The Major Key to Your Better Future is YOU!
That's a profound thought.
Sheila Doherty, Channeler and Louis/Dressner Executive
Think it over. Take some time. Try to grab on to the idea. Wrap yourself around it. Live it!
The Major Key to Your Better Future is YOU!
That's right!
Denyse Louis and DJ Measures will also be appearing at Arlequin Wine Merchant somewhere in Hayes Valley on Thursday night from 6 to 8 pm.
$20.00 will get you a great selection of wines to taste and the opportunity to meet me and learn more about Sheila Doherty.
See you then!
In fact, there is a special bonus for people who attend both the Terroir tasting on Monday and the Arlequin tasting on Thursday. As Channeler Sheila Doherty has said:
Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile
Sheila Doherty, the international operating manager of Louis/Dressner Selections, has recently discovered that she can channel mystic spirits. The first one she met appeared in the rear view mirror of her car earlier this week:
Using Angel Cards as a tool to channel these spirits, Ms. Doherty hopes to give regular advise to my readers on how to understand, shape and advance their careers and personal lifes.
Sheila's words for Friday, February 19th, 2010 are:
Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.
Sheila Doherty, who channels a spirit she recently met in a parking garage on Lafayette Street, has told me this is going to be a great tasting event. She randomly picked a card out of a deck of Angel's Cards and asked how the Terroir event will be.
Great news! The Angels are on our side!
Even Denyse Louis is going to be there!
House Music will be presented by the famous DJ Measures!
Don't miss this epic event!
It's somewhere on Folsom Street.
Sheila Doherty of Louis/Dressner Selections, has recently discovered that she can channel spirits.
Sheila had a revelation earlier this week while picking up her Honda CRV 2005 at the 403 Lafayette Street Parking Garage.
A vision appeared in the Honda's rear view mirror as Sheila pulled into the Lafayette Street traffic:
Sheila has been able to channel this apparition's thoughts by using a deck of Angel Cards. The results have been amazing!
More to come....
Beyond a doubt it was the Clos Roche Blanche 1988 white, which was a mixture of Chenin and Menu Pineau.
I'm getting old and I need older wine.
This was a fresh beauty, redolent with _____________ and seething with ____________. On the nose, the notes of ______________ take you to another place and time. The frontal attack is laced with ripe _______________ and ________________. The finish must last for __________________ seconds!
The imbeciles at the INAO want to abolish all grape varieties in Touraine Blanc except Sauvignon Blanc. They want a marketing identity as a mini-Sancerre.
Can you imagine!
Readers should note that our new dog Zaggy has now joined the late Buster on the masthead of this web site. Furthermore, we now call it Captain Recovering Tumor Man. I am not in remission yet, but I am now down to only one MRI every three months and everything looks stable.
I want to thank everyone out there who has been praying for me.
I find I have less tolerance for alcohol ever since I started cultivating a brain tumor, having convulsions, imbibing chemotherapy and being radiated.
Is it possible my metabolism has changed since I became ill?
My internist ran several tests last week and everything is fine. I asked him if he knew of any research being done to increase our tolerance of absorbed alcohol. Much to my surprise, no one is pursuing this lucrative field.
If any of my readers know of any clinical experiments please contact me through my Twitter feed.
This year's awards were given to Alice DeMoor of Chablis, with honorable mentions to Marc Ollivier, Alain Coudert, Pierrot Bonhomme and Bernard Baudry.
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Of course, I also have lots of interesting things to say.
The new site should be up today or tomorrow.
It's awesome!
Best vintage since 1991!
And no hype here!
Eric Texier's done it again!
The guy who discovered Brézème is now working in Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban, a village on the opposite side of the Rhône from Brézème in the Ardeche.
There is some great vineyard work here and the vineyards are all in massale, worked organically for generations and brimming with syrah minerality and terroir. There is also two hectares of cinsault and this is no doubt the most northern exposition for that cépage.
I'm with a group of about 20 Americans today and we toured the vines and talked with the current ownership. Eric will soon be forming a close collaboration with them. The 2009s, the first wines vinified by Eric, were stunning today.
I'm tired and its late here. More on this area in the future.
Weather stinks but I love the Beaujolais.
Went to a great wine show yesterday. See link above.
Slept 14 hours.
