Post No. 3001

The last one of these stupid things, I promise. Although, super interesting to see what I was doing a hundred ago ...

January 1, 2014, check it out. In Madrid, with the homies, sleeping off the New Year's hangover. Good times. So much excitement at finishing the first term of the MBA, finally out with friends to do a bit of travelling, spending the holidays in Europe ... so where did that excitement go? Somewhere, dormant, under the heaviness of the job hunt. Everyone's saying don't worry, it's just a process, you'll find something. I KNOW. It doesn't make it any better, nor does it help to hear it over and over again. I'll figure something out, something great will come along, I always manage - just please, leave me alone.

Good. Chin up. What are my expectations, moving forward? I want to keep LCF going, even if it's just me reading, which it most likely is. But if you're here, many thanks dear reader. Will I find a job in wine & spirits, trade or otherwise? Jury's still out on that one. I know what I offer, the value I bring - nay create -  for a firm. I'm not industry-specific because the principles of marketing are completely transferable. Good marketing, like all things, are based on good fundamentals. And I has it. 

Here, you see my pride and glory - I'm a published business case author! Oliver Conti - A Dream With a Glow, the story of a little family owned winery in the north of Catalunya, producing wines of great style and character. And yet they struggle - with nature, with the market. So what do we do? Call it a day, wipe your hands clean of the mess? Of course not. You (I) find a way, think, put that 150K€ education to use. And then we find a way.

The last one of these stupid things, I promise ...

DF

Post No. 2901

Ha ha, fantastic ... 100 of these ago, I didn't even have my student visa to Spain settled. And now look at me. New Years was fantastic, photos later. Things are closed in Madrid today, so staying in and, well, drinking. So much drinking. I could say a lot of things of the things that've happened in the last 5 months or so, but all I want to say in my currently half-drunk state is this: I've never been happier, I've never been more motivated, and I've been more in control of my life. Full throttle for the next 100.

DF

Post No. 2801

We give up what we want when we want power; believe me. Now, you want to show me you have the heart to be king, show me you can control it. Wrestle it to the ground, numb it with ice.

- Silas Benjamin, Kings

Heart and sacrifice for what we want. Easier said than done. I have all the desire to be successful, to create a good future for myself and my family - but that's the easy part. Do I have the determination, the willpower to do what it takes to make it happen? Am I made of the right stuff, that stuff of warriors and heroes? Insecurity can be as constant of a companion as death. All questions in my head, so to answer the question 'Are you excited for Spain?', I'd answer leave me the fuck alone, I'm in way over my head. 

My last day of work was this Friday. Finished up a final report, and left the office, alone. Quiet, with dignity. I can't believe it's been nearly 5 years - like it was all a blur. 

Six months ago, it was just the new year, I had just submitted my applications to U.S. business schools, and I thought all I had to do was wait. What a fucking doorknob I was. Of course, my plan for New York crashed and burned, spectacularly, and well, you get real with yourself. And amidst all the agonizing about my plans professionally, my personal life was neglected. Am I regretful? Yes, I do feel apologetic about how things went down. It's never fun when your relationship ends, no matter the situation. I'm not good with these things - I don't know how to act. So with all the stumbling and bumbling, you try to follow your moral compass and do your best. 

I've been drinking heavily. Heavier than usual, if only because for the past few months, cocktails have been an obsession. Gin, rum, and bourbon cocktails. Having lots of fun learning the classics, buying Japanese barware from Cocktail Kingdom, experimenting with all kinds of ice. Is it troubling that I can shake off a morning hangover with nothing more than a glass of water and a good piss? 

By the time we get to twenty-nine hundred, I will be in Barcelona. I'm still in the process of sorting out my student visa, but I'm hopeful the process will be smooth. Then, nothing more than settling affairs here, and spending the remaining weeks I have with friends. I'm not particularly a reflective person, but I am excited for the simple fact that I feel in control of my life. I'm alone - utterly and completely alone - but I feel in control. We give up what we want when we want power ... it's just sometimes so damn hard.

