Gary answers a lot of wine questions!

Gary answers a lot of wine questions! – Episode #88

September 12, 2006

Wines tasted in this episode:

Today Gary goes to town and answers many of the questions that have been asked of him. Gary also tastes one of the finest California Zinfandels he has ever come across! Todays episode ends with a serious question that everyone has to answer!

141 Responses

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September 13, 2006

Evan T
OK. De-lurking as per your request and finally leaving a comment.

I enjoy the blog very much.

Since I am writing, here is a suggested sign off for you (QOD from days gone by). Just throw a cork at the lens. We’ll see what kind of aim you have, Jets fan.
September 13, 2006

joe
Gary, I want to second Sam Zen’s (who always makes very thoughtful and smart comments) recommendation about devoting one episode a week to JUST answering questions. This past episode was so educational. By answering so many questions – you address the education of thousands of viewers. Maybe do a Wed or Firiday “question-only” day. 4 days of wine tasting, one day of question answering. What do you think?
Joe
September 13, 2006

Anthony V.
Gary, great show as usual. My favorite restaurant of all time is C’era Una Volta. It’s a family run restaurant in the hills of Tuscany right outside Montespertoli. Freshest Veal Chop my wife and I have ever had. Great local Chianti which unfortunately we did not buy enough of while there.
September 13, 2006

Matty Van
GV thank you for asnwering my questions you rule like chicken nuggets on a teusday.

QOD – all in Rochester,Ny…here ya go Chris V.

Hogans Hideaway – great home town feel, small wine list though, dinner $15-$25 http://www.hoganshideaway.com/

pomodoro grill and wine bar – Nice place, casual dress, dinner about $20

Mama Sans – Great thai food, very few wine choices dinner $10-15 http://www.mamasans.com/

2vine – favorite for a date, dinners $20-30, awesome wine list at great prices http://www.2vine.com/Default.asp

The grill at strathallan – got wine spectators top award of excelance, HUGE wine list, great but expensive food
September 13, 2006

K Spengler
Gary, great episode, you were like a speed demon getting thru all those questions. Reading all these responses,there are so many HUGE name places, of course their good. My favorite eating place is a gem called Bistro 614, located on Penn Ave., West Reading, PA. Private and top of the line. It’d be a real treat for you to try it, their sommelier would flip if you showed up.

Keep up the great work, Gary. Bring your wife to PA.
September 13, 2006

Rich T.
I am in Wine Library all the time, and I have never seen you!! Looking forward to a brush with a celebrity!! Anyway, my second comment here, and still want to know if I am drinking junk wines if I only really like semi-sweet wines? Are there any hightly rated Semi-sweets?
September 13, 2006

E
Chinon and pizza, eh? Can’t believe I never thought of that; it’s worked with just about everything else.

Speaking of CabFranc upthread: don’t know if they have it here, but Ironstone makes a nice California CF for the price, and Chinon, Bourgueil, Saumur, and Touraine will all point you in the right direction (the CRB Touraine Cabernet I picked up last year was one of the most astonishing $10 wines I’ve ever had).

QOD: since there aren’t a lot of killer restaurants in the sticks and I can usually do better on the front porch, I’ll nominate the last truly great meal I had out, at Tosca in DC–great Northern Italian stuff and Barbaresco by the glass, which was good enough to make me go in search of more. Good times.
September 13, 2006

Julius
I live in New York (Manhattan), one of the best “restaurant cities” in the country, so the selection is huge, but I would agree with a few earlier postings that Daniel is at the top. Impeccable service, outstanding food and wine and a genuinely gracious host (Daniel Boulud). Carnivorously speaking, my top steakhouse vote goes to Peter Luger (Brooklyn).

I have a question for you, Gary. If your father didn’t own a wine shop, what do you think you would be doing today careerwise?
September 13, 2006

David S.
Gary….in Cape May you must visit 410 Bank Street but unfortunately it’s only seasonal. You’ll take home two orders of the blackened scallops!

Going to a tasting of Oregon wines…any info to share?
September 13, 2006

Lawrence Leichtman
Great episode as always. Didn’t get to my question maybe one of these days. Always a fan of Ridge Zinds, haven’t had the Independence School yet and will have to try some.

