My Cats by Charles Bukowski

my cats

I know. I know.
they are limited, have different
needs and
concerns.

but I watch and learn from them.
I like the little they know,
which is so
much.

they complain but never
worry,
they walk with a surprising dignity.
they sleep with a direct simplicity that
humans just can’t
understand.

their eyes are more
beautiful than our eyes.
and they can sleep 20 hours
a day
without
hesitation or
remorse.

when I am feeling
low
all I have to do is
watch my cats
and my
courage
returns.

I study these
creatures.

they are my
teachers.

Draper & Julia Child circa 1983

Corked bottles from April 20 to July 20 2010

2008 Mercouri Roditis Foloi
2007 Prager Riesling Wachstum Bodenstein x2
1995 Raveneau Chablis Montee de Tonnere (Oxidized)
2007 Dom St Pierre Vacqueyras
2006 Domaine la Soumade Rasteau
2006 Bernard Gripa St.Peray
2006 Stony Hill Chardonnay
2006 Drouhin Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
2007 Drouhin Volnay
2008 Damilano Nebbiolo d’ Alba
1995 Graillot Crozes-Hermitage
2006 Lignier Michelot Morey St Denis “En la rue de Vergy”
2008 Brun Terres Dorees Beaujolais
2008 Domaine Thomas, St. Veran
2007 Drouhin, Volnay
2006 Colin-Morey, Maranges
1995 Matrot, Mersault-Blagny (off)
1999 La Vielle Cure, Fronsac
1995 Luneau Papin, Muscadet L’ dor
2005 Paulo Bea “Rosso de Veo” Sagrantino
2008 Dampt, Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons
2007 Lignier, Saint Romain
2008 Domaine du Carrou, Sancerre
1999 Morey St Denis 1er Cru Mont Luisants, Ponsot
2008 Bourgogne Rouge La Digoine, DeVillaine
2005 Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge, Cht. De la Maltroye
2007 Crozes-Hermitage, Alain Graillot (Magnum)
1997 Volnay 1er Cru, Clos des Chenes, Bitouzet-Prieur
2009 Sancerre, Domaine du Carrou
2007 Vouvray Le Mont, Huet
2009 Santorini, Sigalas
1999 Fronsac, La Vieille Cure
2007 Santenay, Colin-Morey
2004 Chateau Grillet
1999 Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre, Raveneau (Oxidized)
2000 Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre, Raveneau (Oxidized)
2007 Pouilly-Fuisse, VV, Domaine Corsin
2008 Morgon Cuvee Corcelette, Foillard
2009 Bandol Rose, Chateau Pradeaux
2001 St Aubin 1er Cru, Patrick Miolaine
2009 Pineau d’Aunis Rose, Cave de Vendomois
2009 Bandol Rose, Chateau Pradeaux
2008 Nebbiolo d’Alba, Damilano
2005 Ridge Lytton West Syrah
2002 Cornas Cuvee Renaissance, Clape
2009 Bandol Rose, Chateau Pradeaux

Corked bottles from the past 3 months January 16 to April 16th 2010

2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, JL Chave
2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Renner, Weingut Aichinger
2007 Macon-Chardonnay, Terroir de Tournus, Pascal Pauget
2006 Patrimonio, Yves Leccia
2003 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux, Comte Armand
2007 Damilano, Nebbiolo D’Alba
2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc JL Chave
2004 Cotes du Jura, En Barberon, Tissot
1998 Chateauneuf du Pape, Chateau Beaucastel
2006 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St Jean, Michel Niellon
2006 Gigondas, Les Pailleres
2004 Cotes du Jura, En Barberon, Tissot
2004 Vacqueyras Les Clos, Montirius
2001 St Joseph VV, Bernard Faurie
2008 Cinsault Old Vines Turley
2004 Cotes du Jura, En Barberon, Tissot
2007 Bourgogne Rouge, Michel Lafarge
2001 Beaumes-de- Venise, Chateau Redortier
2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, JL Chave
2007 Cote de Beaune, Maison Drouhin
2008 Evening Land, ”Blue Label” Pinot Noir
2008 Sancerre, Domaine du Carrou—

