Blind Tasting – Episode #197

March 9, 2007

Wines tasted in this episode:

Question of the day: “What’s the biggest discrepancy you’ve seen in a bottle of wine?”

Here it is the blind tasting episode. Can Gary Vaynerchuk be fooled?

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

170 Responses

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March 10, 2007

Patrick Hattaway
Bought 2003 Don Melchor at $32. Pretty sure it’s hit $90-100 at some places. I thought it was a fantastic $60-70 dollar wine.
March 10, 2007

Dom
Great episode Gary!! I think the blind tasting is very educational….just so we can understand the characteristics of different regions through your pallate..and eventually hopefully our own. I bought the sette ponti oreno 04 for 51 bucks and it is consistantly sold at 80-100 bucks a bottle.
March 10, 2007

Nico
This episode is now one of my favorites, or at least in my top 3 (including the other single blind episode, and a space for one more as soon as I think of it). A lot of fun from first taste through the finish… this episode is definitely 95+

-Nico
March 10, 2007

E
QOD: still the half case of Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay I picked up on closeout at 5 bones a piece. I don’t even like CA chardonnay that much but yeah, I’d hit that.

Conversely, however, the celebrated seven-buck Di Majo Norante Sangiovese runs $12.50 locally, and that’s if you can find it …
March 10, 2007

Ken B.
Gary,

Very cool episode, love the blind tasting. Wow and a very impressive performance on guessing the wines. I knew you knew your stuff and you didn’t disappoint.

Bravo!

Ken B.
March 9, 2007

Abel
QOTD: As far as restaurants, in about 2004 I paid about $25 for a full bottle of 1994 Lafon Rochet. Gotta love half-price wine days at great restaurants.
March 9, 2007

Viddler Development Blog » WineLibrary TV Episode 197
[...] In today’s episode, Gary Vaynerchuk blind taste tests some wine. Watch this and see what you think? [...]
March 9, 2007

Abel
Gary, thanks for all you do for us. The show, the wine….the free shipping.

QOTD: I have been fortunate to experience quite a few price discrepancies. The best was a tie between Groth 2000 or 2001 cabernet(the better of the two) for $12.99 and Gruaud Larose 1998 for $18. I have also been able to purchas Hourglass for $29.
March 9, 2007

KenP
The main problem with the blind tasting was that of the homogenization of the wines. They are, after all, at the mercy modern technology. I’ve had zins that taste like syrah that taste like cabs that taste like the lowly cal. merlot that taste like roadkill that taste like the sweat of violence. The price point chosen for your tasting was simply too low, the wines, too generic to generate much distinction. That you did not nail cab, the first bottle, the Ex Libris, says to me that they did a lousy job in bringing out its obvious varietal characteristics. The Montes Alpha, christ, pancakes anyone? And the zin? Zins can have Rhone (ahh, my beloved Rhone) qualities, the mystery of exotic, remote echoes of a chanteusse singing in an alley you can’t find,… but also those of an IHOP, liquid donuts. Cop wine. Fast and Furious. That you did well with the p. verdot, from a cheap, silly producer to boot, tells me only of your straining palate. You got it right despite the contents of the bottle.
Yes, do more blind tasting. But, please, let’s up the ante. Decent, quality wines for a man of the same.
March 9, 2007

SacramentoCharlie
Very entertaining episode. Definitely need to throw a blind in a couple times a month.
Orion: Bevmo is the only local retail I’ve found with some quantity and quality. Although be wary of the displays with $10-$12 marked 90pts by WW as I’ve been disappointed every time and starting to think its more a gimmick to push product. The David Berkley store near Howe and Fair Oaks is smaller on quantity but great on quality and you’ll get personal attention too….I happened in there while a port vendor was there pimping product and the proprieter was tasting and I was offered a glass too. Now that’s customer service !

