Slashdot Mirror
Skywalker Ranch Wines
Gates82 writes "The creative force of George Lucas is at it again. Producing his own wine. "I would love to see them plant another 5 to 10 acres. There must be spots on that ranch to make some really interesting wines."" Wonder if there's any spots on that ranch left that can make a good Star Wars movie?
"I can not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presents danger, the solution is ignorance" - Isaac Asimov
I hope it's not as bitter better as his prequels so far.
---
http://spaceruckus.web1000.com
These guys are putting together a free 3D action/adventure game.
Free Wii Points
The force was strong with this vintage... it's actually not too bad a wine, but horridly overpriced. Of course due to collectors only 2 bottles will ever be consumed, the rest stored away with all those action figures :)
drunk chemists
You mean he's producing something that's not 90% CG?
//Blessed are they that run around in circles, for they shall be known as wheels.
Lucas: We couldn't get Star Wars movies right, we cost Hasbro hundreds of millions of dollars in Episode I-II toys, we made the 2003 Coaster of the Year "Worst MMORPG Evah" award! Ruining things is too easy. We need a challenge. What haven't we ruined yet? What would be almost impossible to fuck up? Oh yeah! Booze!
and just like any star wars movies, they have a huge advertisement budget for the wine as well. In CA, f you tune in KGO or KCBS, you can hear the Ad many times a day.
Consensus is good, but informed dictatorship is better
Chardonney's & Merlots might be nice, but then again StarWars Episode I sounded nice too, but look how that turned out :S
Wonder if there's any spots on that ranch left that can make a good Star Wars movie?
:-)
Oh, the cynicism.
Seriously though, growing wines in west Marin leaves me wondering about the quality of these wines (particularly a Chardonnay), but Coppola has produced some rather tasty wines including a scrumptious Merlots and a Claret or two, so I am inclined to believe there may be something of note.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
That's pretty fucking unfunny.
Now I know what Lucas was drinking when he created Jar-Jar.
At Neverland ranch, Jackson is hard at work molesting children.
Does anyone else think that Lucas is completely driven by his own vanity? The prequels were just the start of this latest push, now he's getting into wine. The boutique wine boom is over already! Let's at least pray that he hires a professional vintner to handle the winemaking. God help us if he decides to make it himself.
It'll probably end up too sweet and more geared towards kids than adult drinkers. Seems like Jackson and Lucas have more in common than it seems...
I have been pwned because my
I think George Lucas should stop making wine and start making movies. I can't really imagine waiting until 1997 to see all nine parts of the Star Wars series.
Sincerely,
Seth Finklestein
Usenet Historian
I'm not Seth Finkelstein. I still speak the truth.
This would have been news if Lucas was doing a few hundred acres and bottling himself, Jar Jar Brut, Tattoine Port, Darth Zinfandel or something connected to the films, but as it is it's no more relevant than to American Graffitti or THX-1128
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
The early vintages were full-bodied and flavorful, but alas, more recent efforts have been dry and prone to leaving a bad taste in one's mouth.
Wonder if there's any spots on that ranch left that can make a good Star Wars movie?
Meee-ow!
By the way, I didn't think the ranch made the movies. That comment is stranger the more I think about it.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
You realize that every fan and non-fan in the world just *has* to buy at least one bottle of this.
What are the margins on wine these days?
Colossians 2:8
So know we now know what Lucas was drinking when casting Hayden Christainsen.
I worry about celebrities making wine. Often, the wine's price gets a bump just for the name recognition factor, regardless of how good it is. This is the deal with Coppola's wines--they're just ok wines for better-than-ok prices.
Celebrity winemakers overally have little impact on serious wine drinkers. Obviously, though, Coppola proved there's a market segment that will spend money for a name on the bottle.
I would like to point out a brand new up-and-comer, non-celebrity wine--Sawkar Family Vineyards. They make a delicious Syrah that's probably in the upper scale of what most people want to pay for a bottle, but it's one of those that's actually worth it.
sev
but have you considered the following argument: shut up.
