tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post4210854956713537705..comments2024-03-22T00:35:12.415-07:00Comments on HoseMaster of Wine™: Blind Book Review--"How to Love Wine"Ron Washam, HMWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-18899229435834369442013-09-05T07:55:12.486-07:002013-09-05T07:55:12.486-07:00I guess a good starting point would be context. Wi...I guess a good starting point would be context. Wine feats naturaly in a good dinner table. Also having someone of experience in <a href="http://e-notam.com" title="French Wine Expert" rel="nofollow">wine tasting</a> to provide the best entry, the best wine suited for your taste is always apreciable.Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13913782551645764317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-58033365487563501262012-10-27T08:37:20.821-07:002012-10-27T08:37:20.821-07:00Hey Mike,
Thanks. I did skim a few incredibly stup...Hey Mike,<br />Thanks. I did skim a few incredibly stupid and poorly written reviews on wine blogs, so I had a vague picture of what was in the book. Then I suddenly realized it would be funny to write a "blind" book review. Just like we did in high school, only without the Cliff Notes. <br /><br />Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-53603857437110852372012-10-26T20:36:21.775-07:002012-10-26T20:36:21.775-07:00Just wanted to jump in and say that I am one of th...Just wanted to jump in and say that I am one of the writers who did receive an advance copy of this book, and did read (most of) it, and that, despite not having read it, you pretty much nailed it. Impressive!Mikehttp://pavineco.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-35567107280565653652012-10-25T16:50:29.697-07:002012-10-25T16:50:29.697-07:00Vampires, yes that may work. Funny how they always...Vampires, yes that may work. Funny how they always get a pass from society. True, they are blood suckers and yes, they do kill people. But they are so damn good-looking... makes it all okay!Lara Chapmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-43821975265170435452012-10-25T13:51:44.916-07:002012-10-25T13:51:44.916-07:00Lara,
Oh, yeah, a very tough sell. Maybe if it wer...Lara,<br />Oh, yeah, a very tough sell. Maybe if it were "How to Love Vampire Pedophiles" it might work.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-2351452054156530072012-10-25T12:30:32.052-07:002012-10-25T12:30:32.052-07:00I think you've really got something with the &...I think you've really got something with the "How to Love..." series. 'How to Love a Pedophile' will be a tough sell though, not going to lie.Lara Chapmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-27303758395718444002012-10-23T11:22:35.040-07:002012-10-23T11:22:35.040-07:00Ron,
On publishers and titles. The publisher of m...Ron,<br /><br />On publishers and titles. The publisher of my second book about the history of the wine trade didn't like my working title, which was: "The Oldest Profession:<br />The Wine Trade."<br /><br />Told me it was risque, and that the sales people were afraid of it. I told them that I am concerned about the buyers responding to it and thus far everyone I told it to seemed to think it was catchy.<br /><br />So they came up with the following grabber. "Wine: The 8,000 Year-Old Story of the Wine Trade."<br /><br />Sales were so fantastic that I am writing this comment from my one room, roach-infested villa in a ghetto.Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07322028233207741737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-53609959763873351622012-10-23T09:33:41.667-07:002012-10-23T09:33:41.667-07:00Charlie,
I'll take the praise humbly and just ...Charlie,<br />I'll take the praise humbly and just say Thank You. I always hope that there is truth and laughter in what I write--that's what satire is about. When I succeed, it does make all the failures seem worth it.<br /><br />Gabe,<br />You're welcome. Making the work seem effortless is what I strive to do, but it is a lot of work and I appreciate being appreciated.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-30538723436302870312012-10-23T09:31:54.255-07:002012-10-23T09:31:54.255-07:00Ed, very cute.
