jamie goode's wine blog: Celebrity spotting on NZ1

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Celebrity spotting on NZ1

I'm sitting in the lounge at LAX, showered, relaxed and ready for the next leg of the trip to New Zealand.

Air New Zealand business class is excellent. It rocks. It is better than BA business class, because the layout is more relaxed, the cabin crew are more attentive, and like BA they also have lie flat beds. Better than Quantas, too.

Neal Martin and I were in the front part of business class, where there is just one seat on each side, arranged in a sort of herringbone pattern. I was in seat 2J, but Neal was in row 7. Some dude in row 6 offered to swap seats with me so I could be with Neal. We'd just completed the swap, then who should walk in but Victoria Beckham. She was in seat 2A, so I'd traded sitting next to her for sitting next to Neal.

Probably a good choice, because the whole of the front section of the cabin was a little star struck. It's amazing how people respond to celebrity. She got up and walked around lots, had a special meal that looked very low in calories (lots of green leaves, and then some grapes for dessert), and spent some time chatting to the girls sitting in front of me, which seemed very generous.

I felt a bit sorry for Peter Alliss, sitting in row 8, show was sleb outgunned a bit. He'd have been interesting to talk to.

Wines? Escarpment Vineyard The Edge Viognier 2008 was gently aromatic with some varietal character. Quite stylish if a little simple. Forrest Pinot Noir 2007 was pretty good, without being exceptional. User friendly, varietally true. Villa Maria Cellar Selection Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 was nicely dense, ripe and had some attractive oak. Very stylish and enjoyable.

Watched just one film in its entirity: District 9. Brilliant stuff. Got bored with The Informant (the book by Kurt Eichenwald is quite good, though, if overlong), and found Vintner's Luck to be total drivel with some angel appearing annually to a peasant wannabe winemaker who is forced to eat the soil, or something like that. Fell asleep during it.

58 Comments:

At 9:16 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It rocks

Some dude

How old are you, Jamie?

 
At 2:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm pleased to hear that Victoria Beckham takes her wine in tablet form.

Surely, Peter Alliss would be flying "Club Class"?

I've heard that the food on Air New Zealand is less exciting than some of its competitors.

Apparently, venison just doesn't taste very good at 40,000 feet, and if you want it rare - just forget about it!

So what were Neal's thoughts about a possible Spice Girls' reunion?

 
At 5:11 PM, Blogger Madame Vin said...

Vintners Luck is quite a good book - guess the film isn't...
Looking forward to reading about the wines you taste in NZ

 
At 6:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

anonymous - how old are YOU???

 
At 7:39 PM, Blogger Cat said...

Hmmm - thought the "prawns" were a metaphor for black people... fascinating yet dark movie....

 
At 8:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous - I know how old Jamie is. It was a rhetorical question designed to highlight how sad it is to be using terms like "it rocks" and "dude".

That's teenage talk, and not befitting of middle-aged men.

 
At 9:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it known whether Ms Beckham was seated at the metarasal end of the herringbone formation?

 
At 1:10 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Any pictures of you standing on the steps of this aircraft Jamie, or do you only do that when it's a jolly jaunt on a private jet?

 
At 2:03 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Qantas.
GW

 
At 8:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"not befitting of middle aged men" - what a load of pompous rubbish. Let me guess "Anonymous" - do you call a handkerchief a "mouchoir" and swagger around town "taking luncheon at your club" - Ha Ha Ha.

 
At 10:06 AM, Blogger Jem said...

Seems as though Mrs B didnt like the food as she has been pictured in the UK Press today with a Gordon Ramsey doggie bag

 
At 12:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Jamie,

Re Ms Beckham.

I didn't know they served twiglets on board Air New Zealand.

 
At 10:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Anon:

No, and no.

A man of Jamie Goode's age, and – let's not forget – a journalist – should not use terms like "it rocks" and "dude".

It does nothing for his credibility.

 
At 12:31 AM, Anonymous Steve said...

Aw, leave Jamie alone. It's so naff it's sweet, like watching a rugby player trying to chat up a goth. And he is always enthusiastic rather than jaded, one of the best reasons to read this blog. (This instance was probably a 'dude' too far, mind, even for a teenager)

 
At 9:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Anon - I disagree with you. He is an enthusiastic person and it doesn't effect his credibility in any way whatsoever. You are wrong.

 
At 1:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Anon,

I don't think I'm wrong – clearly you do. Let's agree to disagree.

 
At 4:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jamie, who pays for critics like you and Neal to sit business class?

 
At 4:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Duh....the host pays......why? you want in on the action? Build a website...reputation...write 7 books and then you'll have a chance to be invited as well - easy isn't it????

