I turned into Professor Irwin Corey last night.
As the professor, I took a team of talented bloggers on a tour of Long Island's premium wineries.
I woke up terrorized out of my mind at 3:52 in the morning, screaming something about the how the Graves section of Bordeaux is also composed of sandy soils and makes world class Merlot.
My wife had to apply cold towels for 20 minutes to lower my fever.
Here's a picture of Jules, Alyce and me right after the ceremony.
I always wanted to go to Angor Wat. I wanted to go to Ho Chi Minh City. I'd like to visit Montréal three or four times a year. I'd like to buy a Brompton Folding Bicycle. In fact, I'd just like to ride a bicycle again.
I may not be doing these things in the future and I accept my new life. People are being evicted from their homes, are losing their jobs, their security nets and things could be far worse for me. At least, Louis/Dressner is solvent without Ponzi schemes to sell labels to Gallo or some other evil outfit. Not only that, we're making vast sums of money even though I have far less hair that famed vintner Charles Smith who just received 100 Points for some wine I'm sure I would find undrinkable! In fact, I have no hair at all!
One other dream I have always had is to read Tostoy's War and Peace. I've tried twice and never gotten past 134 pages. At this point, the book is simply too heavy and the type too small for me to have any hope of ever reading the novel.
So, what the hell, I decided to buy a Kindle 2 e-book with the money I'm saving by not going to Angor Wat. Frankly, I like it. I'm walking around with War and Peace, the Idiot, Notes from the Underground and several other novels I've always wanted to read. Yes, I prefer real books, yes I prefer the tactile feel and sensation of touching and turning a page. I also love good typography. But I have my limitations these days and the Kindle 2 works well right now for me.
Some dreams can still be touched. I'm 11% into War and Peace (the page count on the Kindle is confusing) and enjoying Tolstoy. My last MRI shows my tumor to be stable and I should be able to make it through the next 89%. I hope.
Frankly, even I was shocked! I always think that Dr Vino and then LennDevours are the top sites.
The Wall Street Journal Magazine Picks their Favorite Wine Web Sites
We have good wines. Some people consider us Guideposts or Lamposts or something like that.
We do not distribute wine in Georgia and Ohio. Consumers contact us from those states as do stores. Are you up to the challenge?
If so, write us at info@louisdressner.com
Many years ago, my Beacon of Light was Chairman Mao-Tse-Tung and Ho Chi Minh. Later, it became Leon Trotsky and then nobody in particular as I settled into agnosticism. Finally, it became Catherine Roussel, Jack Benny and Jean-Paul Brun.
Strangely, the tables have turned and I have now become a Beacon of Light to some, at least that's what I'm told. It is very flattering. See the link below:
The Voice at the Core Leading Our Cause Forward is the....
Denyse bought me a new Plantronics Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset as a marriage gift. Just what I wanted.
Give me a call to see the sound quantity. 646.832.3219
I started on Monday night!
I'm one rundown dude!
Temodar rocks!
An attendee writes:
that was the greatest rainy sunday afternoon i ever spent! it was amazing and fun and moving and so filled with love. not even just your love! that room was filled with the spirit, man! the love for you guys, from you guys, around you guys - all the wine guzzling pals loving each other up as well. insane!
it was truly so fun and kinda magical. you guys are really one of a kind (or two of a......) and being a part of the day meant so much to me. if i can't find lasting love - it's sure nice to see it in action and so deeply felt.
thanks so much!
and Joe looks so sexy bald!
Nearly 58 people showed up yesterday at the legendary Ten Bells Wine Bar in New York City to celebrate our anniversary.
The Reverend David Lillie Jr. gave an excellent service, detailing the unlikely possibility that Denyse and I would have met each other, fell in love, had children, started a wine business and raised a dog.
Other highlights included the grilled garlic octupus and loads of wine.
It was a very moving moment for Denyse and I. We will be posting more pictures of the event in the coming days.
Here is the first picture, with Denyse and I in the middle:
And they are dropping like flies....
Various people are ill and can't make it, like my mother, Chris Coad, Brad Kane, my cousin Irwin and numerous others.
We're going to have too many canapés and cupcakes! I bought ten stalks of celery and I've run out of paprika and cottage cheese.
