This weekend was truly special. I flew out to Joe's with Duncan, Delphine and Cornelia Winter for the final wine hurrah of the summer. Before we took off on Saturday morning I attended my godson and nephews baptism. Hes so cute! Following the baptism I met Duncan at the Lake Clear airport where I waited patiently for his piper to drop down onto the runway from the clouds. I have never been in a small plane before and before I knew it I was in the copilot position. I actually flew for a good hour and half between the two days. As we shot down the runway in Lake Clear duncan surprised me by telling me to pull back on the yoke and before I knew it I had the plane in the air. As we gained altitude I looked down on the mountains I grew up in, it was a truly new, peaceful and exciting experience. It was as if I was being taken back to childhood, when a new experience fills you with so much wonder and excitement that you barely can contain yourself. I really seemed to forget about all my problems when I was behind the controls. It was liberating, peaceful and enlightening. I asked a couple hundred questions of Duncan about the controls and their purposes. I learned alot about flying and now I understand what the addiction is all about! I would love to own a small private plane in the future. AMAZING.

The legendary hospitality of Joe Gallo came through once again. Dinner was amazing, calamari with a plum sauce and filets over grilled portabella, roasted red peppers, seared sea scallops and a blue cheese and herb sauce. The wines were even more amazing. 1990 pichon longueville baron, 2004 Richebourg, and 1999 la Mouline to name a few. Between the Richebourg and the Mouline, I sat entranced in my wine glasses for the entire evening. These wines commanded respect and were truly rare experiences. I have never seen a wine change so much over the course of the night as the Richebourg did. The scents were so haunting, ethereal and primal. It was a beautiful experience. I scored the wine 98 pts. The Mouline was out of this world. I maintain that the LaLa wines made bu guigal in cote rotie are the greatest wines in the world. The Mouline was so graceful and elegant compared to the Landonne which I have had in the past and tends to be more brooding. One common thread between the two was the way the wines carry themselves. They are some of the most intensely flavored wines I have come across but they carry themselves with such amazing balance that they almost come off as weightless. They are truly special and I count myself lucky to have experienced the Mouline and Landonne. I scored the Mouline 99pts and scored the 1998 Landonne 100 pts when I had it last christmas. La Turque is the only one of the LaLa's I have yet to try.

Back at it tomorrow. Things are really gearing up and the season is upon us. I will keep you all posted in the weeks to come as sliding and team selection races continue.

4 weeks out

Its amazing how fast the season comes along, we are two weeks away from sliding and 4 weeks from our first team selection races. The leaves have begun to change in lake placid. For me there is no better time of year. It is not only beautiful but represents a very exciting time for me as it is time to put all of the hours of hard summer training into effect on the ice. A week ago we had our second push camp in calgary and it went great. I pushed another personal best and solidified my start technique. My biggest gains this summer have come from flexibility, biomechanical work and a lot of work in sports medicine to really understand my body and what I need to get myself to be my best. A big thanks to peter toohey and jason hartman for all the help they gave me with my physical preparation. I'm currently waiting in jfk airport for my flight to albany.I went out west to visit a friend and clear my mind. I'm ready for this fall. The combie test is tomorrow (physical testing) ill report back w results!

GREAT week in Calgary

What an amazing push camp in Calgary. It went exactly as planned. I am really excited to return in september. I pushed almost a tenth faster than I did last year. I executed my plan and had almost none of the typical problems I have had in the past. I feel like im on the edge of a whole new world. Thanks to everyone who has stood behind me. Now lets make this thing happen. Back to LP on Monday for 3 more week of training before returning to calgary.

first calgary push camp

The fact that its time to go to Calgary for push camp is reminding me of one thing and one thing only. US Team Trials, one of our most important two week stretches of the year is rapidly approaching. So far the summer has gone almost exactly as planned. I have made big gains in my flexibility and biomechanical work already. Im hoping that the transition from pushing on the summer time push track in lake placid to the ice in Calgary goes very smoothly this week.

This weekend we had a great wine weekend hosted by my friend Duncan Winter. We had a wonderful wine cellar dinner on Friday night followed by a rhone tasting on Saturday night. It was really great to see a lot of my friends together over food and wine who had never met before. Wines power to bring people together is just another reason why I love it.

I am now in Calgary and getting ready for the first push session today. Ill report back and let everyone know how it goes!

LP Wine Weekend

This upcoming weekend is the Lake Placid Wine Weekend for me and some of my good friends. We are kicking things off with a dinner at Lake Placid Lodge on Friday night and an educational Rhone tasting on saturday that I will be leading at my friend Duncan Winters house. Big thanks to Duncan for hosting the weekend!

