Category: Recent Columns

Followers of my wine writing know I do not do negative wine reviews. I consider myself a curator rather than a critic. If you want snark about a particular wine, others are happy to satisfy you.

Why this conscious choice? There is limited space and time in my newspaper columns, online posts, podcasts—and my life, for that matter. I choose to spend that allotment on subjects you may enjoy and convey positive commentary about wines, people who make them, and where they are made. The world has a plethora of people engaged in putdowns and callous comments. I am not among them.

That said, there are wines I do not savor, and I have flirted with mentioning them in the 16-plus years of this column. Excellent wines do not have to be expensive, but they are seldom cheap. If you spend less than $10 on a bottle, the odds are good it will not be undrinkable, also not remarkable. Wine is a business. You get what you pay for.

“Supermarket wines”—frequently touted as exclusive although they often are generic commodity wines with a catchy label slapped on a “shiner” bottle. But they are drinkable. They oftentimes have added residual sugar—no winery goes broke making sweetened wines—and ramped up alcohol. Fine. If you enjoy, it is good wine for you. Just know, quality wine can be more, especially when married to a quality meal.

There are boxed wines—really a bag in a box—that are environmentally responsible to the Earth and fiscally responsible to your budget. Bota Box and Black Box certainly have more than drinkable offerings, and there are others. There also are several bag-in-a-box wines that are plonk made only so the wedding party or the charity gathering will juice up the participants while not bankrupting the hosts.

Quality wines cost money because they take time, effort, skill, and luck to make them. Those are the wines I print/post about. It is a wonderful privilege to receive many of these wines free from the wineries who want me to review their effort. I also purchase wines to review. In all cases, as I sip and stare at the screen on my computer, my thought is “would my readers and followers find joy and pleasure?” If yes, I write. If no, I delete.

Wine is a special food that has enhanced human life for 8,000 years. All I want to do is a small part in advancing that mission.

Last round: If cats could text you back, they wouldn’t. Wine time.

Wine columnists are expected to have opinions, and I have many. Here are four to rile up readers. Continue reading “Gripes and opinions 2-5-2025” →