A Spacy Homage

Earlier this month the New York Times ran an article about the auction of a bottle of 2000 Charteau Petrus which orbited the Earth for 14 months aboard the International Space Station. Speculation was that it could sell for as much as $1 million, eclipsing the record 2018 sale of a bottle of 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti for $558,000.

At least it isn’t a NFT.

Wow!

Space Aged: Bottle of Wine from

Space Station could sell for $1 Million

(click for the article)

The article also brought to mind memories of another NY Times piece over three decades ago which had personal themes - as it featured my father and his lifelong (from an early age) interest in and subsequent collection of wine.

The article also brought to mind memories of another NY Times piece over three decades ago which had personal themes - as it featured my father and his lifelong (from an early age) interest in and subsequent collection of wine.

This month's article was interesting for a variety of reasons related to Wine, Space, Science, Exploration, Money and more. Don't worry, it's a short read and it doesn't necessarily raise issues regarding the aforementioned, but it could if one wanted to ruminate on it. That, however, is too difficult a task for this wine merchant. I bring it up purely because of the personal history it raised in my mind: Specifically three things in cascading order of memory. the mentioning of which are a Homage to my father:

It caused me to think of one of the few bottles left from my father’s wine collection; a 1964 Petrus in my basement (not a great vintage). It is undoubtedly over the hill, but with memories attached to it even if it hadn’t been bombarded by cosmic rays while circling the globe. Besides it has conveniently, and cryptically, noted with tags, stickers and bubble wrap markings whereas the bottle on auction only comes with a bit of an asteroid.
It made me wish I had some of the impeccably stored 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti which my father donated to his Alma Mater (see the following). Believe me, I would be auctioning that off in a space aged nanosecond and happy to have missed the chance to taste it myself!
Both the above brought to mind the New York Times piece from December 1986 in which Frank Prial (then their longtime wine writer) wrote about a dinner which I attended at Harvard. My father was the guest of honor and donator of wine to the University. I flew up from New York, where I was working at the time, to attend. It was a wonderful evening and moment with my father - one he still remembers. That is an accomplishment for him nowadays as he has recently turned 90 and is sadly losing many memories. That memory brought him joy which I was glad to see. Why not take a peek:

Wine Talk by Frank Prial (click for article) I can't say that I was particularly focused on wine at the time but my father's hobby, and my subsequent career and interest in retail, eventually coalesced into the opening of this shop after I stepped away from my corporate retail life. So, perhaps I have my father to thank for a job I enjoy, which in turn has given me scores of customers whom I/We are lucky to have. One could do far worse for a Father. Love you Pop! All this is more than you needed to "hear" but thank you for your indulgence and I promise to mention something more current about wine next time around. Before then, please enjoy a great Memorial Day Weekend! We'll be here to help if you stop by for some wine, beer, or even chocolate. Our hours are at the top of this email.