tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post8287720763233311324..comments2024-03-22T00:35:12.415-07:00Comments on HoseMaster of Wine™: The HoseMaster of Wine™ Among the Wine Illuminati at Dalla Valle Vineyards: My Oh MayaRon Washam, HMWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-8317140017417605362019-02-28T21:20:17.659-08:002019-02-28T21:20:17.659-08:00Paul,
The 1992 Cabernet seemed tired to me, and le...Paul,<br />The 1992 Cabernet seemed tired to me, and leaned in the direction of raisiny. I found the finish a little bit too bitter as well. Not a terrible wine, not at all, but it struggled to find the balance that the other wines showed. I remember that my initial reaction was, "This wine has seen better days."<br /><br />Wyldehaire,<br />You're welcome for the plug. I'm not sure what ancients you're talking about, but, hell, I seem to be one of them now.<br /><br />Paul,<br />First of all, thank you for contributing so often and so thoughtfully. I've always thought that, over the years, I have the smartest, funniest and most interesting common taters. <br /><br />Clearly, where you taste and with whom you taste is a big factor in wine evaluation. But all wine evaluation is wildly subjective, no matter the circumstances. Anyone who claims otherwise is either lying or a fool. I also can't explain why people would believe anything I have to say about wine. Not that they do.<br /><br />I'm glad we agree about biodynamics. However, I don't worry that much about ingredient labeling. It's something of a red herring. After all, of all the things that folks put into wine, at the end of the day, it's the alcohol that will kill you. Ingredient labeling seems to imply a kind of "integrity" that may not be warranted, or even important. But, hell, it's your label, do whatever works for you. It might matter on the more manufactured, cheap wines, what they add might be cause for mild concern, but once the big corporate boys start labeling ingredients, the whole idea of labeling ingredients will turn into a farce. That's how it works. <br /><br />Yes, Big Pharma and Monsanto have a lot in common. Pam's context was slightly different, and wasn't what I was talking about in the original piece. I have no love for Big Pharma or pesticide folks. <br /><br />More than $50 for a bottle of wine may be "criminal," but so is $7 for Starbucks coffee (I don't drink coffee, so I made the $7 part up). So is driving gas guzzling cars. So is using Amazon Prime for every stupid ass thing you buy. What if the $100 bottle had ingredient labeling? The Dalla Valle Maya is WAY out of my price range. If it weren't out of my price range, would I buy some? I should be ashamed to say, probably.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-91189510129386014292019-02-28T12:11:13.082-08:002019-02-28T12:11:13.082-08:00Some thoughts.
Research indicates we are influence...Some thoughts.<br />Research indicates we are influenced by many factors. Was it the wines or the settings? Isn't any thing other than a double blind tasting bogus? Is it possible you were influenced? I find wine tastes better and I am much wittier with beautiful women in the room.<br /><br />So often interesting to put a $25 Washington Cab in a blindtasting of $300 Napa Cabs. I am on record saying spending more than $50 for a bottle of wine less than five years old is criminal. $50 can pay for a year of education in many countries. <br /><br />I tend to be a Biodynamic basher also. I've grown grapes for the past six vintages with zero pesticides. No sulfur, no soap, nada, nothing. To be Biodynamic I'd have to spray magic potions. I did not study at Hogwarts. I no longer own a sprayer. I do not make natural wine, wine is not natural, it is a human artifact. I do make ingredient labeled wine from WSDA certified Organic grapes.<br /><br /> I do find similarities between "big pharma" and pesticide producers.<br /><br />I do get information from those who have passed on, Pliny the younger, Nelson Shaulis (who pretty much showed most trellis systems are absurd), Angelo Pelligrini, all people I've never met and are dead, in Pliny's case about 2,000 years.<br /><br />Paul Vandenberg<br />Paradisos del SolUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10620865476391191536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-92233640474263828612019-02-28T10:11:55.101-08:002019-02-28T10:11:55.101-08:00Hey Hose, thanks for the plug! As I understand the...Hey Hose, thanks for the plug! As I understand the ancients always said 'Franc makes Sauvignon smell and taste like it should' Cheers!wyldehairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14432990433711010431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-31389420368086317012019-02-28T08:26:41.861-08:002019-02-28T08:26:41.861-08:00Thanks for notes and commentary. Will you elaborat...Thanks for notes and commentary. Will you elaborate more on the 1992 Cabernet?Paul Simpsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17153523311032865480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-57928723232549055862019-02-28T08:07:23.604-08:002019-02-28T08:07:23.604-08:00Bob,