I hope everyone feels better. They are in my thoughts and in my prayers.
My original pathology in November gave me two to three years to live. Denyse Louis and I were going to celebrate our 25th Anniversary anyhow, so it seemed appropriate, given the circumstances to also renew our vows.
My cancer treatment is going well. I finished seven weeks of radiation and chemotherapy in late January. I am now on a cycle of six chemotherapy treatments, five days on and 23 days off. I took an MRI this week and everything was nifty. My oncologist even said Congratulations!
Our hope is that it remains stable and functionally I go into remission. Maybe, I'll even get full motion back in my right leg sometime in the future. I've also significantly reduced my anti-seizure medicine, which makes me much less tired, irritable, stressed and petulant.
So my prognosis has been upgraded. If all continues well I might hang around for a while.
I would like to see Brad Kane married and with children.
My daughter Alyce is coming to town today from Montréal. My son Jules has prepared the sound mix.
Donna Siegel is buying 147 cupcakes.
I'm busy preparing canapés and dips.
Have to run.....
Take a look at all the frantic preparations:
Food Preparations
Of course, the choice of wines are very important to us. We plan on serving a range of Argentine wines from Susana Balboa.
To me, Susana has always been the "Queen of Torrontes" although Denyse considers her the "Evita of Wine." Susana's Signature wines are the ultimate expression of Susana: Susana's skill and Susana's artistry. Top barrel selections from Susanas overall production are complex and powerful, like Susana, yet with an elegance and finesse that only Susana Balboa can achieve quite so perfectly. Susana strives for balance in Susana's wines, with Susana achieving layers of complexity coming from the individually fermented varietals that Susana vinifies. Susana wants people who drink her wines to feel that every Susana sip from the glass is as exciting as the first. A unique Susana Balboa experience!
Susana Balboa's labels features figurines from Susana's silver Huarpe Indian necklace that Susana owns. The figures represent women's reproductive role as the connection between the past, present, and future. Susana considers Susana's role as winemaker to be the connection between the vineyards (past), the winemaking (present), and the finished wines (future).
Susana Balboa is reportedly a big fan of Charles Dickens and Susana's wines are almost a liquid expression of Dicken's greatest works. And who will every forget the Lady Susanna character in Is he Popenjoy?, perhaps the greatest novel in the Dickens legacy.
Then again, that lovely work may have been written by Anthony Trollope. It is all unclear to me and frankly, cancer puts me in a haze.
As Carl Sandberg wrote:
Yesterday and to-morrow cross and mix on the skyline
The two are lost in a purple haze. One forgets. One waits.
I decided to buy a wig.
I want to look good for my marriage ceremony on Sunday!
There's a lot of talk on the web about corruption in the wine industry. Judge for yourself.
Here I am bribing the Brooklyn Wine Guy Blogger to give good reviews to Franck Peillot's wines from the Bugey.
This is a picture of Eric Texier bribing me to take bigger quantities of his Brézème Blanc.
Luca Roagna is anxious to get good reviews on Lyle Fass' blog.
Here I am trying to get a product placement of Jurancon in the hipster market.
I'm sick of Alice Feiring writing about Jenny and François and this should do the trick.
David Lillie and Chambers Street could make an effort and take more of our Italian wines.
My son Jules just finished an intermediate course in the Masters of Wine program. Here I am bribing his instructor, Mollie Battenhouse, to make sure he gets a good grade.
Despite my offer to send a limousine to pick him up and return him to wherever he comes from!
In a seemingly unrelated development, my mother is in NYU hospital again.
At the least, I hope Dr. Colman and his colleagues figure out what to do to help her.
I know a lot of Doctors. Dr. Ira Dressner, the Chakraologist. Then there is my cousin, Dr, Barbara Hirsch, the famous Endocrinologist from Great Neck. And now, there is Dr. Tyler Colman, the author and world renowned blogger known to his public as Dr. Vino (some of Barbara's clients call her Dr. Spleeno, I've heard).
Despite all these medical connections I have, none of them seem to be doing my mother any good. She's declining.
