Betts and Scholl wines and the Great Richard Betts

Betts and Scholl wines and the Great Richard Betts – Episode #194

March 6, 2007

Having trouble seeing this video? Click here for the Quicktime version

Links mentioned in todays episode.

Erik K’s Raise The House.

Vlog Hot Semifinals Heat 1.

WLTV Chicago Party forum link

Gary Vaynerchuk and Richard Betts in one room, this should be good!

131 Responses

March 6, 2007

CW
B&S and a new look
March 6, 2007

Hinrgman
Great new look
And a guest!!

Great
March 6, 2007

KAHUNA
Cool- look- nice upgrade
March 6, 2007

Large Format Fever
GOOOOOOOOOO Chicago…
March 6, 2007

SteveB
Nice.

Go Chicago!
March 6, 2007

Justin
Sweet…a guest! and a new look….

Man I should make a trip back home for the Chicago party!
March 6, 2007

CW
first today ? Totally…..
March 6, 2007

Jester
Hey Gary,
Really impressive high tech look. Hope things are still going well. Did you check out the NOWFE site? I met a few people yesterday that are big wine fans down here that also happen to be huge Vayniacs. I told them that they need to stop lurking and post at least a hello on one of the vids. I know for sure that one of them will be coming to the NOWFE with me. I’ll be on a search for any more Vayniacs that I can find ( or create ) around here. Have a great day!!!!!
March 6, 2007

CW
I can’t get past the 15 minute point. Really ? Totally. Absolutment. 3 tries now.
March 6, 2007

TagWorld Brian
10
March 6, 2007

TagWorld Brian
Nice flash player. Custom or white labeled? Good web2.0 functionality in the mouseover. Traffic trouble today though? I’m sure that’ll get worked out soon enough.
March 6, 2007

Justin
Im having the same problem as CW… it keeps crapping out at right about 15min.

Whats the Deal?
March 6, 2007

CampingLisaB
Nice upgrade!!!!!
March 6, 2007

garyv
WORKING ON 15 MINUTE MARK THING!
March 6, 2007

Susan
Gary-
NEW look
and
A Guest???
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Stuff!
My nephew, Mark loves this ep too!!!!!!!!!
March 6, 2007

Colin Devroe
Everyone: I am working with the Viddler engineers right now. Should be solved uno momento. Myself, the Viddler team, and WLTV appreciate your patience. Maybe I’ll make you all some cookies or something.
March 6, 2007

joe
Camping Lisa, are you crazy – this is a horrible “upgrade” – - I have tried for 10 minutes to get past 14.38 mark – can’t do it
Joe
March 6, 2007

Colin
Wow…..great episode GV! It’s been a while since you’ve had a guest on and it was great. Look forward to the next one…
March 6, 2007

tampasteve
DAMN!!!….that dudes hands don’t stop moving….
March 6, 2007

Colin Devroe
Almost done, we’ve found the problem, and we’re fixing it right now.
March 6, 2007

Justin
Download it on Itunes… It was a quick download and I am getting past the problem point!
March 6, 2007

Shir-Az
Video keeps going into “buffering” mode and locking up. Anyone else having this problem?
March 6, 2007

Hinrgman
Gary

Awesome episode.

Best yet.
March 6, 2007

10SGuy
I cannot get past the 14:24 point.
March 6, 2007

thorazine
I’m stuck at 14:24 as well, lol.

But I do like the new look…snazzy and jazzy. Upgrades, without fail, alway have a hiccup or two. I haven’t lost the faith, don’t worry

BTW, great guest, so far at the 14 minute mark. You two seem to play off one another quite well.
March 6, 2007

Rob B.
Great show!!!
March 6, 2007

TheDumbPhase
Keeps crapping out for me too. I’ll check back.
March 6, 2007

Brett Favre
This guy was so full of himself. This was a totally non-WLTV style show, imho. Too much Aspen, not enough Jersey.
March 6, 2007

Matt B DC
Interesting episode – - I’m having trouble with viddler so I’m downloading the .mov

. . . impatient . . .
March 6, 2007

CW
c’mon BF(d) just because he overuses totally doesn’t mean he is full of himself. If the world was full of Jersey-ites, wine would be pretty one dimensional. “Now, I’m naht sayin whut that dimension is, see, because it’d be a pretty frickin good dimension, know whut I’m sayin?”
March 6, 2007

Colin Devroe
Fixed!!! Thanks for your patience everyone. Any other problems, just let me know.

