82 Responses

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1. August 28, 2006

   stewart l.

   favorite bottle of Champagne-1995 Dom Perignon. Given to me by a patient before he died. My wife and I drank it on a recent 25th wedding anniversary. In regards to aering the wine before your show, I debate how successful that will be if no wine is poured out, as the surface area at the neck is so small.

2. August 28, 2006

   Colin D. Devroe

   EP rating 88.

3. August 28, 2006

   Chris

   Gary,
   Contgrats on the WSJ. Can’t wait fot the grower episode. My two favorite bottles of sparkling wine have been 88 Krug & 96 Schramberg J Schram. I had both bottles with my wife. Keep up the good work.

4. August 28, 2006

   P. Hig.

   Great episode. Never been a big fan of DP though one of my faves of all times was a mag of 1976. Time and place had much to do with it but the wine was wonderful. 1988 Krug also a great wine. Jacquesson late disgorged 1982 (I think it was) was also a spectacular wine. Agree entirely on the small producers. Pierre Peters, Gimmonet, Gaston Chiquet, Larmandier, Diebolt-Vallois are just few that come to mind. All make regular NVs and luxury bottlings that are out of this world. Have not had the Gratien Cuvee Paradis but will certainly give it a shot. Gary, not that I eat much caviar, especially these days when you are contributing the the extinction of one of the oldest know vertabrates, but the Champagne/Caviar combo is a bit of a travesty. One thing goes with Caviar, and one thing only, and that is iced Vodka. It is essentially the only time I drink hard liquor except the occasional ‘gnac after a pentagruelian meal. Champs makes caviar taste metallic. Other than that, tell the heathen that while Napa may make a fine sparkling wine, as do a few others, there is only one Champagne, and that is from France;) Otherwise we might as well go back to hearty burgundy–a contradiction in terms eh.

5. August 28, 2006

   Darlene O.

   The cover of the Wall Street Journal…Booyah!!!!!
   Well deserved (as long as it was complimentary and they didn’t reem you a new a$$hole!!:}) Keep up the fine work, Gary. You are educating the masses like no one else can!

6. August 27, 2006

   SAFSAM

   Gary,
   Winelibrary TV is just awesome. Entertaining and enlightening. Please keep it going for as long as you can. I’m sure it takes time and thought but we really appreciate and enjoy it.

   Question please.

   You might tell me that I’m off base, but I have an impression that many California Cabernets/Blends have been struggling since their heyday in the late 80s to 1997.

   How come wines like BV Georges de LaTour, Merryvale Profile, Justin Isosceles, Mondavi Reserve Cab, Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages, Viader (there are many more examples) etc. can’t seem to get back to the quality of their “hey day”. I realize the mid-90s to 1997 provided some great growing seasons, but I find that these wines are just not what they used to be…and……they cost a lot more than they did then!!!! Why can’t the wine makers make better wines better wines? I would like to think they could continue to produce at high levels (or even exceed the previous quality- what a concept!) but to me it doesn’t seem so. You can even see this reflected in the wine scores. Cinq Cepages and Viader had 96-97 WS scores in the late 90s. Now they are lucky to hit 92.

   Thanks,
   SAFSAM

7. August 27, 2006

   Guillaume B

   Gary,

   Wine Library TV is good for my English skills (I am French living in Paris). Thks a lot!!

   As a big Champagne drinker and even though I am a Bollinger fan, I believe there is no unique Champagne taste.

   I don’t know if you guys in the US can find those following Champagne but trust me, you will taste the best sample of Champagne excellence should you find them :

   Bollinger Grande Année 1992, 1990, 1982 (keep 1996 in your cellar, best Champagne ever tasted) and RD 1990

   Salon 1988 (keep 1990 and 1995)

   Selosse “Substance” cuvee

   Krug 1988

   Comte de Chapagne Taittinger 1990

   Cazals 1997

   For “every day life” please consider :
   Bollinger Spécial cuvée, Billecart Salmon Brut Collection, Da Sousa, Moncuit, Franck Pascal, Alexandre L, Drappier…

   Gary, if your tastings and travel bring you to Paris, please stop by. There are couples of amazing tasting places here…

   Rgds
   Guillaume

8. August 27, 2006

   Adam

   Hey Gary,
   Great show again. I love Champagne as well, especially with sushi.
   My favorite champagne bottle I own is worth about $5.00, but has the most sentimental value by far. It is a bottle a comic gave my wife and I on our honeymoon last summer. It is a N.V. Pol Clément Vin Mousseux Blanc de Blancs Brut.
   On a separate note, I have a question for you. I know you rate wine with the price taken into account. Do you think this is fair? Is a $10.00 90-point wine the same as a $100.00 90-point wine in terms of quality? Shouldn’t wine be evaluated independently of its cost?
   Adam

9. August 27, 2006

   Matty Van

   “OMG, Gary! I just watched the video (I was having plugin problems)! That tie!! (sound of hilarious laughing)”

   Real Men Wear Purple.