In three years, Dr. Chakra will write a tribute to her on his blogs. In three years Dr. Spleeno will think fondly of her when she throws a lavish Passover Dinner at her Great Neck compound. In three years, Dr. Vino will forget she ever was alive.
Its sad knowing all these doctors. I wish President Obama would get on reforming the medical system already. It's about time!
I only threw out three people, but I was able to bar four people at the door!
Tomorrow, I'll have photos.
I received an e-mail today:
Hi,
My name is Matt Aronowitz and I am reviewer of wine. I live in Brooklyn, NY and I am obesessed with keeping a record of every wine I drink. I am one of the highest sheer volume reviewers on Snooth.com http://www.snooth.com/profiles/aronowm2/ and I have synched up my Twitter account to automatically post any wine I review on Snooth http://twitter.com/mattaronowitz
I would love to be added to your mailing list for sample bottles. Whether positive or negative, I can GUARANTEE an online review of any bottle you send me. I realize that there are many wine bloggers out there and you must inundated with requests, but I don't know how many bloggers can guarantee a review.
Honestly, I couldn't have made this up!
It is going to be a gas!
Don't miss it!
If you were invited!
Exclamation point!
Robert Parker.
Robert Parker is behind the scandal for not enforcing his high standards for wine journalism on Mark Squires and Jay Miller.
I have disagreed with Parker's evaluation of many wines for many years, but have never doubted his overall integrity. He's slipping though and letting his staffers get away with murder. Junkets and government trips are quite simply money sent to journalists.
Parker should immediately call a halt to this activity and issue a public clarification. He is not running a monastery and I don't care who Jay Miller dines or vacations with, so long as Jay Miller (who is also a Doctor) pays his way. But accepting government money and junkets is beyond the stated ethics of The Wine Advocate and for good reason. Independence and critical judgement is key to good journalism, whether is is writing about wine, theatre or politics.
Parker should also get rid of, or tranquilize Mark Squires. Squires has become well know for his boorish and arrogant running of the Ebob bulletin board. This is hurting Parker's brand and reputation. Posts are censored and come and go. Further, Squires openly admits to taking government handouts as a Wine Advocate staffer.
I hope Parker resolves this quickly. He has a long track record and as the most powerful wine critic in the world, he is constantly going to be under attack by mudslingers like Dr. Vino. Mr. Parker can end it by enforcing his stated policies on the rest of his staff. Parker owns the Wine Advocate and is in charge.
What is the connection between Dr. Tyler Colman and my cousin, Dr. Barbara Hirsch, the famous Great Neck Endocrinologist?
I was just contacted by the CaptainTumorMan fact-checking department and his real name is Dr. Tyler Colman.
Note it is Colman, not Coleman.
I've notified the Wine Bloggers Conference about this late-breaking news.
I just came into possession of an e-mail sent to Dr. Tyler Coleman, the famous wine author and publisher of the web site Dr. Vino. I used to love investigative journalism and I feel like I've joined the team of Woodward/TumorMan/Bernstein. We're going to blow the lid off this growing scandal.
Mr. Coleman has been very busy exposing Robert Parker for being a hypocrite because Robert Parker's staff allegedly does things that Mr. Coleman gladly does on his own. Coleman's objection is that the staffers have violated the policies of The Wine Advocate.
The e-mail I received reads:
Dear Tyler:
I would like to pay your round trip costs to attend our tasting on Tuesday in New York. I know you don't object to free trips to taste wine but want proper conditions to taste and no pressure from the sponsors of the free trip. I promise I will leave you alone at the tasting and you will be free to sample an interesting group of producers at your own pace and with no sales pressure.
You will, of course, be free to write whatever you think about our wines and we think our wines will speak for themselves. I'd particularly like to recommend the limousine services offered by Bermuda Limousines International, which can be reached at 800 223 1383.
Unfortunately, it might be possible that the State Liquor Authority has made this type of transaction illegal. I'm not certain, but I do recall that our ex-Governor, Elliot Spitzer, was militantly against freebies and insisted that everybody pay their own way. Imagine, he considered a freebie to be an exchange of money, something like a bribe!
In that case, I will write you an IOU which you can redeem when the Spitzer rules are finally rescinded and when wine journalists in this great free nation of ours will once again be free to openly accept freebies and spiffs.
