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

March 9, 2007

tampasteve
GGFG!
March 9, 2007

CW
blind is good
March 9, 2007

YoungDave
1st!!?
March 9, 2007

YoungDave
SO close!
March 9, 2007

SS Chris
SS in the hizzy!!
March 9, 2007

SS Chris
oh yeah….I’m w/ Tampa….GGFC

(not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

Anti can’t lock this, can he????
March 9, 2007

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
It’s Friday let there be wine.
March 9, 2007

TagWorld Brian
8!
March 9, 2007

MaryS
Top ten???
March 9, 2007

organicguy
First time the video has buffered on me
March 9, 2007

Awin
Top ten!
March 9, 2007

waibeans
12 and a half dozen.

CASE Buy!
March 9, 2007

DaveyDonut
Ahhhh… this flash player is getting REALLY annoying when it can’t buffer enough. It seems to buffer only like 4 seconds worth, so it’s constantly pausing all the time. Especially when the video is just posted and so many people are downloading it, so traffic is high. I liked it better when there was the option to view the quicktime one… at least with that one I could let it download and then watch the whole thing at once, instead of 5 second pieces. I want to pull my hair out…
March 9, 2007

Corrado
Dammit, my wine didn’t make it. I’m officially going to start voting for the dorky YouTube guy now!!
March 9, 2007

TagWorld Brian
Davey, there’s still a button allowing you to view the episode in Quicktime. Have you tried it?
March 9, 2007

JayZee
Top 20?
March 9, 2007

KAHUNA
Damn Boy- I am impressed completely- I would love to make fun of you, it hurts me to not make fun of you- especially because I thought for sure you thought the big bottle was Clone 5 until you poured it-

Awesome job – nailing the Petite Verdot was a huge- as I have had that wine and it usually drinks like a cab for sure.
March 9, 2007

gnarlyoak
Gary-

Wow! I was totally blown away by how great you did on the blind tasting. You were right on with the prices except for the Zin.;)
March 9, 2007

PattyO
I actually watched the ep b4 commenting, even tho it showed “0 comments” when I first started it (not a popular concept in Vani-ville…)
Fun show! Mostly, loved seeing the awesome store again (I know you’ve done a couple others but this one really took a stroll through the racks)! I could spend 3 straight days in there!
QOtD-the grocery I shop at has a pretty good wine buyer and every June the “mother store” for the chain does a sort of inventory re-direction and makes them clear out certain wines to make room for new selections. So they do these “close-out” deals. A couple years ago they determined the store couldn’t sell dessert wines any longer so all the Jackson Triggs Ice Wine was sold off for $7.99 a bottle! That was a fun shopping spree – I cleaned off the shelf!
March 9, 2007

SpaceJay
QOTD – 2000 Vinedo Chadwick, paid $13 per, have seen it for $50-60. Still have 5 bottles.
March 9, 2007

Lars
You’re a dead man, Wine Guy!!!

In about an hour, Fed Ex Ground is dropping off a case and a half of WL juice. 3 of the bottles are Nalle (the e is silent) Zin! Oh, well. I’m still looking forward to trying the 2004. Doug and Lee Nalle’s notes mention that this one should sit down for awhile. They sell it for 30 bones, you guys have it at 21ish. It ain’t 7, but it’s still a discount. Thanks again for the free shipping.

QOTD: I’ve got about 8 bottles of Nalle Zin in my “cellar.” Average price is 26 bones. Now the Wine Guy is tellin’ me that I should treat it like a $3 cooking wine.

Don’t worry, Wine Guy, I still like ya. But, don’t think for a minute that your Jets don’t suck!

Go Mighty Vikes!
Lars
March 9, 2007

lou from downunder
Gary, It’s Saturday morning and I’m bewilded by the size of the store, which begs the question. How long does the average customer spend in the store? and Do they know what they are looking for?

More bling tasting !!!
March 9, 2007

SS Chris
Wow!! Very impressive Mr. VaynerCHUK. KUDOS!!!

Next time I run into the wine sales guy who was badmounthing you….one of his issues was that you knew nothing about tasting wine…..I’ll point him to this video.

I you almost did say Zinfandel…and then another thought popped in you head and you went on another tangent.
March 9, 2007

Jonathon M Chicago
QOTD- 1999 Silver Oak; paid $89 seen it for as much as $125.00
March 9, 2007

waibeans
Great Job GV! wow that was fun to watch.. I definitely agree that something like this should be live tho. You need the live interaction to discuss your tasting notes and why you decided on the final verdicts?

Like:

1)how you could pull out the Petite Verdot characteristics.
2)what made you think #2 was southern hemi.
March 9, 2007

wine - not
2001 Chateau Rieussec – bought 2/07 paid $140 – everywhere else $200+ and climbing…
March 9, 2007

mczinger
QOTD: biggest upward swing – bought ‘04 Coche-Dury Puligny Montrachet for $180, sells for between $300 and $350. biggest downward swing – bought ‘99 Maume Mazis Chambertin for $145, sells elsewhere between $70 and $80 … ouch.
March 9, 2007

mikeyrad
Wow, I’m totally impressed, especially that Petite Verdot!
March 9, 2007

Acousticdoc
Way to go Gary! You do know your $h1+! That episode was awesome. I can’t wait for more blind tastings.
March 9, 2007

ChardonBob
QOD – Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio – In Italy it is 5 Euro and relegated to the lower shelf, here it varies from $20 to $30 and rates top shelf. Why?
March 9, 2007

Jeffrey
qotd:

St. Michelle Eroica, you sell it for $17, Cheapest i’ve seen it elsewhere is $20, most places are $22-25.
March 9, 2007

Rob B.
Another great episode.
You nailed the petit verdot.
March 9, 2007

RobinRedBest in Boise, ID
I cheered when you nailed the Petit Verdot and agree that blind tastings are the most educational.

