Reflections on a few bottles shared with rockers on the road.
I have a bumpy history when it comes to enjoying wine with musicians performing concerts. The wine drinkers are usually great to hang out with, have fabulous stories, and love a good time, people, food and wine. They are usually generous, often gregarious, and a lot of fun. Like most wine lovers, they like to plan events for their friends, and never skimp on quantity. Perhaps, that is the problem. In any group of entertainers, there are always a few in active recovery, so maybe that is where the math goes wrong, because the amount of wine involved can be mind boggling.
I have been present at a few dinners, where a lot of wine was consumed BEFORE the concert, which seems like a hard-core rock approach, but was not, in hind-sight, a wise approach.
Eat, drink, and then go out and Party with the crowd. It sounds great, but I have seen it go awry. The last time, after several palate-cleansing beers in the afternoon, we opened up a couple of three liter bottles for the eight of us (but two of the band were in their own version of recovery and abstaining from “anything other than marijuana” for the tour). It gets hard to control consumption when the wines are appropriately mature, 100-pointers. A sign of good wine and impending doom, is the uttering of the words “There’s wine left? We can’t leave until the wine is gone.” Blowing off the sound-check for that last glass of wine, is a stop on the road to disaster.
The concert got off to a great start with the band in high spirits, and the crowd really appreciating their energy. Things were clicking, and after the fourth song, the lead guitarist decided to rev it up. Chad decided to do a stage-dive off the four foot stage while still strumming fiercely. No one got in his way, or broke his fall, and Chad’s knee didn’t survive the landing. Sadly, that brought an abrupt end to the concert. (The band in this case was The Gracious Few, an American group featuring guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey from the 90’s best-selling band Live, teaming up with lead vocalist Kevin Martin and guitarist Sean Hennesy from another 90’s giant- Candlebox.)
So, a more sensible approach for slightly older rockers, is to enjoy the wine after the show, when the work is finished. I was lucky enough to share a few wines with the drinking members of Journey after a recent weekend of concert dates, and we opened some great bottles after midnight, that surprised all of us. These guys rest, get ready for the show with some meet and greet events, put on their show, and then think about winding down with wine and food. Funny how things change as we get older!
The Wines:
Read the Alberto Serenelli Afro Marche I.G.T. Barrique 2004 review
Read the Ch. Ausone 2000 Magnum Review
About the Author
John Selman is an Associate Broker, with previous experience as a certified Luxury Agent at Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, and The Agency. John consults with clients, handling the purchase and sales of their homes, dives into the hunt for a great property with the goal of achieving positive equity at close whenever possible, enthusiastically showcases a home for sale to bring out its best features, and truly loves what he gets to do every day.
John moved to Engel & Voelkers to take advantage of their global reach in home and select lifestyle offerings, the experience and professionalism of their management and advisors, and E&V’s superlative marketing and support tools.
Having grown up around the world, he arrived in the Valley from Canada, 35 years ago, renovated central Phoenix properties during college, and is intimate with the best neighborhoods historically, and those now on the rise. John earned his MBA in marketing from Arizona State University, with an undergraduate focus on biology, finance and computer science, and continued to pursue advanced coursework as an executive.
As an e-marketing and sales executive, with stints with IBM and start-ups in San Francisco, Dallas, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Atlanta, New York, La Jolla and LA, his regular relocation home searches provided valuable experiences, both good and bad, and led to his real estate career.
John has practiced and taught the Consulting Sales process to the best sales people in business. A former #1 sales executive at IBM, and an instructor of executive education for IBM, he teaches, practices, and practically breathes the Consulting Sales Process.
John honed his luxury-specific marketing skills, re-positioning and invigorating his gourmet food and wine shop in downtown Malibu, initially as a side business. As a pioneer in email marketing and blogs, he delivered wine advice and sold rare wine across the country to America’s wealthiest collector's and some of the biggest names in entertainment and business.
Running his fine wine boutique, Malibu Village Wines, he consulted with auction houses, and worked with architects, cabinetmakers, contractors, and some of America’s best Realtors designing wine cellars for luxurious estates, and realized that Real Estate was what he wanted to concentrate on in his future.
Expanding with a bar and restaurant, he catered to the needs of some of the world's wealthiest business people and celebrities. Having created a shop that was a social hub for the wine community, built a wine clientele around the world, and co-founded the Wine Classic for ChildHelp charity, John decided it was time to move on from technology, food and wine, and focus on real estate- his other lifestyle passion.
He enthusiastically enjoys, and irreverently writes about homes, food and wine. He is passionate about all three, loves architecture, grapes, cooking, good renovation, old cars and motorcycles, his family, his Bulldog “Rugby”, and most (but not always all) of his friends.
In his rare free time, he coaches paddling sports on Tempe Town Lake, strums a guitar while singing offkey, visits his favorite old ski haunts and complains of aches and pains, avoids anyone carrying a rugby ball or organizing a "tour", travels up and down the coast seeking out great food & wine, looks for water to paddle SUPs or outriggers, and laughs at his dog.
