Daddy Winebucks

I enjoy recycling, though I’m still suspect of where all that plastic, cardboard, and newspaper goes when my blue can gets picked up each Thursday.

One of these days I’m going to follow the truck after it leaves my house, watching as it winds all the way around town before it drops off somewhere.  Maybe once there I’ll sneak in on foot while the driver isn’t looking and snoop around the processing plant only to find out that our recycling is being made into food.

Wait, that’s the plot for “Soylent Green.”

In one area though, I’m such a pack rat for recyclable goods that I’m starting to rethink the clutter I’m creating.  I’m referring to the (at last count) 45 empty wine bottles that grace the top of my wine cabinet and now also occupy space in the kid’s rooms.

Some of these bottles are obvious keepers, my collection of wines from 1966 (the lucky year for wine my wife was born in): Latour, Fonseca, et. al., while others have sentimental values for other reasons, our first trip to France together, some 1997′s from the year we were married, a 1990 d’Yquem from our millenial new year’s celebration.

Some, like the 1982 Chateau Beychevelle, have great stories attached to them.  Linda and I, then newly engaged were given some wine to start our collection with.  So we took this bottle to a nice restaurant where it was opened as we were told the menu.  One of the items, “Osso Buco” was unknown to us both and I proceeded to ask her, “What’s Osso Buco?”  To which our nosy neighbors at the table next to us hissed under their breath, “They’re drinking 14 year old wine and don’t know what Osso Buco is?”

But other bottles have no real discernible right to be taking up space around my house, where they must be polished, dusted and arranged each time the house is cleaned.  I give you exhibit A, the Carr Vineyards 2003 Pinot Noir.  I do recall it being a very nice wine but keeping the bottle?  Forever?

I’m not going to throw that one away though, maybe I drank it at some point after Joss was born (2/10/03) or maybe I thought I’d buy more someday.

But from this moment forth, I’m going to be much more selective with the bottles I keep around like some wine museum, space that can now be used for my new products I bought at Whole Foods cardboard box collection.