Monday, November 10, 2008

Natural wines, steel frame bikes, vinyl LP's





Discuss.

9 comments:

David McDuff said...

Where to start... There are seven bikes in my garage. Both mountain bikes are steel, including the current ride from Seven and my old school sled from Fat Chance. So's my first real racing bike, a custom job from Medici, which I rode until it was all but dead.

Vinyl. I hate to admit that I've succumbed to the ease of CDs because their sound and feel don't hold a candle to vinyl. But the 2000 odd 12"s and 7"s in my collection are in dire need of attention.

Vin naturel's only a natural progression, though I'm not sure where the rubber gloves fit in.

Joe Manekin said...

McD - thanks for the contribution. I have only recently gotten into bicycles, more than anything else as a main mode of transport. I definitely like the feel and look of steel. Doesn't hurt that the retro aesthetic and smaller production fit squarely into my tastes and values.

I fell prey to the CD's as well. Their ease of transport and replication are huge pluses. But what a disposable (now, with itunes as popular as it is, literally disposable) medium. Next step in my vinyl education would probably be getting my old Philips turntable repaired and investing in a nicer cartridge.

And finally the vin naturel. Wine and music (and to a lesser extent, bikes) seem to go hand in hand, so many people who are involved professionally in one of these dabble in another, either as a hobby or even a second job. The three dudes in the picture are the owners of Terroir (SF version, of course). Guillhaume, the wearer of the rubber gloves, probably needed to protect his delicate cuticles, a real prima dona that one....

Anonymous said...

Amen!

Ride the steel to Terroir and listen to wax. Perfect!

I was going to bag on the tripple crank set Joe, but since you are new to the sport and live in SF you get a break.

I ride an old school Bianchi, make natural wine and miss the fuzz of vinyl.

Fat Chance kills & itunes sux. Switch to a rhapsody subscription and live happily ever after.

Joe Manekin said...

Kevin -

That's exactly what I do, ride the steel to Terroir and listen to records- about once a month. Would love to do this more often but I'll settle on monthly for now.

I ride an old school Bianchi as well (a 1964 Gran Sport to be exact) - no triple cranks for me! That is, unless I purchase this nice looking '82 Lotus touring bike on Craig's.

Where do you make wine?

Anonymous said...

Joe,

Long live Bianchi! Maybe I will bump into you at terroir some time. You can check out some pics of my little cellar at the link above.

Great blog, keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Something about Bianchi green will never go out of style. I have a mid 80's street bike purchased on the cheap in the south bay (unfortunately my location makes trips to Terroir impossible, but hey, train). i think people will start to come around to Vin Naturel slowly when they start to realize that people are doing more than two or three tastes with wine. Anyway day off tommorow so me and the wife will be saddled up to the Terroir bar for the majority of the day.

Joe Manekin said...

Kevin -

Thanks for mentioning the photo's. Just went through them - some terrific shots there to be sure!

Saignee - enjoy your day off, sounds like an ideal way to spend it.

Anonymous said...

Ah, steel! Voodoo mountain bike, Mondonico road bike. Want to see an excellent gallery of vintage steel road bikes? Check out raydobbins.com.

Since going 100% natural about a year ago (hm, that would be when Terroir opened!) too much of the stuff I'd accumulated over the past few years now tastes confected to me.

Guess I succumbed to the new-world convenience of CDs over vinyl. My turntable isn't even hooked up now. I will say, though, that there are some awfully well-engineered CDs out there, and they do sound great. But in a world where people seem happy with downloads, sound is evidently a secondary consideration for many.

Joe Manekin said...

Steve -

Thanks for the comments. That vintage bike site is impressive, so many detailed photo's, I couldn't even make it halfway down the screen without taking a break from viewing them.

You're right so many wines, including many 'classics' and many which are considered amongst the best in the world, just taste candied and/or otherwise unbalanced if you drink natural wines often.

Regarding CD's and musical downloads, you are right that the sound quality is a secondary consideration for many. The capture and enjoyment of truly great sound is a hobby every bit as obsessive as, say, restoring vintage road bikes or drinking/collecting wine.