Oh, great episode!
March 6, 2007

waibeans
Jersyisms aside I loved this show. Aspen is an AMAAAAZING place, and anyone lucky enough to live there deserves tons of props. Great story behind the labels and the wine-making decisions. Next time I go to Aspen I’m staying at the Nell!

QOD: I always get a deal at teh WL, dontcha know.
March 6, 2007

alco holland
Better hair this time. Not you, him. BTW no Le Chronique Grenache? I know you’ve never rolled that way but I thought you were at least a little gangsta.
March 6, 2007

Michael
Gary! did I miss something? Were can I fine the wines you covered in episode # 194?? (this is my QOD). ……….tnx
March 6, 2007

Colin Devroe
Michael: That is what I was thinking!!!
March 6, 2007

Slick Nick
Great episode!

Had same problem with video… just keep pressing pause and play when video goes into buffer mode.
March 6, 2007

mikeyrad
cool flash! QOTD, the best deal I ever got was on my co-op. Next to that, Wine Library FREE SHIPPING!
March 6, 2007

Colin Devroe
Slick Nick: All of the playing problems should be fixed now. If you are having trouble, a quick refresh should do the trick!
March 6, 2007

aktormedic
I agree, this guy seemed somewhat full of himself, and seemed to try to walk over gary’s scoring style. Maybe it’s just me…I don’t know
March 6, 2007

Andrew
Congrats on the new flash player.
March 6, 2007

KAHUNA
QOTD: I once got 2 hookers for the price of one- best damn deal I ever got!
March 6, 2007

Adam
The player worked like a charm for me. My only complaint is cosmetic. That green plus sign that scrolls across the screen is distracting to me. Sorry to be the turd in the soup-bowl.
March 6, 2007

aktormedic
Gary, thought you were going to mention a signup link for the SF party…
Its hard to pick a venue when you don’t know the number of people!
March 6, 2007

Tommaso de BoBo of WI
Great look, great episode! Most of us will never have the stuff but the insight on wine making are worth the admission..
As far as pricy CA Syrah,,, look at what we are paying for Alban wines,, but I love ‘em!!
March 6, 2007

Bear Down Brian
Hey Gary– stick it. Bears rule. Looking forward to debating the merits of this trade in Chicago on the 20th.
March 6, 2007

A
QOTD: The best deal I have had in recent times has been dealing with Wine library. The free shipping and prices are fantastic. But there is even a better deal if that is possible. It’s free Wine Library TV!
March 6, 2007

Dmjperc
Nice episode!!!

QOTD: FREE SHIPPING!!!!
March 6, 2007

PattyO
I like the new look – and it worked fine for me on the 2nd try.
Don’t hear me complaining…. but as for the guest episodes – I’ve watched most (if not all) of them and – though I appreciate the novelty, I don’t get much out of them. There’s an inherent element of social grace that Gary has to wear when he’s face-to-face with the wine maker, on tape, which puts the whole package “on stage” so to speak.
But then – it’s important to “try lots of different things”! And I guess we wouldn’t get Gary in the freezing storm, or in the tea house in London if we get too picky about how our WLTV is served up!
March 6, 2007

Dom
“Totally cool” Nice hair, works for a great company, Relais Chateaux, which I have visited a few of their hotels but please stop saying “totally”! Let’s call him Valley Boy. That was my major complaint plus you can’t find the wines.

$70 for a white and a CA Shiraz?

There’s a question: What is the most you have paid for a white wine?

QOTD: Best deal? It has to be your prices with free shipping.

