A Fort Ross PN & the movie Sideways (only one was satisfying)

[Alex_N]

. but I just found it incredibly depressing.

Cheers.

Pretty much every Paul Giamatti film, no?

Mile’s big rant is merlot, but he also has a smaller one about cab franc (Cheval Blanc)

[Max_K]

Before they got into the droptop racket, SAAB used to take used 4th fill Burgundy barrels and fashion them into the bulbous 92 airframe.

Even uglier than Miles’ car.

Citing the Type 29 to characterize Saab’s aeronautical legacy is pretty silly. I could mention the Draken or Grippen, but the Viggen was really its signature, and the only plane to get a confirmed radar lock on an SR-71…and in once case provide a defensive escort. Finally declassified: Swedish pilots awarded US Air Medals for saving SR-71 spy plane

[Dan_Sch]

another spot on observation is the poorly appointed home, old average car, and horrible clothing worn by someone who is drinking wines that are often several hundred dollars a bottle. I was at a DC tasting a couple years ago and a group of three guys was discussing a get together and all the wines ($300-1000/bottle) and they had on horrific work through square toed shoes ($79 full retail). So I love wine and am absolutely jealous of their tasting event, but a $400 pair of shoes that lasts a lifetime and makes you look like less of a schlub is worth more than a bottle of anything you can get for $400.

Paging Kevin Shin. I think some folks see great wines and wine tastings as wonderful experiences that build memories with friends. Like concert tickets to your favorite band, sports tickets to a playoff game. That kind of thing. 3 hours with your best buddies with a sensory experience that is something you won’t forget. While you’re having fun. But then again, maybe the memories you’ve got from going with a buddy to a killer sporting event is worth less to you than some $400 shoes.

We all make judgment calls on what we spend our money on. Some folks fall in love with wine. Some folks spend crazy money on cars which, to me, is a tremendous waste of money. Some folks like to travel. Some like to have 30 pairs of shoes, or watches, or art, or an unnecessarily large home.

Let’s face it, if you look at wine from an objective point of view, unless you’re buying as an investment and re-selling, it’s a tremendous, ultra-privileged, preposterous waste of money. It is a consumable that you literally piss into a toilet when finished. It’s the stupidest spend I can think of, and I own hundreds of bottles of it. My non-wine friends think I’m insane for wasting my money like that. We could all probably retire a year or two earlier if we took our annual spend and just stuck it in Vanguard index funds.

But we don’t. Because we like wine.

Right, and I’m one of them. However, one who can afford a 3 hour experience can most certainly afford a decent pair of shoes that he can wear 8-12 hours a day for 3+ days a week for 30-50 years. And think about how many friends you might have had if you had a handsome pair of well made shoes… FWIW, I got my first pair of real shoes 10 years ago second hand on eBay for $60. Still wear them today. But I do spend less than $20k on wine per year.

Clearly the focus on this part of my comment is hitting too close to home with the marked up, square toed shoe wearers out there

[Arv_R]

I must be picking my friends wrong. I keep looking for those will shower me in Kosta Brown, Kutch, Rhys etc.

[Tom_Reddick]

While there are some magnificently funny moments- I think Sideways fails as a film for one fundamental reason. It is too depressing. It is just one wave of bad news after another without enough comedic relief to balance it out. Some of the saddest plays and films also have hysterically funny moments for a reason.

[Al_Osterheld]

You clearly don’t watch Russian cinema.

-Al

[John_Chapman]

Sorry this thread had to mix two topics, back to Fort Ross…

We were on the Sonoma Coast two weeks ago, really the middle of nowhere north of Jenner, far from “wine country.” A little wooden sign at a crossroads said “Wine Tasting” and we headed up into the hills to explore. Not much of a story after that, we found Fort Ross, buzzed at the gate and were told tastings were by appointment only, so we missed the chance. I assumed it was a random low level estate, only later did I find out it was Jeff Pisoni’s project…I might have begged harder to get in. It was the only winery for miles around.