DF

Post No. 2701

Despite our occasional buffoonery, the boys and I often have serious conversations. Mostly on milestones and future goals about career - for some of us, engagements and marriage as well. Getting old(er) is a terrible thing, what with the added pressures, expectations, and responsibilities. But that's just life isn't it ... no complaints. We all have a fair shake at it, more or less. So with the new year, for the first time, I'm laying down some things I want to accomplish. My path is clear. As my friend said, sometimes it's more useful to write down goals checklist style, being specific and framing them as tasks. An approach that I'm going to have a go at. Yes, as in actually getting a list down in writing, something I've never done before. 

Twenty-seven hundred is a lot. A lot of rubbish, mostly, but occasionally something worth a read? You, dear reader, can be the judge of that. I've got optimism for this year - warmed up and ready to sub into the game, coach! Things are still very much in transition, and just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place, in school and other things. Over the course of 5+ years writing here, I've grown up a lot. My writing has certainly changed, but so has my palate. I have a much better understanding of the wines I like, and how to approach tasting and evaluating wine. And that's just from experience and a lot - a lot - of drinking. So for this year, what do I want to accomplish in wine? That same friend also encouraged me to think big about wine as a career. A significant part of my business school applications was on entrepreneurship, and my visions about the kind of wine business I want to run. Now, those ideas may all take years to develop, if at all, but yes, I need to dream big, and keep refining and building my ideas. 

Lots of work to be done. Who's with me :)

DF

Post No. 2601

I've been thinking some serious truth lately. A lot of things seem to be suddenly going on at once - kind of overwhelming, actually! I'm still working on my business school applications, and no, still don't have a shortlist of schools I want to apply to. But it's all good. I'm getting there.

I've been drinking a lot! These past 10 weeks or so have been bottle after bottle of things I've pulled out of the cellar, things I've been holding onto for a while - it's been pretty great, because I'm sure after they're all gone, I won't have another opportunity (at least for the next 2-3 years) to drink like this again. Something about being serious about getting my shit together. Now, speaking of growing up . . .

Mothers are the best. They nurture you, they support you unconditionally, they know exactly how to cheer you up when you feel like tying a noose around your neck; they happily cook all your favourite foods for you, they always tell you great job, you're the best! even for the most trivial, inconsequential things, and they'll never, ever kick you out of the house. Those are the best mothers, and I have one of them.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are mothers who fancy themselves puppetmasters. They obsessively have to control everything and everyone, focusing the most attention on their own children. Just hovering, hovering, hovering. They have to micromanage every facet of their children's lives, because shit, they know best. Well, you don't. And for the dopes who let their parents run their lives - you deserve it if you end up spineless, clueless, and dependant on others to make decisions for you. Grow up. Overbearing parents: you're ruining your child's life. Pretty soon, they're going to be 40 and realize they don't know how to do a single fucking thing on their own.

Raging over.

I need to stop drinking so much water before I go to sleep. I keep having strange dreams in the early morning, and frequently jolt awake. And when it's time to actually get up for work, I feel like death. Maybe that's why I'm prone to grumpiness lately. And we all know winos aren't supposed to be grumpy . . .

DF

Post No. 2501

So the holidays came and went, and things kind of suck again. End of December used to be a happy time, but who knows now. We drank a lot. I drank a lot. Some people might think of it as a problem, but really, if I don't drink, what else am I going to do with my money?

It's interesting - the last 2 years now, I've focused more and more on drinking more Italian wines. Barolo, any chance I can get. Really interesting whites too, like arneis and pecorino. For this year's holidays, I was forced to slash and hack wine spending with a machete, so Barolo and Barberesco were out of the question. I've always had a tricky relationship with Chianti. I want to like sangiovese, I really do. When it's done right, traditional sangiovese wines are utterly beautiful, noble expressions of something true and authentic. What's been happening (still!) is the continued bastardization of these wines, with over-extraction and over-zealous oak use. But surprise, surprise . . . most of the Chianti's we tasted the past few months have been fabulous. Delicious, with lots of character.

