66 Responses

Pages: « 3 [2] 1 » Show All

1. July 25, 2006

   Paul

   Gary,
   This episode actually put a smile on my face, well actually i LOL. Good job in being honest because those wines do SUCK.
   keep up the great work.

2. July 25, 2006

   Buddy

   Gary, How about a wine related message board. It seems wine access has shut down.

3. July 25, 2006

   Bill

   Just supporting what Gary said (you might have missed it) about Rosemount’s upper priced wines. These are TOTALLY a different kettle of fish, and the Show Reserve line, the Balmoral, the Traditional, the GSM, are all fine wines. Even the Hill of Gold (a bit further down the food chain) can be decent. The pity is these people clearly know a decent product, which makes the quality of the diamond label etc all the more inexcusable.

4. July 25, 2006

   John Coyne

   Welcome back.I’ve been discussing your blog with friends for some time now, and I was concerned with you having winemakers on yout blog. Not good IMO. Since you declined the TV offers, I predict TV will find someone with phony or weak credentials to do the show. Please send me an e-mail about what happened. Just tell it like it is baby!

5. July 25, 2006

   PeterT

   If you ended up recommending wines similar to what the Network “personalities” currently do it would clearly compromise what uniquely differentiates you in the marketplace; your integrity and ability to share your CANDID opinion about specific wines. Even though there may be certain risks associated with it, stick with cutting edge format!

6. July 25, 2006

   jsmith

   Love the candor. I mean really, why should you worry about irritating wineries that release subpar products. If they want nice reviews they will simply have to create a solid, value wines.

   Keep the reviews coming, Gary!

7. July 25, 2006

   Linda Prior

   I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR HONESTY AND STYLE. I never did like Rosemont. You make me laugh and I trust your opinions enough to try new wines. Thanks for being yourself and not a wine SNOB.

8. July 25, 2006

   garyv

   Joe just the Diamond 2004 shiraz really, but most of their efforts undewr $10 have been below average for awhile now.

9. July 25, 2006

   joe

   Gary,

   Do you mean all of Rosemounts wines we should stay away from, forever….or just the low price basic swill? I bought a case of 1997 Rosemount GSM MacLaren Vale from the wine library back in 2000. It was really good – I have 2 bottles left – it aged nicely. Also some 1995 and 1998 Rosemount Show Researve, with a ton of medals – that was great. Can you claryfy – are these more pricy hi-end Rosemounts bad?? Should we never buy any Rosemount?
   Joe

10. July 25, 2006

    kevin

    okay, i wrote my previous comment before the episode had ended….thank you for saying it! someone had to….fake wine blows….why don’t you review our friend Carlo…hahahah! yeah, that will be the day. oddly enough i think fake wines are what gets people into good wines….a lot of people can’t stomach a good wine with no wine drinking experience, but once they get used to the crappy ones, then try a good one, they see the light….so they do serve a purpose….oh yeah, and they are good for people who don’t like wine, but like to think they do! anyway, i would say go with the gut gary…execs do know some things, but at the same time a v-blog under 4 minutes is rather useless…unless you are only reviewing 1 wine….i mean, if i wanted something under 4 minutes i would just read a RP review….i like hearing the stories that go along with the wine….you are just as interesting as the wine and i think you are the main reason people tune in…

11. July 25, 2006

    kevin

    yeah, if this were done through a network it wouldn’t e worth crap….they would own you and tell you what to review and how to review it….v-blogs are the way to go! and besides, perhaps some of these crap wines will get their act together if they see the gary v bus decided to run over them rather than stop to pick them up!

12. July 25, 2006

    garyv

    GENEV are you kidding? I love the comments, keep em coming! I want to make WLTV the best it can be. I will answer all the questions I can today!

13. July 25, 2006

    GeneV

    Wow–talk about no holds barred! Nevertheless, I agree about Rosemount. If one likes mass produced Aussie red, you can spend less on Yellowtail.

    It looks like you came back from Spain to a rough summer. My apologies if the comments about hype have in any way contributed to taking the joy out of this project. It doesn’t look like you were having much fun, but then perhaps it is just hard to have fun with bad wine.

14. July 25, 2006

    G-Rod

    Gary,
    Great show. WL-TV is and should be a service not a show. You are doing the industry and us comsumers a service by being so truthfull. Your store is built on credabality. Keep up the good work. And let me know what went down recently.

15. July 25, 2006

    Sam Zen

    Back and better than ever! Great to see! Gary, we’ve been brutally honest with you and it’s great that you can ditto that back. BTW- viseo blogging is FOR SURE going to blow away any tv show that you could’ve done. In fact, video blogging is ALREADY surpassing traditional tv. It;s just a matter of time (and not too much time) before advertisers get on that band wagon. Tis is just a fact. Like I said since day one, WLTv is a revolution! Keep up the honest work Gary.

16. July 25, 2006

    Michael P.

    Great to see you come back & with all guns blazing. We need you to keep it real since I rely on your reviews for most of my purchases. What good is WL TV if your there to please the exec’s & not your customers. And who said to keep it at 4 min???? What the hell can you accomplish in 4 min. 1 min per wine???? Tell them to go sharpen their pencils.
    Stay real ;o

17. July 25, 2006

    Paul

    Good to see your return, Gary. Like many others, I would like to hear what was going on while you were gone, i.e., what inspired the very beginning of this episode. Please email me with the info.

    Regarding your comments herein (and the responses of some of the others on this page): while you do seem a bit upset in this episode, your honest comments on wines are why I watch WLTV. Please keep doing it your way. Those who appreciate what you do and the way you do it will provide an avid and continuing audience. Again, welcome back.