QOTD: Estancia 2005 Pinot Grigio from $9 to $24…./btl A great wine that goes from soup to nuts or from Snails to Chocolate and holds up well with all inbetween. Tropical fruits and Pears – good fruit/acid balance and a clean lingering palate-coating refresher. Glad we purchased a case locally at the $9/btl plus case discount after paying $18 at a restaurant. We tried to order the Trimbach Alsatian Pinot $35/btl listed on the wine list, but they were ‘out of it’.
March 9, 2007

TagWorld Brian
Wine – not. I bought a 2003 Riussec (750 ml) at Costco for $43.99. You paid $140 for a 2001? I know ‘01 was a great vintage in Sauternes, but does 2003 suck comparatively? It seemed to get good scores. Wonder why such a price difference.
March 9, 2007

RickyRicky
Awesome awesome episode! I just started on my wine ventures, and I usually get my wine from wine.woot.com, so not a whole lot of discrepancy in my wine purchases, yet..

That brings me to my question actually. I think I’m going to have a standing collection of 30-50 wine bottles at any point in time… What’s a good Wine Cellar I could purchase to hold that much wine that won’t break after a year of use?

Ricky
March 9, 2007

FTboomer
Great job Gary, loved the store tour.
March 9, 2007

Lars
Not that this would save my beloved Nalle from the butcher block, but I believe that the wines were not decanted or even open for more than 10 minutes before the tasting.
March 9, 2007

Unaware
When people say “top ten” what are they referring to?
March 9, 2007

Alos Diallo
The biggest discrepancy, is a 1997 Mouton Rothschild that I paid 171.11 from a distributor but have latter seen for ~124 and change, there are others but then again who’s counting.
March 9, 2007

brooklyni
great episode. we’ll have to do this again. i loved it. you are human! well, i would have done a lot worse!
March 9, 2007

NY Pete
QOD… A rival store is offering the 2004 Oreno Sette Ponti for 50 a pop and the 2004 Brancaia Il Blu for 49 a pop… I think they want may business back, what do you think?
March 9, 2007

TheDumbPhase
Nice job Gary. Quit while you’re ahead! You’ll never be able to duplicate your success much like the ‘69 Jets!
QOTD- I’m always a bargain hunter, a recent find was 1999 Chappellet PHEV Cab for $50. This is normally $90+ and a great vintage to boot. Bought all 8 bottles.
March 9, 2007

GottaGoDrink
Gary- Great show and good job. Very entertaining and a nice change of pace.

QOTD- In early 2004, I got the 2001 Artazuri Garnacha for $8. Later, after the Parker 92 score took hold and the bottles became scarce, it was as high as $30.
March 9, 2007

wannaBconnoiseur
Very impressive Gary!!!! 3 out of 4 WOW!! Great show, a lot of fun, please do more of these.
March 9, 2007

dadobs
What a great, great episode. Kudos for hanging yourself out there, GV. Double-blind is way cool.

QOTD: Bought the 2004 Marquis-Philips 9 shiraz for $14 even though it was a $30-35 bottle with big Parker points (because of the falling out between Sparky and Philips). Wished I had bought four cases instead of just eight bottles. Terrific wine (if you ignore the fake fruit oak monster issue). Parker gave the 2005 96-98 pts and it’s impossible to find the “9″ for under $30 anywhere.

p.s. Nalle’s going through a dumb phase. They’ll be back, though I’m not sure of the ‘04 zin.
March 9, 2007

Orion Slayer
Wow, I am envious of the Wine Library store! Do any viewers in the Sacramento, CA area know if there is a wine store of this calibar in the area? I assume SFO would, but are there any closer?

QOTD: Not enough experience yet.
March 9, 2007

Justin
Awesome show! Really! I think you should do tastings like this 2-4 times a month for the show. Let people pick wines for it and you have to guess. I liked the whole format of the show.. Awesome…Can’t stop saying that! Just awesome…

QOTD: Biggest discrepancy? Just about any wine from WL is cheaper than places out here on left coast. I think the biggest I have seen is on the St. Clement Orrapas. Winery has it for $55 and WL has it for I think $34 and change. Costco here has it between 35-40..It seems to change weekly. The grocery stores here have it for $48 or so. I coulda sworn last time I went to the winery they were chargin $70 for it, which is outrageous! Wouldnt buy it for $70 nor for $55. $34 and change isn’t bad and I think it is worth that.
March 9, 2007

ML
Love the blind episode…would love to see a few of these a month. Thanks Gary!

I also don’t like the new video player…takes forever.
March 9, 2007

Lars
Hey!!! Fed Ex just arrived. Three bottles of $7 Nalle Zin. Cool.

There’s also a anti-burglar defense system in the box. Two bottles of Clone 5. Dern, those bottles are clubs! The Fed Ex guy was huffin’ and puffin’.
March 9, 2007

Russ J
That was great! Maybe next time, place all of the wines into identical decanters to get away from the bottle shape/size issue.

QOTD: I was in a rush and needed a gift bottle so I dropped $50 at a local shop for a Cali Meritage, a 2001, can’t remember anything more. When I got home, I couldn’t help but check the WL site. $36.99! Oh, what a burn!
March 9, 2007

Henrychinaski
2004 Kosta Browne Kantzler Vineryard @ $425 at wine bank when it is only $175 at Per Se…
March 9, 2007

Rob M.
Thanks for doing the blind tasting. I canâ€™t wait to try a blind tasting with my friends.

Amazing call on the PV- â€œPetite Verdot, I got your back.â€ Classic GV quote.

Biggest swing: Ridge Monte Bello Cab 2003- WL price 93.99
B-21 (on-line and bricks @ mortar store outside of Tampa, FL, delivers free to Orlando, usually with competitive pricing)- $119.95

â€œDonâ€™t dis Patrick Ewingâ€??? Here is my best Patrick Ewing story. In 1982 (or so), I was watching SportsCenter (in their infancy), and they interviewed Patrick Ewing after his Freshman season. When asked what he needs to improve upon in his sophomore season, he said, â€œI think there are two fings (â€œthingsâ€), my shooting, my dribbling, and my defense.â€

SS Chris, watch out for that Georgetown education!
March 9, 2007

RandyB
GV,

Fun episode. Way to nail the Petite Verdot but to not get the Zin…it must have been bad. My apologies to Lars.