Hopefully one day you can make it down to the DC area. Totally man . . .
March 6, 2007

wannaBconnoiseur
Fun episode, great guest!!
March 6, 2007

Dave Canada
Cool guest….
No reference to all the shit you took about your hair. I though you’d be all over that?
March 6, 2007

SoCal
G,
Nice upgrade!
QOTD: Best deal I ever got was buying a mixed case of SLV from 1985, 1986, & 1987 for less than current release list price. Get this, every bottle was perfect, no bad corkso r improper storage. I wish I could go back and buy the Bordeaux he had for sale. At the time I did not know French wine!
March 6, 2007

mas
Interesting guy and approach, similar to Oriel. Like Oriel, the wines seem very premium priced – guess you have a lot of overhead in projects like this? I’ll take a “wait and see” here …

QOTD: my brother and I splitting a case of 1998 Le Vieux Donjon CdP – for $19.99/bottle – only case in the store, tucked into a corner and seemed to have been forgotten. Still have 8 bottles left between the two of us … to me, that is what’s fun about wine – finding high QPRs before the crowd rushes in. New projects like Betts & Scholl / Oriel are innovative and interesting, but they seem to hit the market at high price points, rather than the other way around. Not sure the value is there to justify it – don’t want half of my $$ going to pay for the marketing.
March 6, 2007

Like 'em Rounded and Aged
Love Free Shipping when buying the low priced wines.

Otherwise, my 2 best deals were only about a month apart – each a few years ago – each was from a new seller on an auction site (Winecommune.com) that was selling wine on 2-day auction terms that ended on holidays.

One was for a 6-pack of 1986 Clerc Milon wih a reserve price of only $60. No other bidders showed up. My cost with shipping was $85 total. I finished my last one off last year. Each was perfect with fills into the neck and a definite 90/91 point wine.

The other deal was for a case of 1982 Dom Perignon – shipping included was only $78/bottle. My wife and I drank all those within the year as they were at peak and lovely.
March 6, 2007

Susan
Gary:
QOD: Best Deal ever:
1991 Navy Blue Honda Accord
that had a shifter that was as smooth as butter!
Very nice, 4 door, only one meticulous
owner who never allowed anyone else in the car!
Beautiful car for $11,000. Only had 19,000 miles on it when I bought it.
I was UPSET
when another driver caused an accident
and
it was gone!
But then again I can go
on and on about the
‘I was upset when another driver caused an accident and it was gone!’
Lost 3 nice Honda’s that way!
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
you could say I used to be an accident dummy for Honda!
Ha!
March 6, 2007

TimInFL
Great point mas (#53)

I tend to agree with that in a nut shell…And was thinking the same thing before I scrolled down to rtepy and read that. So….I’ll just talk football today.

THOMAS JONES – Done Deal. He is an experienced running back who has been productive with his talents on the field. Even though, I bet that Rhodes would come here.

What’s Next…I believe, with the release of Ramsey a QB is on the Horizon.
March 6, 2007

Dave-from-Katonah
Gary – GREAT, EPIC episode. Great new look, worked great on my Mac laptop without any glitches…Aspen is a “totally”cool place, as is Little Nell for $1k/night!! I didn’t find Richard pretentious, but $60 bottles – WOW! I’ll wait for the WLTV discount.

QOTD – Best deal so far 4 cases of 2005 Bordeaux pre-sales with free shipping!! Thank you GV and WLTV! (BTW – I need more storage!!)

Way to go J-E-T-S!! You know as happy as you are, Gary, nobody is happier than Chad Pennington!!
March 6, 2007

Rich T
Sorry but I can’t get this episoce to run, not a good upgrade for me, guess I will have to drink instead.
March 6, 2007

Nick H.
Great episode GV!!
March 6, 2007

skullitor13
Chicago bears = 16-0
jets = 0-16
March 6, 2007

E-Rock
Really enjoyed today’s show. Very interesting concept. Very cool because he’s not “tied down” so to speak.
QOD = The 1983 NFL draft the Dolphins get Marino and the Jets get Kenny O. (The dolphins picked after the Jets.)

By the way the Phins got Porter today tough guy!!!! Can’t wait to see that Defense. Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor and Joey Porter on the same team. Are you kidding me??
March 6, 2007

lizv
mr. devroe viddler is awesome! i’ve been waiting for it. what a great ep.
March 6, 2007

JonE
Richard Betts is so cool he should be illegal, or called Mr. Freeze. Way to keep it real G-Money, no dicing of the opinion, your my #$%^ing hero!

QOTD: 02′ Romanee St. Vivant Grand Cru mismarked at $12.75 a bottle, WS’s published MSRP: $225.00 a bottle. Now if only I could sell it to a rich collector.
March 6, 2007

Canuckchuk
The most enjoyable episode to date. Makes sense too. If wine is all about friends, family and people, then watching
two knowledgable yet down-to-earth vino guys have a great time is better than watching one.