This is after all the wine valley, and he does bear a faint resemblance to Chase Gioberti.
https://secure7.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/de fault.asp?CS=niebaum&BusType=BtoC&Count1=612514674 &Count2=529655098&Target=products%2Easp&CategoryID =53
get your sofia mini blanc de blancs in a can for that oscar party!
(IN A CAN!)
"You can grow this shit, George, but you sure can't drink it."
After the lameness that is sure to be Episode 3, there will be MUCH whine. :)
No way. Epis 1 and 2 must have been invented during a moonshine binge at the mildest, although I think it was more like a turpentine/diesel mixture. Throw in some soda candy. Yay JAR JAR!
Why doesn't he go for Colt 45? He's already got the spokesman. "Lando Calrissian here for Colt 45. The galaxy's FINEST malt liquor beverage." (from a Who's Line Is It Anyway sketch).
- I don't care if they globalize against free speech. All my best free thoughts are done in my head.
That's my kind of wine!
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
What the article doesn't tell is that every buyer of Lucas' wines is required to provide his name and address. That way George Lucas can visit you periodically to mess with the wine to make it taste the way he intended at the time, but was not able to by lack of proper technology.
Quentin Tarantino? That guy can only make one movie. Fuck him.
But I was going to the Tashi Station to pick up some power converters...
It's not impossible. I used to bullseye womprats in my T-16 back home; they're not much bigger than two meters.
No... that's not true... that's impossible!
D'oh! Zymurgy... my bad.
--Chag
More specifically, I live a few miles from it. You don't grow wine in San Rafael, you grow it up in the Napa valley. His place is just a little bit off the 101, so I imagine carcinogens won't add to the flavor.
I guess when old white directors run out of good ideas they move up here and start a vineyard.
Let him age, and he shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
- c -
He's going to have Dark and Light side wine instead of red and white right? So which do I have with my fish?
Needs some advice in winemaking, that is. We already know about script-writing issues. He should talk to this guy, who is just up the road.
Remain calm! All is well!
The operative word here is "good" Star Wars movie! Maybe Episode III will redeem itself.
Yup, your a yup from SF...
If it is, they'll be selling it in boxes out of 7-11.
What other celbrity products can they come up with next? Harrison Ford brand bull-whips? Tony Soprano automatic pistols? Michael Jackson -- never mind.
It's good to use your head, but not as a battering ram.
Coppola produces his wines right in the middle of the Napa Valley (unless he buys his grapes from somewhere else like most "Napa" producers).
On the other hand I never bought the whole "terroir" thing. With the recent advances in wine making (and even some old fashioned blending) it is possible to get good wines even without the best soil or climate.
Obviously, GL has been crafting to build up his Chef skills!
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
"Man, like a long time ago and stuff.. and like, it was like waaay away.. dude, there was this dude named Darth man..."
Uh, he's growing grapes, not weed.
One amusing thing I was told by the Lucas PR girlbot was that grape-picking was an annual event for the employees. From the way she phrased it, it sounded compulsory!
(Oh, and should you ever be lucky enough to have lunch there, go for the steak. It's delicious. No wonder Lucas has got so fat!)
You must think in Russian.
1) The Alcohol is strong in this one.
...as served at the Star Wars Cantina
2) Fear leads to drinking, drinking leads to courage, courage leads to rejection...rejection leads to suffering.
3)
4) Skywalker Ranch Wines -- Wet Your Whistle With Moonshine from Uncle Owen's Moisture Farm.
5) Bacta The Future! Hell, might as well ruin another trilogy.
I'd have to be tanked on this wine for them to expect me to renew my subscription.
I have no idea if Coppola invites visitors or has a tasting room.
Don't expect Lucas to welcome you onto his ranch.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Seriously though, growing wines in west Marin leaves me wondering about the quality of these wines (particularly a Chardonnay), but Coppola has produced some rather tasty wines including a scrumptious Merlots and a Claret or two, so I am inclined to believe there may be something of note.