QOTD: Biggest discrepancy I’ve seen is in the purchase price of a 2001 Beringer Private Reserve. After RP’s 95 or 96 prices went through the roof. Even so, I was able to find a bottle for $69 but some of the local discounters carried it at $110 and the online folks were at $120+.

Note to Orion Slayer:

No mega stores exist around here with the pricing WineLibrary consistently puts up. Wine Thieves in Lafayette, CA for their unique inventory and screaming deals and your local Beverages & More are your best bets. Buy online!

Ciao
March 9, 2007

Benji
QOTD:

Biggest discrepency that I have found from my experiences in buying wine was this past October, around Halloween. Was looking on erobertparker.com in the (Find Online!) option of the website for the 1998 vintage Joseph Phelps Insignia, and found a Texas wine shop having a closeout on 750ml bottles of their Insignia for $36.83/btl (have invoices!). A California wine shop was selling the same bottle (750ml) for $280.00/btl. About a $2900 difference in price if buying buy the case…yikes!
March 9, 2007

Marc
2003 Van Duzer Oregon Pinot Noir. Got it at a grocery for $16, then went down the street to a wine store and saw it for $26. By the way, good full-bodied Pinot in my opinion. Good for $16, average for $26.
March 9, 2007

Dave-from-Katonah
Great show Gary V!!!! Way to hang it all out there for the Vayniacs! You are the man. Three out of four!! Chad P. wishes he was that good a QB! I knew you would get that Petit Verdot!! This blind tasting needs to be like once every other month or so. Great shots of the store, which I HAVE TO visit for like a week or so!

QOTD – Patricia Green Pinot Noir – locally I paid $35. Two months later I discovered WLTV had it for $23. I was a devout WLTVer ever since.
March 9, 2007

leatherpalate
Gary I truly believe kids in bus. school should be watching this to see the future of customer service. We asked for it and we got it! Awesome job you were in the game on all four bottles and hit a G.S with the Petite V.-nice. Easily a top ten episode you get a 94 plus L.P.

QOD: Kind of new to the wine game but scooped the last two bottles of a late harvest riesling from Amity Vineyards(2000?) in Oregon for 25/per saw them for auction the next month for 50-75 per. Also pretty much everything I buy from WL is 10-20% cheaper than my local ’super’ wine store….
March 9, 2007

mas
I am truly impressed Gary – that was way cool. You know your stuff!

QOTD: 1999 Chateau Latour for $119 – I had no idea at the time what the score was on this wine and I knew that this was probably as close to affordable as I was going to get to buying a first-growth Bordeaux. Later saw it online for between $176-$225.

On the downside – it was a Vegas steakhouse where I paid $85 for a $30 bottle of 1998 David Bruce – and that was about the best I could do to keep it under $100!
March 9, 2007

Brookhouser
great episode! 3 out of 4!

QOTD….Started drinking wine and wanted to try the famous Ruffino Gold label….Paid 40.00…what a rip and bug time after tasting! Learned quickly
March 9, 2007

Jim Walker
Gary,

I don’t know if you have superb magician skills or if you really can identify grapes between hemispheres, identify grape varieties, and their relative prices, but either way, I found it an impressive performance.
March 9, 2007

BV
Fun show, Gar’ and impressive — don’t tell me you don’t have X-ray vision!

Comments-wise, I thought Lars gave every bit as good as he got on this go-around.

Possible suggestion to DaveyDonut: I was getting the buffering every 5 seconds, too. So I just quit out of it for about 3 minutes, and when I came back, it was smooth sailing from stem to stern.

Thanks again for a fun one.

THERE ARE NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WILL NOT TASTE!

Bill V.
March 9, 2007

Julius
For someone who has been in the business for about 14 years, about 10 of which were at legal drinking age, and who professes to conduct frequent and extensive wine tastings, I would give you an okay score, perhaps an 85. And at the blind tastings I have attended, including the one this week with Richard Betts, we ignored the price but rather identified the varietal, region and vintage (range).
March 9, 2007

Dom
Now that was fun and you nailed 3 out of 4. I’m impressed though none would have stood up to the Dominus but that’s another story.

Good job.

QOTD: Sometimes I peruse the wine auction sites and have picked up a bottle of Dom or Ducru Beaucaillou for $60 or thereabouts and then see it at a nice wine shop for $150+.

A short story: A friend and I went to a restaurant in DC that allowed us to BYOB (American only) and I brought an’85 Opus One and he brought an ‘89 Dominus which the restaurant sold for over $350 for each. My friend and I REALLY enjoyed the wine.

Cheers!
March 9, 2007

joe
You are unbelievable. I cannot imagine being able to call out a Petite Verdot in a blind tasting. Afterall it must be at most 0.5% of all non-blended finished wines. It would never even occur to me to think about Petite Verdot in a blind tasting. Blind tastings are so hard, I thought a 2003 Ornellia for a 2002 Rutherford Cabernet. Seriously, the Petite Verdot call, may be the single most impressive feat I have ever heard of in all of wine tasting lore.
Joe
March 9, 2007

