qotd at the moment vin jaune's and how hard to find and unique they are. Which btw would be a good wine to see you do an episode on Gary

Great Episode...very interesting and descriptive analogies...you really have a way with words. Being an above average fan of Amarone..one that I would say is a must try is the 2001 Masi Amarone. I would say that isn't fully at it's prime (yet), but is very drinkable.

Just curious, would it be possible for you guys to try some Madeira or Duoro Porto OR could you tell me the main differences between the CA Barbera, Barbera D'Asti, & Barbera D'Alba? I've never had a Barbera from CA and have noticed the D'Asti to be lighter in body than the D'Alba...is this the difference in body common?

great ep. QOTD: LOVE and am totally seduced by dessert wines. Stickies take the place of food desserts, IMO. Much more satisfying. Some I could just sit and smell all night.

Your description of the Recioto is intriguing... and while it's pricey, I'd go there in a "I deserve this" sorta moment.

grrr, dropped my glass of beer ...
so: ...o know about. Figuratively or virtually? Everything knew and exciting, the feeling of that smth 'beyond' and of course every gob of good food or every decent glass of wine ...

At last Gary, but only just a start with the Italian grape month ... grrrr. Still waiting, yearning for it!
I am also that sour, pickly kinda guy, but then I mist admit that a good Coteaux du Layon Chaume, a Spätlese or more German Riesling, a good Sauternes, a Banyuls, a Vin Santo, a Recioto, a Picolit have e go nuts everytime when they cross my palate. I love them with some Pandorlo (if you don't know that, seek it out), a fluffy chocolate cake, or just on their own ... .
QOTD: seduced? Literally nothing or no-one you nee t

Aaghh.... so I finally cracked open my '05 Bussola Valpolicella bg tonight, and you're right... it's terrible. :-( It tastes like rotten lettuce! You know the kind... it's sitting in the back of one of your fridge drawers and you totally forgot about it. A few weeks later, you're hunting for a tasty treat when you open the produce drawer and there it sits... a bag of wilted, black lettuce, and half of it has some how turned to liquid form, and it's just sitting there decaying like a rotten tooth! Yeah.. yeah.. that's what this wine reminds me of. I love Valpolicella (and I love lettuce!), but this is definitely the worst one I've ever had. And Bussola is supposedly one of the greatest producers in Veneto! Maybe I should try sticking to his TB wines... the Recioto bg I have better not be as bad as this Valpolicella and the bg Amarone in this episode! Ugh...

David

GaryV can you get me any of 2001 Allegrini ?

Thanks for the return of Italian varietals! I like Valpolicellas with food -- I usually pick up a pleasant bitterness on the finish that gives them a clean taste. Anyway, I enjoyed the change of pace.

QOTD: Wine-wise, I have been seduced by Brachetto D'Acqui. It's dark pink, bubbly color and floral raspberry flavors have won me over in a decadent kind of way.

Bad hair day? Great ep, I haven't left a comment in a while... what' the heck is wrong with me?!?

LOVED THE 2 VAYNERCRACKS!!! INSECTS... !!CRACK!! HA I have a terrible habit of cracking my knuckles, and drinking wine, glad to see we're kinda on the same page lol!

QOTD: Black n White photos, great red vinos, and a long cool woman in a black dress (or skimpy undies)lol.

Anyone wishing to throw away their Ch. Y'quem can give them to me. Interesting observation that the dessert wines seem to be graded on a curve. Even the 2nd or 3rd tier quality wines regularly are scored north of 90 points. Whereas tannic monster wines don't seem to get much cred til they're 20 or 30 years old then they're upgraded to 96+. Perhaps reading between the lines Garys saying that wine critics like stock gurus/analysts are a bunch of numbnuts.

Lawrence Leichtman, to my knowledge Nebiolo is almost never seen outside of Piedmonte in Italy. It is also much heftier in the mouthfeel and much more tannic than Amarone.

Will be opening a Mag of 1964 La Mission for my wife's birthday in May plus a 1964 Amarone. Will let you know how the Amarone turns out.

You got me thinking about different wines/grapes.

I've seen the Port episode. How about one explaining why Tawny Ports are so brutal as compared to Vintage Ports (or even non vintage ports like Fonseca's Bin 27) and what makes them different?

