tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post7712966623095077038..comments2024-02-25T02:50:53.858-08:00Comments on HoseMaster of Wine™: Lo Hai Qu Rides the Napa Valley Wine TrainRon Washam, HMWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-39975877119998761642015-11-11T12:08:54.739-08:002015-11-11T12:08:54.739-08:00Chew on this, Lo Hai Qu: http://smag31.com/wow-wat...Chew on this, Lo Hai Qu: http://smag31.com/wow-watch-the-video-that-s-taking-the-internet-by-storm-today/Jo Diazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10499844574747579178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-2300759175022920302015-09-25T21:31:23.437-07:002015-09-25T21:31:23.437-07:00Andy,
Thank you. "Brilliant" is not a wo...Andy,<br />Thank you. "Brilliant" is not a word I'm comfortable with. I never feel brilliant. I enjoy the process, the wonderful feeling of creating, and of writing as Lo Hai Qu, but I just try to be odd, original, and, occasionally, funny. I'm glad to have Lo as a character who can speak to this sort of stupidity. <br /><br />Miss M,<br />I'm partial to Shizzangela myself, though my favorite all-time name is from my Pulp Fiction Classics--the coroner Avril Cadavril. That still makes me laugh.<br /><br />David,<br />Yeah, I get your point. Only, truly, it was racist.<br /><br />Lighten up? Wine people? Like asking Bob Henry not to link shit ten years out of date. Hopeless.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-17143511886146286922015-09-25T18:42:54.916-07:002015-09-25T18:42:54.916-07:00Ron.. don't know where to begin.. common tater...Ron.. don't know where to begin.. common tater fatigue.. nah.. just don't wanna go on like Bob Henry and burble on about nothing for some google reason.. it was a stupid, totally over react thing to do.. but I just see it, not as a racist thing, but as totally how wine people can't have any fun, gotta conform to hushed, low talk about the wine is so great, etc.. <br />I remember one of the best nights of my life, had this romantic train trip that went from Vancouver to about 25 miles north and back and just fantastic, spectacular scenery and a break on the platform with a jazz band and a mellow ride back.. and my ex told me a cute story about how her daughter had just learned to walk and was fascinated about walking up and down the train, and somebody complained, and she said, I've learned from you not to worry about stuff like that, but at the time I sat down, and Catherine cried till she fell asleep.. <br />If ya ever get a chance. that drive or train trip from Vancouver to Whistler is one of the best in the world.. and that's not flag waving.. just a fact.. once had a laugh with a biz guy in Seattle about how these dough heads say the U.S. is the greatest country in the world and they've never been 25 miles out of their state..<br />So I gues my only point is, why don't these wine turds learn to lighten up???Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11992278224164669829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-10698891507684464752015-09-25T12:13:37.279-07:002015-09-25T12:13:37.279-07:00Lo could have a new career: naming people. Shizzan...Lo could have a new career: naming people. Shizzangela is primo.Divine Miss Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15795119613814682905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-79073479552769323032015-09-25T09:30:56.529-07:002015-09-25T09:30:56.529-07:00I read it twice just to pick up most of your nuanc...I read it twice just to pick up most of your nuances. Laughed even harder the second time. The cats are giving me a funny look. Brilliant work, my friend.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17095235782574899528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-87387104078534181522015-09-23T21:27:39.247-07:002015-09-23T21:27:39.247-07:00Gabe,
Those are kind words. And much appreciated.
...Gabe,<br />Those are kind words. And much appreciated.<br /><br />"Gutless" describes much of what passes for wine writing. Not that it usually demands guts, but truth-telling, fearlessness, isn't much present. I once worked in Hollywood, and the level of disingenuosness and outright dishonesty, represented as marketing, is as high in the wine biz as it is in show biz. Only it doesn't need to be in the wine biz, like it needs to be in Hollywood. It just is. An incident like the one on the wine train, and my recent run-in with Riedel (which I do not mean to compare on the level of shamefulness), serves to highlight that truth.<br /><br />Shameful. Not just the incident, but the white wash, and I do mean white white white wash, even more so.<br /><br />Just make wine, Gabe. Try to stay out of the rest.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-12392330884585497152015-09-23T20:08:36.110-07:002015-09-23T20:08:36.110-07:00Ron,
I'm glad you chose to write what you...Ron,<br /><br /> I'm glad you chose to write what you did. I don't know anything about the Napa Valley Wine Train, but it sounds like the type of place where racist shit would happen. This story didn't surprise me at all, although it did make me feel bad about being a winemaker. You are the first wine-writer I've seen that is willing to call it what it is, "shameful", instead of calling it an "unfortunate incident", or something equally gutless. I am sure that my voice is just a drop of water in an ocean of common-taters, but this is my favorite thing you've written.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />GabeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-70464658487923903882015-09-23T18:44:46.411-07:002015-09-23T18:44:46.411-07:00Dave,
