Back in 2010, the Wine School ran a Champagne event featuring a vertical tasting of Nicolas Feuillatte’s Palmes d’Or at the old Four Seasons.
Alas, I fear that objectivity may not be possible. How is it with such a stellar line-up of wines? (After starting the Feuillatte 1999 Blanc de Blancs, we moved on to the house’s Palmes d’Or 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1992, 1991, 1990, and 1985.)
And how is it with such a luxurious menu? (It included stuffed oysters with caviar, foie gras terrine with rhubarb chutney, smoked salmon and quail eggs, and spring pea soup with morels.) And how is it with the winemaker there, and in the magnificent Washington Room, and attended by an absolutely wonderful group of people, friends old and new?
Sometimes, objectivity is just not possible. In these cases, it’s simply best to remember the evening, smile, and look forward to the next one.
It would have all been perfect, except that it wasn’t. The school is well-known for being open to all people. At the time, the Four Seasons was not such a place.
Several of our black students were treated poorly, and I made a scene. A big scene. A big “don’t you fucking treat my students like that, you redneck pieces of shit, I’m going to kick your ass” kinda scene. We made a few enemies that night, but I don’t regret it. Fuck those racist hacks.
The wine was awesome, though.