 
At 5:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mr/Mrs "Anonymous", why do you assume that because they are questioning Jamie that they're automatically jealous?

Stop leaping to his defence all the time, and let Jamie speak for himself!

 
At 6:30 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Just to clarify, Wines of New Zealand pay - Neal and I didn't ask for business tickets, but it's certainly nice to get them - it's up to others to decide whether we are worth the outlay. It's a gruelling flight either way because of the time zone shift, but much tougher in economy.

We're not prima donnas, but I suspect that some journalists would refuse to fly economy - so what does WONZ do? Just fly the primadonna speakers to the conference business and put the others in economy?

I feel lucky and honoured to be invited to come here anyway - please don't think that my choice of wine coverage is influenced by perks like business class travel - it's openly disclosed, and it doesn't affect my write ups one jot.

 
At 8:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good enough for you Mr/Mrs "Anonymous" ?????

 
At 9:39 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Five question marks? That's four too many.

Anyway, I digress.

Well, the obvious answer is that Jamie would say that, wouldn't he?

Other than frequent barbs at Pinotage, I can't remember the last time he criticised a wine. His blog just seems to be endless praise of wines that he gets sent or tastes in restaurants.

 
At 7:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What rubbish - and if you have such a low opinion why do you read this blog? Are you an embittered producer or competitor?

 
At 9:51 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

And you're off on the old jealousy thread again.

Who are you, his wife? Why feel the need to defend someone constantly when they can do it themselves perfectly well?

 
At 12:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No I am not his wife. Look at what I wrote - I did not mention the word "jealousy" - why are you so paranoid about this? Why should he, or anyone else have to "defend themselves" against your constant baiting. If you don't like his blog - then don't read it. Don't you have anything better to do?

 
At 2:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I enjoy Jamie's blog, but I am perfectly within my rights to comment on things I don't agree with.

It does seem that there are few people on here who do not believe that is the case, and when they read criticism, their sole response is to accuse people of being a "competitor" or "being jealous of Jamie's lifestyle", which is nonsense.

 
At 9:06 PM, Blogger Liz said...

HI, Jamie - just thought I'd clear up any confusion about where Posh's meal came from:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1245771/Gordon-Ramsay-rescue-Victoria-Beckham-snubs-airline-food.html

(clearly nobody gives a monkeys, I just thought it was incredibly amusing to come across a reference to this ON THE SAME DAY as I re-bookmarked your splendid blog, having not quite got caught up after changing computers a while ago.)

cheers!
Liz

 
At 10:00 PM, Anonymous Ian S said...

Anonymous took offence, but anonymous thought that unreasonable. Meanwhile anonymous came to the defence of anonymous, but accepted there was also some merit in what anonymous said. Me I'm just confused as to who's saying what ;¬)

FWIW, if someone is invited to speak at a conference, then it's difficult to criticise their transport costs being paid.

I'm not sure that a celeb name-dropping blog entry was the brightest of moves, but maybe it gets some non-wine enthusiasts in?

Disclosure is appropriate (and ought to have been stated on the blog, as per Jamie's stated policy), but beyond that we're all adults and can judge whether we think he's compromised or not.

regards

Ian

 
At 5:52 PM, Anonymous sarah said...

You are a sycophant and a wannabee Jamie and that's why you name-drop and give good reviews to producers who line your pocket with advertising revenue. Bloggers communicate with one another and you are viewed as a complete sell out.

 
At 5:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

He is also a sad old public school boy selling his arse to put his kids through the same nonsense he went through at school.

dude! what a twat.

 
At 8:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sarah - you are such an idiot and "anonymous" is an even greater loser - what fools you both are - so sad - you must both be so incredibly insecure it is so pathetic.

 
At 8:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i agree - and by the way - jamie didn't go to public school and neither do his children - ha ha - what idiots - interesting vocabularly "twat" - suggests someone of very low intelligence.

 
At 2:04 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow - this sarah bitch is such an idiot..let me guess she tried to write about wine and FAILED.

 
At 1:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hee hee!

Funnily enough, that post about public school wasn't by me, it was by another anonymous.

But the anonymous directly above me is clearly the same person leaping to Jamie's defence all the time.

Anon, why do you assume that the people who criticise Jamie "tried to write about wine and failed"? Couldn't it just be that they don't think his writing is up to much?

 
At 3:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"hee hee !!" - jolly good - well done - you fooled us all - what a great acheivement!! - on your remark - if that were the case why would they bother to contnually read his blog and criticse him all the time? If you don't appreciate and rate something then why contiue to read it? it doesn't add up - they (and maybe you) clearly have other motives....

