To all,
I requested to the admin to delete this thread. I was an invited guest to a very generous event and it was my place to start a thread like this. My better half put some sense to me.
Regards,
Kevin
Given the other details that have come out about this auction, I think it may be important for us as a community to consider how promotional events like this play a part in the overall picture of what’s going on here.
I don’t see how Kevins experience and the wines being auctioned are related. This is really about the unnamed restaurant.
Not Kevin’s fault - just an observation on my part that it may behoove us in this community to be alert to the ways that we may be put unwittingly into roles we hadn’t realized.
Tainted glasses in restaurants happen a lot . But in my experience , it can be resolved by pooring the wine in a non-compromised glass . Did you try this , Kevin ? Or was it too late ?
Because of this problem , I always tell the sommelier to use the same glass for a new bottle , even if it is a different wine ( same color ). For some reason , it is custom to give a new glass with every new bottle served .
And at our wine club , we bring our OWN glasses . I realize this could not be done here , but Kevin’s experience is by no means unusual , it happens all the time .
I am not so sure it is detergent . At one of my favorite 3-star restaurants ( Oud-Sluis ) , I encountered the same problem . The sommelier admitted the problem and could not understand how this could happen . They wash all their wine glasses in a special machine with high steam and very hot water , no detergents are involved . But the glass smelded like it came out of the washing machine .
At most restaurants I’m familiar with, the glasses are polished by bus crew. If the cloth napkins they use were used on plates or other dishwashed items, the napkins themselves could be tainted. They typically use the same napkins to polish everything. With my previous employer, I urged them to purchase lint free towels to be used exclusively on our stems. We never had a problem.
Ah ha! So my post above was right after all.
Don’t discount NYC water and the things in it. Seriously. Maybe too much chlorine that week. It’s a long way from the Hudson.
Kevin,
Help me understand this. As you say, you were hosted by Spectrum. I assume the word “generously” means you did not pay for this dinner? On its face, your original post is odd because it would seem that Spectrum is responsible for what is good for you in your post (many excellent wines and a good dinner). You put their name in the title. OTOH, the restaurant would seem to be responsible for your soapy glasses, but you refuse to name them. They were not the ones who were generous to you, I assume.
So I think your wife was partially right that your OP is calling attention to soapy glasses and Spectrum, whereas it wasn’t Spectrum’s fault. Why not delete Spectrum and name the restaurant?
Of course, the recently posted concerns about a Spectrum wine auction do complicate the story, so I do not believe the mods should delete this thread at this time.
I assume you’re joking? NYC water is among the best, and it comes from upstate reservoirs, not the Hudson.
Ken,
Spectrum generously poured the wines and covered the dinner. My logic, albeit highsight a terrible one, was that the fault lies with the restaurant. I am quite confident that the wines were correct. I didn’t think that it would tarnish the reputation of spectrum. I was wrong. I pmed Todd earlier but so far no response.
Yes, Ken, joking. When I was in college in Philadelphia, we had a joke: "flush twice; it’s a long way to the Delaware or Schuykill. I was trying to imply that the NYC water came from some brackish body…but couldn’t think of one quickly…and didn’t think it worth the effort. I know the supply is great…in fact, I 've seen the resevoir at Croton…and another , for the first time this fall, near Bedford. Quite a system. Philadelphia City water can taste like a swimming pool. New York’s…is ok, though…I’d rather have the stuff they were drinking when the Dutch still owned Manhattan than today’s version.
Stuart…I listen to you when you give opinion about wines; and now … should I[scratch.gif] ![[pillow-fight.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/3/365d4ae6de5fe0cd9e7345760c12ceae1ed5e206.gif "[pillow-fight.gif]")
Kevin - you know you can edit the title of the post yourself, yes? That plus edits in the OP should cover it.
A commercial glass washer in any restaurant should not leave chlorine or other smells unless their chemical dispensers are empty, out of adjustment, not cycling and/or polished with a “freshly washed” towel. We’ve had the problem at a couple restaurants where their glasses have a a heavy chlorine or chemical smell, yet it never happened at our store until the sanitizer ran out. We also run our glasses through twice, which is not efficient in a restaurant setting.
If they are hand washing, well, that’s another issue entirely.
Yeah, I’ve peed there myself.
I don’t think you would. At least not from the Hudson. The Hudson is not a river till you get up here to Troy, so you’d be drinking ocean water.
Rick,
I have pmed Todd and requested the thread to be deleted. As I stated it was a mistake to post the thread.
IMO, Kevin’s a stand up guy for his actions after his initial post. He should be applauded.
Happened at a tasting we poured at. About 50 attendees, 10 wineries and two wines per winery. Pours included older vintages of Arcadian Pisoni vineyard and other good stuff. I smelled a few glasses moments before it began and detergent aroma was obvious to me and one other person I mentioned it to. It was a charity event and the restaurant had generously agreed to donate everything. What a dilemma.
Dave
ITB Calicaro Wine
www.calicaro.com