Public NYC Louis/Dressner Tasting: WTF?

R

Roger LaMarque

Roger LaMarque
Fact: I'm just a newbie putz.

Fact: in the last hour, the L/D tandem has forgotten more about wine than I will ever know and I will continue to drink the shit out of their wines.

Question: what was I supposed to get out of the public tasting last Saturday?

Living in NYC allows me to basically rip off local wine professionals by letting them curate my selections. I rip off Levi's wine list (downloadable PDF!) and I leverage CSW, Crush, et al. Hell, I even mooch off of you suckers. And I use importers like L/D as personal sommeliers. I'm not In the Biz, I don't blog, and I don't have any kind of audience. I am just a (newbie-putz) consumer. So I went to my first L/D tasting with some high hopes.

There was less joy at the tasting than I anticipated. Maybe I went too early, but I had trouble finding the expected free-wheeling conviviality. It wasn't a death march by any means but people were hammering their way down the paper list like it was. I encountered covetous steely-eyed stares from people whenever I was able to get within earshot of a winemaker. I would step back to let someone else in, and a feeding frenzy would occur. I couldn't stop thinking about how little fun this must be for the folks pouring the wine.

And the wine? Sure, it was nice to try a few things that I haven't tried, but I know this stuff isn't going to taste the same when I buy it. I found the Radikon to be lifeless and, in a panic, I went home and opened a bottle and almost wept with relief. I know the easy answer (dont go) but I cant help but think maybe I missed something. I'm sure mega-tasting has been discussed here ad nauseam so I'll just ask this question: what the hell was I supposed to get out of this?
 
I remember when those guys were cool. Now they've sold out. They're just another faceless corporate monolith, churning out industrial wine-widgets off an assembly line.

It used to be about the wine, man.
 
The key is to come to the Seattle tasting next time. We have way more fun out here. No steely eyes. And just a few starry eyed fans like Marc and Lee and me to compete with.
 
While working the L/D event
Tasting taste after taste, feeling spent
She whispered "It's better
To drink while unfettered."
Indeed! Back to her place we went.

OK I'll stop
 
originally posted by Roger LaMarque:
. . . what the hell was I supposed to get out of this?
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At some point, a clear understanding that going to large tastings is counter-productive.
Best, Jim
 
Unfortunately/fortunately the wines Joe brings in have attained some well-deserved fame. I've stopped attending those tastings precisely because of the crowds you mention.

If I went (and I am tempted every year) it would be to get a feel for what the new vintage has revealed for all of these wines I often drink. Should I buy some for current drinking? for laying down? which vineyard is most to my taste this year?

it's a lot less expensive to do all that in this venue than by buying a bottle of each.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
i think he thought it would be fun. i would have expected it to be.
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Wine dinners are for fun. Trade/public tastings are more about analysis and determining what you want to buy, though they can sometimes be fun, too.
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
i think he thought it would be fun. i would have expected it to be.
Click to expand...

Wine dinners are for fun. Trade/public tastings are more about analysis and determining what you want to buy, though they can sometime be fun, too.
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I've always had fun at tastings, but I'm not itb.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:

I think it comes down to knowing other people in the room.
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Precisely. When you go to a number of tastings over the years, you start to see a lot of the same folks and then it becomes a schmooze-a-thon, but then you start to lack focus on tasting the wines.

Speaking of which, good seeing you at the Kermit tasting yesterday.
 
I am the anti-"Cheers": I want to go where nobody knows my name.

Nah, you're right; seeing friends or acquaintances and other palates is definitely of interest at tastings.
 
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