A truly scary thought indeed

A global wine shortage might soon be upon us.

While you're drinking your witch's brew and watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" today, be sincerely thankful for the wine you have in your cellar.

Last year saw the biggest shortfall in global wine supply in almost 50 years.

The United States and China have been drinking more, but the global production has not been keeping pace.

Linus has more on his mind than whether the Great Pumpkin will show up.

But there's good news! Global wine production for 2013 is projected to rise to the highest it's been in seven years. Although it takes more than one good harvest to boost the reserves, the situation is not dire enough to start hoarding bottles.

But you could keep that bathtub wine recipe handy just in case ...

The Wine Gardener visits The Wine Garden

Fall means cooler weather, fairs, fried foods, and now wine gardens.
 

I might have missed it in the past, but Sunday on a visit to the State Fair of Texas, I found
it. The weather was nice — perfect for relaxing outside and taking a load off your feet while
you watch your favorite football team beat the Philadelphia Eagles on the big screen.
 

In addition to Texas wines, the garden sold craft beers from around the state. Vendors
also sold cheese plates to nosh on while drinking your wine.
 

My favorite wine from the garden was a merlot from a winery in the Red River Valley in
St. Joe, Texas.
Blue Ostrich Winery and Vineyard was, for many years, one of the foremost ostrich
breeding and ranching facilities in the southwest. The structure that contains the
winery, tasting room and offices was once filled with ostrich eggs. In the 1980s and
90s, hundreds of ostrich roamed on the property.
 

Another wine I enjoyed in the garden was a "Super Texan," which is a dry mediumbodied
Sangiovese blend from Flat Creek Estate in Marble Falls, Texas.

On the fence? The wine garden offered taste tests before committing to the full glass.

The Texas state fair is known for its fried food. Hundreds of vendors serve up creative concoctions, all battered and tossed in the deep fryer.
 

Some foods are larger than life. And look like something Fred Flinstone would enjoy.

If you're drinking red wine, I suggest the fried Cuban roll, which is pork shoulder, ham, swiss cheese and special sauce rolled up in pastry dough, fried. 

If you like white, try the fried Thanksgiving, which is stuffing, turkey and cream corn fried. The Texas Fireball, which is pimiento cheese, pickles, cayenne pepper and bacon, covered in jalapeno-infused batter and fried, would also do well with a crisp white.
  

You have better chances winning the Powerball than winning a ring toss, according to one fair employee.

When you're done in the wine garden and you've had your fill of fried food, don't forget
to stop by the Midway — you might get lucky and win an electric guitar.

Wine Wednesday: Craft edition

Recently, I was walking through one of those home décor stores and saw an interesting wall decoration. 

Metal letters, pre-boarding.

Metal letters were secured on wooden bread boards and hung behind a display. 

The items that aren't for sale are sometimes the most interesting items in a store.

That got me thinking — I could make letter boards of my own. 

While I was wandering the fields of Warrenton earlier this month at the Round Top Antiques Fair, I stumbled upon bread boards. 

Around the corner was a booth selling metal letters.

Staging the craft.

I used small nails to secure the letters to the boards. I think they turned out nicely.

Wine-infused antique hunt

This past weekend, the Round Top Antiques Fair wrapped up its fall show in and around Round Top, Texas. The government is shut down, but this show always goes on. 

I found a few things I liked. 

On Saturday, I came across a booth in a field between Warrenton and Round Top that was peddling a unique product. Wine bottles house wine-infused candles, handmade in South Carolina by Rewined Candles.

 

I found another treasure in a field nearby that is an example of the ingenuity inspired by this show.

 

Do you have an industrial chemical carrier that you're not using right now? You can put some wine in it!

The weather held up for the most part and there were so many people at the fair — it seems like there are more and more people each time I go.

I can't wait until April.

National Waffle Week

It's National Waffle week ... but you already knew that. 

Waffle House is celebrating its 55th anniversary during this year's National Waffle Week. Wine and waffles go together like peanut butter and mayonnaise. Who hasn't had a few glasses of wine before making a late-night run to the Waffle House? 

Traditionally, breakfast foods are paired with a lighter wine ... maybe a sparkling wine in a mimosa. Or a chilled white wine. But smothered and covered hash browns with a waffle and butter pair well with almost any kind of wine.