Harley Stan
Gary,
That was impressive! I am way to new to this game to even come close, I might be able to guess red from white but not much more. I hope you do this again soon. I was also wondering if you could combine next thursdays taste along with a live episode at some point in the future. With a little bit of you and all of us we could possibly have the worlds largest wine tasting if it were at a time that most people could participate. WWW. could be refered the World Wide Winetasting. Anyway that was just a thought I had today.
QOTD- If I go to town (Denver) I can get Yellow TailShiraz for about 8 bones, in my little town it runs about 11 bones. Not a huge difference in actual bones but about 30% total cost.
March 9, 2007

jack
QOTD:

i was shopping at my local bevmo (beverages & more, wine store chain in ca) and saw a couple bottles of 2003 chateau leoville barton in the glass case of the bordeaux section. i recall seeing it in the wine spectator top 10 of 2006, and this purchase was shortly after release of the list, so i grabbed a few at $80. at the time, i had no idea who much in demand this was. checked around and found it to be selling for at least $150, for the places lucky enough to still have it in stock. you’d think with case production of 18,000+ that there’s be enough to go around for everybody.
March 9, 2007

Susan
Gary-
Extremely impressed
and
happy with this ep!
WOW!
You did very well
with the blind tasting.
We got to see
what Ian looks like.
We got to see
another tour of WL.
You did a
SUPER job on guessing
region/varietal and price
on
each of the four.
Still can’t believe you nailed the Petite Verdot!!!
WOW!!!!
QOD: Still to new to compare.
March 9, 2007

Susan
Correction:
QOD:
Still TOO New!
March 9, 2007

H-Why
Gary – nice work on your guesses. You were definitely thinking Zin for the Nalle and you clearly said Chile first for the Purple Angel. Blind tasting is a great way to remind us all that you really do know what you are doing.
March 9, 2007

Lil Luce
I am very impressed and hope that I can have a nose and palate like yours one day!

QOTD: I used to work in a wine store in Montgomery Co, MD, where the County has taxed the wine prices into oblivion. For instance – Muga Bianca was about $22. At Wine Library, it’s $10. The first time I went to the WL store, I was like a kid in a candy store. I had never seen such great prices.
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
March 9, 2007

koenraad
And I wish to add:

discrepancy = infinite
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Malarkey
damn you are good!
March 9, 2007

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

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

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

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

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
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 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 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

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

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

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

cyrock1
Great episode!

About comment 62:
For someone who has been in the business for about 14 years, about 10 of which were at legal drinking age, and who professes to conduct frequent and extensive wine tastings, I would give you an okay score, perhaps an 85. And at the blind tastings I have attended, including the one this week with Richard Betts, we ignored the price but rather identified the varietal, region and vintage (range).

Comment 62: By Julius on March 9th, 2007 at 8:08

That’s what The Court of Master Sommeliers trains themselves to do. They also ask about quality level but don’t put it to a price (at least at the course I attended – where Betts was teaching). What GV does about price is far more important in retail in my opinion. I give your comment an 85.
March 10, 2007

JCfromtheWC
Gary, you are my hero. So how did you nail the Petit Verdot? What made you go in that direction?
March 10, 2007

TagWorld Brian
Great episode! Next time, might be a good idea to have the real prices handy offscreen, so you can compare your guesses to the real thing – and then you can tell us whether you really think it’s a buy or pazzzzz based on QPR.
March 10, 2007

Panoca
Great Episode! You impressed me once again. Nice job Gary!
March 10, 2007

TR
QOTD-On a trip to London I visited a wineshop in Kensington and purchased among other things a bottle of Mouton Rothschild ‘93. The one with the banned in USA nude (girl?) on the label. It was about 140 pounds and for some reason I was thinking dollars and it did not dawn on me til I was almost back at the hotel that I had just paid @$260 for a bottle that was available in the USA for around $160. I haven’t opened it yet perhaps I’m waiting for it’s market value to reach the price I paid.
March 10, 2007

TR
The face you made at the Purple Angel reminded me of the one I made last time I had a RP 92 rated Australian (Craneford ‘03)which should have one of the fruit bomb warning stickers you suggested in an earlier episode.
March 10, 2007

Jim Kay
QOTD: In the US, Robert Chevillon 2003 “Les Vaucrains” $85 when purchased in April 2006. Now it can be had for $55. 35% drop. I shoulda waited.
March 10, 2007

MoselMensch
Fun show today–loved the blind tasting. I think your palete just got a little exhausted there at the end. ;o)

QOTD: My beloved Reichsgraff von Kesselstatt — both the Josefhoefer and the Scharzhofberger — in Trier I get them for about 8-12 Euro, over here, even accounting for exchange and imports, they are overpriced at $25-$35. What’s worse is that no one seems to want to stock the younger ones: they’re all 1999 or older. Musty-smelling oftentimes (in a bad way) and the sugar is outrageous. I don’t even buy them in the States any more–I just drink them over there. Another thing I miss from Germany? Good decent everyday drinkable wine for less than $5/4 Euros. I’m happy to spring and spend 20, 40 even 100 for a good bottle, but for everyday drinking, why can’t I find anything good in some parts of the U.S. for under $10? I think I need a new wine store but, in Columbia, SC, what are you gonna do?
March 10, 2007

Eugene
This is a great episode!
Good job on Petit Verdot (side note to myself: try Petit Verdot soon!)

QOTD:

Gary, please read carefully the respond from Hennessey to my email and my original email below. It is hilarious!

Hi,

I recently purchased a bottle of Hennessy VSOP Privilege cognac, which I like and buy quite often. It came in the cardboard box with text written in English and French. I understand French so I read the text in both languages. In French it says that this cognac is made of blend of about sixty (soixante) eaux de vie.

In English it says that this cognac is made of blend of about fifty eaux de vies. I think that this should be corrected and I deserve a free bottle of the finest Hennessy cognac for bringing this up to your attention!
Thank you very much!
My best regards
Eugene

And the response:

Dear Mr xxxxxxxx,

Thank you for your message and interest in Hennessy cognacs. The reason why, there is a difference between the two translations is that the number of eaux de vie is different from a year to another. It is more practical give an average rather than an exact number of eaux de vie. Thank you for contacting us and please, do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any questions or comments concerning Hennessy. Best Hennessy regards, Scherazade HAMDANE Consumer Relations.
xxxxxxxxx@hennessy.fr
Objet Hennessy VSOP Privilege cognac
——————————————————————-
March 10, 2007

SteveB
Hey Gary, are you gonna tell us the name of the Bordeaux the guy drove 2.5hrs to get?
SteveB
March 10, 2007

glenn
nice effort today! WTG with the PV – impressive considering you got a “Roadhouse” reference in there as well.

remember when Treanna hit the marketplace a few years ago? i bought a bottle for like $22 and told a friend in Nashville i thought she would love the wine. well she did but she bitched about the $47 price tag! bought 2 weeks apart but the difference between TN & CA i guess.
March 10, 2007

ChrisR
QOD:

All my pre-Top 100 Wine Spectator wines are the biggest variance. Like buying the wine of year Brunello for $45 then watching it shoot through the roof due to demand.