Thanks. Lo's voice is enormous fun to wr...Dave,<br />Thanks. Lo's voice is enormous fun to write. She's a very real person to me, and I knew that she would be the best to talk about the wine train. Though she's undoubtedly pissed she gets fewer comments than the HoseMaster.<br /><br />My Gorgeous Samantha,<br />One of the things I've learned over the years is the common tater burnout factor. They start to sit them out. Maybe it's the subject, maybe it's that they're bored, or maybe they can't think of anything to say. So, of course, they expect me to churn out this crap every week, but feel no obligation to enter the conversation because they're "too busy" or "it doesn't need any comments." It's a form of entitlement, in this most entitled of cultures.<br /><br />You and I agree that the wine train incident was baldly racist. I wouldn't have written about it, probably, except for the blogging fools who decided it appropriate behavior for the wine train to evict those black women for having fun in perfectly acceptable cultural way, with cops in St. Helena to greet them as they were chased. Did the white people they allegedly threw off their train have the cops called? I doubt it, though I don't know. People see what they want to see, and ignore what they choose to ignore. I can only hope the clowns who thought the train's actions were justifiable, and not racist, read Lo's words and know that her anger is aimed at them. They most certainly wouldn't comment here.<br /><br />I love you, too, Baby!Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-68184458889055214402015-09-23T12:44:54.816-07:002015-09-23T12:44:54.816-07:00Whoa, looks like everyone has taken the Warkian ap...Whoa, looks like everyone has taken the Warkian approach, "Let's not talk about it" with regards to the wine train thing. Guess I can't say as I'm too surprised, not like it's anything important, like critics or natural vs un-natural wine making. I for one appreciate your, I mean "Lo's" speaking out, calling a spade a spade as it were. But not talking about it, admitting it, that works too....<br />I love you!Samantha Duganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05214278596698698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-8287208532474592582015-09-23T08:57:59.400-07:002015-09-23T08:57:59.400-07:00A true classic Ron, thanks for bringing Lo back, s...A true classic Ron, thanks for bringing Lo back, she certainly puts the L-O back in LOL. Double points for harpooning the Wine Train douchebags.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />DaveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03643183710039287175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-28639982048049360242015-09-22T08:53:59.369-07:002015-09-22T08:53:59.369-07:00Paul,
Yeah, that book's been on my radar. Thou...Paul,<br />Yeah, that book's been on my radar. Though I often have to consider who I'm lampooning, and, usually, I go after more famous prey. So I'm uncertain if I'll review that book, though I certainly won't read it.<br /><br />Thanks for thinking of me.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-53319702604520764092015-09-22T08:38:29.604-07:002015-09-22T08:38:29.604-07:00Sorry about off topic, but I came across a new win...Sorry about off topic, but I came across a new wine book for you to not read and review.<br />http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592408990/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1592408990&linkCode=as2&tag=lfcom-20&linkId=CMQGPWENIFZMU2Y5Paul in St. Augustinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03908347609061677681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-18499445250714751752015-09-22T07:47:56.031-07:002015-09-22T07:47:56.031-07:00Gabe,
I've been anxious to bring Lo back, but ...Gabe,<br />I've been anxious to bring Lo back, but needed a suitable topic. I was a bit reluctant to deal with the NV Wine Train incident as the HoseMaster, but it seemed perfect for Lo. I always enjoy hearing her voice in my head, as I've said before, she's more fearless than I am. And crazier. <br /><br />The episode in question was, I felt, completely whitewashed. What I write here doesn't matter, won't make things better, or change anyone's mind. But it was a shameful incident, and I felt a strong urge to write about it. Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-48391776893903915142015-09-21T23:22:56.383-07:002015-09-21T23:22:56.383-07:00I loved it from the moment I read the title. &quo...I loved it from the moment I read the title. "White Wine Police" is my new response to people who claim "reverse racism".Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-14290173764074751422015-09-21T14:59:32.314-07:002015-09-21T14:59:32.314-07:00Jim,
I think it rained on last year's Mount Ve...Jim,<br />I think it rained on last year's Mount Veeder tasting, and then this year it was nasty hot. God is trying to tell you Mt. Veeder people something. Next year? I'm thinkin' volcano.<br /><br />I think there are enough stupid T-shirts in wine country. Why do people wear those ugly things, all sparkle and no style? They all basically say, "I'm a tourist with no money." Which might be a better shirt, come to think of it.<br /><br />Yeah, I noticed your staff pointing at me, but I get that a lot. Usually there's a weapon involved.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-9997058103740486172015-09-21T14:15:40.252-07:002015-09-21T14:15:40.252-07:00On behalf of the Mount Veeder Alliance, thank you ...On behalf of the Mount Veeder Alliance, thank you for leaving the tasting before getting any ideas for a Mount Veeder or Hess Collection blog post, or taking up the suggestion that you write something from you know who, even though he'd been warned. And you didn't even notice that our tasting room staff had your photo and strict instructions to tell you that the tasting room hadn't quite re-opened yet....glad the train was available, Lo Hai Qu was certainly dressed for the #laughingwhilelooped occasion. You think I could get those shirts for our gift shop?Jim Caudillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09163559952765216636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-27593666424584882592015-09-21T11:18:46.074-07:002015-09-21T11:18:46.074-07:00Don,
Thanks. Pretty quiet around here...
I felt s...Don,<br />Thanks. Pretty quiet around here...<br /><br />I felt some Lo Hai Qu coming on and just decided to let her have her say. The Napa Wine Train is relatively old news in the wine blog biz, but that whole ugly affair has been eating at me, for some reason. So I let Lo Hai Qu have her say.<br /><br />So this wasn't so much satire as it was therapy. <br /><br />Mike,<br />The Mount Veeder tasting is fun, but it was way too hot to taste mountain cabs. It was also too hot to write jokes. As you can tell.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-8205146961826737302015-09-21T09:19:28.730-07:002015-09-21T09:19:28.730-07:00When you left the Mount Veeder tasting you said yo...When you left the Mount Veeder tasting you said you were going home to write jokes. You weren't kidding! Mike Dunnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14496499437274796935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-11496830673490778372015-09-21T07:32:15.499-07:002015-09-21T07:32:15.499-07:00Barefoot wine and Feetal alcohol problems? You kno...Barefoot wine and Feetal alcohol problems? You knocked it out of the park!Don Clemenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01018421143636593792noreply@blogger.com