2001 Jadot Beaune Theurons
1999 Chateau Beaucastel
2007 Henri Gouges Pinot Blanc
2007 Drouhin Montagny
2008 Domaine Thomas St.Veran
2008 Domaine Mardon Quincy
2007 Pinot Blanc Gouges-
2008 Evening Land Pinot Noir Blue Label
2008 Evening Land Pinot Noir Blue Label
2008 Evening Land Pinot Noir Blue Label
2008 Evening Land Pinot Noir Blue Label
2007 Emeritus Pinot Noir
2007 Emeritus Pinot Noir-
2008 Turley Cinsault
2007 Pinot Blanc Gouges
2005 Givry 1er Cru, Clos Salomon
2005 Givry 1er Cru Clos Salomon
2007 JL Chave Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Sybele
2007 Bellet Blanc, Cuvee Baron G, Chateau Bellet
1999 Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Aux Reignots, Sylvain Cathiard
2008 Pierre Luneau Muscadet
2008 Domaine Thomas, St. Veran
2003 Salomon Shiraz MAG

Burgundy Tasting at Alliance Francaise NYC

A well produced video on a wine seminar I gave on the wines of Burgundy at FIAF NYC. Enjoy!

FIAF's 2010 Wine Tour de France: Burgundy from FIAF on Vimeo.

Corked Bottles From 12-14-2009 to 1-15-2010

2001 Chablis Bougros, Jean Marc Brocard (Magnum)
2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, JL Chave
2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Renner, Weingut Aichinger
2007 Macon-Chardonnay, Terroir de Tournus, Pascal Pauget
2006 Patrimonio, Yves Leccia
2003 Pommard Clos des Epeneaux, Comte Armand
2007 Damilano, Nebbiolo D’Alba
2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc JL Chave
2004 Cotes du Jura, En Barberon, Tissot
1998 Chateauneuf du Pape, Chateau Beaucastel
2006 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Clos St Jean, Michel Niellon
2006 Gigondas, Les Pailleres
2004 Cotes du Jura, En Barberon, Tissot
2004 Vacqueyras Les Clos, Montirius
2001 St Joseph VV, Bernard Faurie
2008 Cinsault Old Vines Turley
2004 Cotes du Jura, En Barberon, Tissot
2007 Bourgogne Rouge, Michel Lafarge
2001 Beaumes-de- Venise, Chateau Redortier
2007 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, JL Chave
2007 Cote de Beaune, Maison Drouhin
2008 Evening Land, ”Blue Label” Pinot Noir
2008 Sancerre, Domaine du Carrou

New York: An Evening With Brian Talley Of Talley Vineyards At Bar Boulud

New York: An Evening With Brian Talley Of Talley Vineyards At Bar Boulud

Posted using ShareThis

Why David Lynch Turned Down "Return of the Jedi"

Benny Hill: Worlds Best Sommelier?

My corked wines over the past month

Corked Wines


2006 Hubert LaPierrre, Chenas {x3}
2008 Domaine du Carrou, Dominique Roger, Sancerrre
2004 La Grave A Pomerol, Pomerol
2007 Alain Graillot, Crozes Hermitage
2007 Domaine De La Casa Blanca, Collioure {x2}
2006 Y Leccia, Patrimonio
2006 Vincent Dureuil-Janthial, Rully “Montpalais”
2007 Eyrie, Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills
1990 Chevillon Nuits St Georges “Les Vaucrains”