Another great, hilarious episode Gary. How bout' instead of not talking about color or saying "great color" describe the color in terms of the color wheel, and what the color is saying about the character and age of the wine. Just a thought... I also agree with LuckBecky about meeting some of the behind the scenes people. We love Erik! Sorry if it is spelled with a "C".

QOTD: Nakedness. ; ) I guess i'm a little loopy too.

Cheers!

Nice hair it looks like you stole Davy Jones' wig. Seriously you had the 2002 Bussola Amarone in 1999? Did I hear that right?
Finally QOTD: I really love the early 60's vamp look. I don't know what it is maybe it's the big hair being a Jersey Boy.

Just kidding-please don't fire me.

Yeah pickles and bugs. Do know what bugs taste like as when I road a motorcycle many years ago the helmets had no face masks. Ate a lot of bugs that way. What seduces me, the standard answer is supposed to be your wife but while that is true wine is seductive in all of the different tastes and styles. I have several Amarones and Valpolicellas but none of these. While I knew about the Corvina isn't the majority taste of Amarone Nebbiolo grape?

I want to be the lurker's birdman

Pedro Ximenez also tastes like steroidal raisinettes with Grey Goose.

For everyone liking the sound of the Recioto, there are a few others to try... namely one by the same producer, Tommaso Bussola Recioto Bg (he has two lines, Bg entry level, and Tb the high end). The Bg can be had for around $45-50 for the 500ml bottle. So for half the cost, check it out. Here's Tanzer's notes for the 2003 Recioto Bg:

92 POINTS STEPHEN TANZER "As impressive as the TB version is, I always prefer the BG Recioto(I'm in the minority), as I find it much easier to drink. Deep ruby-purple. Lovely perfumed nose offers cherry, bitter chocolate and herbs. Luscious fruit complicated by balsamic vinegar, prune syrup and delicate herbal accents, framed by sound acidity and firm tannins. Very concentrated, long wine whose alcoholic warmth demands a few years patience."

There's also the Tommasi Recioto which is around $23 for a 375ml bottle... which is just about as low as you'll find a Recioto Della Valpolicella for, and Tommasi is a good producer.

LuckyBecky (great name!), Erik's been seen in at least one previous episode; go to #174 (right at the end) if you're curious.

Glad to see you introdice so many people to Corvina.
This is a top 5 style of wine for me plus its a great wine for new red wine drinkers.
QOD The wife when she tells me to NOT take a good bottle of wine to a friends house because she doesn't want it to be wasted.

Anthony Thomas in the backfield is gonna free up Coles and Cotchery ... expect good things.
By the way Gary, I too hate the Patriots.
Keep up the good work.

Jeepers G, why not Forest Gump?
Ok, question..... Say you're following the yellow brick road (nice touch by the way), and you get to the Emerald City, you have only 5 grapes to wish for from the great and powerful Wizard.... In no particular order, what 5 vino grapes would those be?
QOTD...I can only tell you what DOESN'T seduce me...flys w/o their wings, I prefer my flies wing-ed?

I always wondered what valpolicella was. Thanks for another stong show!

I'll have to try that Palazzo again ... I liked the '01 well enough (although frankly I thought the La Grola was a little more interesting) but I don't remember it bringing Skittles into my hizzy.

Ah, I LOVE the wines of the Veneto, thanks Gary! $95 for 500mL is a little steep for my blood, but I dunno...sounded pretty tasty.

QOD - Wine and women. You can keep the dancing. And the food.

Great episode, Gary!!

What seduces me... chocolate lava cake -- the kind that is so overwhelming that you simply have to close your eyes when you taste it, otherwise the sensory overload would be too much to handle. You just have to close your eyes, and shut off your hearing too, and just marvel at the incredible explosion of richness. Not ordinary chocolate. I've had lots of chocolate, but only had this pure chocolate experience twice in my life, and it was awesomely, indescribably delicious and seductive. Talk about making a gal melt!

Your description of the Recioto is driving me nuts. I want to try it, but it is way outside of my price range. What is the matter with Erik? He spit it OUT? Is he crazy?