My mother was in Shanghai and Tokyo for nearly 7 weeks. It's been a bit rough, for everyone. But she's back now, so the house is slowly regaining some normalcy. And I can finally focus - I mean really focus - on studying for my GMAT. It's a big commitment, and to say that I underestimated the challenge would be putting it kindly.

I have no fucking clue what I'm doing.

Halfway through the first book, on basic number properties - what an integer is, what even/odd numbers are, BEDMAS rules . . . I'm just bombing each practice question. And it's not even that I'm not trying hard, I just don't know how to do this anymore. I'm so freaked out of my mind I keep snapping my pencils; now I don't have anymore pencils and I'm still getting wrong answers. A rage comic feels oddly appropriate right now, if my life didn't depend on getting a high score.

So we drink, and then drink some more. A few rieslings lined up, some old. Funny - I had planned to eat and drink all these amazing things over the holidays. All seafood. Oysters and shellfish, abalone and sea cucumber. We did manage to do most of that, at least for one evening. But sadly, we missed two items.

There were the old wines I had planned. A vintage (grower) Champagne, and a (half) bottle of 1997 Suduiraut. And of course, the most amazing, live geoduck. We've got a few more weeks left before spring - we can still make the geoduck happen. As for the wine - they've both made it so far, what's a few more months?

What's next, David, what's next? I've been getting that more from friends recently. I don't know what's next. For once, maybe someone else can do all the work and I just show up?

DF

Post No. 2401

I have this horrible feeling that my life is going nowhere. Wheels are spinning a bit; lots of smoke, little action. We're in the shit right now, in a big way. I'm becoming more prone to lashing out. Maybe punching something (or someone) might not be a bad thing.

Just no energy, for real. All I want to do sometimes is sleep. Not healthy right? And the thing that's suffered the most is the drinking. Look at some of the wines I had on the table last year. All winners. 2005 Barolo, old vintage Ports, some Burgundy. And I was beginning to put together a stash of bottles for the holidays. Now I'm getting depressed. So before I get too ridiculously self-loathing, that's where things are at the moment. Oh yeah, and the NBA lockout is still raging on with no end in sight.

It's been a rough autumn so far. Weather's been ok. Just bored. I haven't been punctual in writing lately, and I'm thinking of abandoning this one piece a day schedule. I've been prepping wines for holiday drinking. Cheaper bottles, yes, and so far no heavy hitters (Barolo, Burgundy, Bordeaux). I don't know why, but I haven't had my friends over for dinner in many many months now. Working on it. 2400 in, still have no clue what I'm doing.

DF

Post No. 2301

Kind of just had the dinner of my life.

So my aunt and cousin arrived from Tokyo this past Wednesday. Kind of taking it easy because I had a deadline at work and needed to stay focused. But tonight was the night I've been preparing for, for the past 5 weeks. We were going to cook and eat one of the most epic ingredients I've ever had the opportunity to work with - A5 grade wagyu beef, from cattle grown in Hokkaido. Two cuts, both striploin. The greatest beef of my life, and so happy I could share a great evening with friends. More details and photos of all the epicness to follow, of course.

Working on some things. Hopefully, I'll get my shit together and organize a tasting that'll actually make the whole wine/social media thing work. My guests are staying until the end of the month, and the focus this visit is just on eating and drinking and enjoying the summer. My cousin kind of wants to see how we get down in Toronto, bar-wise, so I guess I'll have to round up some hoes and take him drinking. Just kidding. Or am I?

Is this more leisurely pace (relatively) of posting working for you guys? Cheers to 2300!

DF

Post No. 2201 - Back from Paris

I'm back.

It's been two weeks of intense culture shock, but I'm back from Paris with a renewed appreciation and understanding of the French. What a gloriously civilized people. I've experienced so many new things . . . it's going to take a while to process everything, but hopefully I'll be able to articulate it all in words and photos. Many thanks to all the wonderful people I met in Paris and Reims. If you ever visit Canada, you'll always have a friend here.

À la prochaine!

DF

Post No. 2110

A little behind schedule for this one, but didn't want to break up my UGC Bordeaux notes. And here we are. My winter depression is setting in - I've been budgeting since the holidays. Sucks. But still having fun on Friday nights.

