Galloni’s palate seems to favor less intense ripeness than Parker’s, and seems to be more favorably (than Parker) disposed to wines that lean more towards the idiosyncratic. The question arises, then, whether or not we will see a shift in the scoring of California wines now that they are Under New Management at the Wine Advocate. In the most extreme case, we could be looking at a shakeup of the longstanding hierarchy of California cult bottlings.
Like all of these Hitler parody videos, insiders will get more of the jokes. But they’re still funny even if you know only some of the references.
And what have I been up to since Burning Man other than watching Hitler parody videos?
Sampling wines with oysters! In late August, The Jolly Oyster opened shop at the Ventura State Beach to sell oysters and clams from the farm in Baja and since I love oysters, I’ve tried at least a dozen wines and I’ve probably eaten an average of a half dozen oysters a day this month.
Rick Bakas posted this on facebook tonight and because I get a kick out of these Hitler parodies, I checked it out and thought it worth sharing here–partly because I am still recovering from Burning Man and not posting here like I should! (Go to Art Predator for Burning Man reports so far–I do plan to post about wine at Burning Man when I can!)
“Because someone had to do it. I created this video 18 months ago when “Hitler reacts to” videos were all the rage and Robert Parker’s 2007 California Cabernet vintage report was the talk of Napa Valley. I decided not to publish the video. Now that Parker has appointed Antonio Galloni to replace him as The Wine Advocate’s critic on California wines, I decided to go ahead and post this video in honor of #cabernetday. Cheers!”
While I was busy at Burning Man (more on the wines we tasted there soon!), Zev Robinson emailed to say that after filming for 45 days over five trips during the past 15 months, his documentary Life on the Douro will premier tonight, September 6 at 10pm at the Douro Film Harvest festival in the Vidago Palace. http://www.dourofilmharvest.com/en/detail_filme.aspx?id=119309&name=LIFE_ON_THE_DOURO The film is about the history and culture of the region from the point of view of those who have made it what it is.
According to Zev, a number of screenings and tastings will follow, starting the week of Nov 15 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and at the Paso Robles Film Festival (where he’ll be showing Dinastia Vivanco as well. The film will be followed by tastings and seminars involving Roy Hersh www.fortheloveofport.com, Oscar Quevedo http://quevedoportwine.com and Luiz Alberto www.thewinehub.com, all adding their insights and wisdom about the Douro and its wines.
“The response and support for the film has been fantastic,” says Zev, “and other events in North American and European cities are being planned including a couple of tours in the spring.”
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 