Rumblings on wine, 2021 holiday season edition

[David M. Bueker]

I have always been excited to get the FedEx emails telling me that my wine has shipped. Not this year! Now I go into panic mode about whether the box will mysteriously detour to Huntsville, Alabama yet simultaneously spend a three day weekend in a suburb of Chicago! At least UPS just goes with the passive-aggressive “your delivery is being rescheduled” notice.

There are too many interesting wines in the world. I would need to live to 150, and have the disposable income of Jeff Bezos to try everything I want to taste. So that Counoise that Jenise posted about on Instagram is NOT going on my list. It’s not! It’s not!…Do they ship? Please not FedEx.

Also shipment related, my recycle bin needs to be three times larger to accommodate all the cardboard/pulp shippers. At least cutting them up saves space. Some of the pulp inserts are stamped “compostible.” My neighbor thinks I am trying to grow bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon.

I need to embrace decanting. I don’t do it much because it creates extra stuff to clean. It’s so helpful with certain wines that I need to just get over it.

Drinking some 2008 & 2009 California Pinot Noirs this past week, and they are still quite young, with good balance. I doubt the 2005s would be traveling the same trajectory. 2007 or so seemed to be an inflection point for better handling of Pinot, with fewer wineries trying to mimic high-octane Cabs.

Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett now costs $175. This makes no sense. At least I hope it makes no sense, or J. J. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett is about to go past my price tolerance point.

I have read a great deal on wine boards about how messed up shipping is right now in the US. It does sound extremely aggravating. It's just one of the many things that COVID has *%&#ed up over the past 20 months or so. When you look back, it's amazing how many things we all took for granted for so many years/decades!

It's hard for me to relate to the shipping frustrations, though, as we don't have the ability to ship wine between Canada and the US. We only just, in the last year or two, are able to legally ship wine between certain (not all) provinces in Canada. The ability of Americans to ship wines so relatively easily (compared to us) has always been a slight source of jealously for me. That and the auctions that are available (practically none for us). We get what the provincial monopoly tells us we are going to get! So again, you are still very lucky to have the ability to ship wines between states, although I know it isn't at all perfect with the three tier system in place there. The only positive of having no similar system here is that it makes it a bit more difficult - though certainly not impossible as I can attest - to spend too much money and/or buy too much wine!

Those are a few reasons to be thankful in the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend south of the border!

[David M. Bueker]

It still wasn’t easy, even before COVID. The signature requirements and 50 different sets of shipping laws were something to overcome.

I am sure my wife would prefer more shipping restrictions!

It still wasn’t easy, even before COVID. The signature requirements and 50 different sets of shipping laws were something to overcome.

Indeed. I never really noticed the crazy routes, but I would only ship from Nyc to NC, which is pretty straightforward in terms of the route. But, because of weather, the signature requirement and the need to be home and avoid having the package get sent to some warehouse, pre-covid I only felt comfortable shipping a few weeks per year!

I need to embrace decanting. I don’t do it much because it creates extra stuff to clean. It’s so helpful with certain wines that I need to just get over it.

Indeed. I've fluctuated on decanting over the years. These days, I mostly decant for older wines with sediment. But not so much for younger wines that need air. I seem to be getting along just fine with opening and watching them evolve over a few hours. Although it depends on the wine.

[David M. Bueker]

I need to embrace decanting. I don’t do it much because it creates extra stuff to clean. It’s so helpful with certain wines that I need to just get over it.

Indeed. I've fluctuated on decanting over the years. These days, I mostly decant for older wines with sediment. But not so much for younger wines that need air. I seem to be getting along just fine with opening and watching them evolve over a few hours. Although it depends on the wine.

I normally end of with 1/3 to 1/2 the bottle left from any given night…so I do get an extra look 24 hours later, but I do wonder what I might be missing. Maybe I’ll do “Decanting January” instead of the dreaded Dryuary.

I normally end of with 1/3 to 1/2 the bottle left from any given night…so I do get an extra look 24 hours later, but I do wonder what I might be missing.

These days I usually have about that much left as well. (Except for the off-dry rieslings which evaporate much more quickly) And I agree there is probably some action occurring in-between my last sip on day 1 and my first sip on day 2. But, not so much that I'm terribly bothered about it!

[Jenise]

I don't know what kind of decanters you have, but maybe one that doesn't require handwashing would make a difference for you?
I decant more often than not (I can't stand sediment, even the fine silty kind in 5-10 year old wines) and I use a decanter that I went and hunted down from a restaurant supply because I loved them at a restaurant we frequently went to in BC. They're durable, dishwasher-safe, and have narrower bases so they don't take up so much shelf space. I have Riedels and stuff but I like these MUCH better.

[Jenise]

So I went to look at the restaurant supply I bought mine from and they're no longer in the catalog. Weren't on Amazon either, so I guess I'm lucky to have bought six (no smaller option) when I did.

[David M. Bueker]

I don't know what kind of decanters you have, but maybe one that doesn't require handwashing would make a difference for you?
I decant more often than not (I can't stand sediment, even the fine silty kind in 5-10 year old wines) and I use a decanter that I went and hunted down from a restaurant supply because I loved them at a restaurant we frequently went to in BC. They're durable, dishwasher-safe, and have narrower bases so they don't take up so much shelf space. I have Riedels and stuff but I like these MUCH better.

We don't have a dishwasher, so it's not a consideration. That said, I have a bunch of simple Libby decanters that are easy to clean. I just don't use them nearly as often as I should.

[Jenise]

No dishwasher [she said, aghast at the thought]?

[David M. Bueker]

No dishwasher [she said, aghast at the thought]?

Ayup. Really no place to install one either, unless we gut the kitchen (oh how I would love to do that, but $$$$$$$$$$$$$$).

[Jenise]

So, older home originally designed without? Lots like that around here, too.

[David M. Bueker]

So, older home originally designed without? Lots like that around here, too.

Yes. 1968.