Our New Year is coming up. Besides the usual rounds of calls to family back in Shanghai and Tokyo, some important meals to prepare for. New Year's Eve with the family, as per Shanghainese tradition, while Saturday night will be spent with family friends. Going to get drunk out of my mind. What to drink with these meals? Chinese spirits, of course.

I'm setting down a more regular schedule for writing this year. Daily, yes, but only if it's worth writing. We'll see how it goes. Let's work on being a better trader. Counting on my TFSA account to fund a new Nikon lens, trips to wagg, and wine.

DF

Post No. 2001

Yes, at 2000 posts.

It's like I'm trapped in a speeding car with shot brakes. It's beginning to snow outside, end of the year coming very, very soon. And with it, the usual worry lines about whether I'll have enough wine to drink over the holidays. Every year, I try to drink more wine than I did before. Looking at how much wine I have at home, I won't have enough to beat 2009's mark. Budgeting? Not a chance.

You know when you look back at your writing from years ago, that feeling of stupidity about it all? Last night, I looked back at my pieces from 2007, 2008 . . . sheer stupidity. The writing was so clumsy, so vapid, so boring. Most of it was due to this utter idiocy of trying to write 100 posts a month - the other reasons, too arrogant to admit. But I'm working on it.

Always on the search for new ways to write about wine, on new ways to experience and taste it. A highlight of the past 2000 has definitely been my trips to Niagara - please look on the left, and click on the Niagara tags. Another highlight, the tastings I've attended. Learning and absorbing as much information as I can, to continue developing my understanding of wine and cuisine, and being able to communicate my experiences - that's the focus of my next thousand.

And now . . . let us drink.

DF

Post No. 1901

Oh boy. Nineteen hundred pieces later, and I'm no closer to gaining an understanding of wine as when I began.

I never know quite what to write for these retrospective pieces. The writing has certainly been prolific - no one writes so many in such a short period of time - the question is, is any of it meaningful? Who knows. Since this is a retrospective, I've got to . . . I guess reflect a bit. Certainly after the events of the past few weeks, I should be looking at what exactly I'm trying to accomplish here.

I've been hearing it from all ends, from everyone, everywhere - but I just don't understand the interest in why I remain single. Is it so hard to comprehend that I don't want to commit to any random girl that flashes a smile? No, right? And the fact that, yeah, maybe the idea of a serious relationship is completely unappealing to me now? I guess I just don't have many good role models. I've seen too many of my friends being owned by their girls to the point of, yes, servitude, and no thanks, I'm not hankering to be anyone's bitch. So there you go, DF is single because he refuses to settle.

Moving on, please. Next time I hear someone ask me about it, I'm going to lose it.

Heading into fall - apparently the Niagara harvest has begun already. It's certainly been a hot, relatively dry summer . . . dreams of 2007 again? We'll see, around October, on my next fact finding trip down.

I guess I'm just a sucker for a good wine and pretty women.

DF

Post No. 1801

Summer's here, in a big way. If you thought 2007 was going to be a blockbuster vintage for Niagara, wait for 2010. Warm winter, early budbreak, sudden and dramatic heatwaves? All the elements to make big wines.

At almost 3 years in and 1800 posts of La Cave de Fang, it's time for some change. No more blind writing - a photo (good, preferably) and story with each one. Getting into the habit of bringing my camera everywhere, skin thickening as I shamelessly get into random people's faces to get a shot. Yeah, I'm turning into that guy. Running around downtown shooting the G20 protests was harrowing, but a life-changing experience. And since we need to enjoy this weather for the few months we get it, trying to head downtown more. So, here's to more eating, more drinking, and more making merry!

DF

Post No. 1701

After 1700 posts, I assure you, this is still a wine blog. But clearly, over the past 6 weeks, I've been writing on anything but wine. It's ok - I need a break from that stuff. I figure I should drink more wine instead of writing about it. Some interesting bottles, some great beers, and a fantastic trip to Niagara I made in early May, coming soon.