1997 Gaunoux, Pommard Rugiens
2002 Matrot, Mersault-Blagny
2004 Montirius, Vacqueyras “Le Clos”
2006 Bernard Morey, St. Aubin-Le Puits
2006 Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny les Beaune-Les Narbantons
2000 Henri Gouges, Les Nuits St George
2004 Tissot, En Barberon, Pinot Noir
2007 Olivier-Rion, Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits
2007 Clos du Mont-Olivet, Cotes du Rhone
2006 Coudoulet de Beaucastel, Cotes du Rhone
2000 Jadot, Savigny les Beaune-La Dominode
2007 Jordan, Russian River Chard


2006 Usseglio, Chateauneuf du Pape
2003 Ferrando, Carema {1500 ml}
1999 Monsanto, Il Poggio {3 Liter}
1985 Chevillon, Nuits St Georges-Les Cailles

11/11/09

2007 J.L. Chave. Crozes-Hermitage Blanc “Sybele”
2006 Bouchard. Beaune du Chateau x2
2007 Drouhin. Montagny
2006 Jadot. Savigny La Dominode
2004 La Grave a Pomerol. Pomerol
2001 Chateau de Beaucastel. Cotes du Rhone
2006 Rhys Pinot Noir. Alpine Vineyard
2007 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir. Shea Vineyard
1998 Chateau de la Maltroye. Chassagne “La Romanee”
1999 Angerville. Volnay “Taillepieds”
2008 Turley Cinsault. El Porron
2002 Montille. Puligny “Le Caillleret”
2008 Domaine Thomas. St. Veran

12/07/09

2007 Domaine d’ Aupilhac. Montpeyroux
2006 D’Arlot. NSG “La Gerbotte”
2005 Bachelet. Gevery-Cham.
2006 Meo-Camuzet. Fixin
2004 La Grave a Pomerol
2006 Mas d’ Agalis. Navis
2007 Damilano. Nebbiolo d’ Alba
2006 Marechal. Savigny les Beaune
2007 Ridge. Geyserville Zin
2006 Huet. Vouvray
2006 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Clos St Jean Michel Niellon
2007 Crozes Hermitage Blanc, JL Chave
2007 Chateauneuf du Pape PURE Barroche
2007 VDT Domaine Magellan

Wacky times in the 'Wood.

Wildwood, NJ in the early '90s. Spent a good amount of the summers of my teenage years on this exact boardwalk meeting the same personalities. Didn't know how trashy and unusual a place it was back then.

Sauzet is a Repeat Offender of Oxidized Wines

Check off another oxidized Sauzet. This time it was the 1999 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Combettes. Color was apple ciders-esque which is always a bad sign. Aromas of burnt caramel,nail polish, banana skin and rancid butterscotch. Palate was acutally drinkable but the sherry aromas penetrated any pleasure whatsoever. To the poubelle it goes.

Whitesnake Isn't As Bad As I Remember

I caught this the other day while flipping through TW Cable. The song reminds me of when I was about 12 years old playing nintendo in my friend Jeff's basement.

Timmy is Eleven Years Old

Napoleon Dynamite

How Did I Get Here?

I woke up this morning and David Byrne's prose was clanging in my skull, "How did I get here". I'm in a remote hilltop village in Provence where there's no coffee shop, no ATM, I have no way of getting around save for a hybrid 10 speed and when I do hop on this thing I roll up my jeans like I'm Ernie from My 3 Sons. Was I really just living in NYC for nearly the last 10 years of my life? I really don't know...

Invading Normandy

Hey everyone, a hearty how do you do from moist and drippy Normandy. Ended up here by a lucky roll of the dice as my friend was guiding a trip of WWII enthusiasts and needed a hand in sharing the weight. I graciously accepted the tour of duty and am happy to say that its over and all went home with a smile. Not much wine unfortunately in these parts as the weather is too cold and rainy to grow grapes but there are other things available for the intrepid drinker. Cider. Cider is made from apples grown in the region and can range from Doux, sweet; Demi-Sec, half dry; or Sec, dry. They're simple, refreshing, low in alcohol and really delicious. The one I had of note is pictured above, its a "cidre doux" from Philippe Daufresne. The wine was typical of all the cidre doux's that I have tasted: aromatic, sweet, light bodied with a spritzy, perrier-like quality. The differentiating factor in this drink is its overall balance. It had just a little extra edge of class over the others that I tasted and it left me in quite a happy state. Cider will never reach the highs that one would receive from drinking great Champagne or Burgundy nonetheless its place in the world of fermented produce is one of firm standing and should be discovered.

