Ray Tuppatsch- RIP

[Craig_G]

We would test each other on blind bottles. Depending on who did well the other would have to donate money to the winner’s favorite charity. Ray’s pick was usually a charity for animals.

Really sad to hear of his passing. I enjoyed and learned a lot from his posts and he seemed like a great guy.

Paul (or anyone else), if you know of a charity that would be appropriate to donate to in his memory, please post.

[Kris_Patten]

Wow, this is such a bummer to read. I remember talking to Ray about the 1996 vintage and trying to help him secure pallets, yes pallets, of Salon, and in passing I’d posted about a disappointing 2002 DP and Ray asked for my address…a bottle of 2002 DP from his pristine European source showed up.

Very knowledgeable and friendly guy. Sad we never got to share a meal or a bottle.

RIP.

[Paul_Jaouen]

We would test each other on blind bottles. Depending on who did well the other would have to donate money to the winner’s favorite charity. Ray’s pick was usually a charity for animals.

Really sad to hear of his passing. I enjoyed and learned a lot from his posts and he seemed like a great guy.

Paul (or anyone else), if you know of a charity that would be appropriate to donate to in his memory, please post.

Very nice. Guiding Eyes for the Blind was a favorite of his and his daughter, Tara. guidingeyes.org

[Brent_C_l_a_y_t_o_n]

Wow, what a shock. I only dined with him once, the big Coche-Dury dinner sponsored by Herwig with Keith Levenberg, Michel Abood, Paul Jaouen, Andy Raffle and other whom I unfortunately don’t recall. Ray rolled in with a six pack under each arm. Generous is an understatement. May his memory be a blessing.

[Blair_Ridley]

Wow, what a shock. I only dined with him once, the big Coche-Dury dinner sponsored by Herwig with Keith Levenberg, Michel Abood, Paul Jaouen, Andy Raffle and other whom I unfortunately don’t recall. Ray rolled in with a six pack under each arm. Generous is an understatement. May his memory be a blessing.

I was at that dinner. Sat across from Keith and next to Ray when he showed up. I remember he brought some “Dr Marion” burgundies which were quite fun to try. That was one of two great dinner memories with Ray. As others have stated, a super generous and knowledgeable man. He’ll be missed.

[Steve_Saxon]

Had the pleasure of meeting Ray many times, and he provided the best burgundy experience of my life. He’s not someone I’ll soon forget.

[M_Dildine]

I never met Ray, never even communicated with him about wine (I am a Zinfandel guy, he was Champagne/Burgundy focused). But I saw his name many, many times here and even back to the old eBob days. What I know from this thread was that he was a kind, generous and funny man. We are all on the same road together.

Rest In Peace Ray.

[Ian_Dorin]

Only 57. I haven’t heard any details other than he was found in his apartment.

He was a fun guy to be around. I have so many fond recollections of dinners and crazy golf in his backyard. And super generous. I think his tipping at restaurants usually started at around 40% and was usually more. We would test each other on blind bottles. Depending on who did well the other would have to donate money to the winner’s favorite charity. Ray’s pick was usually a charity for animals.

He was also the most honest “golfer” I’ve ever played with. I remember teeing off on one hole and Ray had put like six or seven balls in the woods and he would be on the tee yelling “hitting 13”, “now hitting 15”. I think he would have enjoyed the game more if he wasn’t such a stickler for the rules but that was Ray.

RIP and very sincere condolences to his daughters who I know he loved very much.

I miss the Iron Chef nights too.

I’ll never forget the one blind tasting night that everyone was ranting and raving over which 82 Bordeaux it was…and it was 79 Dunn Howell. I had seen the bottle through the window as he decanted it, so I had to opt out of guessing (I would have only had to guess the vintage), so Ray and I were hysterically laughing at the arguing that was going on.

Another great story was when a group of us were having dinner at Brooklyn Fare (the EARLY days), and we took a limo (remember those???) to the city. When we were outside the Holland Tunnel, we traded a bottle of Champagne and glasses from the limo for bottles of water from the guy selling them on the side of the road. On the ride home, Ray was playing some driving game on his iPad as we sat in grid lock traffic at 12:30 at night.

OMG! I had forgotten about the Iron Chef dinners. Ray was so competitive. I think he tried to win more than anyone. And we weren’t allowed to cook any dish that contained mammals or fowl as Ray wouldn’t eat them.

