-turvy events. A wonderful whirl of activities by an eclectic gathering of people who likely fill out the entire bell curve o...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Wine supply and demand 5-31-2023 The U.S. wine industry has been on an historic 50-year run. Demand from Baby Boomers drove the effort. Now the wine industry is fearful the run is done and tough choices loom. In the 1970s there were about 1,000 wineries in the United States. Today, there are more than 11,500. Napa has gone from 25 wineries in 1975 to more than...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Wine bottle shapes 5-24-2023 Wine bottles come in various shapes, sizes, weights, and colors of glass. A quick tour. Bottle shapes: • Tall, slender. Wines from Germany’s Mosel and France’s Alsace. Green, brown, and blue glass historically marked regional differences. • Tall, curvy, often distinctive. Once exclusive for rosés from the Côtes de Provence. Now can...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Same-tasting wines 5-17-2023 We are privileged to live in a wine time that surpasses all of history for quality, consistency, and availability. Wines that would have evoked drooling admiration a half century ago now are available in quantity for $20 or less at your neighborhood supermarket. If you are looking for something to criticize about that, wine critics...

This is the weekly newspaper column. Wente Clone made California chardonnay 5-10-2023 If you enjoy California chardonnay, you likely have Charles Wente and his children to thank for it. Wente came to America in the 19th century. Upon arrival, he learned how to make wine from famed vintner Charles Krug. In 1883, he established a 47-acre estate and winery in the Livermore Valley, 45 miles east of Sa...