That's it, the one on Platt. It had an unmarked entrance behind a Petco. The owner used to be a cool guy named Steve Ein who ran the thing at a loss because of the legendary Friday night tastings. Steve and I were great friends and used to go to Grateful Dead shows together. When his wife (who was the money) decided that they needed to get out of LA, he sold it to a fellow who worked at the Beverly Hills place you mentioned. He couldn't make a go of it, killed the Friday night parties, and sold it a year or two ago to one of the former party folk.
But in its day, the Box was amazing. You'd get a couple of rich guys arguing about what was a better vintage, '72 or '78, then decide the only way to settle it was to open every DRC Grand Cru from those years. By the end of a typical evening there, the table would be covered with a hundred bottles, all of which were monsters.
If you're familiar with Burghound, this is where he got his start.
But in its day, the Box was amazing. You'd get a couple of rich guys arguing about what was a better vintage, '72 or '78, then decide the only way to settle it was to open every DRC Grand Cru from those years. By the end of a typical evening there, the table would be covered with a hundred bottles, all of which were monsters.
If you're familiar with Burghound, this is where he got his start.
Frank Pepp, the current owner (also a chemist btw), told me the story of someone going on and on to someone who was there about burgundy, at one point asking him "Do you know anything about burgundy?"
It turned out the "someone" was in fact Allen Meadows. The man initially disbelieved him, and Allen had to show him his ID. Talk about sheepish looks...
I've never been active in wine circles to speak of. But I do know of Meadows. And the good folks at WineAccess have gotten me to subscribe to Tanzer's rag now, although unless I start making serious money again I don't know why.
Ah, you know Frank. The Don Rickles of the Wine Box. He would verbally abuse people, then pull out a bottle of something great to share with them, making little Tourette's barking noises the whole time. Allen was still in the banking business then, and surprisingly, the guy with the best Burgundy palate was an attorney that he was close friends with. This guy would just nail wine after wine when given stuff blind. Amazing sensing ability and memory.
There's not much I miss about SoCal, but the Box was a great loss for me.
There's not much I miss about SoCal, but the Box was a great loss for me.
Alan did not get above my 50% threshhold on wine recommendations, burgundy for me remains a crap shoot.
indeed.
so wayne, when do we get to some some internal pics?
mlloyd1
so wayne, when do we get to some some internal pics?
mlloyd1
Now that's more like it (the XP 20, that is)
Well that shut everybody up! '-) For clarity, let me say that I don't mind that people spend their free income on wine or good food. However, I wish that they would not unfairly criticize investments into hi end audio where I design. If I were very wealthy, I too would put more of my income into good food and drink. My friend Jack Bybee certainly does, and I am sure that any of you food and wine hobbyists could make intelligent conversation with him on these topics. For me, I invest my time and money into audio, even if it gets more and more expensive to 'get it right'.
I have the same problem John. The stuff people drink routinely I don't like, I newer knew when to start and when to stop because I did not feel any desire, so had to teach myself to have a habit to "be like others", until finally understood that I don't need that at all. Some stuff can be really tasty, but it is too expensive, and induces dumb state of mind exactly like other cheaper stuff. I don't like t feel dumb, this is one more problem.
I don't think the set of wine and food freaks has a large intersection with the set of anti-hifi bugs. At least I don't know anyone who disparages wine and loves audio, or vice versa. And I do know at least a few who prize both.
I will say that, had I not gotten "hooked" on fine wine at an early age (by the late actor Lawrence Harvey, oddly enough*), I'd have a lot more money now, or a lot more cool stuff, or both. I remember when I started to buy wine, as soon as I could do so legally, and was working my way upwards in price (and not monotonically in quality, although there was a pretty decent correspondence), a certain purveyor of other things (come on, this was 1969) said You know that this has suddenly become, by far, your most expensive habit?
(again the refrain: Those days are gone forever, Over a long time ago, Oh yeah).Brad
* not that Harvey was contributing to the delinquency of a minor. My father did custom audio install work for him in his "spec" houses around the LA area, and periodically Harvey would press a bottle of white burgundy on him, which my dad would bring home and of which I would be allowed a taste. Holy Cow! This is waay better than Almaden
It was said that Harvey bought the entire output of a small estate in France, and had it imported by Vendome for him, with personalized labels. This is probably an exaggeration, although he did drink wine constantly and, predictably, developed liver problems and died from them
I think you are right Brad; search for less disgusting wine is similar to search for less nasty sound reproduction. Like to live sober and to listen live music are similar, but as soon as people got hooked on wine and sound reproduction they want it of more and more high quality, like sober life and live sound.
I think you are right Brad; search for less disgusting wine is similar to search for less nasty sound reproduction. Like to live sober and to listen live music are similar, but as soon as people got hooked on wine and sound reproduction they want it of more and more high quality, like sober life and live sound.
FWIW, I play acoustic instruments (when privacy permits) and attend concerts of acoustic-instrument music. And when the belly protrudes excessively, the easiest way to reduce is to cut out wine. Not only are the specific "empty" calories eliminated, but my appetite is reduced. The downside is that, the last time I did this a bunch of people were convinced that I was dying of some "wasting" disease.
Not on this thread, bcarso. OF COURSE these contributors here who criticize hi end audio like some form of audio reproduction, or they would not be here to post. However, they will spend $100 for a bottle of wine, and think nothing of it, yet if we buy a $10 connector, they laugh at us. or accuse the manufacturer of price fixing or fraud. That is the dilemma.
By the way, I would not like to see on my wife a jewelry stamped of polystyrene. But it is fine for buttons on her blouse.
Wavebourn, you are an isolated individual who comes from another culture. And you do not even share the drinking of alcohol, that many of us at least appreciate, even if we do not INVEST in it. Your opinions are distinctly your own, and don't reflect most of the audio community, neither hi end or its critics. Please keep this in mind.
John; you are again banging in widely open gates. I am not a complete idiot and know that my opinion is my opinion, and it is different from opinions of other people. By the way, I grew up in Siberia where people drink a lot of Vodka.
And I know that my opinions don't reflect opinions of audio critics. I am proud of that. It gives me a freedom of choice of tubes, solid state devices, resistors, capacitors, whatever I need to get sound quality regardless of beliefs of drinking/judging communities.
No dilemma at all- $10 for a good quality connector is high but not excessive. $500 for a meter of wire is excessive when the wire isn't distinguishable from any other hunk of wire.
High priced wine is very often a ripoff as well. $1500 for a bottle of some vanity Cabernet from a 5 year old vineyard in Napa Valley is ridiculous, but has a similar audience (often the same audience) as the $20,000 line amp. There's a Chardonnay that will go unnamed here, but offers basically the same flavor profile as the popular Kendall Jackson Vintner's Reserve at triple the price. The audience is older, upscale females who like KJ, but want to feel like they're drinking something better. They can't make it fast enough, it goes flying off the shelves at places like Gelsons and Whole Foods.The inevitable nickname throughout the wine industry is Cougar Crack.
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