 
At 8:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

We don't criticise him "all the time", you complete cretin.

If I disagree with something that Jamie has written – and you would do well to remember that this blog has a facility for people to comment on his posts – then I am perfectly entitled to do so.

 
At 11:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

on the contrary - you are such a fool - how insecure you must be - sad case - no girlfriend? ha ha what a loser you are....hee hee hee...

 
At 11:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh dear.

I see that you have resorted to kindergarten-level insults in an attempt to win the argument:

"you are such a fool"
"sad case"
"no girlfriend"
"what a loser you are"


And when you say "on the contrary", what do you actually mean? Do you think that people should never criticise Jamie if they disagree with something he's written?

Please elaborate.

 
At 8:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh dear - "you complete cretin" - I see you have resorted to kindergarten-level insults to try to win the argument.

-What do you do? Why do you have such a vested interest in criticising Jamie?

-Please elaborate - we are all waiting......

 
At 8:57 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A "cretin" is a colloquial term for a stupid person, so I am correct in my summation.

Whereas as you used a load of insults that are not only inaccurate, but are childish in the extreme. "No girlfriend", for instance. Proper playground material, that...

You seem to know an awful lot about me - you tell me, what do I do? After all, I have a "vested interest" in criticising Jamie; I am either an "embittered producer or competitor".

The fact is, I am none of those. I enjoy wine, and I do enjoy Jamie's blog - however, if I read something I disagree with, then I comment on it. Is that so hard for you to accept?

 
At 10:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No you are not correct in your "summation" - which is a word which does not exist - by the way -the word is "summary". Does that hurt your pedantic feelings?

Your point - which you have made many times before is regarding criticism - but with good cause - and you have none.

 
At 11:11 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From Google dictionaries:

Definitions of summation on the Web:

* a concluding summary (as in presenting a case before a law court)


So, it does exist, after all.
How does it feel to be proved wrong, yet again? :-)

 
At 11:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

What makes me laugh - A LOT - is that you have taken the bait - yet again - and gone off and checked it out.....Hee Hee. If you were as learned an English scholar as you clearly think you are you would realise that this is the "americanisation" of the correct term "summary" because Americans have always been obsessed by putting -"ation" after every word....idiot.

 
At 12:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You said the word "does not exist".
It does.

You have been owned big time, yet again.

Why do you put yourself through this? Just admit you're a thick twat, and move on!

 
At 12:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"twat" - interesting term - indicative of a very insecure and unintelligent person. Presumably you were educated at a comprehensive school?

 
At 1:17 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

From the person who constructs such erudite paragraphs as this:

you are such a fool - how insecure you must be - sad case - no girlfriend? ha ha what a loser you are....hee hee hee...

OWNED again!!!1111!!!!!

 
At 1:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"owned"?????? why don't you add "innit" after everything you say? Pleb.

 
At 1:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thick twat.

 
At 2:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent - you HAVE proved my point - you are a complete pleb -"thick twat" - interesting vocabularly - confirms someone of very low intelligence - how embarrassing - clearly out of your depth here "innit" (as you would say)......

 
At 3:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

vocabularly???

I think you mean vocabulary.

You've spelt it incorrectly twice now.
Said you were thick, didn't I? :-)

 
At 3:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

How do you spell "twat" innit? Do ya twk abit lyyke at innit ?

 
At 4:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ha ha ha, what a lame response.

Try again; I'm sure you'll do better. You're dying here; you should really do the decent thing and admit defeat.

 
At 4:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Incredible - you really are pathetically insecure aren't you? Why don't you admit defeat as you surely must have done so many other times in your life?

 
At 5:36 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No, you first, loser.

Throughout this thread you have shown yourself up to be a tiresome individual. Time for you to go.

 
At 6:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

On the contrary - throughout this thread you have confirmed what everyone has suspected - you have ideas far above your station - you are unintelligent and crass and know nothing about the subject you wish to address - you are - in short - a complete waste of time. I feel sorry for you - really I do. Time for you to disappear but thanks for amusing us with your stupdity. Off you go now little boy!!!

 
At 6:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

No, you first, loser.

And learn to spell while you're at it, imbecile.

 
At 10:41 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

you are repeating yourself - what a profoundly weak response - pleb - eating hay tonight farm boy? you are so sad.

 
At 11:43 PM, Anonymous David T said...

Why don't you two guys get a room? I can't believe the trash-talking in here!

Having read a load of stuff here, looks like one of you should ease up on Jamie Goode, and the other should quit the headmaster act, you know?

 

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