Pinot Noir Taste Off – Episode #221

April 20, 2007

Wines tasted in this episode:

Gary Vaynerchuk and four different wines made from the Pinot Noir grape.

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

168 Responses

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April 20, 2007

kingfunk
pinot noir wonderful, eeehhhh its not that wonderful
April 20, 2007

Randy
QOD: Never watched Sideways, I’ve been a Cabernet guy for so long, I guess I’d rather lay down a bottle for 10 years and then high-five myself when I open it up and enjoy the velvety goodness.

At the same time, I think with all the attention paid to Pinot Noir because of the movie, a lot of awesome wines are now on the ropes and very affordable. I’m more than happy to snap up cheap-ass Merlot that tastes awesome because nobody wants it, while the lemmings go pay top dollar for Pinot.

Different strokes, really.

Oh, and BTW, my cellar on Cork’d is just barely getting started. I just grabbed a few bottles last night to start it. I have a surprisingly deep cellar (deeper than I suspected).

Now, **RAW** 16 year old girls? Man, that is so dancing on the razors edge…

Hope the Chi-town event goes well, we expect that the SF event will blow it out of the water!
April 20, 2007

Wave
Yo Gary! It is pronounced ore-gun.Not ory-gone.Great episode but you are making people in the northwest cringe when you speak of the great rain soaked state.
April 20, 2007

Spacejay
QOTD – Never watched it. Like what it did to the merlot market.
April 20, 2007

Kevin C.
Another classic reference 1992 McDonald’s fries! Cyndi vs Christina, ummm, one of each ,please, but without Captain Lou!
QOTD – I liked Sideways, haven’t really gotten the Pinot Noir bug so no negative effexts for me. Overall, it was a good laugh and some nice scenery.
April 20, 2007

StÃ©phane
QOTD: I enjoyed the movie, and really the price increase doesn’t affect me much (especially since Merlots have conversely become cheaper). This is going to sound bad, but I like that the repercussions of Sideways show how shallow the American wine market is. I guess it just gives me one last shard to defend myself with when people mock me for being French.
April 20, 2007

Neil
My wife and I love Pinot Noir – it was the red at our wedding in fact. I think Sideways used Pinot as a metaphor for Miles damaged soul: tempramental, fragile, etc. When he was talking about the wine he was actually talking about himself. Before I saw the movie the buzz was Pinot is a main topic, however I was quite surprised how tangential to the plot it really was. And by now everybody is in on the joke that the Chevl Blanc that he had stored away was a Merlot (Cab Franc?) blend.

Regardless, the Pinot mania from the movie did increase prices and the top 50 from Spectator are delicious, hard to find and for better or worse, huge fruit bombs. What’s interesting is that some of the top Pinot’s lean ever so close to morphing into Syrah profile – losing the delicate Pinot charachter in the process. Climate change? Global warming? Aiming for a blessed high R. Parker score to boost profits? Who knows but prices are high, demand is strong and the wines are becoming ever increasingly fruit bombs. As a result California Syrah, Zinfandel and the much maligned Merlot are better bargains right now.
April 20, 2007

Jim
QOTD: I liked Sideways, but I wasn’t into wines much at all when it came out. I need to go back and rewatch it since I’ll relate to the topic more now. I thought it was good from a movie pov as a buddy flick.
April 20, 2007

geespot
Thanks yet again, Gary. Now I HAVE to buy the Elke, don’t I? This show is very detrimental to my wallet, at 25 bones I’ll have to buy a few bottles.

QOD: I’m more mad at Sideways for not being a very good movie than I am for it ruining the price of pinot. Seriously, those guys were losers and I just felt bad for them throughout the entirety of the film.
April 20, 2007

Portland Guy
Very enjoyable episode. QOTD – ‘Sideways’ proved to be a bummer for me. Took all the fun I once had, drinking wine while chewing gum. The gummy bear replacements just aren’t the same. I know GV would recommend skittles.
April 20, 2007

Maria B.
QOTD: never seen Sideways before- perhaps I shall have to watch it this weekend to see what the hype is about. I gotta say, I do enjoy Pinot Noir but it’s not my favorite
April 20, 2007

stevo
Christina Aguilera makes another appearance!