I wouldn't argue your point. I liked the ...Bob,<br />I wouldn't argue your point. I liked the Cabernets, but they aren't in the Maya's league. But the vineyards will improve as they're replanted, and Andy Erickson is the right guy to take the Cabernets to a higher level. So there's hope. <br /><br />Thanks for being a common tater, Bob! Always great to hear from you.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-19263244171041270652019-02-28T06:06:41.269-08:002019-02-28T06:06:41.269-08:00Ron--Thanks for the report. I always had the feeli...Ron--Thanks for the report. I always had the feeling that Dalla Valley's Cabernet's worst enemy was and is thier Maya. It is always better and. Bob MillmanAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14074337005404150140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-47352294747548720982019-02-27T20:47:24.194-08:002019-02-27T20:47:24.194-08:00Pam,
If it takes biodynamics to make vintners see ...Pam,<br />If it takes biodynamics to make vintners see that healthy, organic, pesticide/fungicide/herbicide free farming is better, then great. But there is endless pseudoscience behind biodynamics. Would you deny that? You don't need biodynamics to decide a closed loop is what nature intended. My point is to understand that, and dispense with the mumbo-jumbo.<br /><br />No, there's nothing wrong with biodynamics, as there is nothing wrong with reading Tarot cards. That's not the point. The point is, the more people accept pseudoscience as fact, the more harm is done in the long run. Promoting what is factually false does no one any good. Perhaps no one any harm, but certainly no one any good.<br /><br />Big Pharma has nothing to do with my argument. It's evil. But so is dishonesty and the willful belief in foolishness.<br /><br />Biodynamics is superstition mixed with spiritualism. Its heart is in the right place, but, nevertheless, it's nonsense.<br /><br />As for Conaway's book, I didn't read it. But that sounds more like Stagecoach Vineyard on Atlas Peak. Class? Chime in.<br /><br />I admire your work, Pam, more than I can say. It's common sense, and necessary. But the elevation of biodynamics to some sort of "even better than organic!" makes me cringe. Maybe you can educate me--with actual science.<br />Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-77284766682937349432019-02-27T20:04:08.499-08:002019-02-27T20:04:08.499-08:00Hey - dude! Hold up on the Biodynamic bashing. Ste...Hey - dude! Hold up on the Biodynamic bashing. Steiner is not the be all and end all and I can officially say that the voodoo part is overemphasized. There's nothing crazy about Chinese medicine or Swiss homeopathy. The world used herbs for thousands of years before Big Pharma invented itself. Most of Biodynamics is common sense farming trying to create a closed loop - generating fertilizer from animal poop, using herbal sprays and avoiding toxic inputs. Is there something wrong with that? Beware the cliches, my friend.Pam Strayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00382825085636463727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-63976767985267852462019-02-27T18:02:21.741-08:002019-02-27T18:02:21.741-08:00Hey EVO,
It was an impressive group of wine writer...Hey EVO,<br />It was an impressive group of wine writers, and me. I don't think I said anything the entire tasting. But that's me. I live in my head, and I am not a journalist. Obviously. So I take my notes, think about my impressions, and then try to find a way to write about a wine tasting that isn't linear, boring and the same old shit. Wine writing is exactly like wine itself--the cardinal sin is to be boring. Most wine writers, like most wines, are guilty of being profoundly dull. <br /><br />Mike,<br />Yeah, it was weird. It just sort of emerged, and I hated it so much I had to leave it in. It serves to make everyone just a little bit dumbfounded--which is my strong point as a writer. Thanks for chiming in, my friend. Always classes up the place to have an actual wine journalist show up.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-61238203556811457312019-02-27T09:37:38.381-08:002019-02-27T09:37:38.381-08:00Nice. And you are correct, that was one weird anal...Nice. And you are correct, that was one weird analogy. I will be looking for those cabernet francs you mentioned. Mike Dunnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14496499437274796935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-92084240143769945672019-02-27T09:21:04.332-08:002019-02-27T09:21:04.332-08:00I saw a picture of that gathering and my first tho...I saw a picture of that gathering and my first thought was, 'damn Hose..who are all those women?'..<br /><br />Sounds like a fabulous opportunity.<br /><br />Hope you well. Eric V. Orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10421713709476706024noreply@blogger.com