QOTD: Best deal was marrying my wife. I certainly got the better of it.

-Canuckchuk
March 6, 2007

ol_fezziweg
I’m impressed that you could give a wine a less than glowing review of the wines while he was sitting there. You have nerves of steel. Cool episode, though. Sounds like a cool guy.

QOTD: WL free shipping, of course.
March 6, 2007

JavaMonkey
Great, Great episode. Richard seems like a great guy. It must have been hard to be honest about the 88 pt. wine. But enough about the Jets already.

QOTD: I’m not going to be a kiss-ass like these other guys and say WL free shipping. I got a bottle of 2001 Haut-Carles Fronsac a couple of weeks ago for $18. Opened it last week, and it was great. A real classic Bordeaux flavor profile, much better than I was expecting.
March 6, 2007

manual
“wine is a grocery, not a luxury”. that’s not stuck up.

“i make wines for myself, not Robert Parker”. hmmm, confidence.

“i’m not an expert, i’m an enthusiast” aren’t we all? i thought that was the point of WLTV.

great guest.
great show.
thanks for the variety Gary!
March 6, 2007

Colin Devroe
Thanks to everyone that liked the upgrade and Viddler. Look for more between Viddler and WLTV soon!
March 6, 2007

Rick "The Model" M
looks like u lost some serious weight. you are going to wither away.
March 6, 2007

Harley Stan
Great episode and great guest. The new format worked great for me.
March 6, 2007

Darlene O.
Hey, Gary, great episode…totally!! QOD: Best deal I ever got…a beach house for a week in Carlsbad, Cali for FREE!!! Long story, all good…:}
March 6, 2007

damon
I really want to try some of these wines.

Best deal….my wife.
March 6, 2007

Julius
Looks like Richard had a full day today. I Attended a blind tasting this evening hosted by him. It was a relatively small group (about 20 people) and not only was it informative but it was also most enjoyable. He was quick to get everybody actively involved. A very well-spent evening, even though none of the wines tasted like pickle juice.
March 6, 2007

Andrew G
Gary-

You better step it up in the Vlog hot contest, you are losing to that loser.

Great new look
March 7, 2007

dz
Hillarious as usual especially the live boar reference. The best wine deal I ever had was finding 2000 Duck Horn Decoy at Big Lots(formally Pic and Save and Mcfrugals) a couple of years ago for $4(it had no price tag but that was what the rest of their wines cost). Begrudgingly I was forced to go there on a Sunday with my wife and purchased one bottle after which I rushed home to try and soon as I smelled it I went back to purchase the rest.
March 7, 2007

Greg S.
I was going to vote for u on your Vlog link until u bad-mouthed the Bears!
March 7, 2007

Corrado
QOTD: Was doing a bathroom renovation years ago and had a flatbed hand cart piled with supplies. The cashier said, “Leave all the big stuff on the cart and I’ll scan it,” and she ran around scanning this & that. I paid my bill & left, pleased that I was actually doing a project ON BUDGET for once. A few days later I was looking at the receipt. Noticably absent were the $400 toilet and $150 vanity (and a few other odds & ends). That beats FREE SHIPPING any day!

#2 ‘best steal’ ever was going to pick up a pizza for a party, paying with a $20, and then finding out later that the cashier gave me back my change… and the $20 I ‘paid’ her with.
March 7, 2007

Lars
QOTD: I’ll kiss arse. Free shipping!

Very good episode. But, these wines are a little too pricey to always have one on my table. Cool guest and wines. Would love to see them put out some $20 bottles. At $60 plus a pop, they don’t make wines for RP or Lars.
March 7, 2007

cyrock1
Gary, great episode.

To all of you haters out there. In February I took the Level I – Introductory Sommelier Course & Exam. Richard was one of the four Master Sommeliers who taught the course. I will totally vouch for his authentic enthusiasm about wine. Having talked with him briefly, and I do mean breifly (everyone wanted to talk to him), I thoroughly believe he is one of the least pretentious people I have met from Aspen. It was my impression that he just hopes to pass on some of his enthusiasm to people he meets and wants them to discover wine for themselves.

Remember folks, the journey is what its about, and that is what Richard is about, the journey.

Gary, if you are heading up to Aspen make sure to have a WLTV Asen Party. Even if its just you, Richard and I, I’ll be there.