Same can be said for the Guigal CDP 01 and 99 which were both $21 wines for me before they nearly doubled.

I get a thrill out of finding values like this. I once bought a $35 syrah on close-out for $17. What fun!

Great ep!
March 10, 2007

Paul
Sorry, cyrock, I have to agree with Julius. I sort of expected Gary to attempt to identify varietal (there was only one tricky one – the Carmener – based on Gary’s expertise), general place of origin and age. The latter one could expect to be relatively recent since all these were taken off the shelf.

It is, of course, great to have an estimation of value because it gives the watchers a better sense of his palate. I suspect he’s going to get a bit of heat for his evaluation of the Nalle Zin, and not only from Lars.

In closing, I’d suggest you offer your comments, which I enjoy, and leave off the criticism of others’ comments. They’re just honest opinions, not personal attacks.

Thanks for your thoughts, and thanks for reading mine.
March 10, 2007

TimInFL
Ok…Are you really that good?

I’ll give it to ya…this time! Thanks for choosing the Purple Angel. 88 is what I was expecting, but if it didn’t shock you because it was so different from the others what would it have done? I would like to see you taste these wines later when you expect to taste what you are tasting.

Thanks again

JETS
March 10, 2007

JonE
Carmenere…..tough. Was there any smoke? Good show G-Man. Way to pick the Petit Verdot BTW.

QOTD: So here’s the swing,apparently everywhere in NC Belle Glos Clark & Telephone 05′ Pinot goes for anywhere from $36-$42 bones, you guys sell it for $26.99 everyday. Your my heroes.
March 10, 2007

EricB
Cool, finally did a blind tasting. Double blind is actually where the one setting up the tasting doesn’t know what’s being tasted either.
Kind of surprised he didn’t pick out the Cab, but really surprised he didn’t name the Zin varietal. Zin has some very unique flavors IMO. Looks like Gary needs more practice with Zin. How about a Zin episode, hint, hint.
All in all, very nicely done, and way to go with #2 and #3!
March 10, 2007

streamertyer
Zincredible!

Vaynercred pre-Nalle tasting — 93 points.
Vaynercred post-Nalle tasting — 80 points.

Like cheap merlot??!!?? Puhleez!

Do a blind with this (and a couple other zins) against your Crumbling Tractor yawner.

Hard to believe we’re both Jets fans…. You worry me….
March 10, 2007

streamertyer
Me thinks his palate has been Turleyized.
March 10, 2007

EricB
For the upcoming Zin episode, howz about doing the 3 R’s and throw another one in like Seghesio?
March 10, 2007

Jeff
I loved seeing a quick tour of the store. How about showing us the whole thing? Nice job on the blind tasting too.

Jeff
March 10, 2007

gordoyflaca
QOD:

If i remember correctly:

2003 Montelena The Montelena Estate Cab: $50 (montelena web site lists $105)

2001 Gran Elias Mora Toro $30 (usually $50-70?)

2002 Lafite $90 (not bought as a future)

I try not to buy anything at full retail price!
March 10, 2007

JOEinLA
GREAT job nailing the price points and the Petite Verdot. I have a bottle of the Purple Angel which now seems like something for 2010.

QOTD. Since 2001, Sette Ponte Oreno at one store for $54 and the rest at $100…You know who gets my loyal business…
March 10, 2007

Pat Mc
Nice fun episode — I live in the neighboring liquor-control-board benighted state of PA – about an hour and a half from the store. QOTD – most PA purchases show the biggest discrepancies. Case in recent point – Francis Coppola Diamond Pinot Noir, regularly #19.99 in PA, WL price $13.99. Road trip to WL coming soon.
March 10, 2007

hugh
Maybe my favorite episode yet!!! Forget Peter Petrelli…..you’re a true hero, nailing that petit verdot!!!! Kudos!!! Ok, now that your head is swelling….
QOD:
Phelps Insignia 1995 bought for $65 in 2002 (btw, not worthy of its lofty Parker points)
Calon Segur 2000 bought on release in 2003 for $44….i even asked if it was a mismarked price before i bought it!!! i should have bought more than i did!!! lesson learned…

please do more blinds…..and that’s a request from an eye doc!!
March 10, 2007

Monrovino
Now THAT was MUST SEE WLTV! It’s good to see you’re not afraid to put yourself out there. I would hate to be the buyer at your store watching your video and then turning around and looking at the 50 cases of Nalle he just got in. I have heard about some TOTALLY blind tastings where the wines are served in opaque glasses to you can’t even see what color it is. One day, if you really want to go out on a limb, you might try that. I’d love to see it!

QOTD- Bought some 2002 Opus One at the winery a few years ago for $169/btl, then found it on the wine list at the Wine Cask Restaurant in Los Olivos for $125. Gulp.
March 10, 2007

dealbhadair
Good job on the Petit Verdot, Chilean, and price ranges, Gary!
3 outa 4 ain’t bad! You definitely showed that you know your stuff!
If anyone got them all right, all the time, wine wouldn’t be so damned much fun!
March 10, 2007

cyrock1
Comment 108: By Paul on March 10th, 2007 at 9:43 am

You are right Paul, I did type a little too hastily and apologies to all, especially Julius. Being in the industry I feel a certain comradely with GV and I know I’ve been through some of the same things as him, in particular the second guessing of talent. The blind tasting is tough and I thought that Julius – whose qualifications I do not know – was being a little unfair in his judgment of GV. In turn I was unfair to Julius.

