San Francisco Bans Bottled Water For City Workers (Plastics 2 / Humanity 0)

“San Francisco Bans Bottled Water for City Workers.” That was the title of a news brief I read in which San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued an “executive order banning city departments from buying bottled water, even for water coolers. The ban goes into effect July 1, and will extend to water coolers by Dec. 1. The move was billed as a way to help stem global warming and save taxpayer money. In a press release announcing the decision, the mayor cited the environmental impact of making, transporting and disposing of the bottles and that more than a billion of them end up in the state’s landfills each year.”

I read this news brief and it reminded me of my blog entry (Plastics 1 / Humanity 0) where, in the Comment’s section, the suggestion was made that bottled water is as bad for our environment as plastic bags are. I had never even considered that before and as a bottled water consumer since I was in diapers in the 70s, I wanted to learn more.

It seems that a quick Google search will return thousands of articles discussing the petroleum usage associated with the manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and disposal of water bottles. This has been something that I have given very little thought to and have taken for granted…I’ve always considered these bottles to be an innocuous and convenient part of my life: I was wrong. I have been walking around with my brain turned off to this.

With more and more city and local municipalities taking measures to curb the use of bottled water, clearly the environmental impact of this specific refuse warrants action and the case for reducing the consumer-nonchalance toward plastic bottles seems to hold water.

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Estimates suggest that the manufacturing and transportation per each single bottle of water requires the use of:

• 6-7x the amount of water as is in the bottle;
• 1.0 liter of fossil fuels;
• 1.2 pounds of greenhouse gasses released into our atmosphere.

With 12-18 bottles per case, you do the math.

Champagne: Not Just For Celebrations, Special Occasions, And New Year’s Eve

People often ask me what wine goes best with what food and depending on how playful I am feeling at that moment, sometimes it’s just less effort and more fun to say: Champagne. Sometimes the reaction is well worth the simplicity of just saying that one word, especially when I am rewarded with a reaction of both shock and bewilderment.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not messing with people when I tell them to reach for the Bubbly: Champagne is one of those wondrous potable art forms, which in the hands of an artisan, can make for a fabulous (yes, I said fabulous) treat for your senses. It’s just too bad that people so rarely drink it.

I have often told people that Champagne is not just for celebrations, special occasions, and New Year’s Eve. I can’t think of another form of wine that goes better with Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Indian, or eggs-dishes better than Champagne. And why wait for that “special occasion” to open that bottle of Bubbly, when in fact, the opening of that bottle IS the special occasion?

For the uninitiated, Champagne comes only from one province in France named Champagne. If it comes from anywhere else, even other parts of France, it’s a Sparkling Wine. While sparkling wines from France, California, and Italy (think Asti spumante) can be as delicious, none provide the elegance and subtle experience that a true Champagne can deliver. In this case, a name is much more than a name; it’s a badge of quality.

Believe it or not, Champagne is one of those simple food-and-beverage catch-alls. You can serve Champagne with just about anything you would pair a wine with, and have a delightful experience. Try pairing it with cheese, desserts, steaks, fish, sushi, burritos, pasta, chili, hamburgers, potato chips, and ice cream—but please, not all at once. I dare you to try that with a stiff Californian Chard or a tannic Australian Shiraz!

In spite of my exuberance, my early experiences with Champagnes were generally less than gratifying and I didn’t come to appreciate Champagnes until my late-twenties. However, upon reflect, it’s no surprise I didn’t care for it. If you received it for free at a brunch buffet, it’s probably not that good; and with Champagnes/Sparkling Wines—specifically—the range of quality and experience can differ dramatically from one end of the spectrum to the other. However, that is not to say that to enjoy Champagne, you need to spend a lot of money.

True (French) Champagnes start at about $25 for a full bottle (700ml) and $14 for a half-bottle (375ml). I make sure to always have several half-bottles on hand for meals that I make for myself and find that having half-bottles around enables me to enjoy Champagne at whim. For example, last night I made a very spicy, vegetable stir-fried rice and opened a half-bottle of Moet & Chandon White Star ($18) which was a perfect marriage of spiciness and crispness resulting in a balanced flavor structure: the food softening the Champagne and the Champagne cutting through, and abating, the spiciness. Having the half-bottle made all the difference as I would rarely consider opening a full bottle by myself; and splitting a half-bottle between two people can be an unexpected way to enjoy Champagne as an aperitif at home as well.

A brief word to Champagne novices, despite what you’ve seen on television, opening a bottle properly calls for a whisper when the cork is released, not a pop, and most certainly not an explosion. You aren’t in a locker room and you aren’t trying to break a new air-speed record with the cork, nor do we want our golden Bubbly streaming liquid-gold all over the place (that’s fodder for another blog).

So next time you are in a pinch for a good wine experience, but don’t know what to serve: try Champagne. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg and it will likely add to an experience you will remember for a long time.

Recommended Champagnes:
Moet & Chandon White Star
Veuve Cliquot (Yellow Label or Grande Dame)
Taittinger Brut Cuvée Prestige Rosé (A splurge, but if you are looking for something truly special, a Brut Rosé Champagne can add to the visual appeal of your meal without imparting a syrupy-sweet tang)

Cable Television And Network News Suck

I find it more and more difficult to find good sources of news on television any more. They only focus on what sells and gets ratings. The News should be a public service to help educate and focus us on issues and events that either affect our lives or the world around us. Instead it is about getting the most viewership by emulating entertainment and op-ed news programs which does a tremendous disservice to us as a populous.

I am tired of it all and hope the American public backlashes to real information sources…which nowadays is mainly found only on NPR, PBS, and perhaps BBC. How sad.