Please let me know if you want to take me up on this exciting offer.
Joe Dressner
Frankly, I'm shocked.
As far as I know, Dr. Coleman has not responded to the Mr. Dressner's invitation.
Where will this stop?
I contacted Alice Feiring tonight and offered her the same deal I am offering Dr. Vino.
Interviewed at her home, Ms. Feiring responded:
"I live five blocks away from your office. I'll walk."
We're still waiting to hear Dr. Vino's response.
I will pay famous wine writer Tyler Coleman, the author of two books and host of the drvino.com web site, his full transportation costs to our Tuesday trade tasting if he attends.
To make his tasting more relaxed, he is welcome to take a limousine from his home. Fighting traffic or taking mass transit can be such a tiring experience. I want Dr. Vino to feel comfortable when he attends our event and to feel at ease with our growers and our wines. I don't want to influence Dr. Coleman, who is free to write whatever he wants to write about our wines, but I want to maximize his experience.
According to Dr. Coleman's site, he has nothing against travel freebies. I'll gladly participate and hope to have an objective write-up on his web site in the near future.
I think it would be a beautiful conciliatory family scene.
My Cousin Barbara Hirsch, the Great Neck Endocrinologist, loves Super Tuscans and cooking workshops in Tuscany. We won't have any Super Tuscans there but we will have Silvio Messana from Montescondo with his beautiful Chianti.
My Brother, Ira Dressner, the famous Tibetan Bowl manipulator, loves sweet wines. I know he'll find his happiness somewhere in between Alessandra Bera's Moscator d'Asti and Mauro Vergano's Chinatis.
My mother is hopefully attending, so it would be just a wonderful reunion.
Maybe chemotherapy and radiation will work.
But just in case, I've started working with a healer from the subcontinent.
I'm not sure what these candle-holding ceremonies do to defeat my tumor, but they can't hurt.
Tyler Coleman is a guy with two books, a wine blog and a doctorate who is trying to make a career as a wine freelancer. He's a nice guy who even likes our wines.
His big thing is usually carbon footprint and how everyone should drink local wines packed in recyclable packaging. Lately, he's trying to make a name for himself as the Woodward/Berstein who has exposed Robert Parker for doing things Coleman does himself.
Apparently, some of The Wine Advocate's staff are admittedly taking government or trade organization sponsored trips, despite Parker's personal integrity and history of being fiercely independent. I'm not privy to all the particularly, but according to the Wine Advocate's staff members, they informed Mr. Parker who gave his approval.
Coleman is carrying on at his blog about how Parker is a hypocrite for claiming independence. But Tyler should be condemning Parker for allowing his employees to accept freebies. Parker owns the Wine Advocate and his stated principals are sound journalistic principles. I hope Parker once again enforces them, as Steve Tanzer and other people do.
But Tyler does not object to the freebies and his only objection is that Parker has not been forthright about his employees following his policies, policies that Tyler supports and practices himself. Tyler believes he has an investigative scoop because he has found that Parker's staff does what Tyler routinely does.
I think Parker's initial principals are entirely correct. I don't think only Parker follows them, but all credible journalists follow these ethical and honest principals. It is what distinguishes fluff journalism from independent journalism.
I'm not alone in this feeling. What does the New York Times call for in its ethical policies:
Paying Our Own Way
30. When we as journalists entertain news sources (including government officials) or travel to cover them, our company pays the expenses. In some business situations and in some cultures, it may be unavoidable to accept a meal or a drink paid for by a news source (for example, at an official's residence or in a company's private dining room). Whenever practical, however, we should avoid those circumstances and suggest dining where we can pay our share (or, better, meeting in a setting that does not include a meal). Routine refreshments at an event like a news conference are acceptable, but a staff member should not attend recurring breakfast or lunch meetings unless our company pays for the journalist's meals. Whether the setting is an exclusive club or a service lodge's weekly luncheon, we should pay our way.
31. Staff members may not accept free or discounted transportation and lodging except where special circumstances give little or no choice. Such special cases include certain military or scientific expeditions and other trips for which alternative arrangements would be impractical — for example, an interview aboard a corporate jet where there is no benefit other than the interview. Journalists should consult responsible newsroom managers in advance when special circumstances arise.