Well, you could have cooked with mammal, you just wouldn’t have gotten his vote. He also worked the room for votes too

[Ian_Dorin]

Wow, this is such a bummer to read. I remember talking to Ray about the 1996 vintage and trying to help him secure pallets, yes pallets, of Salon, and in passing I’d posted about a disappointing 2002 DP and Ray asked for my address…a bottle of 2002 DP from his pristine European source showed up.

Very knowledgeable and friendly guy. Sad we never got to share a meal or a bottle.

RIP.

No question that he was a rare buyer

Sorry to hear that you never got to break bread with him.

[Michael_Mahle]

Very sorry to hear of Ray’s passing. A great guy overall, an impressive collector, generous mentor as it related to champagne, a super pleasant client and just all around fun guy to be around. Someone you couldn’t ever forget and I certainly will remember him for ever. Will be drinking some champagne in his honor.

[mark_rudner]

oh shit that’s terrible. i used to enjoy talking to him at auctions (needless to say there were always amazing wines on his table) and running into him at marea.
a super nice and generous guy who will be sorely missed

[Peter_Chiu]

His knowledge about auctions was unbelievable…

[T_Altmayer]

Very sad and depressing.

[Jon_Lawrence]

What? He was younger than me I believe. Details please? RIP . . .

Only 57. I haven’t heard any details other than he was found in his apartment.

He was a fun guy to be around. I have so many fond recollections of dinners and crazy golf in his backyard. And super generous. I think his tipping at restaurants usually started at around 40% and was usually more. We would test each other on blind bottles. Depending on who did well the other would have to donate money to the winner’s favorite charity. Ray’s pick was usually a charity for animals.

He was also the most honest “golfer” I’ve ever played with. I remember teeing off on one hole and Ray had put like six or seven balls in the woods and he would be on the tee yelling “hitting 13”, “now hitting 15”. I think he would have enjoyed the game more if he wasn’t such a stickler for the rules but that was Ray.

RIP and very sincere condolences to his daughters who I know he loved very much.

I miss the Iron Chef nights too.

I’ll never forget the one blind tasting night that everyone was ranting and raving over which 82 Bordeaux it was…and it was 79 Dunn Howell. I had seen the bottle through the window as he decanted it, so I had to opt out of guessing (I would have only had to guess the vintage), so Ray and I were hysterically laughing at the arguing that was going on.

Another great story was when a group of us were having dinner at Brooklyn Fare (the EARLY days), and we took a limo (remember those???) to the city. When we were outside the Holland Tunnel, we traded a bottle of Champagne and glasses from the limo for bottles of water from the guy selling them on the side of the road. On the ride home, Ray was playing some driving game on his iPad as we sat in grid lock traffic at 12:30 at night.

There were so many fun times with Ray. Dinners, auctions, Iron Chef, backyard golf. That Brooklyn Fare night was epic. The limo, the Holland Tunnel, the wines, the pizza at Motorino after Brooklyn Fare because we were all still hungry after eating 20 small bites over 4 hours.

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

I’ve somewhat hesitated to post my condolences here because I never met him and never had some of the wonderful experiences that those who came in contact with King Angry had.

That said, this is extremely sad news and I was floored at seeing it. I always loved his input and it always came across as sincerity with a desire to share his knowledge about champagne. I loved his scoring system and outlook on it all with very little pretense. The great stories shared in this thread do an amazing job showing even more of that side of him

[Jurgen_Steinke]

RIP. I did not like the stories of the 12 Angry men and had very controversial discussions with some members on eBob. But Ray seemed to be a nice guy and his tone was always friendly. Something I liked very much. It is a tragedy to loose life so early. My condolences to his friends and family.

[Josh_Wertl_eb]

Wow…this is horrible news. Ray and I were in touch almost daily from 2005-2011. He was one of my most trusted wine friends and unfortunately life just took its turns and we hadn’t talked in ages. He was as funny as he was sharp and a deeply caring guy.

RIP “Handsome Ray.”

Here we are in one of our few trips to Champagne in the fall of 2007.

-Josh

[Peter_Chiu]

Jurgen…thanks for the info. It was way way back in ParkerB days and I was not sure that Ray was one of the 12 men. Guess I am getting old. 57 is way too young…

[Jurgen_Steinke]

Peter,

I think the nickname of Ray was King Angry and while I do not know if he was a regular member of the 12 he certainly participated not only once. But as I said, he was always a very polite person while he was a defender of the obviously over the top Lunches/Dinners posted on the old eBOB. Others were less polite. But ok – these times are long gone. All the best to you. Stay healthy.

[Nola_Palomar]

RIP Ray. Very sad.