Yes, but the Niebaum-Coppola wines are grown on the Rutherford Bench, which is generally considered the finest grape growing area of the Napa Valley. Fine wines have been cultivated there for over 100 years. He also has some very serious winemakers working for him.
West Marin though, as you note, hasn't exactly got an illustrious history of viticulture. That said you can grow some great wines in some unlikely spots in California, thanks to the excellent climate. One of my favorite wineries is Ridge whose main vineyards are on the ridge overlooking Silicon Valley.
Sailing over the event horizon
Viandante del Cielo means "sky walker" in Italian
Actually the correct translation of viandante is traveler.
TK-421, why aren't you at your post?
I bet he's drunk on Skywalker Ranch Riesling again!
YOU REBEL SCUM!!!
In principio erat Verbum.
In a couple years he'll release "Special Edition" bottles. They'll contain only grape juice and carbonation because Star Wars - apparently - was always intended for kids. He'll deny a wine version ever existed.
Oh, and you'll be forced to buy a bottle of 2008, 2007 and 2006 grape juice vintages just to get your hands on the 2003-2005 vintages *
* which will also be grape juice (perhaps with luck they'll *turn* into wine but don't bet on it)
Grapes from newly planted vines don't make good wine. It takes years for the plant to develop to the point where wine made from the grapes tastes good. Nowadays, people use old root-stocks, grafting new plants onto older roots, to speed up the process. But it still takes time. So all you jokers saying the first vintages will be good, but later ones will leave a bad taste in your mouth, sorry. Nice joke though.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
I'm thinking either David Lynch or Tim Burton; make a Star Wars movie just weird enough to be interesting again. With a Jar-Jar that just does the "Step-n-Fetchit" routine to cover up the fact that he's secretly backstabbing (literally) the other characters when they're not looking. Better yet -- Jar-Jar, the power behind the power behind the throne, is secretly controlling the emperor, who is secretly controlling....
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
Quentin Tarantino definitely is in the short list.
Tarantino would make a pile of shit that nobody would watch. Tarantino is the most overrated, overhyped director of our time. He's a one trick pony who's time was already past when he did Pulp Fiction. Sure, he's cutting edge for the unwashed masses that think that "Titanic" and "Gladiator" were great movies, but for those of us who know movies, he's a film school hack.
Leave directing to real directors... like Luc Bresson.
You know, George Lucas could bottle some grape juice and attach a label saying 7% Force/Vol, drink responsibly. A bottle of limited edition Star Wars wine would easily go for $1,000 per bottle on e-bay. They could even say that Natalie Portman hand picked the grapes and crushed them with her feet. The star wars geeks would be flocking to get anything tangibly related to Natalie Portman.
"There is no spoon." - The Matrix
finally produces something we can't pirate :-)
What?
I doubt it will be 30 dollor wine but it may not be terrible.
I know the Coppala wine is not a terrible buy at 12 dollors a bottle.
Though for good cheap wine you can't beat the aussies. They just do it right.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Yellow Tail? They sell that at Costco, cheap... guess I'll have to try some now. Something about the picture of the Kangaroo an the bottle lead me to suspect it wasn't that good...
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
When I read the Slashdot blurb, I thought - "Hey, wow, George Lucas is rolling his own version of WINE. Teh 1337 h4x0r!!"
;-D.
The it hit me - wine, not WINE. Yup, I am a dork
What's a "good Star Wars movie"? Is it true that Princess Amidala takes refuge from Asinine Skywokker among the Ewoks? The only class act in the last movie was the diner wheelie waitress. That would make a great Saturday morning.
``Tension, apprehension & dissension have begun!'' - Duffy Wyg&, in Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_
For those of you who are wondering why Indiana Jones 4 is being delayed, check this link out:
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17037
Basically the script is done and Spielberg is ready, but Lucas wants to dip his hand in the script and mess around. Just like the Special Editions, can't leave anything alone, always gotte keep tinkering with it...
Next, Lucas might release a line of beer: Pilsner Amidala, Ackbar Ale, and Lager Calrissian. ...and for liquor: Qui-Gon Gin and Tonic.