On Sunday I will be leaving to Calgary for our first push camp. I am well prepared and exactly where I want to be with my training at this point in the year. Its so exciting knowing that we will be on ice in a little over two months!

I had a really nice Nebbiolo made my Jim Clendenen in California. I bought this wine when Scott and I were out there three years ago. It is the best Nebbiolo I have had outside of italy. Heres the TN.

2001 Clendenen Nebbiolo "Bricco Buon Natale" Bien Nacido

A much better effort than the 00, On point nebbiolo aromatics of orange spice, cherry, nutmeg, bright florals, tar and hints of meat. This wine shows on a hint of lushness that suggests CA, just slightly lower acid than what you would expect from italy nebbs, but its still mouth gushing med + acidity though. slightly over medium tannin. oranges cinnamon and cherry make up the flavor prodile. medium + length finish. Very nice. Best nebb I have had outside of italy. 91pts

vs

2000 Clendenen Nebbiolo

Pomegranate in nature with some mushroom. A very moderate expression of tar red cherry and tannin. texturally very easy to drink, but has alot of holes. 84-85 for me, but right up to 89 with food. The food really filled the gaps and made this wine long, fruity and pleasant. 85pts

Training Update

Summer is well underway here in the Adirondacks although you wouldn't know by the weather. So far training is going just as I would like it to. I am making alot of progress with my weak points, including flexibility and biomechanics. Work is going full tilt which is always a challenge as it is very physically demanding. Add 30 hrs of training to 30 hrs of work and you have a pretty exhausting week. For the next few weeks I will really be focusing on fine tuning my push on the Lake Placid push track before our August push camp in Calgary. The season is coming quickly and right now all im focused on is making the most out of every day, ensuring that I am properly prepared for the US team trials in the fall. Gotta run!

Summer Training

Its been nice to be back home for a summer of training. Ive spent the last 3 years living in california during the summer months and that experience has heightened my Adirondack experience this spring. My eyes were constantly drawn to the light green vivid colors that took over the barren landscape this spring..every flower, every color grabbed my attention...The beauty and full blown emergence of life in the Adirondack spring stands in stark contrast the desert like conditions in San Diego.

So far training is going very well. I feel a bit more mature this year in terms of my training management. In years past I followed a cookie cutter approach that wasnt personalized enough for me, mostly my fault. Now I am taking the time to train to my weaknesses rather than my strengths and I am already seeing results.

I wanted to shoot off into some quick thoughts about wine. I currently have a bottle of wine called Clos Du Cardinale from Comte Peraldi open. This bottle was hand delivered to me in Lake Placid by my good friend Gregory St Genies, a French skeleton slider. Gregory and I share in vinous activity throughout the season. It is a nice break from our often one dimensional sport dominated lives. This wine comes from Corsica where his father currently lives. It is something that is close to Greg, a wine that he regaled me with tales of. Greg and I have a trip to France planned next year after the season, but it amazes me that I can experience something so local and revealing about where he is from in a bottle thousands of miles away. Wine that has been made with respect has this way of telling you "its" story, also the story of its people. During our season greg was toting around corsican charcuterie that we would enjoy during the evenings..it was intense, burnt in flavor, funky, wrapped in intestine and with very little work one can imagine the corsican landscape with one taste of these charcuteries. This wine is exactly that, a unique niche wine that reflects its sense of place so clearly that when one drinks it they know that it is one of a kind. As I drink it I can see the lifestyle of living in the burnt corsican landscape under the intense mediterranean sun. I can see gregs father Merry enjoying a sunset while sipping comte peraldi and enjoying corsican charcuterie alongside fresh seafood from the mediterranean. This bottle was just opened and it is slowly revealing itself...perhaps I opened it too young..im not sure as I dont know much about the sciacharello grape or this wine, but this bottle isnt about that, its about enjoying it in the moment and toasting to a good friend and his father who remind me that life is more than sport. The people who can be our fiercest competitors on the track, can be some of our best friends in life.

Tasting Note- 2006 Comte Peraldi Clos Du Cardinale

Light ruby color.
Unqiue aromatics of charcuterie, tar, orange, garrigue, roasted nuts, faint vanilla, pepper, red fruits, like no other wine I have smelled. In the mouth this is very silky and surprisingly intense with a very pure core of cherry fruit, dried orange, cinnamon, and minerality. Tangy acidity, but full throttle alcohol that is barely contained...seemingly remniscent of corsican culture. Extremely long finish...we are talking one minute plus here.
93pts CS