Just looking out for GV.
March 10, 2007

EricB
QOTD – I also live in PA, but the LCB has not been too bad in recent years. Hovever, the main guy who made it all happen just got the boot and some ex-senator got a CEO position. Talk about dirty politics. Anyway, there have been several awesome deals I’ve gotten here in PA. St Francis 1999 Behler Reserve Merlot for $13 for example. Also one which I think was a mistake on the PLCB part which was corrected shortly after I made my purchase, 2003 JJ Prum GH Auslese, $25.
On the whole the prices are maybe 2-3 more than in other states but there are also great buys to be had.
March 10, 2007

lifestooshort
Duuuuuude, that was impressive. Batting .750 in a blind taste test? You doth rawwwk! Gary Vanynerchuk? More like Gary Kasparov! Well played!!
March 10, 2007

Rick "The Model" M
that was really impressive. very cool episode.
March 10, 2007

Elliot Essman
I am presently drinking (gulp) as perfect example of a discepancy: an Oyster Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir for which I paid $18, when Wine Library has it for $12.

But of course I have it here — now!
March 10, 2007

big_al
Great episode Gary. Why not make every Friday “Blind Tasting ” day?
March 10, 2007

Steve R.
Beautiful store, Gary! Thanks for the peek…. Also, congrats on nailing the PV — that one alone wins you a ton of points!

QOTD: I have two: (1) Veuve Clicquot yellow label — $55 at one store (ouch) and $35 in another, in the same shopping center, (2) Jackson Triggs vidal ice wine — $35 for 375ml vs. $12 at a grocery story (I even asked them to double check and they stuck by their price)
March 11, 2007

WINO
3 out of nailed is pretty darn good. Nice job. Would love more episodes like that and I need to try that myself. CHallenge the pallete (sp?)

QOTD- Have not stumbled over any huge bargains in my time, but anything at WL is usually a good price.
March 11, 2007

Jester
QOTD: Last year, from the same dealer, I bought two bottles of 2002 Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer-ToKalon Cabernet Sauvignon and two bottles of 2001 Shafer Hillside Select all for $145 per. Provenance was great, the poor guy just didn’t know what they were worth. Since the RP 100, I’ve seen the Hobbs run as high as $450 ( original retail was $265 ). I just saw someone pay $359.00 for the Shafer just the other day. Of course, that is ludicrous, but, what can you do?

Oh wait, I forgot. A few years ago I also got a bottle of 1985 Salon Le Mesnil and a 1988 Salon Le Mesnil for $75.00 and $50.00, respectively. If only I could find deals like that on a weekly basis!!!!!!!!
March 11, 2007

GeneV
Loved the episode. You should do all of your tastings blind. It might also blunt some of the issues with suppliers.
March 11, 2007

KAHUNA
Gary, Itâ€™s Saturday morning and Iâ€™m bewilded by the size of the store, which begs the question. How long does the average customer spend in the store? and Do they know what they are looking for?

More bling tasting !!!

Comment 22: By lou from downunder on March 9th, 2007 at 5:15 pm

I was there for 2 hours plus Saturday-
March 11, 2007

AlisonD
Hey Gary, this was a fun episode and I love, Love, LOVE the new format! Knowing how long each episode will be, and knowing I can stop, restart, jump around is wonderful. Kudos to your team!
March 11, 2007

Trish da' Dish
Watching the set-up, and execution, of the blind tasting was loads o’fun…now my goal is to get up to Jersey and visit WL myself. We have a place here called Lukkas Liquors which is as big as a grocery store, but with 2 levels it looks like Wine Library is even BIGGER!!! (And bigger is always better–as far as selection goes). Back to the tasting–Gary, I’ve never seen you more nervous! It was so cute that you cared so much about what we would think if you guessed the wines wrong. It really tells us that you are a person of character and integrity, that you even CARED! It was obvious that the show wasn’t “staged,” and that’s what made it so fun, that we got to go through all the suspense and worry that you did about how you would ultimately perform.

One more thing: For customers and vendors harshly criticize today’s performance, and who believe that they would have done a much better job, I have an idea: Invite one or more of them along to your next blind tasting. All can taste under the same conditions, and if they do better than you at guessing varietal, region, village, chateau, etc., then you will eat humble pie and give them “X” (free shipping for a year? Or a bottle of some good vino? A trip to a Jets game with you?)

Thanks Gary, we all love youuuuuuuuuu!
March 11, 2007

Julius
To Cyrock1,
I just want you to know that I took no offense to your comment regarding my comment, but do appreciate the graciousness and spirit of your apology. What you should know is that I have “taken Gary to task” quite often (always in a good-natured way) and have always received a pleasant response from Gary. In fact, my comment of this episode elicited an email from Gary saying, “LOL thnx for the 85 Ill take it. well have to sit down and go man o a man o and see how we do .”
March 11, 2007

Corrado
Comment #111 nailed pretty much everything I had to say.
1) This was single-blind, not double-blind tasting. I don’t *THINK* this happened, but Eric knew what the wines were and *COULD* have keyed Gary in. Again, I believe this was legit, but that’s the difference between Single-Blind and Double-Blind.
2) That must’ve been a poor Zin because I would have expected Gary to nail Zin like a cheerleader on prom night.

I loved this episode. This is something WLTV should do often.

