Your favorite BWE moments over the past 20+ years....

[JimHow]

There have been many, many, many....

The one that is randomly coming to mind as I sit here giggling at the thought while sipping a delicious '16 La Fleur de Bouard while listening to Traffic, circa 1972, Low Spark of High Heeled Boys....

"The Cross-Examination"

Tom, David, and I went to a Chicago Blues club, what year was that, guys?

As I recall, we went after a Thursday or Friday night dinner, got into the club about 11pm, and from 11 until about 4am, I "cross-examined" Tommy on his famous "Millionaire" appearance with Regis Philbin, in which he won $125,000. (You can google it.)

It was one of the toughest cross-examinations of my career, against a VERY hostile witness....

Maybe Dave and Tom can fill in some details....

It must have been after the Stuart Thursday night dinner in 2004, right?

[JimHow]

Next up: My memory of the infamous whoopie pie incident....

[Nicklasss]

Hard to tell. So many great moments, best moments, and weird moments.

I'll answer with a few, but give me time.

First thing that come to my mind, and i guess it might be a bit the same for anyone who attend a BWE weekend, is these very first 30 min at the Zinfandel restaurant in Chicago in 2001. I was the first at the restaurant and i thought it would be a joke, i would ask for a reservation under Whuzzup_ name, and they would tell me no. But it was true and when other BWEers came in, it was like that magic moment in the movies.

Nic

[Nicklasss]

Next up: My memory of the infamous whoopie pie incident....

Tell us more. I think i wasn't there for that one.

Nic

[JimHow]

Oh you were there, Nicola. You were ALL there....

[AlexR]

There are many, but dinner at Château Margaux is pretty high on the list.

Alex R.

[DavidG]

You never forget your first. For me it was BWE '03 NYC. OMG so many stories.

BWE Chicago 2004. The cross-examination was memorable.

Another night in NY. after a dinner at a Chinese place, now closed, that catered to BWEs. What was it called? Harold's? Afterwards a few of us wandered down the street to a spot overlooking the East River, We drank the remains of an 82 LLC, wondering when it would ever be mature while taking in the sweetness of the night, the lights and bridges playing against the blackness of the river, enjoying an effortless camaraderie that made me feel we were all in harmony with the universe.

BWE France 2005. Again too many memories...

Dinner at Ch. Margaux after a fabulous tour, tasting, and reception featuring 88 Krug and our warm, gracious hostess Corinne Mentzelopoulos, sitting next to Paul Pontallier talking Middle East politics and screwcap closures when Corinne swoops in from the next table over to make off with the remains of our magnum of the 61 Margaux because it tasted better than the one at her table. Paul Pontallier was a real mensch. Gone too soon, RIP.

The look on Francois Audouze's face when Kathy Roberts nailed the producer and vintage of the old rarity he poured blind for us at dinner at Jean Guyon's.

Spending a lazy afternoon lounging in the sun, munching foie gras and sipping 88 de Fargues with Alexandre de Lur Saluces after our more formal tour and tasting at Yquem. Another real mensch.

February 2012, A friend and I were running a symposium in Abu Dhabi. MichaelP was living in Dubai. We hired a car and drove over for a mini-BWE gathering. Tim flew in from Paris with 1982 Bordeaux and 1970s era Heitz Martha's. It was my friend's birthday. MichaelP brings a birth-year Bordeaux as a surprise for a guy he’s never met. Another perfect evening gazing down at the lights of the Dubai Marina and feeling all is right with the world.

[Jay Winton]

Oh you were there, Nicola. You were ALL there....

There is a picture...

Lots of great moments. The first time I met BD, whuzzup etc. Lunch and then out to PC. Many more

[Claret]

You never forget your first. For me it was BWE '03 NYC. OMG so many stories.

. What was it called? Harold's? Afterwards a few of us wandered down the street to a spot overlooking the East River, We drank the remains of an 82 LLC, wondering when it would ever be mature while taking in the sweetness of the night, the lights and bridges playing against the blackness of the river, enjoying an effortless camaraderie that made me feel we were all in harmony with the universe.

Henry's Evergreen in NYC. The only time I was ever served bread in an Asian restaurant. Yes, that was a good one. I believe that night was my first and only 89 Lynch Bages.

The SF main event was an exercise in elegance and decadence, and I won the blind tasting! I found those tasting notes just last week.

[JimHow]

Yes that was a great moment in SF in 2002, my buddy Steve and I had driven cross country (just got off the phone with Steve, he retired from his job as a prosecutor last year and has now joined the defense team in our Alaska murder case, he gives everyone his regards, especially you and Peggy, Mr. Vino), including through an incredible blizzard over the Donner Pass, and our first step out of the car on the west coast was in the parking lot at the Wine House where we met Mr. Vino. It was an instant friendship! We had lunch with CabFan and Whuzzup__ at a fancy restaurant in San Francisco. That was the beginning of the weekend in Napa that led to... The Whoopie Pie Incident....

[Comte Flaneur]

Plenty of great moments to choose from in small and large gatherings, but Bordeaux 2015 is hard to beat especially the Friday (unfortunately I did not participate in the 2005 tour). I think Bordeaux 2020 would have been even better some how...