Adult juice boxes — straws optional

Enjoying a glass of wine can be a relaxing, quiet experience. 

But what about when your sister's 2-year-old is wobbling through the den, making a beeline toward your glass of wine?

More convenient packaging for your glass of wine can be helpful in a variety of situations — if you're going to the beach, a sporting event or somewhere that steady footing and a stable, solid surface isn't guaranteed, you need your wine to be in a portable container. 

The Wine Cube is available at Target for just such occasions. 

Cooler than traditional box wines? Check — and much easier to transport.

Cooler than Beatle Juice? Maybe not, but pretty darn close.

Cooler than the wine handbag? Depends — I think men would prefer that option when they've been abandoned in the women's clothing section while their wives are in the dressing room.

I think everyone would prefer this option when they're packing for a trip or hanging out in the backyard playing washers or horseshoes.

The wine headache

During my morning newspaper reading, I came across a story about a vintner that destroyed thousands of gallons of wine because of poor sales in the United States.

The Wall Street Journal reported in its Monday edition that Australian maker Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. had to destroy $145 million worth of wine that was past its prime.

They poured out what?

The first thing that popped into my mind when I read this was John Belushi kicking a car in the parking lot of the Delta frat house as Dean Wormer’s henchmen empty the contents of the house and drop a case of Jack Daniels, breaking all the whiskey bottles.

But in this case they’re breaking more than 45 million bottles —  aaaaggghhhhh!

Is this really necessary? Think of all the thirsty people in the world.

There are day-old bakery shelves – where are the 10 year old wine bins?

Mark the price down to cost and let me take my chances – I’ll even sign a waiver if they want me to.

They should partner with Harry and David and get a package deal going with cheese, crackers and deli meats nearing expiration.

Wineries have marketing people, don’t they?

Maybe they need to hire some new ones before the next 45 million bottle breakdown occurs.

Re-purposing: Part Deux

What do you do with your empty bottles?

You can put them in the recycle bin on the curb for pick-up — they'll put them to good use and it's better than contributing them to the local landfill.

But what will the neighbors think? 

I read a story recently about concerned wine drinkers who would drive around the neighborhood and "share" their empties with their neighbors' recycle bins after dark to avoid potential suspicions about their imbibing patterns. 

Don't waste your gas — there are many other, more practical ways to use those empties.

Bottle trees are on option. 

I have some that have a variety of bottle types planted on them.

I've made some bottle bushes by jamming pieces of rebar in the ground and planting different bottles on each rebar stem.

Some bottle trees hang like a plant from a beam outside.

My favorite bottle tree is a metal arch.

I picked it up at a flea market and I've covered it with blue and green bottles.

Remember — your plants get thirsty, too.

Poke a hole in a cork, fill one of your empties with with water, then return the cork to the bottle and place the bottle cork first into one of your plants. 

It's both decorative and useful. Thirsty plants will appreciate the time-release refreshment.

But at some point, you'll have to explain to your neighbors why your plants drink so much.

Wine Gardening

Malbec is the new merlot (or cabernet sauvignon)

A bottle of wine and a gardening activity — there are other variables that can be introduced, but basic wine gardening at its core is simple.

Anyone can enjoy wine gardening.

You don’t need a wine cellar or even a garden.

You can enjoy wine gardening in your apartment or house, on a small balcony or on a large patio, in large yard or with small containers, outdoors on a beautiful summer afternoon or inside on a dreary winter day.

I’m not a master gardener and I’m not a wine conossieur but I know what I like.

Everything I’ve learned that I like has been through trial and error. And from the experiences and recommendations of other wine gardeners

Here are a few things I'm doing right now:

Malbec and dark chocolate

I’ve heard is said that Malbec is the new Merlot. Five years ago it was hard to find a bottle of Malbec in my area, but now I can find a good selection at my local convenience or drug store. One of my favorites right now is Trapiche. If you like a red wine that’s on the dry side, it’s really good with a brick of dark chocolate – and it’s reasonably priced, between 8 and 10 dollars for a bottle.

I’m also planting bulbs.

Regardless of the weather or your gardening space, bulbs are a good spring gardening activity.

Are you a wine gardener?

What wine gardening activities are you enjoying right now?