Warre Vertical (incl. LBVs): NYC/Lon - Date TBD

[Chris Doty]

The "NATO Summit" tasting will be the most ambitious in the history of TPF, seeking to unite the East and West sides of the Pond for an identical tasting of Warre's vintage port and bottle matured LBVs. Approximate kickoff will be 1pm Eastern, 6pm GMT.

I am proposing Saturday, the ___ of ____ 2014 as a suitable date, subject to the availability of our Industry Guests. Venues to be confirmed once the date is finalized.

We expect to serve:

VPs from: 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1994
LBVs from: 1974 - 1989

We can accommodate as many as 12, and at the moment have down:

1.) Chris
2.) Josh
3.) Jeff
4.) Greg E
5.) Mrs. E
6.) J. Nash
7.) C. Nash
8.) Moses
9.) Dave
10.) Placeholder for Industry Guest
11.) ARS
12.) Mrs. Josh

Reserves:
1.)
2.)

woo woo

[DRT]

This feels like a good opportunity for a transatlantic effort. Parallel Warre VP + LBV tastings in London and New Amsterdam on the same day and with the same line-up, each with a Symington guest.

"NATO finally goes to Warre" could be the theme

[jdaw1]

There is a London Warre LBV tasting scheduled for St. George’s Day. If that is to be postponed, it would help if that decision were taken soon.

[g-man]

the date proposed for the UK tasting, i shall be in tampa fl at berns steakhouse

[Chris Doty]

This feels like a good opportunity for a transatlantic effort. Parallel Warre VP + LBV tastings in London and New Amsterdam on the same day and with the same line-up, each with a Symington guest.

"NATO finally goes to Warre" could be the theme

genius

[DRT]

I'm disappointed by the lack of a capital "G".

[Chris Doty]

I'm disappointed by the lack of a capital "G".

hmm....I think that may be pushing things a bit.

I did, however, appreciate that you wore glasses during the Doty Cup tasting -- I don't know quite what to make of this 'cerebral' DRT!


The NATO tasting introduces all manner of interesting opportunities re: blindness, btw. For instance, every taster in NY can be poured wines in the same order as only ONE other taster (who would be located in London). Tasters would then need to listen to each others descriptors from across the pond to try to guess who aligns with whom (provided, naturally, that the bottles themselves are consistent).

Regardless of format, this should be a grand affair if we can get it organized.

[DRT]

I did, however, appreciate that you wore glasses during the Doty Cup tasting -- I don't know quite what to make of this 'cerebral' DRT!

The very complex explanation is that, despite physical appearance and an intensive health, beauty and fitness regime, DRT is getting old. I am told that it is impossible to avoid eyesight deterioration. I am willing to concede that my glasses make me look wise and distinguished.

[SushiNorth]

While certain details will need to be filled in, this thread will canvas interest and ultimately organize a monster vertical of Warre's vintage port and bottle matured LBVs, to be held at a suitable NYC venue (Alison Eighteen?) on a Fall Saturday in 2013.

Not the first time the idea of a Warres VP has come up, and I would agree it may be time to do it. I'm not sure it is necessary to include LBVs unless no VP is available. I've been preparing for a Warres VP vertical for a while...
W60, W63, W66, W70, W77, W83, W85, W94, W97, W00, W03, W07

[DRT]

I'm not sure it is necessary to include LBVs

The inclusion of Warre LBVs can be interesting.

[Chris Doty]

I'm not sure it is necessary to include LBVs...

Port tastings are rarely about necessity...

[jdaw1]

Port tastings are rarely about necessity... )

There was a rather heavy bill ! that he had not yet had the courage to send on to his guardians, who were extremely old-fashioned people and did not realise that we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities

[mosesbotbol]

Right now, I don't have much for Warre. Excel is saying a magnum 1970, plenty of 1994 and some 2000 LBV's.

[differentdave]

Sounds like fun, count me in!

[Chris Doty]

Port tastings are rarely about necessity... )

There was a rather heavy bill ! that he had not yet had the courage to send on to his guardians, who were extremely old-fashioned people and did not realise that we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities

amen

[ARS]

Sounds great. I would definitely like to join the NYC tasting.

[John M]

Looks like I'm the first reserve...so I'm in to there.

[Chris Doty]

Excellent -- I think that's our 12 then.

Should be a glorious event.

[jdaw1]

LBVs from: 1974 - 1989

Tell all: be more specific.

[Chris Doty]

Tell all: be more specific.

G-man?

[g-man]

Tell all: be more specific.

G-man?

i'll have to go down int he cellar tonight and check.

I have vague recollection from auction receipts that I won a whole bunch of lbvs from that time frame but I dont actually know exactly what I have.

[jdaw1]

I have vague recollection from auction receipts

Generally it works as follows.

