I was at the Denver “event” and it had almost nothing to do with wine (other than that we were served some while we listened). Abe might be a wine-maker who left academia, but it seemed pretty clear (that night at least) that his heart is still in the Ivory Tower, not in the vineyard.
There was no discussion, and it really wasn’t even a lecture, rather he read from a chapter of a book he is writing on the metaphysics of Ancient Greek literature.
After his laptop died, he seemed quite put-out that he had to take questions about his wines (which he only did for about 5 minutes).
I was also in the dark what this event was supposed to be so that didn’t help, but if I had known, I would have had no interest in attending (if free, then maybe)! I lost interest in searching for supposed meaning and allegory in literature a long time ago. YMMV.
From afar, it’s not hard to imagine how those kinds of events could be awesome, unique and enlightened, or awful, pretentious and self-indulgent, going from one person’s perspective to the next. Different strokes for different folks.
Just a quick report that the event went very well. There was no projector or overly philosophical topics – but I’m am pretty sure I wouldn’t have minded that either. All his wines were his (I think there were 4 whites and 4 reds).
I was definitely a fan his whites. They were the perfect combo of beautiful and interesting to me. Right in my wheelhouse. Even his freaky little Prince in the Caves wine was fascinating to me. I didn’t mind the reds that we tasted, but I felt that the nuances of his winemaking philosophy were better represented in his whites.
That is just my initial feeling, but I am definitely a fan of what Abe is doing.
What is the deal with ordering his wines? I seem to recall reading you had to take a huge bundle of one bottle each of his different wines or something.
I haven’t looked into it, but he said something to the effect that about 15% of his sales are to club members and they pay about $2,000, and he sends you what he wants (24 bottles a year). He understands that people have favorites and would like to get bottles they have had in the past, but it seems as if he is more about pushing someone’s wine tasting boundaries, much like a chef at a high-end restaurant offers a set menu. I don’t feel this club selection method is for ease of shipping/logistics as so much as he really would like to curate his selection based upon how that year’s ‘project’ went. Of course, I am probably simplifying it (or misreading it), but he did note that he has a strong connection with The French Laundry and brings chefs into work at his (non-owned) winery quite often. I wouldn’t go so far as to say he feels he is a ‘tastemaker’ in the typical food industry sense, but it might not be that far off either.
Wrong. I tasted these wines with Abe. I do not think there was any VA. Interesting wines. I think liked about two-thirds of them. Meh for a few, and one was definitely my least favorite because it was way too AFWE.
Current setup is quarterly six-bottle shipments at $250 each. He does a couple releases each year where you can buy various bundles of select wines but not as part of the club. Most but not all are available by the bottle on the Scholium website (though at the present time almost everything is sold out). I’d love to meet Abe at some point.
I really like the whites that I’ve tasted from him, but every red I’ve had has been riddled with VA. I haven’t tasted at the high end of his reds, though, only the lower priced bottles.
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