Chicago, Chicago
A casual conversation turned into a weekend road trip to Chicago in search of some grub. It was supposed to be an Alinea and Trotter’s weekend, as I had been lamenting how I had never eaten at Trotter’s, and also wanting to see what the fuss was about over Alinea. However, Trotter’s has a strict [...]
Auction and Charity Imbibing
The first auction of the year saw me drinking a bit more than usual on the job. It was a big sale and by the time lunch rolled around, it was also looking like a successful sale. Since I was right on schedule, I decided to sit down to lunch with a few friends and [...]
First Tasting of The Year
I know everyone thinks that I am out every night of the week drinking like I am starring in “Leaving Las Vegas 2.’ Well after the last three months of 2005, I felt like I had been on about twenty too many auditions, and I started to lay low, save new Year’s Eve as you [...]
New Year’s Eve 2006
This year, Big Boy had an intimate gathering of 15 or 20 close friends at his home in New York City, and I was one of the invited guests. It was the perfect remedy for what traditionally has been a night that I stay in, as in New York City it can often be amateur [...]
Top 100 wines of the Century III
I’m back.
This past October I decided to schedule year three of our “Top 100 Wines of the Century’ weekend the same weekend as “THE Cellar II’ auction. I figured that there was some great potential energy for the weekend, not keeping my own personal energy in mind. The combined attractions certainly resulted in the most [...]
A Big Boy Business Dinner
On the day Big Boy’s name reached New York Magazine fame for his voracious participation in THE Cellar II, we were all together for a long awaited dinner with his business partners and closest associates, a dinner hosted by Big Boy to celebrate this past year and all of its accomplishments at various addresses all [...]
Putting “THE Cellar’ in Perspective
It is hard to believe that only two weeks ago was the auction that changed wine history forever.
Everything has been a bit of a blur - not alcohol related, that is. The wine market seems to be moving at a blistering pace when it comes to the finest and rarest wines, and I must stress [...]
Getting Ready for The Cellar, Part II
In approximately 48 hours, eight months of hard work will become available for all to see when we unveil the 2271 lot opus of a catalog, aka “THE Cellar, Part II.’ The sale will be held on October 20th and 21st at Cafe Gray in New York City. Based on what is now officially in [...]
Rev-ving up for ‘The Cellar,’ Part II
Some recent traveling brought me together with the owner of ‘The Cellar’ in preparation for the upcoming October auction. After a few days of hard work, we decided to have a memorable meal to celebrate the upcoming sale and were joined by a couple of close friends as well as a couple of the media’s [...]
The Return of the Angry Ones
Reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. Save a couple of anonymous individuals, the Angry Men have been very angry in 2006, gathering on a more infrequent basis as a whole and quite often in smaller contingents. Of course, I led the charge to gather earlier this year and banded together me angry men, [...]
Cellar Raiding, Hollywood Style
Hollywood’s own Jefery Levy had invited a small group of friends to come to his new house in LA and celebrate with a cellar raid of anything already in his cellar, which was the first room Jef had dealt with when moving in; obviously, he is one with his priorities straight. Rudy and Matt, always [...]
A Double Dose of the ROPP
I told you these articles would be making their way to you more often! This dictaphone is really paying dividends. Before I get into my article, I am proud to announce that I will be representing all of winekind at the World Series of Poker at the end of July. I beat out over 700 [...]
Latour and Mouton Retrospectives
Since first growths are now worth more upon release than aged in the bottle, I figured it was a good time to recount a couple of recent verticals held in New York City of Latour and Mouton Rothschild, held at Jean Georges and Picholine respectively.
Nestled away in a private suite above the restaurant, we started [...]
Figeac and Aubert de Villaine in December
I have to say that my first week using the dictaphone has been a resounding success. Expect a flurry of notes from me this summer, as I have a lot of catching up to do, and the following notes are Part III of my trip to Bordeaux…last December.
My third day in Bordeaux last December was [...]
La Paulee 2006
Ok, I know, I know. I am a bit backed up with my notes in 2006. I know it doesn’t do anyone any good for me to tell you how many notes I have taken, how many wines I have tasted in the first five months of this year, etc. Sorry, but I keep getting [...]
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