March 4 2007
It has dawned on me, on the cusp of the rock band Van Halen’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12th, that the band saga over the course of the last 30 years is something akin to a vertical wine tasting, what with Van Halen’s myriad of singers (three at last count) within the same framework of music and opinions on superiority so scattered as to almost be divisive.
Everybody has an opinion on which vintage from the same wine type from the same winery is best, so to speak.
When Van Halen’s seminal album “1984” was released (the last album with singer David Lee Roth), I was in 5th grade, just getting into music and still developing my love for hair metal.
Kiss “Animalize” and Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil” (members from both bands would go on to make wine, it should be noted) played on my cassette deck as my twin brother and I stomped and pounded our way to a sustained level of Nerf Hoop prowess in our shared bedroom. My parents graciously allowed us to earn valuable body-checking skills against a repeated symphony of door thudding--legacy Dr. J finger rolls and nascent Michael Jordan exalted dunks the reward, even if it was on a 7-foot door.
A couple of years later when I went to a week long basketball camp at Notre Dame, I had Van Halen’s new album, 5150, with new lead singer Sammy Hagar on my Walkman, all the rage in 1987.
In the still-simmering war of which era of Van Halen was better—David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar, I choose Hagar—blasphemy to most.
But, interestingly enough, while David Lee Roth is a public liability saying all of the wrong things while introducing his reunion with Van Halen for a world tour within the same 10 days that the tour is called off, Wine Spectator had a feature article on their web site with Sammy Hagar, who is a noted wine lover with a 10,000 bottle cellar.
Thankfully, the WS writer mentions nary a word about Van Halen, but readers are treated to a pretty good interview with Sammy who reveals that his very first wine experience, in the mid-70s, included a 1927 Martinez Port, a 1960s Yquem and a 1950s Latour. We should all be so lucky. The thing that sticks out about Sammy is his obvious humility as he talks about his learning curve and trying to age Beaujolais and the fact that he’s never visited any regions in Europe.
Some excerpts below:
My first misconception was that the older the wine, the better it’s going to be. I was under the impression that I had to age all these wines forever. That was because of that Port. I started putting everything away, and then I started figuring out later in life that not everything ages that well. Like when I first got into Beaujolais, I bought some and laid them down, and they were awesome until about three years later!
I saved my money--I wasn’t rich back then--and I got hip to prearrival Bordeauxs, because they were about nine bucks back then. I’ve always tried to buy a case and put one bottle away. I have an area of my cellar that’s one bottle from each case I’ve ever bought, unless I found as I drank the case that the bottles didn’t hold up. A lot of the ‘73 Bordeauxs didn’t hold up too well. I think I have a 1973 Mouton left because of the Picasso label. But back then I was buying some of the fourth or fifth growths, and they weren’t holding up.
I’ve never visited any wineries in Europe. When I’m on tour, I’m on tour. And when I’m finished I’m going to an island rather than to wine country. I’m a coast guy. But here in California I’ve been to pretty much all of them. I used to love going up there because I knew the people, and I knew the Bundschu family. Dick Arrowood became a good friend. [And] I used to go up to Caymus when Chuck Wagner Sr. was selling wine out of his kitchen. But lately if I go up there, I just go to one of the restaurants and just eat and drink … and take a limo home!
And, in response to a question about any other musicians he knows of and their appreciation of wine:
I’m kind of the guru, but in the old days I met Al Stewart, the guy who sang that song “Year of the Cat.” I was with the original bass player from the band Boston, Fran Sheehan, who has a palate and a collection that will blow your mind. He was buying ‘45 Bordeauxs, like four or five of them at a time, and we’d do blind tastings. So one time we were at a restaurant in Boston, probably in 1979, and Al Stewart walked in while we were doing a blind tasting of six Bordeauxs, in decanters. He asked, “What’re you drinking?” and we said, “We don’t know, it’s all blind.” He said, “Mind if I take a sniff?” So he takes a glass, sniffs the first one and says, “That’s ‘66 d’Estournel.” The next one, “That’s ‘76 Mouton.” He nailed every single one of them just with the smell! I’ve never met a guy in my life who could do that. He’s the man!
Interesting, in the context of Rock and Roll, the Hall of Fame and Van Halen that most of the fan debate and questions are pointedly around which lead singer was better, leading to the question of whose music holds up the best as “art,” the ultimate legacy.
Wine is the same way, as the classic vintages from the classic wineries are held up as defining examples of their times.
I’m not sure how the Van Halen soap opera will end as their induction date looms, but knowing that Sammy partakes and appreciates the good grape somehow provides me comfort in my opinion on the winner in this vertical tasting.
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