18 Responses

1. April 10, 2006

   Kevin

   Okay, let me first say that Winelibrary TV is a great idea! Gary, you are now one of my favorite people…but like a wine, you are very complex in nature…there are things that strike me right on about your nature and then there are things that make me cringe a bit, but like with wine sometimes that can be a good thing that endears. Anyway, this isn’t about you I guess…I wanted to touch on the notion on screw caps, which I am sure you have received a lot of emails about. There is most definitely something to your premise of the hate for the screw top being a pretentious thing; however, I believe this is a shallow look at the subject. you seem a tasting purist…you want the taste and all the rest of it is secondary. However, for myself I must say that I am an experience enthusiast/purist…I like the whole sha-bang as one might say. I like the label, description on the back, the cork, everything physical about the wine. Further, I really like the feeling wine gives me…I like the sound of the cork when a new bottle is opened, there is something that feels very accomplishing about uncorking a bottle….you just don’t get that feeling with a screw top. When I open a screw top I feel as though I might as well be opening a coca-cola, only without its pleasurable sound of carbonation….so it is not a good feeling. a little more on the notion of pretension; I think that in some cases you might be right, but there are different viewpoints to consider with concern to the reality of a wine situation, let me explain. the cork is a very romantic notion….to the rich it might be very fitting of their life and just a prerequisite of sorts for their wine….however, consider the everyman. I am not a very rich person; I work at a university doing paperwork for 34k, am only 26, and cannot purchase any luxury items without long periods of saving. to me wine is the one luxury that is in my reach. it is the one hobby I can have that takes time and patience to cultivate…it means the world to me when I can pop a cork, drink a good bottle, and feel like a millionaire for the evening…you see where I am coming from? In the eyes of some it is this romanticism that lends itself to the pleasure and beauty of wine. Also, the cork lends itself to the ‘art’ of wine making. If it was safe, and 100% full-proof it would cease to be an art and remain only as a skill….there is a difference. So what if some bottles get tainted, it is a very small percentage. Also, with screw caps storage is not as easily traced….you can no longer tell if a wine has been kept in poor conditions because the cork, and therefore the air in the bottle, will not be altered. You will not be able to tell if the wine has been exposed to heat or air….one might liken all of this to pearls. a pearl found in open water is more valuable than one that has been grown in a farm. Although most farm-grown pearls are seemingly perfect in nature, they do fall short in illustriousness and color in opposition to the few beauties one might find in the wild.

   just a few thoughts Gary…and like I said, you have become one of my favorite people that I do not know….a few suggestions on the show:

   I like to see your face when you are talking, which is hard with those tall bottles on the table, might I suggest some other platform for the bottles…I like the rawness of the video–very blogy, or vlogy in this case….I like the premise and the fact that review all types of wine in terms of price….might I suggest using a microphone pinned to your shirt rather than the camera’s mic–this would keep me from cringing every time you bang bottles together and the high-end on my speakers fries my ears

   keep it up! thanks!

   -kw

2. April 10, 2006

   Lev

   I’ve been a regular at the library for quite some time and have recently started watching your videos online. They are pretty interesting (and entertaining), yet there is an experience I recently had which might make a good episode as well. I just moved to a new apartment in manhattan and its very difficult to control the temperature/humidity. After having a bottle of 2up shiraz and a Portuguese wine here for a couple of weeks, they were corked. I think it might be interesting to taste 2 wines next to each other: one that has been cellared and one that was kept upright in a dry/humid environment where the temperature fluctuated constantly. I think a lot of people don’t realize how much the environment affects what they are drinking: smells, vibrations etc.
   As a side note: do you think it makes sense for a person in my situation to keep wine in the refrigerator at a constant 44 degrees rather than risk ruining the wine?
   Keep up the great work!
   -Lev M

3. April 10, 2006

   Adam

   Hi Gary,
   I just want to let you know how much I have been enjoying your “tv” show. Keep up the great work. I am a regular shopper when I visit my inlaws who live in Westfield, NJ.

   I have some ideas for some future shows that I would love to see:

   1. Favorite wines values(QPR) in the store…maybe seperating them out by under $10.00, $10-15, $15-20 dollar bottles?
   2. Must have wine accessories
   3. Proper wine storage-maybe an experiment with a well kept bottle and a bottle exposed to heat?

   I have a lot more ideas if you would like. Let me know and I would be happy to share them with you.

   Adam

4. April 10, 2006

   Tony

   Thanks for the reply Gary, I bet the week has been crazy with the wine Library TV community tasting event. We have not started the series yet as we have been traveling over spring break but I have down loaded all 4 episodes and I know that we received our tasting assortment last week. Can’t wait.