"Give a man a fish and he will ask for tartar sauce and French fries!"
With the recent advances in wine making (and even some old fashioned blending) it is possible to get good wines even without the best soil or climate.
The classic example of this is the blended wines from Jadot in France. They have blended some exquisite wines that are quite reasonable in price.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Yup, your a yup from SF...
Nope. A former punk rocker from Texas is closer to the mark.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
Monkey-see-monkey-do. He's just imitating his master. There are always two. This is Lucas saying: "Hey! If Coppola can do it, so should I!" Coppola's got more respect from his fans. I doubt Francis Ford would change The Godfather so Solozzo hits Michael first.
Start with Scotch. Though it seems more expensive up front, you don't have to drink as much to learn an appreciation for the pleasantries of the drink.
By drinking scotch you will gain a taste for the various flavors in the drink. Tastes like 'peaty', 'earthy', and 'oaky' are common descriptions of the flavors of whiskey. To enjoy it, you don't toss back shot after shot, rather you would sip and let the flavors spread on your palate. Though quite offensive at first, whiskey becomes delightful once you have developed a sense of what it is that you are tasting.
You can use the same slow tasting technique with wine. It's much less harsh than whiskey and it has many more flavors. The process of learning to enjoy whiskey will help immensely in your appreciation of wine.
It will at least help wean you off of White Zin, if nothing else.
I have been pwned because my
Though a woody allen star wars (as a study of a young emporer, perhaps) could be amusing...
Terry Gilliam would be outstanding; peter jackson obvious.
Y'all can snipe at Tarantino, but I'm not seeing productive critisism here (Luc Besson? Transporter? Wasabi? Thanks, no - now Truffaut? Sure. But he's dead. Dead directors are banned from this thread).
Indeed. Kill Bill Vol. 1 was some of the worst shit I've ever seen on a movie screen. It seemed like only the kids thought it was a good movie (and I'm 23 years old).
Qualitas edurus commercium, nullus penitus net rimor, nullus deus beneficium
Maybe George is having a laugh with the whiney prequel fans.
has to follow Ford Coppola in everything he does eh?
Real SUV's don't have cupholders
It's 5:42 A.M., do you know where your stack pointer is?
Some really good chardonnays come from the S part of Sonoma and Napa that is right on the border between the Bay Area's cool climate and the really hot parts of Napa and Sonoma - the place where Domain Chandon has their huge tourist trap comes to mind.
What prevents more wine growing in W Marin is that land is even more ridiculously expensive there than in Napa - it's really fairly well within the Bay Area suburban fringe. Most think of Marin as rural but is it really suburbs all the way to the coast. (Marin does have the highest per-capita Hummer sales in the 9 county Bay Area)
Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
it's odd how many times I have to defend myself out here in the East Bay and South Bay as a Texan.... so many take me for a native 8-)
"Wonder if there's any spots on that ranch left that can make a good Star Wars movie?"
shouldn't this be
"Wonder if there are any spots on that ranch left that can make a good Star Wars movie?"
Oh well, who cares?
Cheers, Nostrada
he might start making absinthe to prepare himself for some more Indian Jones prequels. Might as well wreck some more films. Indian Jones and The Lost Chalice of Stupidity!
It's probably equivalent to a $7 bottle of Ontario wine... ;-)
-psy
... the company which brought us such amazing games
as
- Maniac Mansion
- Zak McKracken
- Monkey Island
i.e. all the *really* good games of the 80s and early nineties. For me, they are much more important than Star Wars.
If you bother to go to the wine country of northern California, I suggest going through Sonoma rather than Napa. Napa has some good wines, but it's very touristy.
Agreed in general though even the Napa has some quieter, smaller wineries that are worth visiting. There are several hundred wineries in the Napa and they vary tremendously.
Sonoma has great wines and is fairly quiet, off the beaten path. One of my favorites is Rochioli, close to Hop Kiln, which is also good. Suggest taking along some food, get a bottle of Chardonnay and kick back, as most of these places have a little outdoor area you can relax at.
