tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post9014061245521734952..comments2024-02-25T02:50:53.858-08:00Comments on HoseMaster of Wine™: Mis(s) FeiringRon Washam, HMWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-40031082938388491572013-10-31T03:58:31.080-07:002013-10-31T03:58:31.080-07:00Ron, and the other 13 followers:
Congratulations o...Ron, and the other 13 followers:<br />Congratulations on increasing your audience to 14, from 12 last year if I recall :) My own blog has been stuck at 5 for about two years - I think because I still haven't passed my Humour#101.<br />I had dinner and then gin-tonics here in Madrid with Alice F last year, and what struck me most was that she was a normal person, kind of nice and quiet and introverted and really interesting to talk to!!! I suppose I was expecting the mad flaming eyes of a fanatic eco-warrior, foaming at the mouth, etc :) <br />Gabe, and Ron:<br />What's the meaning of these sensible and interesting harvest report type comments? If you keep that up you'll start losing your audience!!!<br />Fabiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08029558448422815096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-48119859201783013162013-10-27T12:42:38.013-07:002013-10-27T12:42:38.013-07:00Lol. I've got a couple projects in the works....Lol. I've got a couple projects in the works. But I try to remind myself that Cathy Corison worked something like 30 vintages before she started her own winery. I'll keep Jaglemiester on the short list of possible names ;-)<br /><br />The rain did indeed hit us at the wrong time. It lead to a slow start in the first couple weeks, and a total shitstorm in the last three weeks. We pressed our last pinot bin yesterday, so I think I'll be getting my life back soon. Today is my first day off in five weeks, and I am enjoying some quality time on the couch.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-32573251543703165702013-10-27T10:44:55.472-07:002013-10-27T10:44:55.472-07:00Gabe,
In Napa and Sonoma 2013 has been a terrific ...Gabe,<br />In Napa and Sonoma 2013 has been a terrific vintage, if a bit compressed. It's all about the jet stream. All the rain ended up in your neck of the woods, while we had nary a drop. Other vintages, Oregon shines and California bears the brunt of the fall wet weather. <br /><br />Getting a tough year under your belt can only be growthful. In wine, and in life. Six harvests! Man, time to start your own label. JagleMeister. Yeah. And start auditioning those JagleMeister girls too.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-42196893370994244722013-10-26T23:21:30.560-07:002013-10-26T23:21:30.560-07:00thanks Ron. I'm wrapping up my sixth harvest ...thanks Ron. I'm wrapping up my sixth harvest this week, and hope to get back to tatering more commonly. It's too soon to make an assessment on wine quality, but it feels like 2013 has been the most difficult vintage I've experienced.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-13150567546718276162013-10-26T15:53:53.383-07:002013-10-26T15:53:53.383-07:00Amusing, as always. I love the "concrete joke...Amusing, as always. I love the "concrete joke", well thought. Cheers!Alexandre Raymundohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05730428138485376556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-12765632093068077802013-10-26T08:06:31.757-07:002013-10-26T08:06:31.757-07:00Gabe,
Thanks, as always, for chiming in. I post th...Gabe,<br />Thanks, as always, for chiming in. I post these "old" HoseMaster pieces as a way of taking a day off, and as a way for me to look back at those posts and see what I was doing back then from a writing standpoint. Some pieces still shine (though I only reluctantly admit that), while others have taken on the patina of old age. This post is the latter. <br /><br />I'm still just about the only guy doing this sort of wine comedy on a regular basis. And, frankly, I'm getting very weary of it. I don't really think the HoseMaster is having a Golden Age. If anything, I get harder on myself as I progress and the pieces are far more challenging to write. Are they better? Now and then. However, the pieces I am most proud of are usually the pieces that fall flat with my audience (all 14 of you), while a piece I hate ends up lighting up the stats and the Intergnats. 'Twas ever thus.<br /><br />I like it when you're a happy, drunk common tater, Gabe. You say far more interesting things under the influence. I've never been stoned in the bathtub, but I've had shit hurled at me in the street. <br /><br />Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-18021545510746079942013-10-25T21:02:53.984-07:002013-10-25T21:02:53.984-07:00I thought the rapture piece was a bit harsher, way...I thought the rapture piece was a bit harsher, way funnier, and much better. To paraphrase a recent STEVE piece, I think we're entering a golden age of Hosemaster.<br /><br />As for Mis(s) Fiering, I can attest that she was the first to recognize a huge shift in winemaking philosophy over the past decade; but I will agree that she grates on me something awful. My biggest objection is that the entire winemaking philosophy that she reported upon (and kudos to her for doing real wine reporting, instead of just writing an opinion) is now somehow linked to her self-aggrandizing personality.<br /><br />Sorry that this was so poorly written. This is a subject near and dear to my heart, but I've been working 12 hours a day for the past 5 weeks, and just sucked down an entire bottle of wine. Ask me again in ten days, after I've spent a full weekend getting stoned in the bathtubAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-14378444677056991952013-10-25T08:29:57.619-07:002013-10-25T08:29:57.619-07:00Bob,
Jonathan Winters was one of my comedy heroes,...Bob,<br />Jonathan Winters was one of my comedy heroes, but hardly my only hero. Most of my other heroes were comedy writers the likes of David Lloyd and Larry Gelbart and Mel Tolkin, among others.<br /><br />There's enough hero worship in the wine business, from Parker to Alice to Jancis. I'll just keep doing what I do, thank you.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-69722698947433346222013-10-25T02:00:28.009-07:002013-10-25T02:00:28.009-07:00Ron,