32. If permitted by the local newsroom policy, staff members may accept press passes or free tickets when explicitly assigned to review artistic performances or cover athletic and similar events (for example, auto shows, agricultural fairs or flower shows). But no staff member except the assigned one — not even an editor in the arts, feature or sports department — may accept free tickets. And even when paying the box office price, a journalist may not use membership on our staff to obtain scarce seats unless the performance has a clear bearing on his or her job.
There are not extreme practices, but standard practices for writers and journalists. They are the ABC of journalism.
Unfortunately, like many industries, the wine industry has developed an intertwined complex of writers, flaks, consultants, internet writers and various service providers where it has become difficult to distinguish who is on the take and who is not on the take. It is even more difficult who is on the take but trying to remain critical and who is being cynical to rake in fees, promotions and money.
Blogging, which I also do, is simply way to deliver articles to the public. There are not fact-checkers, proofreaders and enforced ethical standards. So, it is difficult to figure out who has integrity and who is a fly-by-night operation. I run two blogs that often invent stories and are often fictitious because I think it is import to satirize the Blogger as purveyor of truth. Today, for instance, I took a plane from San Francisco to New York. If I like, I can write on my blog that I sat next to a celebrity, a Californian winemaker, someone who was waterboarded in Guantanamo, or someone who went on a junker to visit Northwest winemakers with Tyler Coleman. Or I can say I sat next to my 23-year-old son.
Blogging is not reporting and not criticism. I just read a wonderful article on Waterboarding in the New York Times. No blogger is going to write such a story with the resources of a major news organization. As with wine, The Times has more access, more money and more personnel than the lonely blogger. Their report can stay free from conflict from their sources because they are on the payroll of The Times. Which makes me take a deep breath of relief that The Times still exists despite the internet.
The problem for wine freelances who mean well is the seeming collapse of independent news organization and the difficulty of making a living as a freelance wine writer. What freelancers always say is that they can't afford to live and support themselves if they don't accept money. Because lets make it clear, when you accept a free trip (like Squires or Coleman) you are accepting money.
That's a choice but not an ethical one. I know it is difficult for freelancers now but it was their choice to get in the field. I just had a very successful tasting tour of California, but I never forget how I once had a tasting in New York and two people showed up. I wanted to import a certain type of wines and fought to do so. It took a long time and I'm not rich but I make a living.
Right now, if you want to be an ethical wine reporter it is an uphill battle. But it remains a voluntary one.
Written at one in the morning, revised when I woke up on Thursday.
Particularly the bad ones with no track record and with their hands extended for free trips, handouts, bribes and meals.
I've been reading lots of commentary lately about the importance of wine critics keeping their distance from wine producers, importers and various other nefarious characters. I certainly think this is true and was shocked to learn that someone who works for Robert Parker's Wine Advocate accept government money to travel and taste in wine regions. Mark Squires who covers Israel, Portugal dry wines and Pennsylvanian viticulture freely admits to taking Isreali government money for his Wine Advocate articles on that countrie's wineries.
I've had differences with Mr. Parker wine reviews over the years because he has loved too many wines I find spoofulated and undrinkable. But the man has always been honest and stuck hard to his principles. I've questioned his taste and his contempt for people who disagree with him, but I have never doubted his honor and integrity. The man is a great talent but one I often disagree with. That's fair enough.
What shocks me about Squires is that Parker has always been clear about The Wine Advocate not accepting freebies. From Parker's book:
Two principal forces shaped my view of a wine critic's responsibilities. I was then, and remain today, significantly influenced by the independent philosophy of consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Moreover, I was marked by the indelible impression left by my law school professors, who in the post-Watergate era pounded into their students' heads a broad definition of conflict of interest. These two forces have governed the purpose and soul of my newsletter, The Wine Advocate, and of my books.