Configured Jean-Paul Brun's Wifi.
Ate.
Will now shower.
Walking with my miracle Walkaide device. Like a young man of 18.
Later.
A beautiful baby was born yesterday opposite the wilds of Central Park on Fifth Avenue.
NoName McIver was born on Thursday, January 21st and is doing fine.
The proud parents, Molly McIver and Linus Kessler are still considering a first name.
Congratulations to all!
Twenty some people will be with our Louis/Dressner group in the Beaujolais and the Loire.
I'm going to land Saturday in Lyon and go right to the "la Cugnette." This is an annual show for the public, organized by some crazy wine nut, where you can taste and buy loads of great wine. The best thing is that is is only 20 minutes from the Lyon airport.
Try to imagine such an event happening in America! What a great combination of French and Italian and Portuguese Vignerons!
Here is the link:
An All Star Get Together of Vignersons
Had a great MRI today at NYU Medical Center.
The tumor remains docile and groggy. I don't have to have another MRI for three months -- up to now it has been every two months.
I also purchased some fabulously expensive box that will allow me to walk better, despite my neuromuscular damage, if the box doesn't break too soon. The box is strapped below my knee and is calibrated to follow my right leg's motion as I walk. This sneaky device gives me a generous zap to trigger off what ever muscle is supposed to be moving when I raise my leg as part of a normal walking gait.
In unrelated news, I attended Levi Dalton's fabulous birthday party yesterday. There must have been about 30 bottles of Morgon from all the top growers. Some delicious wines were there.
All my thanks to everyone who participated.
Lets keep it going!
Thank you for attending today's benefit event. PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. They urgently need your support to help those affected by the recent earthquake. Partners In Health (PIH) works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. Based in Boston, PIH employs more than 11,000 people worldwide, including doctors, nurses and community health workers. The vast majority of PIH staff are local nationals based in the communities they serve.
Three ways to donate;
1. Cash donations will be consolidated and a money order/bank check will be mailed to PIH. We will have a record of individuals and amounts, but you will not receive a document for tax purposes.
2. Donations by check, with your return address, will be mailed to PIH. You will receive a document in the mail from PIH usable for a tax deduction.
3. Donations by credit card, with your billing address and email, will be processed today and will receive an email confirmation from PIH usable for a tax deuction.
OUR SPONSORS This event was organized by Louis/Dressner Selections (LDM Wines) and Chambers Street Wines with contributions to PIH by LDM Wines, Douglas Polaner Selections, David Bowler Wines, Michael Skurnik Wines, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Mosel Wine Merchant, Naomi Rosen, Noel Sherr and others.
THE WINES Due to the questionable legalities of donating wine to this event, our sponsors made generous contributions directly to PIH. All wines are provided by CSW from our inventory. Please excuse last minute deletions or substitutions.
1. NV Casa Costepiane Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (Louis/Dressner Selections)
(Out of Stock $19.99)
2. NV Pierre Gimonnet Champagne Cuis 1er Cru Brut (Michael Skurnik Wines) ($43.99)
3. 2009 Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie (Louis/Dressner Selections) (2008 $12.99)
4. 2005 Franc Peillot Roussette de Bugey Montagnieu Altesse (Louis/Dressner Selections) N/A
5. 2005 Gerard Schueller Gewurztraminer Bildstoecklé (Chambers Street Wines) ($24.99)
6. 2007 Clemens Busch Pundericher Marienburg Falkenlay Riesling (Mosel Wine Imports) ($43.99)
7. 2008 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese "Rotlay" (Michael Skurnik Wines) ($39.99)
8. 2007 Georges Descombes Chiroubles Vieilles Vignes (Louis/Dressner Selections) ($27.99)
9. 2007 Domaine Diochon Moulin-A-Vent Vieilles Vignes (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant) N/A
10. 2007 Heinrich Mayr Nusserhof Elda Vino da Tavola Sciava (Louis/Dressner Selections) ($21.99)
11. 2008 Tajinaste Valle de la Orotava Listan Negro (David Bowler Wines) ($22.99)
12. 2008 Bermejo Lanzarote Listan Negro (David Bowler Wines) ($25.99)
13. 2007 Jean and Pierre Gonon Saint-Joseph (Chambers Street Wines) ($28.99)
14. 2005 Edmunds St John El Dorado County Syrah Wylie Fenaughty (David Bowler Wines) ($28.99)
It almost sounds vulgar. Imagine, a fundraising wine tasting at Chambers Street Wines on Saturday at 4 pm to raise money for Haiti and Partners in Health. Will we be discussing bouquet, length, finish, natural vs. industrial wine while Haiti suffers?
