Part of the purpose of this column has been for
me to babble on about wine, food and people.
When combined correctly and in ascending
degrees of moderation these elements can coalesce
into a lovely mixture worthy of full fledged
enjoyment and, of course, the printed word.
However, another purpose to this column was to
present an industry that is bountiful, growing
and, in relation to industry as a whole in this
country, remarkably clean and conscientious. In
my efforts to duplicate "real life columnists"
situations and to frustrate the boss, I occasionally
am writing my column several days after the
deadline. In doing so it is sometimes convenient to
skip the philosophy and the politics and focus
solely on the wine.
This is not necessarily bad; however, it is not
exactly in keeping with my look on life or with the
spirit and heart with which this paper is
published. The other day while working away at
my real job, Moz Wright -- sword swallower
supreme, entertainer extrodinaire and good guy in
general — showed up with a load of material to
recycle. Included in that load were several copies
of The Edge. Of course, I wish people saved their
copies o f The Edge the way people save National
Geographic or The New Yorker but failing that it
warms my heart to know that they are meeting a
fitting destiny. The appearance of The Edge gave
me a clue as to my April column: wine bottle
washing.
I believe the Good Reverend was the first person
I ever met whom I was aware of being completely
nuts for recycling. Billy was, of all the untold
number of people who worked on the 1990
Recycling Initiative, the most ideologically
clearheaded about it. Actually, he gets a tie with
Quincy Sugarman. Now that, good gracious, in
some ways I am a professional recycler I believe it
is only fitting to incorporate that aspect of what I
do with this column, at least for this month.
What happens to all the wine bottles you go
through? Oh sure, you recycle them, but what is
the end result? I am sure you've heard of the
"Green Glass Mountain" created by tons of
unwanted, used green glass. Well, once upon a
time there was a plan to wash, and, therefore,
reuse wine bottles. Reuse comes in second on the 4
Rs scale: That is. Reduce, Reuse, Repair and
Recycle. Reduction of use obviously comes first
and needs the most work by our society; reuse is an
’ increasingly viable concept; repairs can save
tremendous amounts of landfill/ recycling/
junkyard space on large, durable products; and
recycling, the most infamous, sexiest and
widespread of the Big 4 completes the way to
protect the environment from unnecessary waste.
In 1992 an eager beaver of a Reed College grad
named Xander Patterson decided to see if he could
tap into the expanding wine and recycling
industries and bring them together. In
cooperation with the darkly destined Sunflower
Recycling he applied for a grant from Metro (a
widely criticized bureaucracy) under the now-
extinct 1% For Recycling project. As it turns out
he was unfortunate enough to be granted, in total,
in the neighborhood of $150,000 to start,
implement and oversee this star-crossed concept.
The total does not include the large sums of money
that Xander reportedly sunk into this venture.
The first project that was undertaken was to
collect and sort bottles. Now you might think that
this was a fairly mundane part of the task. On the
contrary the collection of unbroken wine bottles
was laborious and the sorting system was
convoluted. To give you an idea of the sorts that
were used allow me to run you through some of the
basics: First, you start with the size of the bottle. A
3, 7, or 1 to classify a 375, 750, or 1000 ML bottle (of
which over 99% of wine bottles fall into).
Secondly, the shape. Numbers m 1 -4 to denote
claret (Bordeaux), Burgundy, hock and Cal hock
(for tall tapered bottles). Thirdly, color, of which
there are 8: Flint, tinted, dead leaf green (the most
widely used Burgundy color in the USA), emerald,
dark green, olive, amber, and smoke. Pen-
ultimately, punt or no-punt (the indentation in
the bottom of the bottle) and lastly, country of
origin. S o ... imagine throwing around bottles
and yelling out "723PF" or "121 NA" and knowing
what the hell you were talking about. A handful
of people lived this sorting existence for months.
The thing about washing wine bottles is that you
need something to wash them with. That "thing"
was to be the most sophisticated, high-tech
specifically designed bottle washing machine in
the world. (At this point I will resist telling a long,
convoluted story about an allegedly less than
reputable partner in this business. The telling of
this story could potentially involve huge lawsuits,
legal precedents and all sorts of unpleasantries so
this will all be left to the imagination.)
Essentially, the machine did not work to
expectations. The problem: Pressure Sensitive
Labels. They simply did not come off.
So it all came down to having a machine that did
not do what was expected of it, a manual that was
written in German (honest), tons of well sorted
bottles, incredibly labor intensive work and a
product that only sold for between $4-$5 a case.
Sales were actually no problem, wineries were
lining up to buy back washed bottles, but orders
could not possibly have been filled given the
problems.
Ultimately the weight of the problems brought
this far-sighted venture to a screeching halt in
early 1993. This, coupled with the demise of
Sunflower, ended two of the most adventurous
sojourns into recycling this country has ever
known. The point of the column has not been to
trash recycling as a viable business, but to talk
rationally about two industries with
complementary interests that tried to get together
once, failed and learned from the experience.