QOD best deal… 1994 Honda Accord for $1400 when I was about to pay $1500 dollars to get a transmission fixed on a 1992 Ford Probe.

Love the new format.
March 7, 2007

cyrock1
By the way…

The Grenache is awesome and the Riesling is amazing. The advantages of living in Colorado is that Richard lives here so his wines seem to be a little easier to get over here.

One last tid bit Richard loves Grenache and is uber-enthusiastic about Burgundy.
March 7, 2007

cobbpa
Been lurking a bit, watching lots of old episodes to catch up. Time to finally post for the QOTD. I’m a Bengals fan. Best deal for us? The 2001 draft. It’s hard to compare your trade to the draft we had, but getting Justin Smith, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, and TJ Houshmandzadeh in one year is hard to top.
March 7, 2007

Nico
another VERY *totally* cool episode!

-Nico
March 7, 2007

Kent I
Well I thought the guy was pretty freakin’ cool.

As for the new player, I thought it was nice, but I prefer to use quicktime (but maybe that’s because I don’t like change).
March 7, 2007

lou from downunder
Gary, I was very disappointed to hear your paying 29 boners for an unknown Aussie riesling, most premium Clare/Eden Valley rieslings retail here for between 20 to 25 Aussie dollars but do require to be but to sleep for some time, also disappointing is that you can taste/smell eucalyptus in your 80 year plus Grenache for me its a no no, a more apt name for this wine would have been Koala Grenache. Keep up the good work, but please find out what we are drinking downunder.
March 7, 2007

Hankx
Superb episode – great stuff. Movie worked like charm to me – when I watched the episode there were no problems.
March 7, 2007

Lars
Just threw “ten bones, US” to Erik K’s house project. Did a year with Habitat, myself.

Thanks to Gary for giving birth to this community and for Erik’s donation of his time. May you get minimum slivers.

Lars
March 7, 2007

Jon B.
Great new look, was quite the epic episode but still enjoyable. QOTD 1/2 price vayniac t-shirt thanks.
March 7, 2007

Elliot Essman
I like the new interface. I also think having a guest now and then is a good change. I wish I could seem as serene as this particular guest.
March 7, 2007

TR
Interesting guest it was refreshing that you maintained your Prof. integrity and did not overscore his wines(take note Msr.Parker). As a confirmed OW Fan I would’nt be buying them anyway. QOTD 2 bottles of Lafite Rothschild ‘02 for $100 each comes to mind. Most recent though would have to be the Aries Merlot Napa ‘01 @$15 (incl shipping) you recommended on your show. I bought you delivered I drank I loved. If I had tasted it blind I would have thought it a Canon Fronsac with the sour cherry profile and menthol nose. Completely devoid of the hot over-sweet confected tastes you’d expect from cheap Cali Merlot and fresh as a daisy 5+ years along. Amazing QPR. Congrats you’re 1 for 1.
March 7, 2007

Deano
Gary this episode rocked!! Please let is know when you get your hands on those wines and they are for sale. I really want to get my hands on them and try them. It is cool when you have guests on the show its great.

QOTD: The best deal I have ever got was buying wine and got it all at a very good rate. I ended up saving like 190 bucks on 12 bottles or something like that
March 7, 2007

dude
Nice new look, also nice episode. Great episode really with the other wine dude in there but… the vastly more important issue at hand, what are the bears thinking? I mean, this is practically cold hard evidence that the people in Chitown are mentally challenged. Hmm… why don’t we keep our terrrible quarterback and trade away our best offensive force… yup, thats a great idea! The bears still suck… Congrats Gary & the Jets.
March 7, 2007

Acousticdoc
Great episode. Talk about an epic, I was clean shaven when it started and by the end had a full beard!
Best Deal: Week long Vacation to Dominican Republic with family of 4…$1200 including Air Fare!!
March 7, 2007

Colin Devroe
I finally had the time to rewatch the episode as the WLTV fan that I am. (all of the other times was to make sure the player was working properly).

I must say that Richard Betts seems like a helluva nice guy. Fun, outgoing, willing to think outside of the box – reminds me of a guy I know named Gary. Besides that these wines, and the idea behind Betts & Scholl really intrigues me. I’d love to know how to pick up some of these wines.

