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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
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.
Now I know what Lucas was drinking when he created Jar-Jar.
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
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.
"You can grow this shit, George, but you sure can't drink it."
Obviously a strongly wooden taste. Maybe we should blame the casking director.
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.
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 -
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.
"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.
Yeah, any wine drinkers out there (the refined type, not you cheapo drunk bastards)? Can a wine lack body and character development while also being pretentious?
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 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.
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
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
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
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!"
A quick Google says that it depends on the fish... generally sticking with Light wines is traditional, but some fish are met with fuller power with the Dark Side of the Wine.
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.
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
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?"
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
He was hired to play Mannequin Skywalker...
I've never been able to aquire a taste for wine except those sweet white wines. How does one go about and aquire a taste for it without going to tasting parties?
FWIW, you don't need to acquire a taste for wine. The rewards are not commensurate with the effort required. If you like a certain type of alcoholic beverage, drink it and enjoy. Experiment and try new things, but why bother trying to develop a taste for something? It takes a lot of effort to develop a taste for wine, and the only result is that you still get drunk, but you can act snooty while you do it. I had several friends who worked at a winery who forced me to develop a taste for wine, but I still prefer a Guinness. And once you start drinking wine strictly for the sake of drinking wine, there will always be someone else there who has some opinion about the wine you like, and why it's not as good as another wine.
I encourage you to try wine, but if you don't enjoy it, and have to work to develop a taste for it, it's not worth the effort. Stick with the Guinness.
I now relinquish the soapbox.
"I planned within my means and got a fixed rate mortgage, so where's MY bailout?" -cafepress
[Surely GF is one of the best adventure games of all time. I think it will actually run under ScummVM, but haven't tried that yet.]
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
Sounds like you are describing the last couple of years of Bordeaux... I think a 2000 Pomerol would fit your requirements quite nicely.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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?)
The Bordeaux 2000 vintage is acutally one of the top vintages in the last 50 years (if you believe the critics) and is being compared to the '82 and '61 vintages in regards to quality and longevity.
Overall, Bordeaux 2000 will probably be better only because the breadth of wines that will be very good (a rising tide lifts all boats). I haven't had a chance to try many of them, but what I've tasted has been very good. Of course, many consider wine drinkers to be pretentious in their use of language and rabid critiquing, but I think you'll find that common in any facet of life that people are intensely interested in or receive income from. Francis Coppola makes very good wines, from his sub-$10 Rosso to his flagship Rubicon, so Spielberg is, at the least, in good company.
Here's Wine Spectator's look at Bordeaux 2000
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.
Because Sun Drop has more caffeine, costs less, and has that same refreshing lemon-battery acid flavor?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").