I only met him once, at a Posner tasting years ago. He, my wife and I all tasted the same two Village Chablis. Josh agreed with Rebecca and disagreed with me as to which was better and why, so he must have had a terrible palate, but I remember him being a very nice guy that we joked with for a while. He was way too young. It always hits harder when someone younger that I dies. Very sad.
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Terrible news. Josh was a great taster and someone I would have loved to have worked with.
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very sad news, and a loss to all â
a friend since the late eighties â succeeded me as Schildknechtâs assistant
at a DC retailer
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Horrible news.
RIP
Josh worked for me and my company a long time ago, then went to work for Rosenthal before finding his place as a writer. He had a brilliant mind, and if he could be quite sardonic there was a lot of kindness and thoughtful consideration underneath all of that. He will be missed. RIP.
Dan Kravitz
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Aww man. Sad news indeed. Josh was a good guy through and through. Condolences to his family.
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Jayson, thank you for that photo.
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My good friend in Indiana that got me into wine worked with Josh in DC in the 80âs - nothing but deep respect for his work and talent - so sad! He covered many of the regions I treasure - and i loved his writing.
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This thread is a great tribute to such a genuinely nice man.
I bought wine from him at Pearsonâs and never knew it was him until reviewing this thread. RIP indeed.
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This was tough news to hear yesterday. Still doesnât quite feel real. I could listen to him talk about wine for hours. I remember at a West of West tasting he was super excited about Wayfarer. He told me donât be a snob, go taste the wines. He was spot on, they were incredible wines. Years later he turned me on to Walter Scott. We were talking about doing a cheesesteak crawl in Philly.
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So very sad. Always great to be around. Had a story or a joke for every topic. He came to CLT each year to do reviews. Everyone would have smiles on their faces, including mine, whenever he was in the room.
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I didnât know Josh well. Only from what I could glean from maybe three or four dinners years ago. What I remember most was that he was truly funnyâwitty would be a better description, but in a laugh-out-loud wayâhow much he loved grilling meat, and most of all how proud he was of his daughters and how dedicated he was to them. Such a sad ending.
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I will mis him. He was a mench. He brought warmth and pleasure with him everywhere he went.
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Josh was a genuinely good guy. He could hang out with you in a way that never felt like you were a winemaker trying to impress a wine writer, and did so effortlessly.
He will be greatly missed!
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Just got a mailer from Benchmark âcommemoratingâ Josh and then proceeding to list for sale a bunch of wines reviewed by him. Seems a littleâŚoff to me.
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Funny, I was thinking the same thing. There should have been no solicitation with it.
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Uggh. Ouch. 
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Wow. Terrible news. I remember a couple of wonderful IPNCs tasting with him and comparing impressions.
He always struck me as passionate about wine, a straight shooter and all around excellent guy. Such sad news. Too young!
RT
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Rich- you nailed it. He was all of those things.
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The wine world was a better place with him in it.
I fondly remember him trying to teach me about chartreuse.
RT
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