Seattle LawDawg Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 Katrina Destroys Once Great Wine Cellar By MARY FOSTER The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) - In the dark, dank recesses of what was once one of the great wine cellars of the world, the fabled bottles sit. The 1870 Lafite Rothschild, the Chateau Moutons, Chateau Magaux - fine wines with enormous price tags, or at least they were. The wine cellar at Brennan's Restaurant, winner since 1983 of Wine Spectator magazine's Grand Award as one of the 85 top cellars in the world, has 35,000 bottles that since Hurricane Katrina have gone from vintage to vinegar. ``They may be drinkable, but they're probably better for salads,'' said Ted Brennan, whose brother Jimmy spent 35 years building the collection. The Brennan's wine cellar covers two floors in what was once the carriage house of the 1795 French Quarter mansion-turned-restaurant. Domestic wines are stacked to the ceiling on the first floor, European vintages on the second floor. Behind a locked gate is the private collection - dusty bottles of fine wines so costly they have waited for years for someone to taste them. The collection, which was insured for $1 million, was ruined when the electricity went off after the hurricane. The wine cellar, normally kept at 58 degrees year-round, was suddenly at the mercy of the broiling sun and heat wave that followed the storm. ``It got so hot those few weeks, I know it easily got to 120 degrees in there,'' Brennan said. ``The wine was literally cooked.'' Wine lovers made regular pilgrimages to Brennan's to sample what cellar master Harry Hill believes was the biggest and best cellar between Florida and Texas and the Gulf of Mexico and Chicago. Diners could easily add hundreds, even thousands of dollars to their tab by ordering wine. Hill sadly showed off a magnum of 1997 Opus One that the restaurant bought several years ago for $400, now worth $1,000. ``It was one of those years when God bent over and kissed California,'' Hill said of the wine, its bottle now covered with mold spots. ``Some of the youngest wines might be drinkable for someone who doesn't really know what to expect,'' he said. ``But even they have lost their finish.'' For older vintages, the heat's effect was worse. There was also damage when cases of wine fell during the storm, exploding and spewing their contents over other bottles. Before rebuilding the cellar, the Brennans will send the remaining bottles to a man in California who bought them from the insurance company, Ted Brennan said. The man plans to auction them off. ``Someone might want to buy a special bottle to commemorate an occasion,'' Brennan said. ``Or someone might want to roll the dice and hope to get a rare vintage cheap and be able to drink it.'' One bottle will be a special bargain. That 1870 Lafite Rothschild. The Brennans bought it a decade ago for $14,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonkis Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 That's a tragedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Sad, but on the bright side of things... It will be fun to restock with the insurance $$. Do you think they will let me shop and sample for them?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 1870 Lafite Rothschild 1208350[/snapback] do some wines really hold up that long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted December 12, 2005 Author Share Posted December 12, 2005 do some wines really hold up that long? 1210216[/snapback] Good question. Would you want to pay for the bottle to take the chance? There are plenty of wines that hold that long if cellared properly and the cork holds. But with a 135 year old bottle, its tough to guarantee anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Good question. Would you want to pay for the bottle to take the chance? There are plenty of wines that hold that long if cellared properly and the cork holds. But with a 135 year old bottle, its tough to guarantee anything. 1210229[/snapback] I would have killed to try it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted December 12, 2005 Author Share Posted December 12, 2005 I would have killed to try it though. 1210259[/snapback] Well killing is a very broad scale. Are we talking an ant, a cat, a person, a family member? Where on the killing scale would you put your desire to taste that wine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 (edited) do some wines really hold up that long? 1210216[/snapback] Most collectors go to great measures to insure that their wine holds up through time. They send their wines to the winery to be recorked and in some cases the winery will top off the wine with either the same wine or similar vintage. As sld states, do you want to gamble?? Edited December 12, 2005 by sundaynfl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Well killing is a very broad scale. Are we talking an ant, a cat, a person, a family member? Where on the killing scale would you put your desire to taste that wine? 1210294[/snapback] There's probably some humans that I'd kill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelBunz Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Mmmmmmm.......Brennan's....we used to do their version of Banana's Foster at our restaurant! Then we added a swirl of Grand Marnier and a teaspoon of fudgy chocolate to the skillet. Hard to believe we'd actually improved a bit on the original! It's also fun to serve it over the ice cream WHILE it's still flaming a bit. A truly orgasmic dessert......I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundaynfl Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 A truly orgasmic dessert......I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance! 1210584[/snapback] Can we watch next time you eat it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelBunz Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 (edited) Can we watch next time you eat it?? 1210593[/snapback] Hehehe What.....you've never had "Food O's"??? Come on.....I can't be the ONLY one. Edited December 12, 2005 by SteelBunz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 do spaghetti-o's count? cheerios? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Hehehe What.....you've never had "Food O's"??? Come on.....I can't be the ONLY one. 1210620[/snapback] I ate at O'Charleys once and the waitress' boob touched my back. That was stimulating, does that count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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