However, I do have to admire Erik for tasting the wine after you had drunk from the glass AND stuck your finger in it. And we caught a glimpse of his thumb. Maybe one of these days we will get to see his face? ;) How about it, Gary? How about an episode where you introduce all the people behind the scenes? You are always hammering on us to introduce ourselves....

Gary-
My nephew Mark(17 months) is watching this with me.
He loves you Gary!
:)

I love the Italian wines. Great episode!!!
Another bottle coming up.....
I'm into "Rooster" Classico's...

To Brooklyni---- decant, rinse out the bottle, let it drain in the sink, pour back what you don't drink and vacuseal. I do this (double decant) when I'm taking a bottle to a resturant or a tasting,, no reason to bring a bad bottle.

QOTD: this dessert wine will be a good seduction of my wife// she loves Kracher and Sauternes and getting into port,,, "lucky" me.

Great show! Thanks for introducing me to another new grape. Just wanted to remind you about the announcement for Chicago Party date.

Great Show Gary. What's up with the yellow brick road? Are you the wizzard of Oz?

Great episode-learned a ton!

QOD:Food and wine together,trout rising,flying
a spinnaker in July with a cold beer in my hand.

Nice episode Gary. I wish i could afford 100 bones for a bottle of wine. That sounded really tasty.

QOTD: My Harley Davidson seduces me lol

QOTD: Mrs. Robinson.

Great episode -- an epic!

Eating flies without the wings and then stuffing a pickle in my mouth seduces me.

The Swiss Army knife descriptor was a good one; will steal it and impress my friends someday in a future tasting of Eurowines! Not so sure about the "pixie ducks" reference. :^)

So with the diet and weight lifting, how long before Gary chooses to do a shirtless episode? Not that I'm suggesting, but my wife might enjoy it.

Assuming Eric doesn't drink all the Recioto, it would be great to see you come back to this wine a few days (or weeks) from now and see how it holds up. Is the staying power like that of vintage port?

QOTD: New TaylorMade driver and Cleveland wedges. And the free shipping on the two cases ordered last weekend (Thanks GV!).

Speaking of free agency...how about your J-E-T-S, Jets Jets Jets picking up Thomas Jones from Chicago. He's a good hard-nosed running back. What does that mean for your star rookie from last year, Leon Washington?

Nice episode Gary. I love learning about new grapes and varietals. It's interesting to see the presentation and large price band with these wines. ($12-$95...Wow!)

You often mention a wine being young. Can you tell us how to detect or determine a young wine? I suspect that some of my tastings include wine that's too young. I want to be able to identify this particular aspect of the flavor profile. Furhter I always want to learn about terms that I don't really understand. Thanks.

QOTD: I'm seduced by my wife, music, wine, chocolate and photography. Sure they are many more things that draw me in, but these things are at the top of the list.

On decanting. I usually decant any wine I drink for about four hours in the Reidel Sommelier Series Borgogne glass which can hold about 4 litres and that way I keep myself to the doctor recommended "one glass for your heart" school of drinking every night. Seduction for me is Mexican food (which you can't get here in Japan), big sizes (which you can't get here in Japan) and organic/biodynamic/lohas/whatever/ecofriendly wines (which...that's right, you know where I'm goin now), and of course life in general. I mean c'mon everyone's gotta try to live a life where everyday is seducirific!!

lol! I know just what you mean about being turned off by sweetness, and needing to run to the fridge for a pickle. I keep an assortment of hot peppers and strong cheeses on hand just for such occasions. Lately, pickled chileno peppers have really been doing the trick. Do you have a favorite pickle?

Fantastic Ep, Gary- muy informativo (...I'm not even sure if that's actually Spanish, but I gotta mix it up sometimes).
Top 50? That's actually pretty good for me!
GARY-- I work at a "Desserterie" restaurant in Boston, and we sell a HUGE selection of dessert wines and Ports, so this episode was great because we actually DON'T have any Amarone wines on the menu, so I'll have to make a Vaynerchuk-inspired suggestion to the higher-ups.

--Gary does some of his best work on a sugar high...maybe a swig of Amarone before every episode from now on to maintain this type of energy??

QOTD: What seduces me? Lately- piercing blue eyes, long fire-red hair, and a cripplingly seductive smile (Read: the new hostess...danger.)