Gary,
Good episode – haven’t watched it until just now. Was at the Wine Spectacular last night – got to say hello directly to you. Great event – already planning to attend next year.
For anyone going tonight, a few pointers based on my experience – get there early (before 5:30); make a plan based on the directory BEFORE you start tasting; SPIT or you’ll never make it through the whole night; if you want to get into bordeaux make your first stop the Bordeaux Pavillion – great vertical flights, all the regions represented, but gets real crowded; take food breaks every hour; make sure you get to Tables 19 & 20 for some incredible Spanish wines – the biggest surprise of the night for me (perhaps just points up my inexperience in that area); save the ports and armagnacs and the like for last. Have fun, it’s a great night!
Nick P

QOD: This story pertains to both wine and food stobbery. I am in the restaurant industry and could tell loads of stories of my experiences for the past 10 years as a chef and front-of-the-house manager. But, I choose this one and it’s long so, sorry to those that hate the long posts…..

Almost 2 years ago I was invited to one of the best restaurants in NY; owned by, arguably, one of the best Chefs in the US. I was both honored and flattered to be invited and quite honestly, like a young kid inside, counting down until the day (Dec. 19th, 2004 – see I still remember the day because, to me, it was one of the highlights thus far in my food/wine career and hobby). Anyway, I was dining with several others that are truly what I call “wine-heads”. It was quite an experience to be in this restaurant, the atmosphere, the view of Columbus Circle and Central Park, the menu, the wine list, the service, just everything. To me, an opportunity I was going to savor every moment of, because, for all that I dine out, all the wine I drink, food I eat, whether expensive or affordable, it is just not everyday affair to dine at this particular restaurant. After a 5-hour experience, the Matre ‘d took us for a tour of the kitchens – WOW! Anyway, for months after this experience, one of the other guests at my table went on, and on, and on, retelling everyone he’d encountered how overhyped this restaurant was, the wine list, the food, just everything. He constantly “bragged” that he wasn’t impressed with the wines, he could have prepared the food better, and that plain and simple, his restaurant and wine list are better. I consider situations like this almost amusing; such ego and insecurity! (two traits that go hand-in-hand) This bragging person, happens to have been running restaurants for 25 years or more. Why can’t we all just go out and enjoy an experience and dine in a restaurant with an open mind to experience what a chef, or sommolier or owner are trying to communicate? No matter how developed our palates are or are not? Whether we are in the “business” or not? And respect others that are doing the same thing. Nonetheless, I still am delighted and it was a pinnical in my career to dine for an entire afternoon in that restaurant. I love the laugh I get inside when I am confronted with a “snob” customer. Just go out, have fun, eat, drink be merry – as the saying goes. Sure we are all looking for value, quality, etc. but, we only get to do this life thing once, right?

On another note…Being confronted by “snobbish” customers once in a while really makes my WLTV time worth coming home to. I enjoy reading the comments and participating when I can. BTW, Brandon M., you crack me up and you teach me a lot, as do lot of other posters out there. Thanks to all in this forum and of course to Gary for the education and especially for your absolutely, not at all, would never become you, “snobbish” approach!
Rebecca

TimF: I think Trader Joes has some pretty good selections. It’s just a lot of my friends that like wine, but don’t feel like trying, always buy the same, same, same wine from there. I picked up a really nice Australian Chard there (that I haven’t found since) that was really smooth, among others.

But ya, what I meant was that they buy the same exact wines from there all the time.
See you later,
T

Thanks Rebecca…great post!

Hey, great show, you make want to buy wine every day. I know your point is not to sell the wine you taste but you shure make me want to buy wine in general.