1. Recollection, perhaps vague, perhaps less vague, of ownership of lots of juicy bottles.
2. Find time to visit storage.
3. Bottles not there? Robbery! Theft! Heinous villainy!
4. Vague recollection of having tasted, at most, one or two of them. Maybe.
5. Oh, and that one.
6. Ah: maybe that one too.
7. Did I taste that one as well?
8. Yes.
9. And!?
10. Yes.

[g-man]

I have vague recollection from auction receipts

Generally it works as follows.

1. Recollection, perhaps vague, perhaps less vague, of ownership of lots of juicy bottles.
2. Find time to visit storage.
3. Bottles not there? Robbery! Theft! Heinous villainy!
4. Vague recollection of having tasted, at most, one or two of them. Maybe.
5. Oh, and that one.
6. Ah: maybe that one too.
7. Did I taste that one as well?
8. Yes.
9. And!?
10. Yes.

hopefully i was sober in this sort of line of questioning.

[Alex Bridgeman]

You've suggested Fall as a timing for the US side of this tasting - any further thoughts? Mid September perhaps? Mid-week (Thursday night) would be easier for us to organise a simultaneous tasting?

How about Thursday 12th September?

[Chris Doty]

You've suggested Fall as a timing for the US side of this tasting - any further thoughts? Mid September perhaps? Mid-week (Thursday night) would be easier for us to organise a simultaneous tasting?

How about Thursday 12th September?

You guys are more eager to book things far in advance than is usually my habit. Ultimately, I think the timing of this would be contingent on any input from our industry guest(s), as we'd want to accommodate their schedules. Also, given the size of the tasting, I think a Saturday/Sunday would make more sense, and would make it easier for people to attend in New York, and would also make it feasible to have the two events at the same time (e.g., 1pm start in NYC and a 6pm start in London).

I don't yet have a preference in terms of month, though generally I enjoy port most in colder months (but you also risk people being sick, or just not having a adept nose). In short, I am open minded.

[jdaw1]

a Saturday/Sunday would make more sense

Several of the UK habitués are typically unavailable at weekends.

[DRT]

a Saturday/Sunday would make more sense

Several of the UK habitués are typically unavailable at weekends.

Given that it normally takes five full pages of posts to organise a small tasting in NYC and the fact that half a dozen "UK habitués" have spent a week sending hundreds of emails trying to avoid organising three separate tastings, perhaps we should aim to have these tastings in the same week rather than on the same day?

[Chris Doty]

Well, DRT -- it was you who initially proposed the NATO summit, and I think it is both feasible and fun.

If the groupthink is that it is too hard to pull off, so be it, but why people cant block out a lone saturday/sunday with ~6 months notice is a bit of a mystery to me. Let's do this, homey!

simultaneous/identical tastings separated by 5hours/3,000 miles. would be one for the books.

[g-man]

a Saturday/Sunday would make more sense

Several of the UK habitués are typically unavailable at weekends.

Given that it normally takes five full pages of posts to organise a small tasting in NYC and the fact that half a dozen "UK habitués" have spent a week sending hundreds of emails trying to avoid organising three separate tastings, perhaps we should aim to have these tastings in the same week rather than on the same day?

5 pages and still someone doesn't show up !

[differentdave]

i have a warres 91 as well as few of the more recent releases

[DRT]

Well, DRT -- it was you who initially proposed the NATO summit, and I think it is both feasible and fun.

If the groupthink is that it is too hard to pull off, so be it, but why people cant block out a lone saturday/sunday with ~6 months notice is a bit of a mystery to me. Let's do this, homey!

simultaneous/identical tastings separated by 5hours/3,000 miles. would be one for the books.

I completely agree. It is not my ability to comply that worries me

A weekend would have the advantage that an afternoon tasting in NYC and an evening tasting in London would be simultaneous tastings that were not separated by 5 hours. Is that simultaneously simultaneous tastings?

[Chris Doty]

I have updated the main post and title to propose Saturday the 14th of September.

I hope this is suitable to all interested parties. If not, please propose a different Fall Saturday.

Woo woo.

[SushiNorth]

After the ACPT tasting, I'd like to suggest we do two additional things for this tasting:

1) Deposits from attendees. I've done it in the past, it works just fine, and everyone understands why it is necessary.

2) Decant in advance -- too many pop-and-pours at the last tasting. We can do this by anyone bringing a bottle (which these days feels like everyone) decanting roughly based on a predetermined schedule, or a reduction in who is bringing the wine, and they dedicate time for proper decanting. We're also far enough away that, should a bottle hand-off need to happen to ensure proper decant times, it's entirely do-able.

[SushiNorth]

Oh, and one more thought.

3) A price for non-drinkers -- some of us have teetotaler partners; let's get a cost for them that would not include wine/corkage.

