For The Love Of Port

I only learned of John's passing a couple of days ago, when I was sent an obit by a mutual friend and Madeira lover. I only had the opportunity to meet John once in person. It was December of 2000, and Dorene and I had just disembarked from our flight to the Detroit Airport, where we'd be spending Christmas about 90 miles to the West.

John and I knew one another from the old AOL Wine Message Boards (1995-2000) and from Robin Garr's wineloverspage.com for a few years longer than AOL. So we had arranged a meet at a restaurant that was open at 6 a.m. just a block or two away from the airport itself. It was brutally cold and snowing and (I love that weather!!) and we had a nice breakfast together, and John was there to sell me some old German Rieslings, (1959, 1971, 1976 and 1989 vintages) and I was grateful to pay his asking price as I would never have come across such pristine bottles any other way. All in all, we were together for a little more than an hour maybe ninety minutes in all, and he was soft spoken, calm, wide awake and talkative at that early time, (even earlier for us).

John knew I loved dessert wines and had brought a case worth of mixed Rieslings that we had discussed in advance; all of which were 3* Auslesen, BA, TBA and Eisweins. I believe I still have one or two of those still in the cellar. Anyway, we talked mostly about his trips to Germany and our mutual affection for old Madeiras. Dorene and he shared some stories of working in hospitals and since she was also originally from MI, they knew some of the same places that he worked at.

I am sorry to learn of his passing, only now, a year too late. We traveled in different circles and after his wife Barbara passed and they had been down in Ohio, we had less frequent emails. Here is a copy of the obit I received a few days ago, as some of you may have known him beyond his occasional posts on FTLOP:

http://www.jamiesonandyannucci.com/obit ... io/1808055

May he rest in peace!

Thanks Roy,
I also knew John from way back (Robin Garr site) and counted him as a most generous friend.
Catherine and I actually had dinner with John & Barbara the night before she passed a couple of years back (obviously it was sudden), sharing a range of those unobtainable and auction rarity rieslings.
We were all due to attend a wine event the following afternoon, and although the theme had nothing to do with Riesling, John only ever brought Riesling to wine events (one of his eccentric charms).
Many glasses will be raised in tribute.
Salud.

I knew John pretty well. We went back to the Robin Garr boards. I first met him in person on the Mosel at a fantastic offline that he had set up. Visited him a few times in MI. Unfortunately his health was not great the past few years and he never had a chance to visit out west.

Eric,

So you never did a Mo'Cool in MI? I am not sure what years you were active with Robin's site, but I not only did articles for his site, (as did Allen Meadows) before starting this site just a year or so after Allen began Burghound ... his name on AOL wine boards even before Garr). I also did a LIVE wine chat every Wednesday night, (when I lived in VA back in 1995 when I began and ended in 2002; at a time that worked for East/West coasters, Southern hemisphere folks from Australia and So. Africa as well as Western Europe. It was very strange and in those years, I typed as fastest pace of my entire life. Keeping up with 20 - 30 people was a heck of a challenge and everyone got along so well. Many of my early Port and Madeira articles still reside hidden on his site: "Words About Port".

I remember meeting lots of the Mo' Cool regulars and the founders. I spent a handful of wine dinners around Christmases in MI, with Joel and his wife Sally (Goldberg) who were the founders, (IIRC) and some of the MI winemaker friends of theirs and many Ann Arbor wine guys that migrated here eventually too. Also guys like Lauren from Ohio would drive north to take part. I was very surprised that John never came to any of those dinners. Lots of good memories and oddball domestic wines from OH, OR, MO, VA, WA, NY, MI of course and rarely from CA. Back in those days, my in-laws were still alive and I spent every Christmas in MI from 1999-2011. Fond memories!

You are lucky to have been in Germany with John, the Riesling maestro!

I did attend a couple of Mo'Cools. The last one was in the early 2000's. I also met up with Robin a few days in Northern Italy when he was visiting. You're right, fond memories!