Wine snobb? The most outrageous thing I can think of is a liquor store in Morristown NJ. This store ( I think the name is chrodnnay) has been trying to sell a bottle of 1983 Opus One for $350.00 or maby more I can not be shure, which has been stand up, in the same place, and on a hot upper shelve for the last three years at least. As far as I can tell this is over priced and poorley kept and yes I know “wine is tough” but I don’t know if anyone will ever buy this bottle for that price. Not to mention the rest of the store is overpriced. Than been said, this is why I shop your store…. Good Job…. See you tonight, Justin D

Gary,

It is great that you were recognized although I disagree with the comments that whoever that guy was made. You are trying to bring “wine to the masses” and that is the whole point of WLTV but I don’t feel you are trivializing wine. Maybe whoever that guy was is really a lurker out there who watches every episode of WLTV ten times. That would be quite comical………

Anyway, my friends tend to think I am a wine snob (even though I really am not). Most of them just don’t appreciate wine as much as I do. As far as the best example of snobbery I ever encountered, I discussed in a post way back when (somewhere in WLTV episodes 20-30) where I was out to dinner with a bunch of people from work and the so called “wine expert” at the table ordered a brunello that everyone (including me who tested the wine when it arrived) hated. Instead of listening to what 4 people were saying, the expert insisted that the wine was fine and that maybe we all had just never had an expensive Italian wine before……………. Hysterical…………

God…I created a monster and the biggest snob now is my wife. She only drunk White Zin a couple of years ago, then a trip to Napa and some mailing list wines later she now doesnâ??t touch anything under $40 bucks and when I do find a bargain that I like most of the time she has something negative to say. Well I guess it’s better then if she still drunk swill.

Question Gary: Has anyone every stuck there nose up at you for something you recommended or was drinking?

DougG: You are a lucky, lucky man.

I could have sworn that the ‘journalist’ said ‘hocking,’ not ‘hawking’, meaning you are using WLTV to sell wine by shouting out at the masses. Obviously the ‘journalist’ was ony using WLTV as an example of the American use of the numerical rating system and didn’t really bother to learn anything about WLTV. I also noticed that the ‘journalist’ never actually described how the numerical rating system works. I never thought I’d see such a poor job of journalism at PRI or NPR, those guys usually know their subject inside out before they open their mouths. The really funny part was that the clip was of an American wine that was being ‘pazzzzzed’. The whole thing makes me wonder what those French farmers think when their wine gets a good rating.

I haven’t run into a wine snob yet, or atleast, if I have I paid no attention. I did get a look from a friend once when a said a nice desert wine wasn’t cloying. 😉

GV – Sorry about the J-E-T-S, but my fears weren’t realized as you came through with your usual high energy level in this ep. I am saving room on DA BEARS bandwagon for you, but get on quickly because it’s filling up!

QOD – Was at a wine tasting hosted by a friend at his house. Very low-key crowd, absolutely no pretention in the room, just people tasting wine, some of whom were into wine and some of whom were new to wine. The host had organized and ordered the wines by varietal, including putting blends in between pure varietals, to help people compare, and there were far more reds than whites, maybe 15/20 reds and 5 whites. The tasting started, and some guest decided that his palate could better decide how to organize the wines, so he started moving them around, grouping them to his tasting! I was incredulous, and after he was out of sight I did my best to put them back. What a snob

QOD- I was in Sonoma in a town called Healdsburg and I was shipping 7 cases of wine back to NJ. I was in the shipping center and telling my friend about Clos Du Bois winery. Which I intentionally said wrong as part of the story. A woman actually tugged my sleeve and corrected me in the middle of my conversation and said I should learn how to speak the French name properly. I smiled and laid an Italian word on her pronounced quite correctly.

Gary,
At least they didn’t call you a JAGUAR

Many years ago at a wine tasting party, I went through the line last to get a taste of the “champagne du jour”. Wow! What a blast of disgusting liquid. So as not to give Jerry (the host) a problem, I took him aside and said, “What was that crap?” He roured laughing and said “It was warm beer. I knew you aren’t a beer drinker, but you are the first one out of twenty five people to realize it wasn’t champagne!!!” He was laughing so hard I thought he’d require a pants change. There also was the time Ed, after much pomp and circumstance rejected the Soave he ordered because it wasn’t red!

Boy, how happy am I. I bought 6 bottles of the DANIEL NEO. Really nice to
see that you think it’s worth 93 pts.
Keep up yhe great work…love WLTV!
John M.

