Winebits 705: Drink Local, glass bottles, ancient wine

This week’s wine news: Is regional wine coming to the wine business’ rescue? Plus, one more analysis dissects glass bottles and wine may be even more ancient than we thought

• Regional wine to the rescue? The mainstream media has again discovered Drink Local, offering it as a way to enjoy wine without crowds and high prices as the pandemic ends. Plus, writes Erica Lamberg in USA Today, “Just keep in mind your wine-tasting and winery visits may be different that you’re used to. But that can be a good thing.” Which, of course, is what those of us who support regional wine have been saying for years. Lamberg suggests Colorado, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as Oregon – though it’s hardly off the beaten path. The first three are first-rate suggestions, and it’s especially nice to see Pennsylvania – not among Drink Local’s best-known states – on the list.

• No more glass? Emilie Steckenborn, writing in the British trade magazine Harpers, doesn’t mince words: “The sustainability wave is sweeping across the world, and there’s hardly an industry that could see a more radical transformation than food and beverages. While consumers are happy to see changes in food packaging, the wine sector – with 19 billion glass bottles sold into the global market annually – is a slow mover.” Which, of course, is not news to anyone who has been paying attention. Still, that the article appears where it does, and that it speaks so forcefully, is a sign that more and more people who are part of wine see the need for change.

• How old was it? Wine drinking in Europe may date to 4300 BC in prehistoric Greece – much earlier than previously thought. Archaeologists working in northern Greece have found thousands of ancient grape seeds and pomace – residue from pressed grapes – in the remains of a burned house near Philippi. That may be a couple of thousand years earlier than first suspected. As such, it’s the earliest evidence of wine drinking in Europe, and researchers expect the work to shed more light on the daily activities of ancient Greeks. So far, there is no evidence that the three-tier system existed in ancient Greece, but that’s probably just an oversight.

Photo: “Greece-0895 – Wide-bowled Drinking Cup” by archer10 (Dennis) is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0