QOTD: with the exception of a competitor-site (who will go un-named out of respect for WLTV) who puts some REDICULOUS deals up on wines, my PERSONAL experience is:
$47 2001 Panther Creek Bednarik Valley Pinot Noir (winery price) on sale for $19 (which is about where it belongs, IMHO).
$30 2005 Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir (winery price) for $17.50 @ Costco; unlike the Panther Creek, this wine is worth it’s $30 price tag.
March 12, 2007

SoCal
G,
If you had tasted as much wine Friday as you claim and then did that episode I am impressed.
My pallet would have been cashed.
QOTD: 1999 Merryvale Profile $69 at Samâ€™s Club on line for $99
March 12, 2007

TimInFL
I had to watch this again….I luv the expression with the Purple Angel…That was priceless! I already trying to see if I can capture the facial expressions to use a Gravatar…LOL. Thanks again for choosing my wine, you guys are the best.

QOTD – I am an impulse buyer and everyting I buy I find for cheaper later on. shame on me.
March 12, 2007

bradyt
Only 173 days left till, the one year anniversary of Chad Pennington being named the Jet’s QB….
March 12, 2007

cyrock1
Thanks Julius! I’m kinda new to the comment section.
March 12, 2007

CW
QOTD: A case of 1966 Lafite that fell (lightly) off a truck.
March 12, 2007

Jon Keeneth
Biggest Discrepancy was Phelps Insignia. Bought 2001 at CostCO for $40 a 750ml, but everyone else $120+. Only bought 2 bottles. Should have filled up the basket. Probably mispriced as their Cab. Conversely, my wife brought me high end Bordeaux from Paris duty free that was twice what I can buy it here.
March 12, 2007

Grasshopper
Sensei,

Great epsiode and like many others, I would love to see more episodes where you taste blind. You did a great job and should try it again on a day when you are not approaching palate fatique.

I have to agree with Lars….Uffda!!…..Was very sorry to hear what you thought of the Nalle, I really like this winery and have 8 or 9 2003’s in my cellar. I have had the 2004 and do think the 2003 was better, but they really do make some nice wine. I hope you give the winery another shot sometime soon. I am not sure it was a fair test after the over the top fruit bombs you had just tasted and I think you were guessing they slipped a very cheap wine in the mix to trick you….

Grasshopper
March 12, 2007

Jason R.
Love this ep.

Have to mention the 2003 Leoville Barton & 2003 Montrose. A few retailers towards the end were at $70 while others were $140

Best Buys:
1988 Diamond Creek – $39.99 from Brown Derby – Listed everywhere else for $130-150
2000 Heitz Martha’s – $42.00 from Hy-Vee (Grocery Store) – Listed elsewhere for $100
March 12, 2007

Jim CT
Would much rather have the .MOV format that I can download and watch fullscreen, or convert to Divx for my TV. I hope the flash is only temporary. Otherwise, another great job.
March 12, 2007

Jim CT
Totally my bad. Found the QT option and a Full-Screen menu. Must be the BB Pool I’m running – too much stress already.
March 12, 2007

Alco Holland
#144 yes!!!!

Qotd: Not counting obvious pricing errors or cost discounts,I purchased a ‘92 Silver Oak Napa for $35 and sold that very wine at retail a year later for $100.
March 12, 2007

Erik
Thanks again for another informative episode!

This is the first time I’ve posted a comment and just want to express how educational all of the WLTV segments have been.

Last year I started “Wine Tasting Wednesdays” at the restaurant in which I work and they’ve been a big hit. All interested employees (and there are quite a few) assemble for a themed-dinner and wine-tasting a half-hour after the dining room closes. We haven’t tried a blind tasting yet and it sounds like a great idea for an upcoming theme!

Located in Washington state we’ve experienced some phenomenal regional wines. I had to run right out and sign-up for the Dusted Valley Vineyards “stained tooth society” membership list to ensure that I’ll receive all of the vineyard specific and reserve Syrah selections. I’m attempting to sample all of the new releases from the Walla Walla region, though it seems new wineries are appearing here every month.

Perhaps you could have an episode featuring bargain “second-labels”. I know I’ve been impressed with Nelm’s Road (Woodward Canyon) and Hurricane Ridge (Andrake Cellars). The Hurricane Ridge Cabernet Franc is something else!

QOD – On a tour of the Columbia Winery earlier this year I made it a point to inspect the “sale-table” displayed at the back of the tasting room. There I found the last large 1.5L bottle of “35th Anniversary” Otis Vineyard 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon (Yakima Valley). Bottle was already on sale for $49.00 with an added 25% off which was a special-incentive given to our restaurant tour-group. I’ve always enjoyed David Lake’s vineyard specifics and this bottle simply can’t be found anymore (perhaps available only at the winery to begin with); that was one of my better finds!

Thanks for the inspiring tasting. Keep up the great work.
March 12, 2007

E
I know it’s hellaciously late, but Gary nailing (more or less) the PV leads to the following corollary QOD: have you ever HAD a varietal Petit Verdot? Can’t be too many floating around … I’ve only ever had one, and from Colorado at that.
March 12, 2007

bradyt
Only 172 days left till, the one year anniversary of Chad Pennington being named the Jetâ€™s QBâ€¦ come on….
March 12, 2007

Wendy Elam
i know i’m a little late to be commenting on this blind tasting show qotd, but here goes…greatest discrepancy — and something that gives me a “i’m the (queen) of the world” rush everytime i think about it…bought at trader joe’s in southern california chateau potelle cabernet sauvignon 2002 for $20 bucks! sells on the chateau’s website for $60. i ran back to get more but, alas, they had no more; i must have appealed to my wine guy’s sense of compassion because he sold me a bottle out of his private stash. i rule.
March 13, 2007

zerokreap(kw)
you guys had the dom p. 1995 rose for $115.00 at one point…my first order with WL was a 96 dom p., someone wrote me and said you guys were out, so i said send me the rose instead. well, you guys ended up finding the bottle i ordered and like 2 weeks later the 95 rose was up over $200.00. I wish I had ordered it. Also, the 96 dom p. that i bought for $115.00 is now a lot more expensive….i wish i had not drank it so soon, but champagne is awesome.
March 13, 2007

eatapc
Nice episode. (You should do more episodes blind!) Constructive suggestions:

1. You don’t have to tape the selection and opening of the bottles. We trust you, and it’s boring.

2. Do it double blind. You mentioned that this was as double-blind as you could make it, but that’s not true. Chris behind the camera knew which wine was which, so that automatically ruins the methodology. He could have subconsciously and unintentionally given off cues and clues. It’s a well-known fact that when someone in the room with the test subject knows which is which (pill, wine, whatever), the results WILL BE affected.