My laptop seemed to freeze up so I...Ed, very cute. <br />My laptop seemed to freeze up so I hit "submit" again. <br />Ron knows how to delete redundant comments.<br />SUAMWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-783135084082424252012-10-23T09:19:08.570-07:002012-10-23T09:19:08.570-07:00Strenuous and difficult, yes. But I wouldn't ...Strenuous and difficult, yes. But I wouldn't quite call my job thankless. I have worked some thankless winemaking positions, and I guess that is why I like the stories and the romance. I'll take a winemaker who kisses each cluster over a team of seasonal employees in a warehouse any day.<br /><br />I did appreciate the idea of a blind book review. Maybe for the next one, you just read one page of a book without knowing the author or the story, only the genre. It's the only fair way to review a book<br /><br />Anyway, I did really like this post. Thanks for keeping me entertained, doing something mentally strenuous and mostly thankless, just because you love wine :-)gabehttp://illahevineyards.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-55877561657161504302012-10-23T09:14:51.174-07:002012-10-23T09:14:51.174-07:00The reason why this is a seminal post, in my humbl...The reason why this is a seminal post, in my humble opinion, is that you knew without reading the book how full of self-love it was.<br /><br />It is Theise all over again. Another guru tells us how we are supposed to love the tipple we already love. <br /><br />Now, don't get me wrong. Both Theise and Asimov are brilliant wine people, but being brilliant does not equate to having to tell us how to go about our business.<br /><br />Both have very specific, but also very narrow, points of view, and both talk as if they possessed some kind of special insight that the rest of lack.<br /><br />By lampooning that aspect of the Eric's work, you have hit the nail on the head. Too bad that you don't really believe that there is far more here than just humor. There is truth, and you should embrace it. <br /><br />That is why this post is so damn brilliant. It transcends the genre and uses humor to poke the pomposity while at the same time allowing the good parts of Asimov's offering to stand on their own.<br /><br />Bloody brilliant.Charlie Olkenhttp://www.cgcw.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-3936550160816987912012-10-23T08:20:21.515-07:002012-10-23T08:20:21.515-07:00Gabe,
I would strongly urge you to turn off the in...Gabe,<br />I would strongly urge you to turn off the internet in favor of walls every single time. But thanks for reading my foolishness, and for adding the perspective of someone who actually does something strenuous and difficult and nearly thankless just because he loves wine. <br /><br />I am also a fan of Asimov's work, even the stuff I haven't read. My post was never intended as a criticism of Eric. I liked the stupid satiric idea of a blind book review, and after reading numerous truly useless reviews of his book on a few blogs, I just used it as a jumping off point to write yet another satiric rant. It's what I do.<br /><br />Thomas,<br />Thanks for those kind words. To be honest, I almost didn't run this post because I wasn't sure I even liked it. <br /><br />Yes, I'm sure the title had more to do with his publisher. I was careful in that paragraph not to tie the title directly to him, but simply to point out, I hope to the publisher, how stupid it is.<br /><br />Jimmie,<br />Now that I'd like to see.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-88007827775058207842012-10-23T08:06:09.128-07:002012-10-23T08:06:09.128-07:00Ron
Thomas said it quite perfectly for me. So did...Ron<br /><br />Thomas said it quite perfectly for me. So did Ed Wilson. Maybe Thomas can explain it to Arthur.Jimmy Schnipkenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-26648835487246153382012-10-23T07:30:18.351-07:002012-10-23T07:30:18.351-07:00cute, not cut...cute, not cut...Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07322028233207741737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-88518497908932139602012-10-23T07:29:55.669-07:002012-10-23T07:29:55.669-07:00Ron,
This was a pinnacle post. You managed to mak...Ron,<br /><br />This was a pinnacle post. You managed to make me simultaneously laugh and nod my head in serious agreement. For that reason, I have nothing pithy, nothing cut, nothing pun-like, nothing, really, to say except: right on.<br /><br />Inside your inside humor lurks the kernel of insight.<br /><br />Re, book title: having had to deal with publishers on my book titles, I can tell you that the author is the last person they listen to for title advice.Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07322028233207741737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-22000579855954625672012-10-23T05:12:17.913-07:002012-10-23T05:12:17.913-07:00Jesus, shut up and stop writing on wine blogs (SUA...Jesus, shut up and stop writing on wine blogs (SUASWOWB). Once was enough! <br /><br />EdEd Wilsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-57840615011359144102012-10-22T23:22:35.866-07:002012-10-22T23:22:35.866-07:00The problem with the story is that, unless you hav...The problem with the story is that, unless you have an independent, unrestrictted behind-the-scenes view, the story the writer is "telling" is the one the winery fed them....<br /><br />Tell me about the vintage, tell me about the AVA, the site, the grape and how those come to make the wine - with some space given to the producer, then that might be interesting and perhaps informative. <br /><br />But if the writer talks about how the podiatrist-turned-vintner buries cow horns in the vineyard, names and talks to their vines and kisses each cluster before it gets crushed by the bare, size 6-regular feet of strawberry blonde virgins, then the writer is being a mouthpiece.SUAMWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-79382372450856385452012-10-22T23:22:35.132-07:002012-10-22T23:22:35.132-07:00The problem with the story is that, unless you hav...The problem with the story is that, unless you have an independent, unrestrictted behind-the-scenes view, the story the writer is "telling" is the one the winery fed them....