[differentdave]

plus one on the non wine drinkers, would like to bring my son to one of these (joking of course would be the wife)

[Chris Doty]

After the ACPT tasting, I'd like to suggest we do two additional things for this tasting:

1) Deposits from attendees. I've done it in the past, it works just fine, and everyone understands why it is necessary.

2) Decant in advance -- too many pop-and-pours at the last tasting. We can do this by anyone bringing a bottle (which these days feels like everyone) decanting roughly based on a predetermined schedule, or a reduction in who is bringing the wine, and they dedicate time for proper decanting. We're also far enough away that, should a bottle hand-off need to happen to ensure proper decant times, it's entirely do-able.

Oh, and one more thought.

3) A price for non-drinkers -- some of us have teetotaler partners; let's get a cost for them that would not include wine/corkage.

All good ideas

1. I mean, it's a long time off, but I might be so far inclined as to settle all arrangements with the restaurant and the attendees myself, as I do for other tastings I host. It ensures no surprises. Anyway - yes.

2. Naturally, what makes a Saturday 1pm private booking attractive is we can get there when it opens (9am) and begin decanting and getting gitty.

3. My only concern with non wine drinkers is I think there might be a lot of them. To say nothing about the size/capacity of the room. I'm open minded, but skeptical.

4. Dave - youre hysterical. Sure your son's a beast.

[SushiNorth]

2. Naturally, what makes a Saturday 1pm private booking attractive is we can get there when it opens (9am) and begin decanting and getting gitty.
3. My only concern with non wine drinkers is I think there might be a lot of them. To say nothing about the size/capacity of the room. I'm open minded, but skeptical.

2) re saturday afternoon -- excellent idea. Wasn't aware you were considering that, but making this a late-lunch tasting would work well.

3) given that by september it would require multiple sitter arrangements, I'm not sure how many of us actually would bring non-drinking SO's, but to not have an option for them explicitly excludes them.

[Chris Doty]

2) re saturday afternoon -- excellent idea. Wasn't aware you were considering that, but making this a late-lunch tasting would work well.

Yes - the plan is that this is a 1pm / 6pm tasting in NY/Lon.

3) given that by september it would require multiple sitter arrangements, I'm not sure how many of us actually would bring non-drinking SO's, but to not have an option for them explicitly excludes them.

Yes, well, happy to play it by ear. I mean, this is a wine tasting, intended for people who enjoy tasting wine. As this is going to be a fairly large retrospective of Warre's wines, potentially with a special industry guest, and potentially live-linked to another room full of people who enjoy tasting wine, I really can't say that I am going to prioritize the inclusion of people who are entirely uninterested in the primary objective of the tasting (i.e., to consume, enjoy and evaluate fine wines).

We can happily revisit this topic closer to the date, but my intuition is that we will not have sufficient capacity for all the interested drinkers, much less the interested teetotalers.

[SushiNorth]

September 14th problem: Sept 14 is the day of Yom Kippur (it begins the following evening); a major jewish holiday. As such, I would be unable to make it that day. What other days might we consider? I would suggest we take a look at Sep 7 and Sep 28.

[Chris Doty]

Goodness -- how could I have overlooked Yom Kippur?!

Let's try the 28th instead...

[SushiNorth]

Sept 14 is the day of Yom Kippur (it begins the following evening)

edit: It begins the PRIOR evening.

[SushiNorth]

Goodness -- how could I have overlooked Yom Kippur?!

Let's try the 28th instead...

I'm adding that to my calendar now, to ensure the day stays blocked for this event. Thanks chris!

[John M]

Hello All;

I am unable to make the 28th--a family thing I would not miss; c'est la vie.

Big Love--John M.

[Chris Doty]

Hello All;

I am unable to make the 28th--a family thing I would not miss; c'est la vie.

Big Love--John M.

Appreciate the notice John

[g-man]

WIfe just reminded me that #2 of the g-clan may be coming so i'll have to play by ear, but will be happy to contribute bottles for this event.

[SushiNorth]

WIfe just reminded me that #2 of the g-clan may be coming so i'll have to play by ear, but will be happy to contribute bottles for this event.

Well, maybe we should be aiming a little earlier rather than later?

[SushiNorth]

Just getting the crust stirred up on this...

Are we still game for a late-September Warres tasting?

[John M]

Sept. 28th is out for me...have a family event that weekend. If another date, I will retain my spot as first reserve.

[Alex Bridgeman]

Just getting the crust stirred up on this...

Are we still game for a late-September Warres tasting?

Weekends are always difficult times for me to take part in port tastings, but I'm game to try to participate in a virtual offine.

[Alex Bridgeman]

I'm updating the offlines summary and don't know whether I should be including this one as a definite future offline with an agreed date, or as a future offline idea. Has anything progressed?