Hop Kiln is a great place to visit and picnic - wonderful old building - but the wines are mediocre. If you really want great Sonoma wines then travel a little further down the road to Davis Bynum for some of the best Pinot Noir on the planet.
I have no idea if Coppola invites visitors or has a tasting room.
Yes there is a large visitors center at Niebaum-Coppola. Its touristy, including the inevitable movie museum complete with Oscars, but still fun and the wines are good. They recently announced a plan to go upmarket, lower volume better quality. Given their history with their reserve blends and vintages, I suspect they could come up with sometiming exceptional. Time will tell.
Sailing over the event horizon
Great, we now get to taste vicariously the wines of the wealthy.
I enjoy a good wine as much as the next guy and I hate to spoil the party, seeing that we are all having a jolly good time around here, but what the fuck does this have to do with "news for nerds, stuff that matters".
A tone of shit happened today in the free software world. Maybe somebody is hung over and has Slashdot stories on automatic pilot.
Pragmatism as an ideology is not particularly pragmatic in the long term. Keep it in mind when you dismiss Free Software
You know, if you blank out every instance of the word wine in the above comment, it makes a great mad lib. Replace it with movie(s). Then try it with baby(ies).
Coppola's merlot's include a significant number of grapes bought from other wineries. In fact there is so much moving around of grapes in the California wine industry that it is hard to pinpoint a singe taste or style for a geographic region. Quality of wines in this day and age is more dependent on the technology used after harvest rather than the grapes going into the harvest. BTW, if the Skywalker wines become popular look for them to begin buying grapes as well, after all they are selling a brand image more than a great tasting wine, and its cheaper to buy than produce good grapes.
You're kidding right? Niebaum-Coppola has a huge tasting room & merchandising area to push various food and wine knick-knacks. What really draws people to N-C is the fact that it also has a collection of FFC's movie props (Don Corleone's desk, a Huey shell with surfboards from Apocalypse Now, his Tucker Torpedo, etc.)
"Wonder if there's any spots on that ranch left that can make a good Star Wars movie?"
That is the funniest thing I have ever read in a Slashdot story. Props.
Don't oversell him. Luc Besson's fun, and I'll watch Fifth Element (the best SF movie out there with no sequel, now that Pitch Black is getting one), The Messenger, or Leon any day of the week - but he's no Kurosawa, Eisenstein, Tarkovsky, or even Wenders for that matter. I'm afraid that calling Tarantino a film school hack and Luc Besson a "real" director is a little like calling McDonald's junk food and saying that Romano's Macaroni Grill is a REAL restaurant.
Luc Besson is a one hit wonder.
I completely agree. I had for years gone wine tasting regularly at sonoma (and surrounding areas), without going to napa. I went to napa and I was apalled! $9 and $12 tastings? Super touristy rooms, that sell mostly cheap souveniers?
... heh.
Sonoma has lots of excellent wines, the tastings are half the price and it is far more pretty, IMO. Hit Ferrari Carrano (sp?), Mondavi, Rodney Strong (one of my faves, you can often taste 3-4 price points of the same family of grape for about 5 bucks, for those who want more, try Gary Farrell and get their tour (res req'd), or go to the Alexander valley (Hanna is very good, free tasting). Glacier Peak is good, as well.
We call the windy road (can't remember the name) that ends up hitting lake sonoma the tipsy highway
-Sean
reminds me of the old fishdot.org bit on star wars liquors. Unfortunately it's no more so here's a wayback machine look at it
*Shrug*
e.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
The real question is whether Lucas will CG his wine into the Mos Eiesly scene for the Star Wars DVD release...;)
Here's what I do: Bitty Browser & Andromeda
This photo shows "Lake Ewok" and to the right of it the Technical Building (where Skywalker Sound is). Between the two and down a little is where most of the vines are, and to the right of the tech building there are vines as well. It's an old picture so these changes aren't reflected in it.
And no, we didn't sneak in. In fact I don't think it's possible to sneak in. Anyways, I was there to visit family; doing the sound for a movie at SS.
