Hey Gary,

Glad you took the time for the episode … I thought I’d do the same this morning and take the time to leave a note … it’s been a few months, been busy and everything but I think I’ve now seen all the back episodes and have ‘caught up’!

Keep doing the excellent work, and don’t let your suppliers kill you over the bad reviews.

Cheers,

What a tough life you lead…..100+ wines to taste….yankee game….i pity you.
Gary, I’d like to know how many of the wines you tasted yesterday were corked….since the “experts” say around 5% are affected.

Thanks

Hugh

Gary,
BIG thanks for pulling together a quick show today. Much appreciated and certainly better than nada. Have to admit we drink merlot less often – not due to Sideways but because in the years prior to that merlot was more fashionable and seemed to be relatively more expensive than other things. This was a good reminder there are still great tastes/values to be had. Hope you enjoy(ed) the game. Looking forward to the next full-fledged fun-filled episode.

Thanks for the “quickie”, Gary.

G- Thaks for sticking up for Merlot… a great varietal. I’m shocked at how strong an impact Sideways had on this grape… a shame, if you ask me. But, if you pay close attention to the the movie, the last wine had is a merlot! The irony of it all. BYW- have you seen Mundo Vino? Now that’s great watching. Look forward to trying this wine at the right price.

In case anybody forgot at the end of Sideways Miles drinks his Cheval Blanc in the burger joint and Cheval Blanc iis what …..Merlot. Mass producers in CA ruined Merlot’s rep not a movie. The movie just reflected what already had been happening with Cal/Merlots. Big empty wines.

GV, I salute you tasting between 100 and 200 wines and still going to a Yankee game.
Shades of Robert Parker, olfactory marathon man and oenological superman.
Parker wrote in a June 2002 article in the NYTimes:
â??I taste 120 wines a week, except when I’m on a tasting trip. Then I taste that much in a day.â? Like you did yesterday, GV.
In the same article Mr. Parker continues:
â??When I taste quantities of high-acid wines, I can feel as if the roots of my teeth are rotting. Other hazards include black teeth stained from rich red wines. I joke that I can tell the quality of a great, concentrated ripe vintage by how stained my hands are. Sometimes even scrubbing won’t clean them.
I don’t get palate fatigue, which I attribute to drinking up to five liters of water a day. However, when I’m tasting wines high in alcohol and tannin, I can feel as if I’ve taken head shots from professional boxers.â?

GV, I donâ??t envy you a bit. Hell! I get palate fatigue from a 6 wine tasting flight. That level of dedication on your part gives real meaning to your slogan of â??tasting wine so you donâ??t have toâ?.

Thanks Gary, because of you I can concentrate on just contemplatively enjoying wine a bottle (or two) at a time.
Chin chin

Thanks for the comments regarding Merlot, Gary. I recently had a Rafanelli Merlot, which was absolutely massive – dark cherry fruit, a bit of earth and chocolate. The color was deep, inky. It really pointed out that Cali Merlot doesn’t have to be simple, light and jammy.

Try Carhartt Merlot, Santa Ynez, if you get the chance. Brooke and Mark Cahartt are cattle ranchers making wine on the side…under 300 case production. Tasty juice.

Merlot Rocks!! The previous comments stole my thunder. The French know how awesome Merlot is…in fact one of the most expensive wines that comes from a region that is known for blending [the most famous in the world] is 100% Merlot. [Petrus/Bordeaux]. Now for my fellow Merlot lovers…I will share what the best Merlot made in this country is; Mr. Parker agrees with me as do 98% of the people who have been lucky enough to try this wine. Unfortunately Gary will never carry this wine. You must be on the winery list and Evan after that you are only allocated a whopping two bottles a year. [note: Parker has given this 100% Merlot a 96-99 rating just about every year [when tasted] PRIDE…not the regular 93 rated one but their Vintner Select Cuvee. It’s also pricy…$80 a bottle. Bob Foley uses only a couple of rows of vines at the very sumit of Spring Mountain.

Gary, have you ever had this wine? I would be happy to share a couple of bottles before a Jets/Bucs game in 07’…..I’ll Evan bring the tickets…what am I saying, I spend enough money in your store for you to buy…just joking

Thanks for kicking my Devil Rays butts…..It’s hard to find the joy with that team. You had to be impress with Carl Crawford….he would be a superstar if he play for the Yankees….in fact one person talked about for MVP this year has very similar numbers.

Big sport fan and Wine lover…what’s not to like about you Gary? If you tell me your a big family type guy as well then you hit a home run in my book!! Take care.

Big Billy From Big D
Great post!

B

I am also glad to hear the merlot episode and I wonder just how much the addition of some cab does for the wine. Somehow it seems obvious that 100%-ers may not always be the best way to go. It’s not as if these ‘classic’ blends from France (Bordeau, burgundy, st emillion etc etc arrived out of NOWHERE………). I love some of the chliean merlots and I think the best Californian one I wver had was a Firestone. Hope your team won (not the least interested in the game tho…… give me RUGBY any day!)