[William P]

I don't know why I still chuckle at this one. The convention was that the Mark Hopkins and I was taking down my bottle. It was an 82 probably 2nd or 3rd growth. I held the bottle out to Werner and said look at the price of this. Werner quickly looked the bottle and probably only saw $18 and may two other numbers. Then he sternly replied "we at BWE do not care about the price". I immediately understood the situation, he thought I was showboating some high priced wine I bought to impress the group.

I smiled and said, "No Werner, the price is 18.75, that's the tag from 1984 when I purchased it. He smiled.

[JimHow]

Lol Bill I was just thinking about that Saturday afternoon when Werner pulled out his teas for us, I remember you and Linda were there, along with Chris. They were, as Werner described them, the Lafites of Chinese teas. I was feeling a little sluggish that afternoon but felt like a million bucks afterwards, those teas were amazing.

[William P]

Lol Bill I was just thinking about that Saturday afternoon when Werner pulled out his teas for us, I remember you and Linda were there, along with Chris. They were, as Werner described them, the Lafites of Chinese teas. I was feeling a little sluggish that afternoon but felt like a million bucks afterwards, those teas were amazing.

Yes, that was also my introduction to Puerh. It was a interesting lesson and some great teas. It was not my last brew.

[Claret]

Yes that was a great moment in SF in 2002, my buddy Steve and I had driven cross country (just got off the phone with Steve, he retired from his job as a prosecutor last year and has now joined the defense team in our Alaska murder case, he gives everyone his regards, especially you and Peggy, Mr. Vino), including through an incredible blizzard over the Donner Pass, and our first step out of the car on the west coast was in the parking lot at the Wine House where we met Mr. Vino. It was an instant friendship! We had lunch with CabFan and Whuzzup__ at a fancy restaurant in San Francisco. That was the beginning of the weekend in Napa that led to... The Whoopie Pie Incident....

Donner Pass is no joke in snow, I avoid it. Jim, at least you are a seasoned snow driver.

[JimHow]

Yeah the weather was nice when we started in Reno, Glenn, but it deteriorated quickly. I’ve driven in crazy weather in Maine but that experience was right up there. We went from mild temperatures in the desert to several feet of snow at the top. On the other side... Paradise. The bright green of the promised land, California.

[Claret]

Jim, I enjoy living in Reno due to the 4 seasons and proximity to the Sierra Nevada Mts., Lake Tahoe and of course California. I can get to Bill P's house in Sacramento in about 2.5 hours.

[AKR]

I've really enjoyed some of the smaller get togethers we've had at people's houses out west - poolside at BillP's, cityslicking at SF Eds, or among the vineyards at MichaelP's. And how can I overlook the epic poolside events at jal's!

[dstgolf]

BWE memories are long and lasting with too many to list but highlights along the way were that first encounter in Montreal 2003 waiting in the lobby of now closed YOYO restaurant with my wife thinking that I'm crazy travelling to Montreal for the weekend to have dinner/share wine with people that we've never met. Then in comes Jim H with his black rimmed glassed and wide smile shortly followed by Nicolas and his brother and Michael P to follow. My start to many offline encounters before conventions which were great along the way but the offline topped all.

Dinner with Werner/Chris at their place in around 2007 on our way to Hawaii with CabFan and a few others with the highlight 1959 Ducru Beaucaillou to honour my wife's birthday.

Dinner at Stefan and Jans place before the Dallas convention was a treat meeting Darren aka Stefan Jr with a couple of PhD students in tow bringing the dinnertime conversation to a different level talking about their thesis on phosphor efficiencies which is right up my ally. Wine, food and company no slouch either.

Patrick hosting dinner for us in Denver with his friends that Danielle unfortunately missed being too sick in the hotel room to attend but we had a great evening regardless.

Many trips to South Florida getting together with Stuart/Kathy and friends over the years has been priceless with the most recent last February before lockdown!!

Tim's birthday bash in Chateau for the weekend with Alex R, Jim H, Ian/Maureen, Francois/ Ed /wife along with Maureen Downey and others for a hedonistic sharing of wine food and song. Amazing weekend!

Ian's stopovers in London with Tim with his Mary Poppins bag of trick's bringing, French Baguette's/cheeses and oh yes wine in tow.

Quebec City hooking up with Nic/Mic on a cold frosty night with Jim H making a surprise appearance in our hotel lobby just before leaving for dinner with a bit of the uni-bomber looking on and wondering why he was stopped at the border coming in and worse trying to get back home!!

Nic/MC and kids visiting for a weekend in Ottawa. Yep that made our summer!!

No question both trips to France in 2005 with the Margaux dinner an unforgettable eve but Canon la Gafeliere with the Count for tour and dinner stood out for me and then rekindling the memory this winter with the count in Montreal for the UGC tasting was special. Lunch at Lynch Bages with Michel Cazes was a shear treat and when he looked at the wines being served sending the hostess down to the cellar to up the line up was incredible.