You don't drink wine, do you? Its VERY easy to screw up wine. If they really wanted a challenge they should try vodka. Very difficult to screw up.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
C3 Pinot Grigio
Chewbaca Sauvignon
CharddoR2D2
Darth Shiraz
Boba Zinfandel
Jar Jar Blanc De Blanc
and their motto...
I will drink no wine until the force is with me
You aren't free to do anything, until you've lost everything.
Coppola has a pretty big vineyard. Actually, I'm kind of partial to their wines.
Pretty good stuff.
"Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
Make that Geyser peak....
-Sean
I remember the face of George Lucas as a kid. He had brown hair, clean shave, and modest frame. I remember the face of Orson Welles. He sported dark hair, clean shave, and had an average build.
/. article, "Coppola and Lucas have made wine together for about 12 years, but the 2002 vintage is their first commercial release". In the 1970s, Welles became synonymous with Paul Masson wine commercials, and his famous line was, "We will sell no wine before its time."
The early work of George Lucas as a writer, director, and film maker were praised and won acclaim. His later projects were an effort to finish prior ones, and they received less than favorable reviews. The beginnings of Orson Welles career in film and literary works were groundbreaking, and legendary. After some time, he too resumed his film career. In his later work, ambitous films were unfinished, and others, never met expectations.
In his prime, George Lucas is a silver fox with matching beard and tips the scale in weight. In his twilight, Orson Welles had white hair, sporty white beard, and carried a spare tire around his waist.
From the
I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
--Kelso
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
You can buy the wine from here. Limit two bottles per customer.
In fact, a large proportion (if not most) of the vineyards in California don't produce their own wine - their grapes are sold to various other producers for inclusion in those wines.
I'd hesitate, though, to say that the after-harvest method is more important than good grapes from a good area (for those grapes). While the same grapes, given to different vintners, can produce radically different wines, the quality of the raw material determines the baseline quality of the wine.
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
Skywalker wine - the only wine that will have more unopened bottles in star-trek collections than will have been drunk. Maybe luke's down on cash and hes trying to milk the fans for anything he can sell.. Hm speaking of milk, maybe he could...
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
Personally, I've always been fond of "It's Walky's" interpretation of why Lucas movies has sucked more and more over time.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
No, that's how you see yourself.
You were a punk-rock poseur then, now you've moved on to being a wine poseur. The next move? I'm guessing a pompous, self-styled jazz expert with a mornicaly overpriced turntable.
On behalf of everyone on the planet who will be subjected to your dull, self-indulgent bullshit: fuck you.
You'd have to find a writer and director on that ranch left who could make a good Star Wars movie first. If the Pinot Noir is anything like Episode 1, you can just make mine a Guinness, thanks.
Freedom wines, er sorry, French wines, are still undoubtedly the best. Don't believe me? Buy some in France. Don't confuse the stuff the French export as wine with the real stuff - the export is just the horrid crap they fob off on foreigners. But if you actually go to a shop in France[0], especially one of the caveaus in Nuits St. Georges or any village in a good wine producing region, you will find some top wine at pretty reasonable prices. Of course, you can pay through the nose for the excellent crus, but you can do that anywhere; the point is, even the 3 euros[1] table wine from the supermarket actually tastes good.
;-)
But the main thing in their favour is that, apparently unlike almost everywhere else, the French haven't forgotten how to make subtle wines.
[0] No, I don't mean "EastEnders" in Calais. That barely counts as France
[1] Damn. Why has my keyboard stopped producing euro signs...
"'I pass the test,' she said. 'I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.'"
- JRR Tolkien.
A large proportion of the wine industry is built on "rich guys" who want a hobby vineyard to play with. Some of them actually make marketable wine: some make outstanding wine (because they can afford the consultants to organise the viticulture and the subsequent winemaking). The most famous example in napa valley (CA) is Francis Ford Coppola.
Oh dear. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before we're all drinking Chateau Neverland...
...Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Churchill
I wrote to my Reps and was told that they want to make it so that children are able to order alcohol on the internet. Because you know children couldn't wait to order fine wines.