In short, the role of the critic is to render judgments that are reliable. They should be based on extensive experience and on a trained sensibility for whatever is being reviewed. In practical terms, this means the critic should be blessed with the following attributes:
Independence: It is imperative for a wine critic to pay his own way. Gratuitous hospitality in the form of airline tickets, hotel rooms, guest houses, etc., should never be accepted either abroad or in this country. What about wine samples? I purchase more than 75% of the wines I taste, and though I have never requested samples, I do not feel it is unethical to accept unsolicited samples that are shipped to my office. Many wine writers claim that these favors do not influence their opinions. Yet how many people in any profession are prepared to bite the hand that feeds them? Irrefutably, the target audience is the wine consumer, not the wine trade. While it is important to maintain a professional relationship with the trade, I believe the independent stance required of a consumer advocate often, not surprisingly, results in an adversarial relationship with the wine trade. It can be no other way. In order to pursue this independence effectively, it is imperative to keep one's distance from the trade. This may be misinterpreted as aloofness, but such independence guarantees hard-hitting, candid, and uninfluenced commentary.
I've had dealings with Mr. Parker in the past and I know this is how he operates. He owns The Wine Advocate and he establishes the editorial policies. If Squires wants the job he should be forced to live up to the ethical standards of the boss.
There has also been a lot of complaining about Jay Miller, another Wine Advocate Staff Writer, being too close to importers and having too much fun in Florida restaurants. No one is accusing him of taking money, as far as I can tell, but there is only a lot of mud-slinging going on. I don't care who Jay Miller's friends are and Parker is not running a monastery. Leave poor Jay alone unless there is proof that he has accepted money, handouts, free meals or government money!
I hope this is resolved quickly and that Mr. Parker does the right thing. Like him, I'm also sick of bloggers throwing mud at him. Dr. Vino, who started this, accepts hand outs. Today, I met a guy at our LA tasting who went on two freebies with the Doctor. So, I view his "reporting" as pure gossip and vindictive mucking-about meant to make Dr. Vino's reputation. Dr. Vino seems to be accusing Parker's staff of accepting handouts that he would gladly accept. To me, this is just a silly publicity stunt against Parker. Mr. Coleman only admitted to taking government sponsored trips during the discussion vilifying Robert Parker!
Lastly, Squires has developed a reputation for arbitrary, hostile and erratic behavior on his Bulletin Board. Mr. Parker ought to ask him to calm down. Squires was recently terribly impolite and abusive with the respected and excellent wine journalist Mike Steinberger for no apparent reason. Squires' comments were at best bullyish.
Parker and Squires always make it sound as if they are being persecuted when someone disagrees with them. Lets get real....Robert Parker remains the most powerful and influential wine personality in the world today. It is almost comical to talk about persecution.
His power does mean that people are going to snipe at him and try to call him out for hypocrisy and make startling discoveries that he is not Jesus Christ and has failings. So, I do hope Parker cleans up this mess. Lets talk about his wine judgements but not whether he dines out too often with some wine luminary (where Parker pays his way). I don't like fake scandals and Mr. Parker can clean this up quickly.
So, what is my war on wine journalists? Somehow there is an image that those of us with wine to sell are constantly trying to seduce journalists for good reviews. There is a lot of that going around and I can't say that I'm not happy to receive a good review for our vignerons.
We are delighted to get samples (we tend to have a tiny sample allocation from our producers), arrange appointments by e-mail or telephone in Europe and supply information to journalists who do their work and maintain their independence. We may get good or bad reviews, but at least we know that the reviewer was not bribed or corrupt. Most of our samples cost us money and it is an expense for us to mail out samples all the time. But we are happy to work with the handful of independent critics around who have a real track record, are not fly-by-night operations and are not writing on a whim and a payoff. We think it is imperative that bloggers, free-lancers and journalists make it clear when they have been financed by governments, trade associations, importers or producers.
But on the whole, what the critics say is secondary to our work. We import wines we like and things have gone too far for years now, as producers and importers cater their offerings to what will be reviewed well. But what's the point of being a niche importer if we don't import wines that are unique, peculiar and revelatory?
We think it is not only important that critics keep a distance from importers, but that importers keep a critical distance from the press and produce and import wine they love. Wines that are real, honest and come from the earth. In this post-Madoff era, not everything should be about making money by one Ponzi scheme or another. Wine comes from the earth and was here before Bernie Madoff and will be here after he dies in his jail cell.
I have to take my anti-convulsion medicine and go to sleep.