MoCool bulletin: Help push a topic!

,some dates would be nice.

James,
This is the same quote that appears next to your picture in your high school yearbook!

I wish I'd said that, Julia!

LOL. Julia. Thanks for the chuckle. (It took a minute to sink in.)

Bob,
The Noland brothers got together this weekend and had a rough time deciding on a theme. However, we ended up with a similar sentiment that you have expressed here which was dealers choice. We did it blind but it was a lot of fun! I believe Tom is going to post the notes so it will be interesting to see it in writing. Has MoCool ever had an open theme such as this?

Bob, unlike Tom Hill and California wineries, I have not followed Mo'Cool from the very beginning, but they may well have in the early years. Honestly I don't see why it couldn't be done. I expect there will be a way to insure that no one brings a bottle of Beringer white zinfandel and think they have contributed.

[James Roscoe]

,some dates would be nice.

James,
This is the same quote that appears next to your picture in your high school yearbook!


JB

bump

I married my high school sweetheart, so I will not pass on that little comment.

I agree with Howie that Trans-Iberian is awfully close to P.I.G.S. On top of that, many attendees don't have deep Spanish-Portugese cellars to choose wines from. I thought the "1990" theme was a good one a few years ago because it brought out a huge array of wines from a vintage that was fine in many appalachians [sic]. What if the theme were something like "Special Occasion Wines"--that is, bottles that you've been eyeing for a while but were waiting for a special occasion to open? Presumably they'll be reasonably mature or they wouldn't have caught your eye in the first place. I know that many generous wine lovers use this same criterion every year--within the context of the official theme--but it's just a thought.

I agree with Howie that Trans-Iberian is awfully close to P.I.G.S. On top of that, many attendees don't have deep Spanish-Portugese cellars to choose wines from. I thought the "1990" theme was a good one a few years ago because it brought out a huge array of wines from a vintage that was fine in many appalachians [sic]. What if the theme were something like "Special Occasion Wines"--that is, bottles that you've been eyeing for a while but were waiting for a special occasion to open? Presumably they'll be reasonably mature or they wouldn't have caught your eye in the first place. I know that many generous wine lovers use this same criterion every year--within the context of the official theme--but it's just a thought.

Steve, I think this special occasion idea is a good one. It says "no Crap Wines" better than I, but it would result in no crap wines wouldn't it. I have several bottles that meet this criteria, unfortunately they are Cal Cabs, but they have 20 years of age on them.

Honestly I don't see why it couldn't be done

It sounds like there is support for a Dealer's Choice option but with the caveat of "no crap wines" or "only special occasion wines" or both! Sounds like fun to me... How do you wrap that up into a catchy theme?

Hi Jay,

I like your idea of Spain and Portugal combined with Chile and Argentina. You could call it the Trans Iberian Express South Or the MoCool 17 TIES that bind! Or MoCool 17 TrIES harder! Although this theme is similar to PIGGS fly.

I also like "Dealers Choice" as a theme, but I do think you need "Any Fine Wine" or "Stack the Deck" (I prefer the positive qualifiers) to indicate you only want quality wines.

Laura..really, you are IN Michigan! No excuses, you must come!JuliaB

I know! The only thing that has prevented me is that it occurs near my husband's birthday, and we often travel for his birthday. That may not be the case this year, so I'm starting to plan on attending. Make it Spanish and I'll even twist his arm!

Just bring him. It's a lovely setting and there's a nice little lake/big pond to swim in too!

The tentative date is August 25, 2007. I say tentative only because we do not have a lock on the venue yet. But we are optimistic about that happening.

Keep discussing your theme ideas. Fascinating stuff. There have always been those among you who would have been happy with a "no boundaries/no crap" theme every year (can you really even call it a "theme"?). I respect that. No final decision has been made. Yet.

And yes, the first two or three MoCools were more or less "un-themed." I think Zinful Weekend (1994?) was the first "official" theme. Mostly, I love a somewhat restrictive theme. I always learn something new, because everyone tries a little harder.

Maybe we could un-narrow it enough by making it an "Atlantic Rim" MoCool. About the only problem with that is that it includes France and the United States, which in my opinion are too broad to include in ANY theme with no other restrictions such as appellation or grape varieties. If we included ALL other Atlantic countries in their entirety, but only the "Atlantic climate influenced" areas of France and the USA (you still get Bordeaux and Loire and the Sud-Ouest and some other miscellany, plenty good!) (and maybe we could expand USA west to the Mississippi, hmmm), that could be a lot of fun.

Oh, and Chile gets in on a technicality -- Straits of Magellan counts IMHO!

Oooh!! And South Africa!

Hi Jay,

You could call it Atlantic Wine Adventures! I like it.

Certainly no one could complain that the theme was too narrow!

JuliaB

Jay,

I propose the theme " LATIN LOVERS" based on the countries of Latin Europe: Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. As these countries are defined by their use of romance languages, we could play with the concept; something like, "Wine, the original language of love".

I know you did the Mediterranean theme back in '97 but that was 10 years ago! Those regions deserve more than one shot!

Anyway, that's my $.02 so far. Thanks for bringing this the forum.

JuliaB

PS. You know I would come even if the theme was "Wines of Appalachia" !

ROFL!!!! thank you for making me laugh, doll!

The pleasure is all mine, Luv!

JB

Hi Jay,

I have a new suggestion for a MoCool Theme. I call it the "A Team." This MoCool theme features any wine from a country, region, or wine variety beginning with the letter "A" So, that would include Austria, Alsace, Australia, Argentina, south Africa, Aberbijan, aligote, albarino, etc. This is a new theme that I don't think has been done yet. Let me know what you think.

That's very clever and I like it, Tom. Let's consider it for 2008. The theme for 2007 is locked as far as I'm concerned. (Now if only we had confirmation on the availability of the location on Aug. 25!)

Ooooohhhh.
And when will the theme be announced?????
Looking forward to it, as always. Well, at least as always since 2002.
-ow

I thought I already made it somewhat obvious higher up. Oh well, I never know when I'm being too obvious vs not obvious enough!!

As far as I'm concerned, the theme is "Atlantic Rim" with a "bias" toward the wines of Spain and Portugal, but a requirement. Generally this means any nation with an Atlantic seaboard, but due to the size of US, Canadian and French wine industries, those countries are limited to vineyard regions directly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. So think Loire, Bordeaux and the sud-ouest, and New England down through the Carolinas. Finger Lakes and Ontario, probably too far inland. Discuss. The rest of the rim, search out their best from anywhere within their borders: Argentina, South Africa, Portugal, Spain, etc. (are there others?).

[James Roscoe]

Brazil certainly gets in and I hope someone will think to bring some Madiera. What about Champagne? It's pretty much influenced by the North Sea which is a part of the Atlantic Ocean.

Well, I count Madiera as Portugal. I wouldn't mind seeing a Madiera vs Sherry shoot-out! But we start to worry even more about things like blood alcohol content and driving if we introduce too many fortified wines into the festivities.

We did Champagne last year. But then you can never have good Champagne too often! I know there are gray areas when it comes to France and "Atlantic weather"... Chablis is another kinda/maybe (and overlooked by MoCool... can't recall if we had any significant number even at Tour de France... I'd love to study Chablis in depth some time).