Gary –

I was wondeirng why you rarely taste the wines on WLTV that are featured each day in Wine Library’s emails. Its not because the wines featured in Wine Library’s emails are usually highly rated and you fear that you will think they taste like crap and have to pan them, is it?

Gary,

Great episode and thanks for putting one out there today. I can appreciate working all day and then running to sit in tons of traffic to get to the Stadium – the Yanks usually make it worth our while though. For those of you not from this area, trust me, it’s pretty cool that Gary took a few minutes to post an episode. Let’s face it with traffic, every 5 min. you are late in leaving equates to an extra half-hour or more getting through the city to Grand Central or up to the GW and over to the Bronx.
My QODs to you:
1. did you make it to Yankee Staduim on time?
2. Yes Gary (Comment #15 – kjb), where do you get all of the cool Jets “stuff”? I think the lunchbox is still one of my favorites.
3. What are your thoughts on global warming specifically with the impact that it could have on the wine industry as portrayed in Sept. issue of Wine Enthusiast? I, like you and others that comment, drink old and new world wine for the fun of learning and enjoying and trying a new bottle every day. But, at the same time should I/we be developing a collection, (sort of like a fall out shelter) for years to come so that when countries are experiencing drought conditions and having difficulties with production, we still can enjoy some of our favorite juice?
Look forward to enjoying the Charles Creek Merlot….thanks again.
Rebecca

My other QOD:

Gary,

Great episode and thanks for putting one out there today. I can appreciate working all day and then running to sit in tons of traffic to get to the Stadium – the Yanks usually make it worth our while though. For those of you not from this area, trust me, it’s pretty cool that Gary took a few minutes to post an episode. Let’s face it with traffic, every 5 min. you are late in leaving equates to an extra half-hour or more getting through the city to Grand Central or up to the GW and over to the Bronx.
My QODs to you:
1. did you make it to Yankee Staduim on time?
2. Yes Gary (Comment #15 – kjb), where do you get all of the cool Jets “stuff”? I think the lunchbox is still one of my favorites.
3. What are your thoughts on global warming specifically with the impact that it could have on the wine industry as portrayed in Sept. issue of Wine Enthusiast? I, like you and others that comment, drink old and new world wine for the fun of learning and enjoying and trying a new bottle every day. But, at the same time should I/we be developing a collection, (sort of like a fall out shelter) for years to come so that when countries are experiencing drought conditions and having difficulties with production, we still can enjoy some of our favorite juice?
Look forward to enjoying the Charles Creek Merlot….thanks again.
Rebecca

My other QOD:

GV thanks for giving us that quickie, really helps the work day go buy knowing I have WLTV to look forward to. If anyone comes across my fav. wine buy some..is 2002 Spellbound Petite Sarah, I have not been able to find it local anymore. and there web site that was previously out of stock on this wine is no longer up

i think the links to the wines should open in their own window, that way, you can keep watching the episode while checking out the wine.

i think the links to the wines should open in their own window, that way, you can keep watching the episode while checking out the wine.

Lev M….Just right click on the link instead of left click, and then select “Open in new window”

Lev M. (comment 41) – yes, I agree. Until that happens automatically, just right click and choose “open in new window”.

Rebecca (comment 39) – Re: your Question 3 – Gary is a man, not God, how could any person honestly answer that question? Back in the 1970’s everyone I knew talked about the hole in the ozone, heck, I didn’t even expect there to be a world in 2006!

Anyway, no one knows what tomorrow may bring, we could have ever improving vintages — or things could go to hell in a handbasket, and then wine would be the least of our worries. If you like a wine, and think it will appreciate with time, and you can afford it, then get it and cellar it. If you don’t, then don’t. Enjoy life. Just my 2 cents.

Lev M. (comment 41) – yes, I agree. Until that happens automatically, just right click and choose “open in new window”.

Rebecca (comment 39) – Re: your Question 3 – Gary is a man, not God, how could any person honestly answer that question? Back in the 1970’s everyone I knew talked about the hole in the ozone, heck, I didn’t even expect there to be a world in 2006!

Anyway, no one knows what tomorrow may bring, we could have ever improving vintages — or things could go to hell in a handbasket, and then wine would be the least of our worries. If you like a wine, and think it will appreciate with time, and you can afford it, then get it and cellar it. If you don’t, then don’t. Enjoy life. Just my 2 cents.

Lawrence, Actually I believe the Cheval Blanc is a Cab Franc which he also bashed in the movie as well.

I’m pretty sure the Cheval Blanc is Cab Franc _and_ Merlot. The percentages change by year…

I’m pretty sure the Cheval Blanc is Cab Franc _and_ Merlot. The percentages change by year…

Ze (Frank), was that you?

;^)