   Gary I too want to thank you, you have taught me a lot about wine, if it wernt for you I would not have developed a passion for wine.

   If you are too busy in the 4th qtr to do this show I would rather have the show go one with one of your emplyees than have no show at all.

10. August 26, 2006

    GregS

    Gary,

    Great episode (would love to see the “value” oriented champagne episode though). Loved WSJ piece. I have to say that Vanessa was pretty hot too

    Keep it up!

11. August 26, 2006

    Andre (aka asr2021)

    Mwf,
    LOL! I meant the first of her birthdays that I’ve celebrated with her.

12. August 26, 2006

    zerokreap (kw)

    good job…and congrats for getting on the cover of WSJ. QOTD: 96 dom p on valentines day last year with my girl, whom had never tasted anything other than korbel! i opened her eyes to the wonderful world of good champagne…the brice rose was good as well.

13. August 26, 2006

    Rick McQ

    Gary:

    I never really drank Champagne because the bubbles give me gas. Only Kidding! Learned alot from the show, maybe I’ll give it a try. Can you move the picture behind you either to the right or left it would be easier to see.

14. August 26, 2006

    sam

    BobM,

    You are so right… I forgot how great Nicolas Feuillate are even the N.V. Blue Label. An other steal is L.Vitteaut-Alberti, Blanc de Blancs, Love it!!

15. August 26, 2006

    GeneV

    Gary, great episode and thanks for the answer! The WSJ interview was also interesting. How do you make money selling at cost?

    Best champagne: VC Grande Dame. Beautiful notes of honey on fresh baked bread.

    Best Champagne experience was a few months ago. Here in NM, tailgate parties at the Santa Fe Opera are a tradition. I am a so-so opera fan, so I had not tried it until now. The experience is something special.

    Imagine a parking lot on the top of a rocky mountain foothill with a gorgeous view of a mountain sunset. Behind almost every car is a card table covered by a table cloth. On top of every table is one or more bottles of wine–usually Champagne and food. Hundreds of folks in a line raising a glass and enjoying a picnic together as the hills turn from red to purple to black.

    On your WLTV recommendation I bought a batch of the Brice Premier Cru a while back, and drank the last of it on that hill with good friends and a wonderful dinner. I received so many compliments on the wine, that I think they would have been bowled over to find they were drinking bubbles which cost less than some of our local NM sparklers. Great recommendation and a terrific evening! (Oh, and after a nice Champagne and a sunset, opera is fun)

16. August 26, 2006

    BobM

    Well, the secret is out – find the champagne that isn’t hyped into stratospheric $$$ and drink it while still at a good price = Nicolas Feuillate Premier Cru! You could also try an American sparkler that is about $10 = Gruet Brut from New Mexico.

17. August 26, 2006

    sam

    Garry,

    Congrats!!,

    Cuvee Louise 1989 Pommery. It was a warm summer night…the stars were aligned just right, and thats why it was the best one yet! (I stayed in a overpriced hotel in S. Beach, Fl. please don’t ask me how much I paid for it). Now a days I enjoy a great Prosecco.

18. August 26, 2006

    GOL

    Champagne — As Gary said, we in the USA drink the Gallos & Yellow Tails of Champagne. The problem is that Yellow Tail costs $5, but the “Yellow Tail” champagnes cost $30. For my personal wine $ curve I’d rather buy wine than champagne. That said, I did have a champagne under $30 once that I really liked, Nicolas Feuillate Premier Cru (non-vintage)

    Tony’s comment re: burn out — Gary, your show is so great. It doesn’t seem possible that you can continue with such energy doing so many shows, so if you need to take some time off in 4Q, please do. Just keep WLTV alive!

