Hello Fellow Wine Enthusiasts,
Introduction:
Tom Petty could have been referring to me and wine when he sang the words: “I’m restless, restless through and through…”
One of the things that first inspired me to launch Vinesse with a friend in 1993 was our desire to seek out wines from the four – sometimes remote – corners of the world and share the experiences with our Club members. Over the span of now nearly three decades, I have had the good fortune to taste wine from some pretty exotic locations: Bosnia, Lebanon, Croatia, Mexico, Santorini, the Azores. I have also tasted wines made in the more common old and new world wine producing countries, and no small number of the United States.
You could say I have a restless palate – and a hyperactive passport. Yet after a career of doing it, it remains “a labor of love.” There is always more to learn.
I recently came across this article that I thought I would share with you all, as it reminded me of the economic and cultural good that is done when wine professionals seek out wine from the more obscure producers in the world. That is what our awesome team of wine makers and wine buyers do every day!
661,669 trees!
“That best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
- Chinese Proverb
I just received a letter from our friends at American Forests, and it really made my day – my week even. I thought I would share a little of it here:
We are grateful to have generous friends like Vinesse Wines whose gifts allow American Forests to restore and protect endangered forest ecosystems.
American Forests kept busy this past spring and summer with urban plantings in Chicago, Columbus and Detroit as well as some plantings in the Sierra National Forest, Tahoe National Forest and El Dorado National Forest in California. With the help from companies like yours, American Forests was able to plant 660,000 trees in large forested areas and 1,669 trees in urban areas.
We look forward to continuing our momentum this fall with plantings in more cities like Detroit, Michigan and expanding our work in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
We could not save these threatened forests, large and small, without you. Thank you for partnering with us to restore forests which are essential to all life on earth.
It you are interested in learning more about their work, visit American Forests.
Natural Wine?
If you’re like me, you may be equal parts amused and confused by the new trend of wines that proclaim themselves to be “sugar-free” and/or “all natural.” The very process of fermentation is one where yeast converts sugar (in the grapes) into alcohol. The drier the wine the less sugar it has. Most table wines have less than 10g per liter. (However, things like dessert wines which are often not fermented to dry and which are “fortified” with added alcohol, are a different matter.)
As for “natural wines” it really is a meaningless designation, but suffice it to say that most winemakers I have ever met and worked with aspire to make wines that have as little “assistance” as possible, preferring to let the vineyard, the yeast, and the grapes do the talking.
That said, this is an especially humorous take on the trendiness of the natural wine movement.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and thank you for being a loyal member of Vinesse.
Cheers!
Larry Dutra, CEO and Founder
P.S. We are super excited to have launched our most comprehensive Holiday Gift Selection ever. You can link to it here.
