So… remember when I did that whole Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 2010 tasting that I attended? You know, back in the day?

Anti-counterfeit measures at the DRC 2010 NYC tasting

I know… you still hate me for that one, right?

Well, if you makes you feel any better, I’ve not tasted a recent vintage of the fabled DRC since that NYC gathering. I did, however, pen a take on the tasting for my old Playboy.com gig, the result of which was purchased, but never aired (similar to the piece I wrote about a visit to O. Fournier in Argentina).

Today, since I am in the middle of recovering from my second gum graft (combating gum recession due to a combination of genetic predisposition and occupational hazard), I decided to scour the archives, throw some caution to the wind, and share that never-released take on the 2010 DRC.

I suppose that this is, in fact, a bit of laziness on my part, but gum grafts hurt like a motherf*cker, people (and let’s not forget, no wine until this stuff is at least halfway healed up). Putting on some slightly-tinted rosé-colored glasses for a moment, one could (charitably) think of the following article as an alternate take bonus track, 1WD style (fair warning: “1WD style” means that this article contains references to superheroes, ass-licking, despair, and urine).

Enjoy!…

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As you read this, I’ll be missing the after-after-after parties at the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference (insert your preferred sad face emoticon here) so that I can… work. Sort-of.

This week, I’ll be undermining the previously stellar reputation of the commercial wine competition portion of the California State Fair, acting as one of the judges. This is my first time judging at the event, and I’m stoked because the list of judges contains the names of several people I’m happy to be able to call friends, and many more that I deeply respect. I’ll try not to piss too many of them off as I drag their reputations in the mud with my presence.

While we’re here, I thought I’d also point out that you might be able to tell whether or not some people wear underwear based on the wines that they like. So sayeth Master of Wine Tim Hanni, anyway, in his recently-released book Why You Like The Wines You Like (about $20 on Amazon.com – full disclosure, I received a sample copy of the book, and Tim mentions me favorable on one of its pages), and my latest published piece for Playboy.com is an interview I conducted with the iconoclastic figure. We chat about the implications of his research on relationships, wine buying, and wine criticism; go check it out (and try not to get too distracted by the pictures…).

Finally, I wanted to officially announce the long-overdue guest for Episode Five of The Punch Down! Get ready, this one is gonna be a bit off the rails…

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Long-time 1WD readers will recall the name of my buddy Jason Whiteside, who has appeared numerous times on these virtual pages playing the refined-palate-straight-man to my more… errr… slapstick approach to all things vinous.

I’m happy to report that since his last 1WD appearance, Jason has more-or-less been kicking ass and taking labels in the wine world, and is now preparing for the Masters of Wine exam (which I’ve little doubt he will pass – I know few people who can taste with as much focus and precision as Jason, and since I know a lot of people who do wine for a living, that might actually be saying something…).

Jason also has no shortage of practical, in-the-trenches wine director / restaurant experience, and so after enjoying some of his cooking over the holidays (and talking him out of a bottle of Gonzalez Byass 30 year aged Del Duque Amontillado “Muy Viejo” Sherry), I concocted a scheme to raid Jason’s brain about wine faults for my Wined Down column on Playboy.com. The result is our view of the wine faults that most normal people are likely to encounter “in the wild,” and – more importantly – what to do about them if/when they do rear their stinky heads; which you can now read over at PB’s website.

Even the more experienced winos among you might be surprised at what Jason considers the single most common/likely fault, which actually has nothing to do whatsoever with what’s inside the bottle (think dirty glasses)…

Anyway, head on over to PB and check it out, and feel free to toss your thoughts from the peanut gallery into the comments section.

Cheers!

We’re back to more controversial topics on my latest Playboy.com Wined Down column. Admit it, you like it controversial, don’t you…?

About two weeks ago, PB published my list of Four Wine Traditions That Need To Die. And the sooner that those traditions shuffle off their mortal coils, the better.

Those traditions are, in order of appearance:

1. Sniffing the cork (isn’t that kind of like sniffing a jar lid?)
2. Paying any attention whatsoever to a wine’s “legs” (especially when you could be paying attention to your dinner date’s legs)
3. The overly-generous (but overly-stupid, for many reasons) “overpour”
4. Going for a loud “pop” when opening a bottle of sparkling wine (you paid extra for those bubbles, so why the hell are you letting so many of them out when you open the bottle?)

I am absolutely serious about each and every one of them, too.

I’d add a fifth, which would be that online wine writing is just as valid and has just as much reach as writing that appears in print, but we both know that one is a losing battle at the moment, right? Ahh… maybe someday…

Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts on those long-standing traditions – so go on over and read the details, and come back here and let me know if I got it right (or wrong!).

Cheers!