Pairing Wines for Bubba.

Ahh… the perks of being a sommelier: you get to taste a good portion of the greatest wines ever produced and meet some of the most important people on the planet. Last month was exactly this as the Clinton family stopped in for dinner. Things got off a bit shakey when I decided to comp the three of them a Champagne cocktail. The drink—which is a house specialty—was NV Taittinger Champagne mixed with a spoonful of Elderflower syrup; its deliciously light, crisp and hugs the line brilliantly between not enough sweet and too sweet. After tasting it, ol’ Bubba had an allergic reaction. He was coughing uncontrollably and his face had turned 3 shades of red as he gestured me to come over to the table. “What did you say was in that drink?" Elderflower syrup, Mr.President, I said. “Well, this has given me the worst allergic reaction that I can remember." Jesus..., I muttered to myself as images of 3 sunglassed men dressed in black suits quickly coming out of the woodwork to put me in a full-nelson and drag me brusquely into an unmarked Econoline van played in my head. I’m so sorry, Mr President, I said sheepishly. “Aww, that’s alright, I didn’t know I was allergic to elderflower syrup…what is elderflower syrup,anyway?” he said to me with a big, toothy southern smile. I have no idea, but I think it comes from the alps, I said. And that was it...

Later on in the night I set aside some special wines that I’d pair with each of their savory courses. They were, naturally, Burgundies. The first was a 2000 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Folatieres, Paul Pernot. Bill seem to like this one the best…in fact this was the only one it appeared that he took a sip of later replacing it with his trademark can of diet coke. It was crisp, minerally and steely with grand cru-type length. Next was a 1996 Meursault 1er Cru, Domaine Leroy. Hillary seemed to enjoy this one the most and appeared to be quite impressed when I told her that the winemaker/owner was a woman. The wine had deep aromas of mushrooms, lemon, earth, and stone and was sitting nicely in its early stage of maturity. If stored correctly this one could last a good while. Lastly, we moved into red and what a red it was: 1985 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, Les Haut Doix, Robert Groffier. Chelsea loved this wine and later in the evening had asked me to write down the name for her. The nose could only be described as quintessential aged Red Burgundy with aromas of beef broth, earth, black cherries and raspberries. The palate was quite elegant and high-toned in its acid but lacked a bit of concentration. Nonetheless it was delicious for a 22 year old premier cru.

All in all it was quite a thrill to chat about wine with the Clinton family. They were all so nice and down-to-earth, and they all appear to LOVE Burgundy. For that alone they have my vote.

BYOB at Fuleen Seafood or: How I learned to Love the Grape

Had a BYOB wine dinner last night at a Chinatown dive named Fuleen Seafood. The food was truly superb, the atmosphere and decor not so much. In fact, I’ve seen better décor in the 2nd floor bathroom at the Port Authority. But décor wasn’t the reason of the get together. The reason was hooking up with my buddies in the biz who really really love wine. And believe it or not, in this business there is a shortage of people who really, really love wine. Through my experience over the years in the wine business, I would sum up the constituents of the biz in the below pie graph:




A little glib and snarky? Perhaps. But I call 'em as I see 'em and thats the way I see 'em. You run into a lot of clowns and perpetrators in this business and when you get together with fellows of the same mindset you rejoice. The standouts of the night were: 05 Coteaux-du-Loir, L' Effraie, from Domaine de Bellivère and 1999 Riesling Rangen Clos St Urbain Grand Cru from Zind Humbrecht