QOTD: Ask this one again down the road and I’ll have an answer…

C
March 9, 2007

kenito799
Great job I am very impressed! Your tasting today fully reinforced my wariness about buying California wine–which I hardly ever do. There just doesn’t seem to be any correlation between price and quality…well, ALL the cheap ones suck and half the pricey ones also suck. I’ll stick to Europe (except for CA wines I have seen you taste and like).
QOTD: 02 Lynch-Bages $55 in store and $0 free swiped by my friend’s aunt who works at Cathay Pacific from their stash. Just kidding, 05 Funtanin Roero Arneis for $15 all summer at one store and now it’s at another store for $9. What a nice white wine, lov ethose Italian whites and all their wacky grapes.
March 9, 2007

flavasauce
very cool ep.! I’m wondering how the staff chose the wines?
March 9, 2007

Malarkey
damn you are good!
March 9, 2007

dz
Gary,impressive to say the least, what a demonstation of cojones. A great deal(?)that I found was 2003 Montrose for $70 at Costco when the going price was more like $170, also bought a very memorable bottle of 1989 Phelps Insignia at their winery in 1995 for $30 because of critics damning the vintage. Anyway thanks for the free S/H and your truly entertaining and informative show.
March 9, 2007

Kai
Gary,

Great show. Kudos to you on the double blind tasting. I was impressed with the Petit Verdot.

Keep up the good work.

Still watching everyday from Hong Kong.
March 9, 2007

Darlene O.
Wow, Gary…what a fun, ridonculous episode! LOVE these blind tastings! QOD: Sorry, Gary, but have not, so far, run into significant discrepancies in the wines I’ve been buying. So, maybe that means I have to BUY MORE!!!! :}
March 9, 2007

stewart l
Love blind tastings-episode seemed very rushed though-did you need to be somewhere? Good job with the Petit Verdot!
QOD Recently got the Achaval-Ferrer Quimera for 23.95 at Capitol wines-retails for 40-45
March 9, 2007

Joe Po
What a fun and impressive episode, Gary.
the Petite Verdot? What buds!
Thanks for hanging on the limb over the abyss.
Keep up the great work!
March 9, 2007

CampingLisaB
Wow…great episode…I wonder if I will ever be able to do a blind tasting…let alone one after I tasted over 100 wines.

QOD: I bought Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon from Sycamore Vineyards in PA for 19.99 a bottle and I have seen it for 55.00. I love it and when I went back to buy more… of course there was none!
March 9, 2007

Dave Canada
That episode rocked it!
QOTD – I live in Ontario ie all liquor sales are by the government. It’s nice in the sense that you can take anything back if its corked and always get a full refund or you can by 6 bottles, try one and if you think its crap get your money back without a reciept. The shitty part is that all the prices are fixed and you don’t get any smaller stores that offer great service like you guys. Anyways, wish you could open a chain here.
March 9, 2007

ken
Overall, you did a pretty good job on guessing the wines. Iâ€™m sure you did a better job than I would I would be able to. With the Ex Libris, you never guessed the varietal. I was a bit surprised that you got the Petit Verdot. Though I guess I shouldnâ€™t be too surprised because doesnâ€™t Verdot mean green? Little green grape â€“ it really doesnâ€™t sound too appealing, does it? Iâ€™ll have to think about the QOD before answering.

For the next blind tasting I have a suggestion; taste the wines of 4 different winemakers that you have had on the show in the past. That could get a bit scary, no?
March 9, 2007

John Blue Label
Gary,
That was a lot of fun. You done good, man. It takes some cahones to do that for the record.
JW
March 9, 2007

Jon B.
Have had no problems with the new format I like it alot. Great episode you nailed the Murphy Goode, nice call. Blind tasting very fun bring it again soon. QOTD Bran Caia 02 Chianti Classico paid 11 and have seen for 35 else where not bad.
March 9, 2007

koenraad
And I wish to add:

discrepancy = infinite
March 9, 2007

koenraad
Great tasting, prolly usin’ terminatrix/T3-technology

QOTD: in a local supermarket they sold wine ‘packs’, some 5 liters, of some Bulgarian cabarnet, of which I bought 3 (15.00 EUR = 19.6725 USD each). A few hours later I saw 4 of them for free on the dNb-party I was attending (0,00 EUR = 0,0000 USD each). People were giving them away for obvious reasons.

I love my neigbourhood

PS I AM A BIRD