But still … way to go! Good show. — Mark B
March 13, 2007

Matt the Lurker
Mmmm, blind tasting… reminds me of the girl I used to date in college who always wanted to play around with bandanas. She was fun. Ah, quel morceau de queue! As they say… not me though, I don’t speak French.

Everyone seems to be very impressed with your pick of the Petit Verdot. However, I’m wondering how you thought the Purple Angel was 88 pts and a pass but could tell it was a $40+ bottle? I thought that was something you could only tell by seeing labels (or price tags). It’d be great if you share what you identify as “quality” or costly even when you don’t think the wine is very good. A pretty interesting distinction. Good work!
March 13, 2007

Jay
Paid $75 for a big bottle of Crown Royal at a large well respected wine store. An hour later walked into a shwag corner liquor store to see what they sold it for.. $50.
Wanted to set the first place on fire.
Also, have seen the Justin Isosceles for around $75 in a ton of store, then every once in a while it’s sitting on the shelf for $42 somewhere.
March 13, 2007

Lawrence Leichtman
Fun episode. Really enjoyed your nailing the Petit Verdot. Don’t think I would have. Your tasting or the Chilean wine that tasted like Syrah and wasn’t is a fault of the winery not your palate.
March 13, 2007

Rick W.
I purchased 6 cases of Vine Cliff 2001 Merlot for $14.00 a bottle. It was my sons Bar Mitzvah and I thought that would be a good Red Wine to serve. I bought it from a local wine store I won’t mention. I did some research when I got home and the cheapest I found it anywhere else was $29.00 with most of the pricing in the high $30’s range. Right place @ the right time. The distributor was closing it out since he lost that vineyard!
March 13, 2007

Riezin
Nice job, I rate your performance 89 points. I think MurphyGoode delivers some solid QPR with their wines and have traditionally been a big Nalle fan. I have several of their wines at the moment in the wine fridge i suspect. Have you heard from them yet regarding your review?

QOTD – When i was 1st seriously getting into things I bought a ‘98 Bahans Haut-Brion and right afterwards saw it significantly cheaper somewhere else – maybe 20% less. Not knowing better, I think i tried to ‘return it’ or somehow get a discount. I did get some break, but they were confused and i suspect annoyed. Just drank it recently, was still going strong.
March 14, 2007

Louisiana George
saw 1993 Mondavi Reserve Cab at Albertson’s for about $20 a bottle, on release and cleaned them out. Was going for about $60 in wine shops at the time.

Still have a couple of bottles in the cellar.

Louisiana George
March 20, 2007

Fiorentina!
Probably the BIGGEST price difference was on the 2000 Louis Roederer Cristal. I saw it at this small little wine store in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA for $275 and have seen it everywhere else for around $350 and even $400 at a wine store in the Gaslamp District in San Diego. A difference of $75 to $125 is a HUGE difference.
March 21, 2007

TSchampaert
Fun ep this one. Repeat!
QOTD: Biggest difference, … hm. Last I saw a 2004 Haut-Brion for â‚¬ 169 while anywhere else it is around 260! Almost 100/bottle. Kiling. So my fingers itched, I nearly bought some. But then yeah, maybe I’d better wait till I can afford them really.
March 22, 2007

Jeremy
QOTD 2003 Peju Provience Cabernet Sauvignon. Paid $22.50 Seen it around 48+
April 9, 2007

Veronica
Past QOTD. Saxum 2003 Broken Stones. Got it for $45. Saw it in another shop for $125 the same day.
May 4, 2007

vivaitalia
Oh man, I paid $79.99 for the Antinori Piam Delle Vigne Brunello ‘96 at one of my favorite wine shops and the next weekend found it at this tiny place and got one for $29.99 no joke! At the 80 dollar price I thought it was crap and a rip off, but at $30 it was pretty decent. There still are alot of brunellos that are much better in quality and QPR (if there is such a thing in Italian red wine anymore). I really loved the blind tasting, it’s something you should do alot more often. Very impressive the way you were able to pick those defining characteristics in the wines. Keep up the great work!
July 16, 2007

surf.sf
Loved the blind tasting. Can’t wait for another one! Something I paid too much for… forgot to cancel an extra hotel room I booked when I wine tasting in Santa Barbara a couple weekends ago, so I paid an extra couple hundred bucks for a sad old motel room!
February 13, 2008

Rob P
Gary,

Please do another blind tasting like this in 2008. It was a lot of fun to watch. One of my biggest price discrepancy’s was not in wine. I noticed that a (typically) $100 sonicare toothbrush was listed at $0 on bloomindales website a few years ago…so I tried to order it thinking that the price would eventually be displayed. It let me order it at $0 and they had free shipping! I should have ordered 10 of them.
February 24, 2008

Brian Johnson
QOTD: Bought a 2000 Torbreck Descendant from Barossa Valley for $56.99. Saw it on a couple of websites for $125-131.

Great episode. Loved seeing the inside of your store at the beginning. Lot bigger than I imagined.
March 8, 2008

thefanjestic
Qotd: Yesterday I bought a case a Garretson Craic Syrah for $125 on closeout – it normally sells for $30 a bottle in Kansas City and Texas.
June 5, 2008

Seattle Zin Guy
I bought a few bottles of Turley Juvenile Zinfandel for $17 a bottle and I’ve seen it sold online for $45 a bottle. Sure, that’s only a $27 difference, but that’s almost 3 times what I paid for it.
November 3, 2009

John J.
cool episode Gary

would love to see 1 on vin jaunes

Blind Tasting – Episode #197

Wines tasted in this episode:

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