Wines from Alsace. – Episode #95

September 21, 2006

Wines tasted in this episode:

Today Gary tastes and reviews wines from the Alsace region of France. Watch today as Gary tastes these four wines from a region known for it’s quality white wines. More viewer questions and a new QOD.

112 Responses

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September 22, 2006

Al Diaz
Great episode. I would call my winery “Parnita Back At The Ranch” Let me know if you can figure that one out being from Russia. )))))))))))))))
September 22, 2006

Mike E
QOD: hmmm probably something irreverent like “Good plonk wines”, “Various varietals vinum” or “Back seat cellaring wine company”. Maybe even an obscure Jersey reference “Die, Die my darling wines”…
September 22, 2006

Tampa Steve
Almost 6PM and no WLTV…..I CAN’T TAKE IT ANY MORE……………………….
September 22, 2006

Paul
Sylvaner is also grown in Germany.
September 22, 2006

Julia
More DIY winemaking: http://www.urbanwineworks.com/syow.html . Seems to be a trend!
September 22, 2006

TimF
Tony S. – You forget about Glunz. They make a decent port and had an incredible value Zin last year.
September 22, 2006

Julius
I would call my wine Pentagon, the five sides representing the perfect balance of Sweetness, Acidity, Tannin, Alcohol and Body.
September 22, 2006

Rick McQ
You could call your wine: Patriots Suck
I hate that Team -Vineyard
September 22, 2006

Rick McQ
Gary:

My wine would be called the PEEK A BOO PUNCH – So smooth and silky in goes with little effort, each glass is like a fantastic date that you never want to end. Hints of black current,asian spice, coffee, mocha. After you finish the bottle BAAAAHHHMMM – You get hit with the PEEK A BOO PUNCH and your lying face down on the floor.
September 22, 2006

Jason R.
QOD – I would go with “Uno Vino Reno” Catchy huh!!!
September 22, 2006

Tony S.
Mmmm….Alsacian whites. Nice. It’s hard to think of a winery name, cause so many sound pretty lame. I’d be tempted to name it after my family name, but sometimes that seems ego-driven. So I’d name it after my late grandpa’s middle name: Olaf.

But, a winery here in the middle of Chicago probably wouldn’t do to well anyway…probably get a lot essence of meat packing plants in the wine. Hmmm…maybe it would do well then.

Wow, Pat Benatar. I’m sorry.
Go Bears!!
T
September 22, 2006

Arnold
You mention viewing past episodes, I’ve been doing that too but you need a better way to navigate. It took me seven clicks to get to episode 31 and I had to wait for each page to load. A drop down menu with episode numbers would work. They could also include brief descriptions. Yeah, I’m a web designer.
September 22, 2006

Eugene
Julia,

Thanks for the link!
September 22, 2006

SeanM
Oh, I forgot the 80’s music support group:

Hi, my name is Sean, and every group that’s been mentioned here is on my iPod.
September 22, 2006

TimF
GaryV — Isn’t Karen McNeil visiting the Wine Library soon? She always does this thing where says what movie star a wine is like. You should ask her the other way around – what wine is like Pat Benatar? I predict she says Cab Sauv: an iron fist inside a velvet glove…
September 22, 2006

SeanM
My winery would be named “Runs Redd”.

I’m a fish biologist, so since trout and salmon have ‘runs’ and spawn in ‘redds’, I’d name each wine for a fish:
Bull Trout redd would be a cab,
Coho redd would be a syrah,
Steelhead Trout redd would be a malbec,
Cutthroat Trout redd would be a merlot,
Sockeye redd would be a Tempranillo,
Brook Trout redd would be a Pinot,
Chum redd would be a cab franc,
Rainbow Trout redd would be a Meritage.
September 22, 2006

MarcT
TimF…Good Point on the sugar thing…What a rip. Now go and download a few Pat B songs and wallow in the goodness. I was young but remember the HOT stage.
BrandonM, what is up with chalk lines? Also…it sounds like you have a similar company to me…I have two. I’m a Network Administrator by day (like you maybe) and a Personal Chef by night and weekend (when my clients don’t need me for computer work that is). So what do you do that keeps you in front of a computer all day watching old WLTV episodes and posting so damn much? I’m into watching everything but I don’t post like you!!! Keep it up.
Tony, Thanks for the advice on my trip to San Fran. WL has hooked me up too. I’m looking forward to the awesome weather and the Red Bull Air Race as well.
September 22, 2006

Matthew L
I forgot to mention that I have Pat Benetar’s greatest hits. She is/was great. I think you definitely appreciate her more if you’re mid-30s and over.
September 22, 2006

TimF
Vinacull — Any drink with sugar usually tastes better overseas than in the US. In the US we use high fructose corn syrup rather than sucrose in almost all soft drinks. That’s because the US sugar lobby works with Congress to get our sugar prices to about 2x to 3x the average world price. It’s a total scam…
September 22, 2006

Vinacull
Gary,
I horked my drink out my nose when you did the silent passsss on the Barmes-buecher — hilarious! Absolutely LOVED the tribute to TING. In an earlier EP when you asked viewers about their favorite non-alcoholic drink I noted along with Susan that Ting is one of the best. During the years I worked on St. Kitts, we would get bottles direct from the plant there, and I swear it tasted even better than what you get in the stores here in U.S. Don’t forget to try it with a splash of bitters over ice, if you haven’t already. QOTD – Without over-thinking it, I’d probably call the wine something that tries to give back the passion that keeps enthusiasts coming back for more: “Rapture”
September 22, 2006

Julia
BTW, if you really do want to make your own wine, check this out: http://www.crushpadwine.com/
September 22, 2006

Eugene
Another good one! Thanks a lot for addressing my comment regarding white Bordeaux.

QOTD:

I have several label designs in mind. Actually I developed a concept for several wines and I would like to share one of them with you. One day â€¦

The name of the wine is â€œBrooklyn Bridgeâ€ that would be depicted on the front label.
The back label would have a nice story, some kind of romantic crap as well as explanation of the varietals composition.

The wine itself would be a nice red blend with retail price around $12-$15 and it would go great with all kind of food from pizzas and pastas to stakes. This wine would be easily recognizable on the wine list or in the store-the peopleâ€™s wine.

Eugene Â© 2006
September 22, 2006

E
So you’re not wild about Alsatian Pinot … how about Austrian reds, Blaufrankisch and such?
September 22, 2006

Italian Stallion
HEy Brandon M….thanks for the good words…..I mean come on, think about it….”Two buck, Vaynerchuck” is the Perfect name for Gary’s wine. It’s hilarious.

Gary, you should market this wine, it could be a cabernet…then make a merlot called “The Vaynernod”

Stallion
September 22, 2006

Julia
Thanks for the shout-out, Gary! This week I attended a talk by Roy Danis from WJ Detusch & Sons, which produces Yellow Tail, and it was a total eye-opener to hear about how they accomplished a marketing coup. I personally wasn’t into the wines he brought for tasting, but I can see why they’re great at making wines accessible. He mentioned the copyright infringement suits they’re involved with over their labelling style, design, etc. So, if I wanted to make a wine that sold masses, I’d take a Spanish monastrell blend and get Marc Jacobs to design the label, and then I’d do a godello, and get Tom Ford to design the label. If I had my own vineyard, it would be called QWERTY, and I’d do biodynamic and organic wines from all over the world made with some lesser known varietals, and the labels would be all in old-fashioned type faces (no animals!).