Episode Rating: 91+

Question of the day: The best deal I got was when my wife managed to buy 3,037.5 ounces of CapriSun for nearly free. But then I suppose that would be my wife’s best deal.

Maybe I will go along with Jon B. about the Vayniac tshirt at 50% off and free shipping. When I got mine I wore it proudly. It was comfortable and started a conversation everywhere I went. So I’d say it was definitely one of the best deals I’ve had in a long time.

Keep up the great work Gary and the entire WLTV team!
March 7, 2007

Orion Slayer
I really enjoyed this episode. I like interviews, especially with knowledgeable, passionate people. Could you bring a bottle of Betts & Scholl to the SFO party?

The new video works great!

QOTD: The best deal I ever got (no, it wasn’t Jeff George) was Wine Library TV! Great information, terrific host, and free shipping on great wines EVERY day.
March 7, 2007

Adam
Hey isn’t that guy an actor? Wasn’t he in Full Metal Jacket?
March 7, 2007

Bill
Hi Gary – I have to strike a small note of discord on this type of episode. When you (or anyone – hey, that is natural) have a guest on I don’t think we get the usual honest Gary appraisal of the wines. I am SURE that for at least a couple of these wines (maybe more) had you not had Richard on the PAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ would have been out big-time, especially considering they seem to be super-over-priced (probably necessary to maintain the Aspen-based globetrotting life-style!). A bit to ‘not-real’ for me I am afraid!
March 7, 2007

Lb in KS
Great look, interesting guest….but at those prices, I’m affraid I wouldn’t be able to afford the REAL groceries, though I like the sentiment.
March 7, 2007

Lb in KS
Wednesday March 7, 2007 2:46 PM

AP Photo CAMOD501

By MICHELLE LOCKE

Associated Press Writer

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) – Ernest Gallo, who parlayed $5,900 and a wine recipe from a public library into the world’s largest winemaking empire, has died at his home in Modesto at the age of 97.
March 7, 2007

deborahdeborah
Gary, A WLTV party is Aspen! What great idea! One of my favorite spots in the world.

I thought you were amazingly diplomatic, yet candid with your opinions on the Betts & Scholls. I do agree that at $60 a bottle I would NOT consider them groceries!
March 7, 2007

Englishman
Loved the episode. Also went over and voted for the #1 vlogger. Guess who? Also, you better check out your manager or whoever picked out the posted picture of you. Had to actually scroll down to see it was you.
Keep up the uniqueness of the show.
Go Jets!!!
March 7, 2007

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Best episode so far. I will seek out some of the Betts Scholl labels. It sounds as if you have pet birds in the background.
March 7, 2007

Len C
Nice upgrade, pick that up in London?
March 7, 2007

tp
If “wine is a grocery, not a luxery” why 70 bones a pop.
That’s pretty expensive groceries.
March 7, 2007

Leatherpalate
That was an interesting episode thanks for putting that together GV-
Best deal ever First semester tuition at the University of Kansas in 1987 was 670.00
bones. ( IN state)
March 7, 2007

Lev M.
QOTD, thats easy: 194+ episodes of WLTV for free!
March 7, 2007

YoungDave
The new format looks great- congrats on the upgrade. A Master Somm. guest? Priceless…except the $69 price tag, and 69 BONES is unfortunately a little too steep for this poor boy. I’ll deffinitely seek out Richard’s work after my pockets get deeper in a few years.

QOTD: 2 T-shirts at half price for $6.15 each + free shipping + turning one more friend into an official VAYNIAC = fantastic deal. (I was able to send the shirts to RI, but until Mass. allows WL to ship here, I have no free shipping wine deals to brag about.)
March 7, 2007

flavasauce
Gary and Richard were like classic examples of west coast vs east coast guys. Richard is all like ” duuuude voila! and totally!” with his surfer hair and Gary is on steroids and pumped about football.
March 7, 2007

flavasauce
Whoa! My Gravatar magically appeared after like a year!!!
March 7, 2007

Corrado
Don’t forget to go vote for Gary in his “I want to be the hottest dork in cyberspace” competition.