The amount of glass used in the country is
staggering, even given the amount of companies
that have switched over to plastic bottles. Gobs of
glass is recycled. Much of it, especially green
glass which is mostly imported and, therefore, has
little market for domestic recycling, is waiting for
cost-effective things to be turned into. Reuse is
still such a small portion of our mindset and
recycling market, that good ideas turn into
nightmares. You should be asking the question of
everything you recycle, "What happens to this?"
and especially of items such as glass wine bottles
that have tons of potential to be reused before they
are recycled or left to sit in piles out by the
airport.
Markets will drive our move toward
conservation. For instance, Xander's wine bottle
washer was recently purchased by Port Townsend,
WA, which has a virtual mandate to reuse; they are
too far away from recycling plants, being up on
the Peninsula and all, to recycle cost effectively.
Their landfill space is limited as well so the city
has a commitment and investment to return the
bottles of Cabernet back into the system. Wineries
have an investment because, in the long run,
reused bottles are cheaper than new ones. Soon,
sooner than a lot of us (Newt included) care to
think, the reality that Port Townsend faces will be
all of our realities. We have the time and the
opportunity to act before we face a situation in
which reuse is mandatory (and therefore
expensive) and recycling imparative.
To find out more about what you can do to
alleviate your own personal solid waste crises call
Metro at 234-3000 or Recycling Advocates.
Cannon Beach
In Coaster Theater Courtyard
Established 1977
Featuring Norlliwcsi, California
& Imported Wines
Collector Wines From 1875
Through Current Vintages
Featuring Over 1000 Wines
Wine Racks, Glasses &
Wine Related Items
it ★ ★
Northwest Best Places
Wine Tasting
Every Saturday Afternoon
1-5 PM
J k irn ti • ! Ezcellsncs
Different Wines
From Around The World
Each Week
The Wine Spectator
Open 11 AM-5 PM - Closed Tues.
1217 S .H ta ils c k
P.O.
41 ..........
C a a a s a Beach, 0 2 97114
(595)434-1179
436-1100
124 N Hemlock
P.O. Box 652. Cannon Bench OR 97110
MPEST VINEYARDS
K
Keith V. Orr
r, Winemakèr, President
2 N.E. Hancock Drive
rtland, Oregon 97220
503/252-1383
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—
,
A l
a prupmquihoos stroll
at tha su rfs edge...and a lovalv bottia of wme
from that dinky l i n k shop on the main drag in
C a n x Beach oparrtad by Lamai Hood.
IN S TO C K . Tha vary bast o f O e g a n W in»*,
fancy importad dams, imported and domestic
Baers, wine tas ting events, recommendations
and friendy service.
Laurel’s
R ecom m end W ines for April: I have been
experimenting with wines from all over the world
recently and have found many Oregon wines that
stand up in terms of quality, uniqueness and value
I am going to send you all over the board this
month so be prepared.
C annon
B each
Wine Shop
263 N. Hemlock
(503) 436-1666
C hateau L orane 1994 Late H arvest M arechal
Foch: Hold onto your hats! Succulently sweet red
wines are a rare find, but when done correctly
they can be a sinful treat with chocolate. This
young wine shows tons of potential for aging into
a monster dessert wine. The deep, rich, full-bodied
characteristics of Marechal Foch blend together
with the botrytis affected quality of these late
harvest grapes to make one of the most interesting
wines you will ever lay upon your palate. Chateau
Lorane is located in Cottage Grove and I doubt you
will find this $10 beauty outside of that domain.
4 &(fattery
TH STREET STUDIO
Basket
m aking
w o r k sh o p s.
Featuring handmade baskets crafted by Kathleen
Kanas from regional plant fibers. Also exhibiting
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(5 0 3 ) 3 6 8 -6 4 4 9
125 N . 4 th S tre et • M a n z a n ita , O R 97103
N icolas Rolin 1992 Pinot Noir: NR follows up
on their magnificent 1991 vintage with a similar
and potentially more subtle stunner. This wine is
crafted in an elegant style that brings out opulent
fruits, luscious tannins and good amounts of
extract. While the '91 has it over in bottle aging
the '92 shows the kind of potential you look for in
a wine you can drink with enjoyment now or put
away for a few months (or years) to allow it to
develop into a full-blown red Burgundy.
E R 1 X L .S E R V IC E S .
H inm an 1993 Pinot Gris: Delicious, soft and
complete. Joe Dobbes showed up a few years ago
and turned around Hinman's future. The '93 Pinot
gris is a superb example of the change in quality.
Incredibly clean, nearly slate-like, this gris is a
fantastic sample of the up and coming varietal. A
heavenly match with seafoods, this Pinot gris will
blow you away at $ 11.
G ra p h ic D esign A d L a y o u ts B ro c h u re s
B u sin e ss Cards Le tte rh e a d R esum es
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O T H E R S E R V IC E S :
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B u lk M a ilin g
i 1235 S H e m lo ck
C annon Beach
Phone - (503)43&2000
Fax • (503)436-074(3
Take Time to Travel in
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Experience the beauty, peace and
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F o r in f o r m a t i o n on and r e s e r v a t i o n s a t
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