Restaurants
Two in Napa in Yountville Bistor Jeanty and French Laundry when I can get by the reservation number
Used to love Emeril’s Delmonico before the Hurricanre and Commanders Palace in NO
Nobu for Japanese in NYC
Absolute favorite is one you went to El Bulli
September 13, 2006

NateDogg
GV,

Alright, alright. I’ve been watching WL TV for the past two months, and I haven’t held up my end of the bargain. You finally broke me and today’s my 1st comment. Pretty excited about the Ridge Zin, which is my uncle’s favorite type of wine. I think I’ll bring a bottle of the Independence School to Thanksgiving dinner back in Massachusetts. Speaking of which, a certain football team from said state will be coming to NJ and is going to roll all over your JETS this weekend

Although originally a New England native, I’ve lived in Denver the past 3 years and was in the Bay Area for 5 before that, and I must say that Denver’s food scene is highly underappreciated. If you make it to the great state of CO on your restaurant tour you should check out Rioja (http://www.riojadenver.com/). Later,

NateDogg

P.S. Just bought my first Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the 2003 Le Vieux Donjon. Unfortunately I’ll have to wait 10 years to drink it… My fiancee and I also love the Paneretta Chianti Reserva â€“Â your video e-mail was a great inspiration!!!
September 13, 2006

Mike M
love it…but can you give us some real bargains
September 13, 2006

Katie
Iowa might not be known for its restaurant, but Lincoln CafÃ© in Mt. Vernon is changing that. Their menu features three entrÃ©e specials that change weekly so every time you go there you are guaranteed a dinner worth the trip.

http://www.foodisimportant.com/

I have been watching your podcast for a while, but this is my first post.
September 13, 2006

Tom
Gary,

Even though you can’t ship to Tennessee I watch your WLTV episodes. Some day Tennessee may move out of the “dark ages” and remove the stranglehold of the wine distributors in this state. Not to worry though, when I retire, I will be in a state where I can import.

Now we have that completed on the the question and 1 comment.

Favorite Restaurant in Memphis, TN area is easy.

Cafe Society
212 N Evergreen St
Memphis, TN 38112

The comment on Pizza was very interesting. I will try some, as I am a huge Rioja fan.

My wife and I also enjoy Champagne and or Sparkling Wine with pizza. Excellent!
September 13, 2006

TimF
For all of you who live in CT (seems like there are quite a few) I need to give props to Le Petit Cafe in Branford. It was started by Jacques Pepin’s son probably 15 years ago and serves French food. They have two seatings a night and the food is amazing (prix fixe). I think Jacques lives in Madison (or at least he used to). When I worked at Bishop’s farm market in Guilford (high school job) he would come in all the time and want to talk about eggplants for some reason. My dad sold him a Peugeot back in the 1970s and claims his over-the-top accent is totally phony.
September 13, 2006

TimF
Jared – Sally’s Pizza?!? That’s heresy! The only real pizza made in the US is at Pepe’s.
September 13, 2006

TimF
Mike I – Are you from Guilford? That’s where I grew up. I love The Place. It’s amazing how many restaurants people have posted that I’ve either eaten at or heard of.
September 13, 2006

Fluffy
Gary,
You have to dine in Houston to truly enjoy a world class French bistro: Cafe Rabelais (http://www.caferabelais.com/). Owner Christophe Paul is from Provence/Southern Rhone but his Sancere, Bordeaux selections are unbelievable.

Having said that if you want to meet at the French Laundry in Napa, I’m a big Go!

Thanks for answering the q’s – Fluff in H-town
September 13, 2006

Mike I
For something a little different I’d recommend The Place, Boston Post Road, Guilford, Connecticut (http://www.ctnow.com/dining/hce-hta-ctn-burd-artsep07,0,3542518.story?coll=hce-headlines-dining). It’s bring your own so you decide on the wine list, and you can’t beat it for a get togehter with friends.