18. July 25, 2006

    Bill

    Wow – now that is what we need. As an Aussie I have long been embarrassed by various ‘big-name’ bottles of bat’s-piss mascarading as wine over here. I have been telling people to not buy Rosemount’s base offerings for years, and the Paringa (all versions of it) has always been utter crap (despite good scores). Whatever political pressures have been brought to bear upon you (it would be great to know!) should be resisted, and congratulations on doing so! Hang in there! Best wishes!!

19. July 25, 2006

    Dale

    Gary:

    While I echo the welcome back’s that you have been getting, this episode was not you and the good, educational, fun, quippy, blog that you have been doing. I have been watching from Episode one and this one was just not right. Bashing the bad is fine, but you just seem pissed at the world in this one and that really detracted from your excitement about wine, which, to me, is the quintessential part of WLTV. I, and most people that work in the service industry, have bad days where people that can control or affect our lives piss us off. But, you need to step above that and provide the same, quality service that we have all come to expect. … unless, of course, this was a contrived effort for some reason to achieve a desired effect, in which case, bravo.

    Dale

20. July 25, 2006

    P. Hig.

    I appreciate the apparent honesty but I would temper the enthusiasm. While it is no surprise to say the rosemount sucks (no really, ya don’t say), to my taste, most aussie shiraz sucks for the same reason that most california wine sucks, namely that most producers from hot climes have forgotten what wine ultimately is for (or been lured by the call of the dollar) namely to accompany food. No fruit bomb with no acid is going to do much more than get you drunk. That’s fine I guess, but it doesn’t make wine I like, nor, in most cases, will it make wine that will age… in short, that is worthy of my money and my interest. I don’t see why I would pay more that 15 bucks for a wine that will last no more than three or four years and most cali and auz wine won’t–even at the 100 dollar price point…really.
    This DOES NOT MEAN that neither california nor auz can make good wine. Both can. Strangely, it is often the lower end that is the most acceptable to me. The problem is that, drawn into the high alcohol fat fruit trap because it is easy in places with unrelenting sun, both places pick their fruit when it is dead (i.e. it has become grape prunes) rather than at a level of sugar when acid, alcohol and tannin will be well balanced. They do it because Parker has created a market for brawny wines with no class and no aging potential that one can charge a fortune for. In my book, wine above 14% alcohol, is, unless it has massive structure that will allow it to age for twenty years, not of any interest to me.
    Thus, to get back to this and other episodes of WLTV, what is being touted are wines that Wine Library sells and wines that are all too easy to like, especially young. I am always worried about qualifications like “smooth” and “silky.” A wine that is smooth and silky, especially young, will likely not age, and will certainly not be refreshing or cleanse your palate if you are eating. Likewise, being told that there is acidity, as if this were a defect, is a bit worrisome as well. True, there is such a thing as green acidity, or unripe acids, but these can be distinguished from the acids that, for example, make the best of both the red and the white wine worlds, namely Burgundy (at its best). Not surprisingly, yet sadly, there isn’t much Burgundy reviewed here. Sadly because, between 15-40 dollars, there is a great deal of wonderful burgundy. OK, don’t like Burgundy or have something against it, how about covering German reisling more extensively, loire valley reds and whites, etc. Start choking and sputtering on Napa Pinot’s and saying they are a rip and then I will start believing. In the meantime, this is vaguely entertaining but hardly revolutionary.

21. July 25, 2006

    Tony

    Gary,

    Let me add my voice to the chorus of people welcoming you back. Sorely missed you were, and your honesty.

    The networks want you to sell product, ergo you can’t say anything bad about the product. I MUCH prefer to hear you call them as they are. I’ve bought many wines that you’ve recommended and you have been spot on every time.

    In my mind (as a consumer looking for good wines), there is NEVER a reason for you to hold back on your opinion. I want good wines. I watch WLTV to find out about good wines. I’ve come to trust you to tell me about good wines I might want to try as well as wines to avoid. As a consumer, I don’t want to lose that.

    And the networks have it wrong any way. I’ve bought more wine from watching WLTV than is healthy for my checkbook – way more than I would have bought without WLTV. As far as you should be concerned, WLTV has been an incredible success in separating me from by money! But I’ve never been disappointed, so we’re both happy.

    In summary:

    1. Welcome back!!
    2. Call them as you see them
    3. Make nice to no one
    4. Take as much time on an episode as it requires. (Six minutes actually seems short to me.)
    5. Keep doing exactly what you are doing

    And though I can imagine what the networks wanted and said, I’d love to hear the details of your dealings with them.

    P.S. I don’t think that you are too “brutal” or ever “vindictive”. Just tell it like it is. The vendors might not understand or like it, but we do. Truth to tell, I thouroghly enjoy watching you slam a wine. The BV muscat in Ep #39 was classic!

22. July 25, 2006

    Bob

    Gary, great to have you back! A classic episode, and your honesty is always appreciated

23. July 24, 2006

    Garry

    Good to have the team back… honest- I was afraid that you would make a mistake by going to the networks. You are leading a wave in video blogging/programming – and it would be a mistake to give up your creative passions and ability to make the types of shows that people want to watch….
    I like the honesty – too brutal? – you’ll never satisfy everyone!

    Speaking of team – how about an episode where we turn the cameras around and see who else is involved…?

24. July 24, 2006

    Wino4Life

    GV
    I have watched almost all the episodes & never sent an e-mail……….this is the best/most exciting episode by far!!!!!
    Could you review some more high-end Italian soon?
    Keep up the good work – sell what you want to sell…..

25. July 24, 2006

    Cameron

    Excellent return. You are absolutely making the right move by embracing the video blog format and staying true to your own opinions, rather than risking compromise at the network TV level. The newfound brutal honesty is a welcome change, as it is a trait few critics in the wine industry seem to possess.

Pages: « 3 [2] 1 » Show All

Leave a Reply