Finishing these sets of photos, soon. It was an interesting trip back, the photos don't express nearly enough. Photographically speaking, lots of technical issues I still have to work on, still lots of practice needed. But this was my first major trip with my D90, and I certainly was braver in angling for shots than before. Continual improvement is the key. Please bear with me, lots of wine, and beer, and food to talk about, soon!

DF

Post No. 1601

Today's notable, for many things. For one, it's my 20th anniversary of landing in Toronto. Yes, on May 7, 1990, I was but a 4 year old, immigrating to Canada. How appropriate, that we pass this milestone after such an incredible trip back to the Motherland. Glad that I was able to celebrate with friends, dinner at the Drake Hotel, a beautiful skirt steak and fries. Satisfying, all around.

Yes, so I'm still sorting out my Shanghai photos. Lots of stories to share, lots of great experiences. Over the next month or so, I'll be steadily pushing those pieces out. A life-changing experience? I don't know about that. But I certainly saw, heard, and tasted many, many new things.

One thing that still grinds on me - I have yet to celebrate my 24th birthday. Going up to Niagara next weekend...maybe that'll make up for it.

DF

Post No. 1501

Toronto's winter this year hasn't been all that bad now, has it? I supposed that's why I've renewed an interest in white wines, white Burgundy and riesling in particular. Starting to pick up a bit, calendar is starting to look a bit more interesting. Trying to take the photography more seriously. It's overwhelming, starting a new hobby. But fun.

Spring almost here!

DF

Post No. 1401

So winter's kind of slinking along, with no end in sight. We've gotten virtually no snow this year, which makes it all the more incredible how salty the roads and my car remains. Why salt if there is no snow or ice? Huh? I thought we were supposed to be more environmentally conscious? What happened to that? You know, living in a socialist state and all, I expect greater things from my government.

Exciting start to the new year. You have to find things to be excited about, no? Even if things are still kind of shitty. You know the crazy single old man who lives with 5 animals in a dinky apartment? I might turn out like that, substituting the dogs with wine. Not a good look. But there was the UGC Bordeaux Tasting - please take a look. And for some reason, I've been on an online buying tear. Loading up on camera equipment. And I just bought 2 packs of rechargeable batteries. Will the quality of the photos improve here? You tell me.

Trying to keep things interesting, mes amis. I try my best to keep you entertained. Really, it takes a special kind of dumbass to write 100 posts a month.

DF

Post No. 1301

Let's be honest, yes? 2009 was, at best, underwhelming. You wonder why I've been writing so much? I needed some distraction. And my ego needed to be sated. But at least I drank a lot of wine, and tuned my palate to where it's supposed to be.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year's. Did you hear? I was stone cold sober for both nights. The irony, that the wine blogger is the only one not touching a single drink the entire night. Things will get better next year. I hope so. At least I didn't spend the night alone.

Alright. There's at least a few things worth looking forward to. UGC tasting in late January, Niagara trip, and of course, summer's coming!

DF

Post No. 1201

October was spectacular, for me at least. An eventful trip to Niagara, a few dinners, a few wines...simple things make me happy. Already planning my next trip down to Niagara, to take a look at the rest of the 2008's being released.

There's no way around it - these posts are self-congratulatory and are more to satisfy my ego. But really, who pumps out 2-3 posts daily? 1200 posts deserves a little recognition. Hope y'all have enjoyed the past two months. If you haven't already, take a look at my October Niagara trip. Or the 10-course dinner I hosted.

December should be a fun month. Always fun to get to the holidays. Also, a new project we've been preparing to unveil. I suppose now is when I should be asking if there's anything I can improve on, and what you'd like to see on the blog.

DF

Post No. 1101

These last 100 have been good to me. Especially October. This has been a good month, and there's still many good things lined up. I've been drinking a lot recently, which is great for the palate, and the spirit. Winter's approaching, but somehow I feel optimistic about things. Of course, the trip to Niagara to inspect the vineyards at harvest was exceptionally exciting.

Christmas is going to be here soon. Before we know it, it'll be snowing and blowing. The season for entertaining is approaching, which only means more food, more wine. Let's start with this weekend. The massively epic dinner I've been planning will be executed to perfection.

Let's get to it.

DF