Oh, and I can order on-line from in-state wineries, which makes the explanation moot and clear at the same time.
These laws need to change.
Oops, make that "they want to make it so that children aren't able to order alcohol on the internet."
...I bet they can make one more!
Happy Trails!
Erick
http://www.busyweather.com/
...his place was supposed to set a higher tone ..
The insult and injuries inflicted by episodes I & II run deep.
This is but meager payback.
Mostly it is to broaden one's horizons and to be able to converse intelligently about the topic.
Your Boss: Ah, this 1952 Chateau Margaux is absolutely delicious. The tannins have really mellowed and the cassis notes have become very prominent. What do you think?
You: I don't like wine. I like Bud Light, though.
Your Boss: (thinking) No promotion for you, dumbass.
Clikey...
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
Don't let Paramount Studios find out.
The two most influencing factors in a good wine are:
#1- the ingredients (grapes)
#2- the process
Coppola and crew may have the process to make good wine. A good vintner can even salvage a bit from questionable grapes through solid process. But there's very little you can do to help the final product if conditions aren't ideal for the vines (which is very likely to include this section of Marin). There's a reason why certain areas, like Napa and Sonoma, demand such high land prices. They produce consistant high quality grapes. Sure, Marin may have an occasional good year- but the typical vintner can't just toss their harvest for the year after a unfortunate change in weather. (not a problem for Lucas!)
With the way wine prices have dropped this past decade, you can get an exceptional bottle for well under the price Lucas/Coppola are asking. Stick to areas known to product good grapes. And help the little guys who are (trying to) make a living making wine because they love it- not some guy who kept it "on the back burner" for years before bringing in the big guns to make it for him.
I'm sure this will be misinterpreted as flamebait, but so be it. I'm so fucking fed up with this snotty attitude.
If you don't like the fucking films don't post about them! Pretend they don't exist or something. Nobody is forcing you to go see them. Nobody is forcing you to acknowledge their existence. What is with this incessant need for certain so-called fans to use every opportunity to whine and bitch about films that are primarily intended as fun and eye-candy, not high art. Fercrissake, get your life in order and maybe this might not seem like such an issue. Whether you accept it or not, Ep. 1 & 2 were every bit as good as 4, 5 & 6. We just don't have the gloss of nostalgia to help us ignore the warts of the latter.
Either leave the films alone to those of us who can get over that and enjoy them for what they are or just shut up about it. "WAAAHHH... I don't like these films so I have to chuck out a load of horseshit whining every time someone mentions it." Christ! Message received, okay? Move on.
--Rick "If it isn't broken, take it apart and find out why."
Actually, the article might have it wrong.
I have a bottle of Skywalker Chardonnay from 2000. When I worked at LucasArts, I inquired about obtaining a bottle and was told it was impossible; that George keeps it for special occasions only.
Just to show my colleagues that I don't like being told things can't be done, I pulled a few strings and got a bottle from an undisclosed source.
I don't know about the "Viandante del Cielo", but I'm fairly certain my bottle's label is Cielo Caminante.
Jory
Yes, in fact, the wine is being released by Coppola. Moreover, Coppola has been making wines with Lucas's grapes (for private consumption and gifts) for a number of years.
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
but what I want to know is if Greedo harvests the grapes FIRST?
Or maybe he will in the Special Editions...
"Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
Man walks into liquor store and heads for the Italian section. Clerk in robe comes over.
Clerk: These are not the wines you're looking for.
Man: These are not the wines I'm looking for?
Clerk: (offering Lucas Wine bottle) This is a much better purchase.
Man: This is a much better purchase!
Clerk: Move along.
Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.
I can already see a review of tie-in Phantom Menace wine, with its annoying character and just a hint of midichlorians.
A subsequent Attack Of The Clones wine would probably try to invoke the passions a bit more, but that, like Hayden Christensen's acting, will probably end up wooden and stale, and a bit on the nose.
Of course, they both lack the complexities of previous vintages, and both are acetic enough not to age well...