No one individual knows how to make a difference, how to help. Yes, the governments of the world need to rebuild an infrastructure that was barely there in the first place. We cannot have the same inaction that we had during Katrina and watch people die of neglect on our television screens. If we can send film crews to televise misery then we can send medical support, food and water. And we can do this on a massive basis.
But government help, as important as it is, will only be sustaining if we organize on a daily basis. Haiti is going to need major structural changes and it is not going to happen overnight. The economy was a disaster before the earthquake and was quickly disintegrating. It was a quiet disintegration and we could block it out and just forget it was happening. There is so much suffering around the world that one feels numb – much easier to move on and go about our daily lives.
We hope to do something small, to step out of our numbness by integrating work for Haiti relief into our everyday life. I don't want to just send a check or attend a charity ball. Charity is always viewed as something outside ourselves, something we do for an outside organization. Charity is often self-aggrandizing and more about networking and personal prestige than the actual charitable goals.
In my everyday life, I am a wine importer. This tasting is my small attempt to do some good, to touch a few people in Haiti not only by sending that check, but also by changing my everyday life. I want to use my skills to help people who have nothing to do with wine and my daily world.
I was touring viticultural France in 1989 when the Romanian dictatorship fell. There were always strong historic ties between the two countries but it was truly amazing to see that every church, every school, every city hall, everyone and every institution was trying to do something to aid the Romanian people. It was a nationwide mobilization that seemed natural and which touched la vie quotidienne
I hope you'll join me in supporting Partners in Health and the Haitians.
Join the staff of Chambers Street Wines and Louis/Dressner Selections for a benefit tasting of the most interesting wines we can find.
Suggested donations of $10 (or more) will go directly to pih.org, Partners in Health. They're organizing volunteer medical personnel and sending needed supplies.
Chambers Street Wines, Louis/Dressner Selections and Polaner Selections will match your donations. Companies sponsoring the event also include Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant and Michael Skurnik Wines. Taste a great selection of wines (not for sale) and help respond to this horrible crisis.
If you can't come, go to pih.org to make your donation.
It is hard to know how to help, but we can't just stand by and watch the suffering in Haiti without doing something.
Please send contributions to Partners in Health, a great organization that has been doing important work in Haiti for years.
Their web site is:
Partners in Health
You can read more about their ongoing work in Haiti at:
PIH's Existing Projects in Haiti!
The current state of the New York Wine Industry is stupefying.
I'm speechless.
Zaggy was born on the same calendar date that Hitler invaded the Sudetenland.
Stranger than fiction!
Country singer Willie Nelson and my daughter were born on the same day of the year that Adolph Hitler shot Eva Braun and took his life.
You can look it up!
I can't watch Gary Vaynerchuk and find the whole Wine Television shtick embarassing, humorless and clumsily over the top. It reminds me of the old Alan Burke and Joe Pyne shows I used to watch as a young man. Or the late Soupy Sales without a pie.
I suppose its Glen Beck with a spittoon, but it is all about Mr. Vaynerchuk and only a little bit about wine. Yes, Gary Vaynerchuk the phenomena, the moneymaker, the media star, the promotional wizard. Wine seems to be an incidental vehicle to celebrity.
I've never met him and I'm sure he enjoys wine. The problem is that there is no such unitary category....wine. Popularizing "wine" makes as little sense to me as popularizing music or popularizing film or popularizing reading.
Do we need Danielle Steele's so that people will graduate to serious fiction? Perhaps we need Danielle Steele so that people will increase revenues for book publishers, but I don't believe the mechanics of reading a trashy book makes the reader more open to literature.
I also don't believe that Two-Buck Chuck or Yellowtail brings people into the fictitious "fine wine world" on a one-way conveyor belt to Haut-Brion. Haut-Brion and Yellowtail come in bottles, come from fermented grapes, and have alcohol. Other than that, I can't see anything in common.