2015 Bordeaux trip was no slouch either with the lunch and hospitality at Pontet Canet with Alfred Tesseron may have surpassed Margaux in 2005. The magical finish at Pichon Baron with my side trip to Jim's bend in the road where Latour meets LLC to capture that photo and finishing with dinner in Chateau exiting to a full moon rising over the Chateau left us all speechless full of goosebumps.

Yes BWE has a special place in our hearts with loads of incredible memories mostly surrounding the people that we've met and of course shared a bottle or two of great wine. Always a pleasure and truly haven't met a better Bunch along the way and hope to meet many more in the future.

[tim]

Indeed, Danny, that moon over Pichon Baron to cap off the end of the amazing week in Bordeaux was almost a fairy tale. Incredible stuff!

This is the pic from Danny that will live forever:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128424418 ... 770048646/

[tim]

By the way, looking through Danny's pictures of BWE 2015, and all the amazing moments we had there, I just don't think it could get any better...

[Nicklasss]

Bordeaux 2015. 4 first days OMG. Friday OMFG.

Yes Tim, you're right. Some want to win the lottery or the SuperBowl. For me, it was supernatural just to be with you, and other cool BWEers, in that great week.

Nic

[sdr]

April 2003. Wonderful dinner at Cab Fan’s house. He smoked half a pig outside in the yard. Guest list included little Julia and sister, DavidG, MichaelP., James Grandison. Can’t remember any of the wines except the excellent 1978 Bill Hill. Peter tried to get us to like Cal Cabs, almost succeeded with his older traditional examples.

Fun fact: David, whom I don’t think I had met yet, urging me to hang up on him when I called him to tell him I was running late for the ride down to Peter’s from San Francisco. He didn’t seem to know who I was and thought I dialed a wrong number. All ended well however.

Stu

[Tom In DC]

If you ever start being interrogated by the BD, realize that "I don't remember" (or maybe "I've had too much wine to remember") will never do as an answer. Better to make something up and move along to the next question.

So many great memories listed above - the entire week of France 2005, Werver's tea tasting, tastings and dinners in SF with Ed and Lisa, and on and on...

Other great memories - Whuzzup's DRC tasting, hanging at moevino's house in Sonoma, a dinner at CabFan's house one year when the family was on vacation - our kids loved it and we had a great evening.

Twenty years of great friendships!

Tom

[DavidG]

Stu, that was a great evening at CabFan's. I don’t recall that phone call at all... ??? Did we have a good connection? Did I know who you were?

[Blanquito]

So many... a few of my greatest hits:
-2005 Les Sans Culottes, St Julien offline, when I first met Arv, Jacques, Tim, Art and former BWEers Ramon, Dale, Chris Botta, Matt Richman
-2006 Les Sans Culottes, Pauillac offline, when I first met Ian
-Tom in CO’s blind flight at the 86 horizontal at Fabio’s in 2008, which included Petrus
-the Pontet Canet vertical, and the after party with Alfred, Jim and my brother in the Ritz-Carleton lobby
-the MacArthurs heist with Jim
-Jacques and Jill’s pool party
-hanging with Pappadoc at Zachy’s
-dinner with Stu in Ft Lauderdale
-the DRC night with Ian and Tim in London
-helping host BWE in Denver 2019
-and all the curative cleansing ales to which I credit virtually everything.

[sdr]

Stu, that was a great evening at CabFan's. I don’t recall that phone call at all... ??? Did we have a good connection? Did I know who you were?

The connection wasn’t perfect but adequate for me to hear you okay. I was in a taxi heading down from a wedding in Sonoma. I think we had not met in person yet but you knew who I was enough to offer to share the taxi ride with me and I think MichaelP to Peter’s house.

Stu

[sdr]

Of course everyone who attended remembers well the dinner at Château Margaux in 2005. But what sticks with me is how Mme. Mentzelopoulos quickly became “Corinne” and how she spent much of the time at our table anguishing over how her daughter in Paris was making a huge mistake by becoming attached to a gay man.

Also, that the obviously perfectly preserved mag of ‘61 Margaux was considerably less exciting than singletons of questionable provenance I had previously drunk in the US.

Stu

[dstgolf]

Stu

If I recall the 2 61 mags brought into the room on precession were quite different with one being excellent and the other underwhelming at Margaux. Even at the Chateau there was bottle variation. Just like at Pontet Canet with Michael Ps and Alfreds 62s in 2015 very different.

[DavidG]

Yes, Corinne came over to our table, took a taste from our bottle - I think directly from Paul's glass? - declared it much better and walked away with it.

[Tom In DC]

Paul's comment when Corinne took his glass was priceless, effectively "Can you tell which one of us is the boss?"

[marcs]

Damn, I came to this board too late, had a lot of great experiences but none to match some of these! Hoping the world returns to quasi-normal eventually so we can start making great in-person memories again.

[stefan]

When the first magnum of 61 Margaux was poured at our table, before tasting Corinne commented, "I don't get to drink this wine all the time".

[tim]

Lunch at Lynch Bages with Michel Cazes was a shear treat and when he looked at the wines being served sending the hostess down to the cellar to up the line up was incredible.

A pic from the lunch.

JM Cazes.JPG (172.52 KiB) Viewed 1581 times