<br /><br />Tell me about the vintage, tell me about the AVA, the site, the grape and how those come to make the wine - with some space given to the producer, then that might be interesting and perhaps informative. <br /><br />But if the writer talks about how the podiatrist-turned-vintner buries cow horns in the vineyard, names and talks to their vines and kisses each cluster before it gets crushed by the bare, size 6-regular feet of strawberry blonde virgins, then the writer is being a mouthpiece.SUAMWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-12882662965324749442012-10-22T22:21:00.103-07:002012-10-22T22:21:00.103-07:00after a 12 hour day of cleaning barrels and sortin...after a 12 hour day of cleaning barrels and sorting fruit, a little romance is worth a lot. maybe it's not worth anything to a person buying a wine they've never heard of from a place they've never been, but it's worth a lot to the poor schmo that's been scrubbing fermenters and sorting fruit all day. take it from a poor schmo.<br /><br />work one year at a winery, and the romance is gone. work two years at a winery, and you might think you know what you're doing. work five years at four wineries, and a little bit of romance is worth more than ninety-something points from the wine something-or-other.<br /><br />wax poetics for the value of romance aside, i agree that a book called "how to love wine" is as useful as "how to love blowjobs", and equally embarassing to be caught reading. love it or don't, just don't overthink it. but i do dig Asimov, at least he'd rather enjoy a wine that give it a numerical value. maybe i'm a sucker for a story. <br /><br />now somebody tell me which website got the most amount of points...with so many choices, i might turn off the internet and stare at my walls for an hourgabehttp://illahevineyards.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-24039555528315993002012-10-22T21:07:57.749-07:002012-10-22T21:07:57.749-07:00Marcia,
It's beneath you to take the coward...Marcia,<br />It's beneath you to take the coward's way out of commenting. Though beneath you isn't a bad place to be...<br /><br />Jack Stems,<br />Well, I suppose I should point out that romance is work too, though different than cleaning barrels and sorting fruit. David will gain some perspective. Finally.<br /><br />Joe, SubHumanWino,<br />Sorry, I'm indisposed on Mondays a lot, so I never get to respond in a timely manner. Just a simple question, Do you have to qualify as an actual human to write an autobiography? Also, I'm not surprised you read Paris' autobio--I'm more surprised you read me.<br /><br />Kathy,<br />I thought the same thing about the title. Eric was kind enough to Tweet about this post (I received a LOT of extra hits), so I wonder if he'd answer your question. My thought is, "I, Robot Wine" was taken.<br /><br />Bill,<br />Well, that's his job. He's a journalist. I get your point, and I'm glad you voiced it, but a critic has to know labels and trends or he's an ineffective critic. Spending a column every week on the pleasure wine brings to the senses would get old really fast. That's not his assignment, anyway, and shouldn't be.Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-68097358491477361752012-10-22T15:03:21.930-07:002012-10-22T15:03:21.930-07:00Wow, Bill G.
For years I tried to figure out what...Wow, Bill G.<br /><br />For years I tried to figure out what Asimov's deal is. I tried to understand the guy. I looked past his self-contradictory stances and major recommendation gaffes (Le Tourment Vert, anyone?) and missed what you just nailed:<br /><br />It IS, blindly, about the story, not the wine. This is either because he refuses to recognize that the reason people make and use tasting notes because these represents traits inherent to the wine, not the taster - OR - he lacks these basic skills himself and thus relies on the story. <br /><br />SUAMWhttp://shutupandmakewine.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-54901764414864174432012-10-22T14:46:19.222-07:002012-10-22T14:46:19.222-07:00Few embody the snobbish label drinker as wholly as...Few embody the snobbish label drinker as wholly as Eric Asimov. For him stories are the most important aspect of a wine, not the pleasure it brings to the senses.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513545974883632976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-15492162627169946822012-10-22T10:50:56.586-07:002012-10-22T10:50:56.586-07:00Finally, the real life equivalent to 100 points, t...Finally, the real life equivalent to 100 points, thank you: "With more than 200 choices, how do they decide which channel to watch on TV?" (Probably not the debate tonight...it is tonight, right?). <br />And I agree with Joe. That is a most insightful graph... and column.<br />I wonder what Eric wanted to call the book? Kathynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-16741814631140726442012-10-22T09:22:17.253-07:002012-10-22T09:22:17.253-07:003rd to last paragraph is the most insightful thing...3rd to last paragraph is the most insightful thing I've ever read, and that included Paris Hilton's autobiography...Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11188665746443591632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6745003136564123305.post-76405043615208584212012-10-22T09:14:22.735-07:002012-10-22T09:14:22.735-07:00" the romance of wine"
Working a season..." the romance of wine"<br /><br />Working a season in the vineyard and in the cellar will cure you of that delusion better than any antipsychotic.<br /><br />Just ask David White, of Indiana's News-Sentine.Jack Stemsnoreply@blogger.com