Haven’t posted in a while. Gary, way to go. Entertaining stuff. Wanted to post to avoid a “long term lurker” status. Have you heard of the Molly Dooker stuff? From the Marquis family down under. Will you carry any of this stuff? Big Parker scores. You may know them from their Marquis Philips days. Bad break up with Dan and his Greatful Palet, I hear.

Go Jets!

Better late than never? At least I know Gary will see this comment. I am posting a day late because I am taking a few days off on the left coast. Anyway, wanted to say “congrats” on the continued media recognition. As for QOD . . . never met a wine snob in person (thankfully).

When he was showing how he poured I think he poured the NEO into the Brunello decanter 🙂 Hope he doesnt ask for other opinions on that one…Cool show though, like the fact that you havent tasted the wine before and gave an honest opinion on the K. Hall.

Hey Gary,

Another great show….but lets not be happy for the Tigers, afterall they did beat the YANKEES!!!

QOD: I walked into a wine store in the city (new york city….and the place shall remain nameless), and they ignored me because I am a younger guy..(24 years old). Funny thing was, once I got the attention of one the salesman, I whipped out my wine knowledge and stunned the sh*t out of him. Needless to say I didn’t buy anything, but I had total satisfaction watching him squirm as I blew him away with wine knowledge. Moral of the story….NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

-The Stallion

The greatest bit of wine snobbery had to this summer in London at a famous London wine shop that will go unnamed (BBR)

My wife and I walked in and the first thing just cracked me up, in the most uptight English accent you can imagine, the gentleman say ” may I help your sir”! slow condescending almost right out of a movie. He had no idea I have fairly large cellar and basically just shuffled us out the door with his attitude. Of course I a former Marine so that kind of stuff is not my style. You had to be there!

Hi Gary,
I some how found WLTV on youtube in june. i’ve since spent more time these last couple of weeks and watched each episode in order. Starting at episode 1. Youtube stops at episode 101. Will they continue to show up there? Is there a lag time between when an episode shows up on tv.winelbrary.com and when it shows up on youtube?
After watching all of the episodes I thought that I would try some wine that you had show cased. After three wine stores which did not have any of the wines that I had writen down which you liked, I decided to try one which I remember from the show. It turns out it was one that you did not like. It was the Los Vascos 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon.
I really have no experience with wine other than what I’ve learned from WLTV so bear with me. Upon opening the bottle, I decanted it. I tasted at this time. I found there to be little to the nose except a weak alcohol smell. I tasted some muted fruit in the front, a hollow mid palate, and an alcoholly finish. 6 hours after being decanted I tasted it again. I found that the wine did not open up in the nose very much. Just a little more fruit on the nose. In the tasting I noticed a big change in the taste just before I swollowed my mouth was filled with a shocking flavor of wet stale spider web or something remeniscent of the crawl space in the basement of my Mom’s house when I was growing up. This flavor was followed by the same harsh alcohol flavor I noted in my earlier trial.

Question: Was that spider web flavor teroux(sp?)or a sign of a corked wine or something else?

If below 80 is undrinkable on your scoring system I would have to rate this wine as a 70. I couldn’t finish a glass. My delema with this flavor profile is that my wife liked the wine Los Vascos. So how can we find something we both would like.

Hey, Stallion: Try being a *girl* and going to a wine shop, if you wanna see books judged by covers. Actually, a lot of the staff I talk to these days seem kind of pleased I know anything. Things are changing, of course. Best story I heard about wine snobbery was experienced by friends dining in Paris…an American couple were there to eat, and he sent the wine back because it “wasn’t expensive enough.” However *do* we get the reputation for being Ugly Americans???

My brother in law told a great story about (misguided) wine snobbery. He was at a company party with an open bar, and a woman walked up and ordered a *Beringer* white zinfandel . . . as if no other brand would do for her sophisticated palate!

I like it thank god you are not liking that Brunello.

Hi

Couldn’t stand it sitting at 99…i know I’m type A

B

QOTD – Hmmm….had a person I know who is way into wine tell me that he only buys Bordeaux in good years, that he only has 45,61,70,82, 90, 95, 2000 in his cellar and that buying Bordeaux any other time is like flushing your money away…..