[C_Mc_Cart]

Really liked the movie. Better yet, is if you can find the commentary by Giammati & Church that was released on the DVD. They are funny guys together.
I owned a Saab (93 Aero) which was a really great car for a while and almost always a pleasure to drive. Drove well above it’s weight class. Electronics were finicky once the car reached an age, but the engine was sweet as a nut and the car handled well. As far as I’m aware, despite their wild advertising for a decade or two, Saab never actually built any engines for their planes. They used BMW, Rolls & Boeing I believe. Great fake advertising though.
Never heard of of had the wine on topic.

[Michael_Martin]

The Saab’s coolness has been lost to time. There were a few years in the early ‘90’s when I had a red and a green Saab 900S. They got way more attention from folks than any BMW I ever owned. In their day, they were cool. Today they look like a dinosaur.

[doug_johnson]

Right, and I’m one of them. However, one who can afford a 3 hour experience can most certainly afford a decent pair of shoes that he can wear 8-12 hours a day for 3+ days a week for 30-50 years. And think about how many friends you might have had if you had a handsome pair of well made shoes… FWIW, I got my first pair of real shoes 10 years ago second hand on eBay for $60. Still wear them today. But I do spend less than $20k on wine per year.

Clearly the focus on this part of my comment is hitting too close to home with the marked up, square toed shoe wearers out there

This is your takeaway? Really?? Also, are you being sincere or are you trolling now?

[Markus_S]

We could all probably retire a year or two earlier if we took our annual spend and just stuck it in Vanguard index funds.

Or, we could feed the poor.

[Markus_S]

You clearly don’t watch Russian cinema.

-Al

Oh jeez. You referring to “Beanpole”?

[Al_Osterheld]

I haven’t seen Beanpole, but Russian cinema has a long history. It includes some funny comedies. But a lot of the most famous serious films are quite dark. American cinema largely reflects a view that most things will probably turn out okay in the end, Russian cinema is pretty certain that it won’t and, after all, what did you expect.

-Al

[David_K2]

Love the movie, and I loved it before I got into wine.

[K_John_Joseph]

We could all probably retire a year or two earlier if we took our annual spend and just stuck it in Vanguard index funds.

Or, we could feed the poor.

We could all live on the cheap and redistribute a good deal of our annual income every year to those less fortunate if we just agreed to give up all luxury goods, comrade.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

I haven’t seen Beanpole, but Russian cinema has a long history. It includes some funny comedies. But a lot of the most famous serious films are quite dark. American cinema largely reflects a view that most things will probably turn out okay in the end, Russian cinema is pretty certain that it won’t and, after all, what did you expect.

-Al

At least Russian novels are a laugh every minute.

[John_Kight]

My reaction was different from Jim’s, I thought the movie was vastly better than the book.

-Al

The book is terrible

But the videogame was better than expected.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

. . .And Sideways sucked.

But the Sandra Oh scene with the motorcycle helmet ranks up there with Butch Cassidy delivering a kick in the balls to Logan.

[Greg_K]

I haven’t seen Beanpole, but Russian cinema has a long history. It includes some funny comedies. But a lot of the most famous serious films are quite dark. American cinema largely reflects a view that most things will probably turn out okay in the end, Russian cinema is pretty certain that it won’t and, after all, what did you expect.

-Al

The important movies are always serious and dark. It’s like saying American cinema is dark and serious since comedies don’t win the awards. When Russians make references to Russian cinema, it’s quite often to the comedies they watch, of which there are plenty. If I have to listen to another fucking quote from S Lechkim Parom… Anyway.

There’s no doubt that there is a fair amount of Russian cinema that’s dark and brooding, but that’s also the stuff that gets shown abroad, since that’s the stuff made with art in mind. Comedies translate much worse and aren’t being made for external consumption.

[Al_Osterheld]

I like S Lechkim Parom, but not sure I’d want to watch it every New Year’s Eve. It’s also quite accessible to a Western audience. I loaned it to an admin at work and she and her daughter (watched separately) loved it.

-Al