We know your hero in comedy was Jonathan Win...Ron,<br /><br />We know your hero in comedy was Jonathan Winters.<br /><br />And know your fervor for skewering the ignoramuses and bloviators in the wine industry. (Exercising your exorcising.)<br /><br />How 'bout penning a paen to one of your heroes in the wine industry, as one more “exercise”?<br /><br />~~ BobBob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09099196210297757292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-10782300274340312632013-10-24T16:27:05.231-07:002013-10-24T16:27:05.231-07:00Hey Tim,
Everybody wants more humor in the wine bu...Hey Tim,<br />Everybody wants more humor in the wine business, only they want Noel Coward, or Andy Griffith's Mayberry. Idiots.<br /><br />I am called a lot of things, but most often it's sophomoric, snarky, or bully. I've come to wear those epithets, mostly hurled by the simpleminded and witless, with great pride.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-17030492856135315092013-10-24T16:09:02.494-07:002013-10-24T16:09:02.494-07:00The fellow who assists me with my website, winetal...The fellow who assists me with my website, winetalknola.com, was not amused when I posted the Restaurant Gouge HoseMaster column. He thought it sophomoric and bordering on obscene. <br /><br />I don't think I'll show him this one. Just post it myself. TimTim McNallyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17528551252162309111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-8606903619331493842013-10-24T14:25:29.622-07:002013-10-24T14:25:29.622-07:00David,
No. Not this badly. I certainly exaggerated...David,<br />No. Not this badly. I certainly exaggerated her style, and my impression of her writing came from her blog posts, not her books. <br /><br />As I often (too often) say here, I write these pieces as exercise. In this case, as I remember it (it was three years ago), I was trying to channel Ms. Feiring more than imitate her. Capture something of the person who so singlemindedly and endlessly pursues the "natural" path of wine and winemaking. And, of course, try to be funny. How successful I am at either of those goals is certainly up for discussion.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-24401859131323304962013-10-24T14:00:01.970-07:002013-10-24T14:00:01.970-07:00Not enuff. Short. Sentences..does she really write...Not enuff. Short. Sentences..does she really write this bad??Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11992278224164669829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-69771377623646920562013-10-24T12:51:37.198-07:002013-10-24T12:51:37.198-07:00George,
Nice obscure cultural reference! I hadn...George,<br />Nice obscure cultural reference! I hadn't thought of Leonard Pinth Garnell in a very long time. Nice going!<br /><br />John,<br />I had the same thought, my friend, when I reread it. That it had been nastier. Interesting.<br /><br />Parody is easy when someone has a distinct, and rather strict, point of view combined with a writing style that is forced. And, for the most part, people reveal their character far more than they believe when they write from a personal viewpoint. The hardest people to parody are "journalists," who are trained to step back from the words and try to write objectively. But, for the most part, they aren't worth parodying.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-63147251059193782712013-10-24T12:41:39.126-07:002013-10-24T12:41:39.126-07:00Funny, but I remember thinking this was harsher wh...Funny, but I remember thinking this was harsher when I first read it, not unfairly, but definitely written right up to the line.<br /><br />Today, it just seems spot on. Of course, I've read more Feiring since then.<br /><br />Pretty impressive for such a short immersion in her writing.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00033572431928998581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-59324627884370788312013-10-24T11:54:07.581-07:002013-10-24T11:54:07.581-07:00As Leonard Pinth Garnell would have put it " ...As Leonard Pinth Garnell would have put it " Wasn't that bad?" It was. fully up to standard. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-39191226848014689732013-10-24T11:23:05.544-07:002013-10-24T11:23:05.544-07:00When the "Best Of HoseMaster" (a low bar...When the "Best Of HoseMaster" (a low bar to get over) pieces first appeared more than three years ago, the number of pageviews each received, according to Google Stats, was around 150. Now my readership is considerably larger, proving you can fool most of the people most of the time. So, when my life doesn't allow me much time to write, I can spend a few minutes going through my back catalog and revisit a piece, knowing that most of my readers haven't seen it before.<br /><br />What's interesting is how much the pieces have changed in my own mind. In my memory, Mis(s) Feiring is a completely different piece. I don't edit or rewrite the "Best of" pieces, though, believe me, I really want to. But in my memory, this was a much rougher piece than it reads here. I do recall, however, that I removed the cruelest parts right before I published it, something I almost never do. Wish I'd saved them.<br /><br />Also, I think that, in some ways, I enjoy these reruns because they show how much I've struggled over the years to find my satiric voice. The Church of Aimee Semple McFeiring is a much better piece than this. Yet the point is about the same.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-63486861743126471622013-10-24T10:30:51.238-07:002013-10-24T10:30:51.238-07:00"I'm the leading authority on Natural Win..."I'm the leading authority on Natural Wines. No. Make that I'm the Only Authority on Natural Wines. I'm asked to speak often. I changed the world."<br />What modesty!<br /><br />I should add that she is the one who <br />"SAVED the world from Parkerization of wine." (or words to that effect, but I am too busy to look up the title.The Sommelierehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373623446507975769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-31532386602866717902013-10-24T10:07:20.661-07:002013-10-24T10:07:20.661-07:00I met her once. Seemed pretty OK in person, we we...I met her once. Seemed pretty OK in person, we were at a conference so I didn’t get too much one on one time with her. I actually am in sync with many of her points. But she writes in such a holier-than-thou style that’s it’s hard for me to really like her. She’s the Dr. Laura of wine, and Alice, if you’re reading this, you are welcome to use that as part of your shtick.Douglas Trapassohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18348522207945522495noreply@blogger.com