(link at the top of the page)

You vote once per day (probably per IP address, so vote from as many computers as you can)!
March 7, 2007

stewart l
Interesting episode. Fun to see a different type of winemaker-the prototype cali dude!
Qod-Won a raffle for a 2 year membership at a local golf club
March 7, 2007

TheDumbPhase
As has been mentioned, this Betts dude could be Matthew Modine’s twin. Check it out-
http://imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5341/Events/5341/11263692_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Modine,%20Matthew
Good episode, but I hate that these wines are impossible to find.
March 7, 2007

karl satirev
TOTALLY DOOD
March 7, 2007

Caren
I was wondering, what is proper bucket protocol for a guest?

“It is what it is…..It’s Cali man!” RB
March 7, 2007

SS Chris
I spend an entire January in Aspen my sophomore year in College with 2 College buddies!! PRETTY AWESOME!!!

Frequented Little Nell’s quite a bit….I think I shared some SHROOMS Mr. Betts.
March 7, 2007

gnarlyoak
70 dollars for CA Shiraz too expensive? Not if you are a guhbillionaire who flys your private Jet to Aspen to hang out for the weekend. That is why his buisness model will work. That, and he’s got a selling personality and the knowlege to back it up.

As an aspriring winemaker myself, I’m interested in how he gets this thing to work. Is there a website or somewhere I can go to get more information?

QOTD: Like someone else already said, the best deal I have ever got was my wife.
March 7, 2007

Benji
Hi Gary,

QOTD:

Best deal that I have ever experienced (in relation to wine) was when I worked as a bartender two summers ago at a country club. The bar manager/restaurant director observed my enthusiasm for wine and said that he would give me a great deal on any of the wines in the cellar if I wanted to buy them. Needless to say, I jumped on the offer to buy the 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia for $60/bottle and the 98′ vintage for the same price. Unfortunately, there were only two bottles of the 97′ left, but surely this is better than any deal you could ever get at a retail wine shop!! (except wine library of course) Great episode.

-Benji
March 7, 2007

NY Pete
A good if not different episode… 70 bucks a pop well…
March 7, 2007

NY Pete
QOD… a few deals from WL but one that sticks out was the 2002 Almaviva I stole from Sam’s in Chicago for $40 a pop
March 7, 2007

Jeff
Ditto the comment “If ‘wine is a grocery, not a luxery’ why 70 bones a pop. Thatâ€™s pretty expensive groceries.” I might pay that for a special wine but not for my regular groceries.
March 8, 2007

bugbirdfishboy
In 06 I bought a used 2002 Ford Taurus: 40,050 miles, leather, sunroof, pwr seat, remote starter, alloys, etc, etc. for $5,900…Since then and 10k later I haven’t had to put a dime into it other than oil changes.
March 9, 2007

WINO
Really interesting episode. Seems like a guy I would like to share a bottle of wine with, as long as he was paying for them. Wow, pricey but definitely sounds like something I would give a try. This is what makes WLTV great, introducing us to people and wines that prove that wine is interesting and everything has a story. Keep it up!!!
March 9, 2007

JayZee
Great episode and guest. Nice new look on the video as well. QOTD: I landed 10 bottles of 1999 Quinault on the Winecommune auction site recently for $24/bottle. Awesome!
March 10, 2007

GeneV
Great episode and I loved the interaction.

However, what is all this about wine being a grocery, not a luxury, then pricing most of the wines at 70 bones?
March 12, 2007

Marc Mc
BEST Deal>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Brett Favre…………

GO PACK, GO BUCKY, GO AMERICA
March 20, 2007

TSchampaert
Yuw, again watching back eps. But this is far better than nothing. Nice ep. heard of the wines over here, but never seen any of them, nor met smby who tasted them. People frown upon wines like this over here; smth like “how can you make wine everywhere anyhow?”. Dunno what to think about that. Will save my comments till I’ve had one.
So, QOTD: best deal. Bought a ring for my girl which cost 1000EUR and only was charged a 100. Smth went wrong at the bank, never heard anything from it though. Lucky hit!
February 24, 2008

Brian Johnson
Had never heard of Betts & Scholl before until two weeks ago we had dinner at a French Restuarant and ordered a bottle of the Grenache. Not sure on the year, but I recognized the label. Saw a Black Betty at the wine store in town lat weekend, but opted for a $56 bottle of Barossa Valley Descendant Torbreck 2000 which was origninally marked at $89 on the price tag. Can’t pass up that deal can I? May head back there and pick up the Black Betty since you and Richard both loved it. Mainly because I can rarely find wines in Hawaii that you try on the show so when I see one, I like to get the bottle, watch the episode again and taste at the same time.
QOTD: Best Deal – Finding out about WLTV and having it be free
August 7, 2008