Mr. Vaynerchuk has praised some of our wines and I'm grateful. He's truly an American cultural phenomena, a product of the reality TV generation, and I can't say I have warmed up to him. It might just be a personal prejudice, but I cringe when I watch his interviews.
My credentials are solid. I grew up a New York Titans fan and watched the Titans play at the old Polo Grounds. I worked for the Harry Stevens organization as a kid to watch the New York Jets play at Shea Stadium while I was selling pretzels and hot dogs in the grandstands. I haven't followed the Jets or Giants since they left New York to become New Jersey teams, but I hope they will sober up sometime and come back.
Emerson Boozer was my childhood hero and I still worship him to this day.
I read the Wine Spectator today. Turns out that the current CEO of AIG Insurance is also a winemaker.
You'll recall that AIG is the company that almost sent the American economy into a total disaster. To stabilize the company, they enticed Robert Benmosche to join the company over a year ago.
This Benmosche, who is a New York native who used to run Met Life, turns out to be a "winemaker." Not in someplace nearby like the Finger Lakes, not in Long Island but all the way in Croatia.
I know lots of winemakers and I don't know any of them who could make wine in Croatia from the Board room of AIG in downtown Manhattan. This is biblical imagery -- perhaps someone on Wall Street can turn derivatives into Grand Cru Burgundy!
Winemaker is a term thrown around quite a bit. Robert Benmosche owns a winery. Robert Benmosche owns vines. Robert Benmosche owns wine.
But Robert Benmosche is not a winemaker.
Please don't bother me with arguments about négociants and larger domaines. Robert Benmosche has an investment and good for him. Lots of celebrities have winemaking investments and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm not sure, but I believe I read somewhere that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are also winemakers.
Chacun son métier, as they say in French (look it up), and journalists making a barrel or two somewhere, bored or impassioned businessmen, investors and wealthy wine drinkers looking for a personal angle are not winemakers.
Please, cut out the nonsense.
As does his wife.
They asked to remain anonymous and for me not to name names. I will not reveal the name of the baby although I will say that neither the parents or the baby have anything to do with Southern Wine & Spirits.
Some guy from Southern Wine & Spirits sent us a note today. He would like to represent our wines in Utah and somewhere else.
We are a Southern Wine free national importer and it simply is not going to happen. We're dealing with vignerons, not mobsters. Although no one is saying that anyone at Southern Wines is or has ever been a mobster. In fact, I know that leading members of Southern Wines and Spirits are very generous with many charities, are good human beings, love their spouses, children and animals, and believe in everything that has made America a great nation. I wish them luck.
But they're in another world. Good luck to them. Parker is an another world, I don't care what he likes or dislikes, although I respect his obvious talents. Get off it everyone and create your own universe!
People who think the wine trade is about business structure, profit, competitiveness, market leadership, money, business vision and their idiosyncratic world views are totally nuts.
It is about wine. That's all.
The trick is to be able to make a living selling wine, but not by treating wine like any commodity out there. Yes, it has something in common, but wine is not simply a "product" to build egos, business structures and private fortunes.
I'm an old fashioned guy who believes wine should transcend greed and ego because it is a pure expression of nature.
But c'mon, that's one incredible picture of one beautiful kid. A cycle reborn.
Thank goodness.
I just read a contribution to the Robert Parker wine board.
There is a discussion on why Eric Asimov didn't like some of Mr. Parker's favorite 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Papes and one of the participants writes:
New York is sort of a hotbed for wines in a style that RP doesn't particularly like. Because of Dressner and Rosenthal, there are plenty of wine stores in the city that are chockfull of a leaner, more high-toned style....not just referring to geeked-out places like Chambers Street- almost any wine store in NYC....
I think that as a result of this, you have a lot of NYC-area natives with a taste that's just profoundly different than RPs. Thinking of me, in particular: I grew up in Manhattan and my parents pretty much exclusively drank Rosenthal wines. Since that's what I was tasting since I was 13, that's what I like now....
Eric Asimov is also a NYC-area native and has been with the times since the mid-80's. I would imagine that he too has a palate that may be different from the rest of the US. I couldn't help but notice that his favored CdP was a Rosenthal import which I've enjoyed in the past....
Are Neal and I finally being held accountable for the corruption of the New York wine drinking public?