Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts

Got an email from Albert that Ron Kramer recently passed away.
I only met him twice and it was years ago, but he seemed like a good man.

Never met the man but he always seemed to keep a balance between passion and reason. Sorry to hear this.

A copy of my post over on WB:

Very sad to hear this awful news. I'll never forget him or his genuine enthusiasm for people. I was also at that OL at Steve Levy's and the pictures really capture his personality.

I knew Ron from the early days of the internet and the Prodigy wine board. He was either Ronk or Ronk88 back then, after Ron Kramer who was an All-American player for U of Michigan and wore #88 for the Packers and the Lions back in the 1950s and 60s. My first OL was with him and some others the night after one of the MacArthur California barrel tastings in the early 1990s. I had offered him a spare bedroom in our home for the nights before and after the MacArthur event. My wife thought I was nuts inviting someone I'd never actually met except on the internet to stay in our house. She had visions of the movie Psycho running through her head. But she allowed it and Ron won her over almost immediately with his charm and humor. That led to many more OLs with the Prodigy crowd, then the Squires/eRP gang and eventually here.

Ron took a special pleasure in meeting and personally knowing many of the internet denizens most of us only recognize from avatars and writing styles. Talking to him was like reminiscing about old high school buddies, but they were internet buddies. Ron always had an anecdote that captured the person and made them more real in my mind, even if I'd never met them in person.

I'll really miss him. I've got a half-bottle of sweet NV Chambers Rosewood Ron gifted us years ago that I was saving for the next time we met. Traveling now, but we'll drink it in his memory when I get home.

Especially for those of us here in the Boston area, Ron was a central figure in all sorts of different dinners and tastings, and his good nature, generous personality and ability to pull diverse people together will be sorely missed. I recall not too long ago him opening a lovely 1990 Montrose for some of us--a complex, layered and joy-giving wine that was a fine reflection of the man himself. A sad loss.

Michael

Ron was a fixture of the Boston wine scene and I think he knew every serious wine drinker inside the Rt 495 beltway. His off lines were always a treat and he was eager to generously share both his wine and his knowledge. Joyce was the center of his universe and I'm glad they were finally able to tie the knot.

Rest easy Ron, you will be missed.