Harry
What a find. Richard really introduced me to the world of “great” wines, and the idea of following and trusting the heart, and Gary, who has been my encouragement and support years later when I decided to follow through and dive into the wine world with all my passion. Great show, and I have to say Betts & School are wines dear to my heart. I gave my Dad their Chronique Grenache for his birthday, and as a lover of Penfolds and big bombastic Aussie shiraz, he was very very pleased, as was I despite my more old-world tuned palate. Thanks to you both!
March 11, 2009

A dumb Rhine king
Fun show. Too bad you didn’t win the v-log nerdoff

QOTD: I just got an excellent deal the other day when I got basically 3 bottles of wine free because of a great sale.
March 14, 2009

JoeWhitt
Why didn’t Bett get to ask the QOTD? That is why he didn’t remember it in ep. 641!! Best deal has to be my truck, like new, dealer had to move it and offered it to me for less than my offer!! Oh, I also had a few connections with the sales guy’s boss..shhh
October 6, 2009

JMG
Chacun Son Métier….
I went to my car today and there was a package left for me. I opened it up and there were several notes detailing the creepy things I have done over the years. Creepy, creepy and creepy. Frankly, they were all true.

One of the major creepy things I am guilty of is begrudging Betts & Scholl their recent four million dollar windfall.

I don’t know the guys and have nothing against them. People make lots of money for doing truly repulsive things that belittle, hurt or kill innocent people and certainly these guys can’t be accused of any such thing.

What I object to is their pretending to be “winemakers” in Australia, California and Hermitage. C’mon….they are two guys with day jobs, one in Aspen and one in Miami. They are not “winemakers” and they are running on hype, pretense and posture. The crazy thing about America is they are being rewarded, rather than condemned, for their efforts.

We just went through an economic blow-up with people selling derivatives of derivatives of derivatives. All with no real product or value. The economy collapsed.

Isn’t it time to call a halt to such lunacy? Wine is rooted, an agricultural product, which was here before and which will be here after credit derivatives come and go. Wine comes from the earth, not a marketeer’s cynical playbook. The key to all great wines is the vines, not a business plan.

Betts & Scholl got the idea to create a label, plop that label on wines, and say they were the “winemakers.” Betts & Scholl then got lots of great reviews (Betts was already a well-known sommelier and had plenty of contacts) for the winemaking they never did. Their wines got critical praise and the next step was to parlay a virtual winery with no facility, no vines, no nothing into the big sale. They didn’t say there were importing wines or selecting wine, Betts & Scholl were winemakers.

This is not winemaking and it is not a négociant model. In principal a négociant buys grapes, must, juice or makes wines and then blends, bottles and then plops their label.

I import wine. None of the wines say Mis en Bouteille par Joe Dressner à East 4th Street, Dubai-sur-le-Bowery.”

For me, what is beautiful in the wine world is the seemingly lost world of growers who work their fields well, bottle their wines and then go out and sell them. Artisan has become a cynical term because everything is now working on an “artisan” basis. Even Aspen and Miami “winemakers.” But there are real artisans out there all over Europe and even here in America we have the beginning of a movement. Artisans who are in tune with nature, not Powerpoint presentations.

For me, what is cynical about Betts & Scholl is that they always knew they were not “winemakers.” Betts is a well known sommelier and no doubt a talented and charismatic guy. I don’t know anything about Scholl other than he is an art collector, seems to have money and has the same last name as the people who make the foot care products. The Betts who picked wines for Little Nell didn’t pick wines based on gimmicks or hype, but insisted on some honesty in the wines presentation and what was in the bottle. He knew what a “winemaker” is and is not.

I received a note today from a wine lover I respect thanking me for Ariana Occhipinti’s wine. I thanked the person, but noted that it is Ariana who deserves the thanks not me. I’m the importer, she does the work in the vines and the cellar.

I firmly believe “chacun son métier.”

Everyone has their craft, everyone has their place.
November 1, 2009

John J.
qotd when a wine store does $1 over cost days and I scoop up alot of wine at a fraction of the price.

Gary, how about giving us a vin jaune episode?