Attack its weak point for massive damage!
I'm not even a linux geek (Mac OS X guy with some BSD on whiteboxes) but even I read the headline thinking "SWEET! Skywalker Ranch made their own ultra-badass super stable and highly useful in-house version of WINE and they're open-sourcing it!"
:(
Fucking actual wine. I LOVE wine. Don't get me wrong. But it woulda been cooler if they unleashed a seriously reliable way to run Windows binaries on linux.
If you bother to go to the wine country of northern California, I suggest going through Sonoma rather than Napa. Napa has some good wines, but it's very touristy. Sonoma has great wines and is fairly quiet, off the beaten path.
A good book to read is "A Tale of Two Valleys." The author talks about how several interesting characters in the Sonoma valley fought to avoid becoming like Napa. A pretty interesting read for those into the people behind the wines.
-- Fugacity: Confusing chemists since 1908
Every time they press the grapes, they throw in Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fischer, and ten tons of garbage.
---- "If we have to go on with these damned quantum jumps, then I'm sorry that I ever got involved" - Erwin Schrodinger
IIRC, the wines that taste at their best many years after bottling are mainly red wines made from Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
No, it's men who engage in anal sex with other men that are homos. I thought pretty much everytone knew that?
That was classic intercourse!
They make any good beers?
Insults? Injuries? You make it sound like he owed you something. Like you were entitled.
I don't think so. When you go to the theater, or some other form of public entertainment, you are now owed anything. You take your chances like everyone else - if you happen to like it, fine. If not, no problem. But get over this apparent sense of entitlement or you're bound to be disappointed.
Look, I'm as disappointed as anyone else by Episodes I & II (moreso, I saw the originals when they were released), but attack the man's filmmaking, not his other ventures. At least you people saw the movies. How many of you have tasted the wine? I haven't - I'll reserve my judgement until I do.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
Ridge's ridge is NOT an unlikely spot to grow good wine. It's antedates Napa and Sonoma in terms of fine wine production. Long before Silicon Valley ever came to be great wines were being made up in them thar hills.
Stephanie says / she wants to know / why she's given half her life to / people she hates now.
I didn't mean me. I could care less. I was responding to the comments of others in this thread.
I've certainly just tasted the whine....
So I'm reminded of a joke that my wife's co-worker told her:
;-)
Q: How do you make a small fortune in the wine business?
A: Start with a large fortune and start a winery
The woman had some credentials to get away with the joke; her family owns a medium-sized winery in either Napa or Sonoma, CA... been too long, can't quite remember. Or maybe the wine has killed those brain cells.
- Leo
You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right.
Interesting... Frank Herbert also produced his own wines.
-- SKYKING, SKYKING, DO NOT ANSWER.
.....what does it wine about?
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Don't expect Lucas to welcome you onto his ranch.
Show up with a Dark Maul outfit.
Sig it.
when "Skywalker Ranch" and George Lucas was mentioned in relation to wine was _Boone's Farm_. This series of "wines" just seems the closest approximation to a wine I would expect from Lucas via a "Skywalker Ranch". Sugary, sweet, childish, not appropriate for mature adults. Yep, just like most of the Star Wars movies since the first one.
Skywalker Ranch Special Childish Reserve Apple Wine.
In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq as they increasingly merge the two in America.
His vineyards have belonged to his family for generations. In order to finish Apcolypse Now he had to use the vineyards as collateral for his loans. If AN flopped the vineyards would have been the bank's and Coppola would have been screwed.
AN Redux was the movie Coppola wanted to make but he was too afraid he wouldn't make enough money with that version so the "orignal" version was released instead.
Hollow words will burn and hollow men will burn.
And as long as you're out there and in a wine-tasting mood, may I recommend Monterey County. (Disclaimer: I'm from there, so I may be biased.) There are some really wonderful wines there: Smith & Hook, Flint, Chalone and Paraiso are some I can recommend. Plus, it's a lot less crowded than Napa and many vineyards still let you taste for free.
Your fantasies contain the seeds of important concepts.