I'm very grateful to purple pager Michael Alberty for sending this sad news:
It is with great sadness that I have to report on the passing
of Michael Bonaccorsi this past Tuesday. He was a nice, gentle person
who we will miss a great deal. When Michael first started making
wine I called him up to see if we could get his wines out to Illinois
because (a) he is a graduate of the University of Illinois, located
here in my hometown and (b) we had heard from Bipin Desai that the
wines were spectacular for the price. Over the past few years, whenever
we needed a favor or a special magnum for a charity event, Michael
always came through for us. I constantly bugged him on the phone
to tell me some of the great wine stories he must have accumulated
about various celebrities while acting as Wolfgang Puck's sommelier
at Spago. But he was always the professional, telling me I would
have to wait until he had left Spago for a few years before he would
tell any "juicy tales."
We're all going to miss his grace and charm. I'm also going to miss
not being able to hear him tell those stories. This is a huge loss
for the wine world. A bright new star is gone at 43.
Those who, like me, were not well acquainted with this clearly multi-talented
wine man can learn more at
bonawine.net.
On the home page is a warm tribute to his winemaking skills from
fellow West Coast sommelier Larry Stone of Rubicon in San Francisco.
(I can attest to the fact that Stone too is a talented winemaker.
I served his Siri Sonoma Merlot to some world-famous Pomerol producers
and they were very impressed.)
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