    Question – Gary (or anyone on the blog), how do you clean your wine glasses? The large stems are difficult to hand clean. Obviously a dishwasher is bad news. Do you use soap, salt, baking soda, or just hot water? What to do?

19. August 26, 2006

    Tony

    Gary,

    Sorry for laughing at your tie. That was mean. You were great in that interview.

    One thing that stuck with me from this episode was that you talked about wines closing down. What causes this? Please spend an episode talking about how, when and why wines close down and go through dumb phases. Is there a way to counteract it (decanting, etc.)? The whole idea mystifies and fascinates me. I’m going to add this to my list of episodes that I’m going to bug you endlessly and relentlessly about.

    Speaking of which…well you know what I’m going to say.

    Also, I just want to thank YOU for doing WLTV. I know you are totally slammed making WL the best wine store out there and I know I speak for everyone when I say that we really appreciate the time, effort and dedication you put into each episode of WLTV. I’d hate to see you burn out on doing WLTV, so please take time off from doing it whenever you feel you need to.

    Tony

20. August 26, 2006

    gabe

    yeah bob u…break out the barbaresco gary..how bout my Orlando abrigo vigna montersino stuff

    Gary how bout some guest WLTV hosts during the 4th quarter…WLTV hosted by Gabe Conte

    I ‘ll wear my giants jersey!!!!!

    hahahaahah

21. August 26, 2006

    Bob B

    Gary once again congrats on WSJ.
    My favorite champagne involves four.
    One January 1st my parents invited my wife & me to their house for dinner. I brought a 1990 Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill; I thought this will impress the old man.
    When we arrived he thanked me for the wine & said “put it in the frig with the others.”
    The others were 1990 Dom, 1990 Krug & 1990 Crystal. I did bring a good one but….
    The day was great & the champagne was even better.

22. August 26, 2006

    MikeMe

    Liked and congrats on your interview/exposure for store with WSJ.

    QOD: Shramsberg is our current favorite. We made a trip to Nappa and spent time in thier caves doing several tastings and was really hooked. It is the only wine club we belong to and really like always having “bubbles” around. It really is a great tour (2 hrs) and I highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Nappa to make the appt. Then tour others like Domaine Carneros for comparison.

    Gary – with a pallet as developed as yours I assume you have your prefernces with regards to oak. There is American, Hungarian, French…I get a different answer as to the differences between them and affect on wine from the wine makers when I ask – can you help clarify affect the region/oak has on the wines and why some swear by American or others French? I think in many cases it is cost!

    Cheers

23. August 26, 2006

    Stéphane

    Gary, another great episode. I’ve been a fan since episode one, and congratulations again for your feature in the WSJ. Now, here’s a request I’m really hoping you can carry out. This might be heresy for a wine cognoscenti like yourself, but knowing your love for Champagne and terroir flavors please seek out a Gueuze and tell me what you think. Yes, it’s technically a beer, a lambic to be specific but trust me here. Find yourself a bottle of Drie Fonteinen, Girardin or Cantillon (in that order of preference) and give it a try.

    My father has always been an advocate of good Champagne, in fact our cellar is stocked with Laurent Perrier. Yet in my years of tasting them I have rarely found examples more powerful than a well blended and aged Gueuze. These sour beers tickle the same part of my palate as Champagne and are well worth seeking out.

24. August 26, 2006

    Jim Vandegriff

    Wonderful episode, Gary. I’m glad you explored champagne. I always seem to enjoy it when I have it, but that isn’t often enough. (Maybe I need more celebration in my life.)
    I enjoyed the interview as well. The interviewer seemed well prepared, and you were both professional, and yet personable. Good stuff. Jim

25. August 26, 2006

    PeteB

    Way to go GV and Wine Library!!!

    You get another 100pts from me on this one. I give the episode 95pts and another 5 for the Giants beating your Jets tonight!!! lol….

    All kidding aside, I love the bubbly as well and look forward to your future episodes on some the not so well known producers “the growers”. I picked up the Brice earlier this week from your shop and can’t wait to try some more.

    To answer your question of the day, I will have to owe my exploration into champaigne to just that, exploration- I fell victim to only cracking open the bubbly on special occasions and during the Sunday Brunch – but then I wondered into food pairings w/ Prosecco’s etc. and have come to love Champagne, as well as those sparklings and they have become a staple of the dining experience for my wife & I.

    Great episode and great job!!!!!

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