   I have an episode suggestion. The episode on 03 Bordeaux vs 05 futures highlighted the fact that perhaps that may be the only affordable way to get Bordeaux. Having never ordered futures, I would certainly find it instructive to see a segment on how it works. Some questions that could be covered for the novice include…

   · Are futures allocated to retailers or are they an open market until they are gone?

   · How many Bordeaux wines are available on futures?

   · How do you (retailer) identify the wines to offer?

   · How does the consumer identify the wines available and the wines to order?

   · Is there much guidance on which wines offer the biggest value in ordering futures?

   · Is this process best for serious wine collectors and investors only?

   · Can an “average joe” wine lover with a modest collection of wines kept in the basement benefit from this process?

   · In what quantities does the customer order?

   · How does the consumer order?

   · How does the consumer pay for it and when?

   · When does the wine arrive?

   · Is the wine/quality guaranteed?

   These are some of questions and it seems like the TV format would be very helpful in de-mystifing the futures process?

   Thanks and keep up the great programming. My wife and I are loving the show.

   My 10 year old son also really enjoys the show and watch’s it regularly with us right before dinner although he is more appreciative of your spitting skills then the wines being tasted.

   Tony

5. April 10, 2006

   Kevin C

   Really enjoy the episode on champagne.
   Since we’re on the topic of bubblies, how about doing an episode on Prosecco, moscato d’Asti, and even Lambrusco? I think most of America is, unfortunately, under-educated when it comes to sparkling wines. An episode on the Italian sparklies will be interesting.

6. April 11, 2006

   GeneV

   I completely agree with you that the ubiquitous Veuve Clicquot Nonvintage is a waste of $30. There is a $12 sparkler from New Mexico that I enjoy about as much. There are many other good Champagnes, but you sold me. I’ll add a bottle of Brice to my next order.

7. September 20, 2006

   Brandon M

   Champagne is something I’ve never really been into, but, would love to see another episode like this. When is more Brice coming in?

   B

8. September 23, 2006

   Rick

   Gary

   http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=43850

   The very best!

9. September 23, 2006

   Rick

   Gary

   http://catalog.southwestwines.com/viewProduct.cfm?item_id=647365

   Sorry but I can not ship you any!

10. October 2, 2006

    Mike F.

    I can’t say that I’m a big Champagne drinker. Perrier Jouet and some other big names have left me unimpressed, but if these are the yellowtail and Gallo of Champagne, then I’ll have to give this region another try. I have tried some sparklers here and there, and at least I was never disappointed by the price.

11. June 6, 2007

    David Canada

    I am guilty….I have been drinking Deutz for the last 5 years. I’m going to look for Brince up here in Commie LCBO Canada but I am not hopeful.

12. August 20, 2007

    soyhead

    Saw Terry Thiese speak the other day, and tasted a few champagnes, as well as a half dozen austrian and a half dozen german whites. Amazing how different the austrian wines were (dry) from the german ones (sweet).

    “like the Yankees playing a high school baseball team”… slowly the sports analogies creep in… Of course, everything always looks peculiar through the retrospectoscope.

    I’m nearly 10% caught up.
    cheers,
    e

13. August 21, 2007

    vibemore

    No Brice to be found on winelibrary.com…what gives?

14. August 31, 2007

    WA Ambassador

    I’ve always found Champagne a hard wine to pick. It seems that every event that I go to where it’s served, it’s usually something nasty like Cook’s Brut. I hate that swill. I’m also opposed to spending $80 or more on a bottle for special occasions that really don’t need to be expensive, but that deserve a good bottle of wine. It’s good to see that there are, in fact, some choices out there that are pretty reasonable.

15. December 11, 2007

    Champagne.Rocks

    Just a couple of points:

    1. The “Jouët” in Perrier-Jouët is NOT pronounced jhoo ay! It is pronounced jhoo et.

    2. You list VCP, PJ, and Krug as “co-ops” when, in fact, they are certainly not. All three are Négociant-Manipulants (NM): Champagne producers that may buy the grapes they need from grape growers, produce Champagne, age it, and sell it. A co-op in the Champagne world (Récoltant-Coopérateur (RC) or Coopérative de Manipulation (CM)) are groups of grape growers who do not produce their own Champagne but rather have larger houses produce it for them.

16. February 9, 2008

    The Fanjestic

    I wrote something and it got erased – my bad. Anyway, I have WLTV to thank for my increased knowledge, love, and respect for champagne.

17. July 9, 2008

    Dan Leavy

    i adore bubbly

    word 29 “something”

18. October 23, 2009

    Andrew D

    “I don’t want to drag this out for 25 minutes” – oh how things have changed!!!!!!!!!!

    Cheers
    Andrew

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