QOTD: I’m not angry at Sideways. I like that it brings a wider audience to wine, but at the same time it would also be nice to buy some Oregon Pinot for less than 30 bones.
April 20, 2007

Elliot Essman
Yes, thanks for the wrist band. I am not forgetting my part of the bargain. You will get some memorable graphics with it.

Sideways was a boring, tasteless buddy picture, period. You’d have to add a whole lot more to it to make it really be about wine instead of about two crass and unsympathetic buddies. He doesn’t deserve to get the girl in the end.
April 20, 2007

Matthew L
Gary…come on…you know you and Liz are headed out tonight. Good for you. My wife is on her way to pick me up for a nice evening out.

I was a huge fan of Pinot Noir before Sideways. So much so, that friends were ribbing me when the movie came out. Thanks for the review of the Elke. I think I will add that to my growing cart on WL.

QOTD: I loved Sideways. I think it was a funny movie. Maybe it vexes you because of the questions you field about the varietal, but that is one of the few movies that I actually wanted to own on DVD.

Have a good weekend all. Drink something good. Cheers!
April 20, 2007

Lev M.
QOTD: mad at sideways for bashing merlot, but glad that it is cheaper because of it. I used to be mad at sideways for the pinot thing, but then realized that other countries (chile, NZ) will start competing with santa barbara county pinot and it will end up driving the price down everywhere.
April 20, 2007

SCATPACK
QOTD: I liked the movie. But it made my favorite wine more expensive. DAMN IT!
April 20, 2007

Tom T.
Not mad at Sideways at all. I just laugh at the hype and how gullable some people are by believing what they see on the tube. Like others said already it creates better prices for some other grape.
Enjoy Chicago. If I can recommend a place to eat – Harry Caray’s. Good food, atmosphere, and a nice baseball collection.
April 20, 2007

tim
I realized today, that although I am a huge fan of the show, I do not enjoy it when you wear a suit coat and a fancy new hair cut. Looks a lot more like the old status quo, look at us rich, snobby, important wine people, than someone interested in changing the wine world! That said, nice group of tasting information!
April 20, 2007

bryan
QOTD: I am not really mad at Sideways at all. I enjoy Pinot Noir, but it is far from my favorite varietal. I have been able to find many more good deals on quality Merlot thanks to Sideways though.
April 20, 2007

Autumnfox
QOTD: I have always loved pinot noir. My step father is a native californian and that’s his favorite varietal. Rubbed off I guess. So, I am somewhat angry at Sideways for making the prices jump but then I think of those couple chase scenes, smile(miles), and all is forgiven.
April 20, 2007

Lb in KS
Bah, ha, ha, ha! Smells like Cindi and tastes like Christina!?! It’ssssssssss FRIDAY!
QOTD: Seen the movie once…had one bottle of Pinot in my life….what’s to be angry at?
April 20, 2007

RandyB
Hey Brandon M how can you say Pinot is lame? I saw what you are bringing to the SF Party. It wasn’t Syrah.
April 20, 2007

Dr. Dan
QOTD: First, Sideways wasn’t that enjoyable of a movie–both of the main characters were largely unlikable. I found myself hoping that they’d expire in a fiery car crash. Second, and more importantly, the movie inflated Pinot Noir prices for those of us that have been long-time fans. If it’s a fad, I hope that it disappears soon. If there is an up-side to this situation, it’s that high Pinot prices have forced me to expand by wine repertoire.
April 20, 2007

kingfunk
why does paul giamattie (dont know how to spell) always play a depressed loser. He plays it so damn well.
April 20, 2007

RandyB
Loved the Pinot episode. I have been a long-time fan of California Pinot Noir starting with the Robert Stemmler wines of the 1980’s. I was in Anderson Valley last week. Have you ever been to Boonville? The appelation is still a somewhat hidden gem, but Sideways had its effect on the Pinots coming out of there also. A couple of years ago a great Pinot was only $15-$20. Anderson Valley also produces some very good sauvignon blancs.

Ciao