One other thing, have you mentioned cellartracker.com on wine library TV? It’s a great way to find out what people think of just about every wine on the planet and you can keep track of your own wines.
September 13, 2006

Vinacull
Gary,
Very good EP, and loved the Jets sign. Your description of the Ridge I.S. Zin has me curious and salivating, as I am familiar with the Lytton Springs and Pagani Ranch. I agree and abide by the comment about buying as many different wines as possible when shopping, rather than cases of one wine. QOTD: I’ll mention two. Lucia’s Restaurant and Wine Bar in Uptown Minneapolis is a beautiful little restaurant that serves excellent food at very reasonable non-pretentious prices in an elegant/quiet atmosphere where the service is fastidious and friendly. Another fave for great food and a fashionable dining experience is Mark’s of Las Olas in Florida.
Gary here is a QUESTION for calling you to the carpet, and I hope you get to it because you’ve never answered one of my questions. About eight or nine months ago we were doing a blind tasting where we were comparing different red varietals using California wines in order to learn how they are different from one another in color, body, smell, taste, etc. Shopping at Wine Library, there was of course an abundance of bottles to choose from across a big range of price points when it came to Cab Sav, Pinot Noir, Petite Syrah, Shiraz, and Zinfandel. However, there were just a handful of bottles to choose from in the entire store when it came to Cabernet Franc – the varietal you mentioned in today’s EP. So, my questions are: A) Why does it seem that Cabernet Franc is used more often for blending than bottled on its own? B) For viewers and/or drinkers who have never had a Cabernet Franc, what are its virtues, such that they should seek it out as you encourage them to do – especially if it is scarce to find? If you can, please address whether/when WL will carry more Cabernet Franc (i.e., a search on CA Cab Franc on WL site currently results in a greand total of three hits).
Thanking you if you rise to the challenge, CK
September 13, 2006

Sam Zen
G- wonder if you should have only one day a week (eg. Mondays) where you focus solely on questions, kind’a like in this episode. All my favorite restaurants are overseas… that would be one hell of a WLTV episode.
September 13, 2006

Rich S
I have a ton of favorite restaurants but the ones that I can always rely on are Trattoria Romana in Staten Island (although their wine list isn’t the greatest) and a new one that I am really digging is Loucas in Edison, NJ. Great Italian food, BYOB, and reasonably priced. In fact, I am going there on Sunday! For a once in a while, fine dining experience, my favorite places are the River Cafe in Brooklyn and Erminia in Manhattan. Definitely check those places out if you have never been there.
September 13, 2006

eugene
Hi, Gary
Please do tell us more about zinâ€™s. I think it is really underappreciated wine. Also, I would like to see a comparison between Primitivo and Zinfandel.

QOTD:

I like many restaurants but these come to mind:

Jules in East Village for good food, live jazz, wine
Harvest in Closter, NJ, again, live jazz Tuesdays, good wine and food
Umeya excellent sushi BOYB in Cresskill NJ.
Salmon River in Midtown when I am in the mood for fish.
September 13, 2006

Michael P
Gary,
I like that you are answering more questions at the end. Friday is pizze night every week & I’ve been searching for that perfect bottle. I will defintely seek out the Chinon.

My wife & I have 2 great restaurants:
Piccola Venezia – decor leaves much to be desired but then again thats not why we go there. We’ve never ever been disappointed. Service is top notch. Their Fusi alla Grappa is a MUST try. They will almost always make anything for you thats not on the menu so always ask.

Acappella – outstanding!! Very expensive but definitely worth it. Its in Tribeca NYC about 2 blocks North of the WTC. This restaurant is very special to us. We only go once a year on our anniversary & after dinner we walk to Ground Zero. Its an emotional day because we have reason to celebrate but we always take the time to remember those we lost.
They serve this antipasto dish with fried mushrooms & a great spice to it. Its awesome.
ps HBO filmed an episode of the Soprano’s here.

Piccola Venezia
42-01 28th Ave (42nd St)
Astoria, NY 11103 * 718-721-8470
http://www.piccola-venezia.com/

Acappella Restaurant
1 Hudson Street
New York, NY
http://www.acappella-restaurant.com/
September 13, 2006

Jaye
Bill D (Comment 53) – Nice write-up! Looks like GV’s got another fan.