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 23, 2007

Jen
QOTD: I love “Sideways”, for all reasons: one because it was a great movie, two because it got me thinking about wine in a way I never had before. It increased my interest and my curiosity; not just for pinot, but for all wine, and especially for exploring more of the beautiful state in which I live (CA, peeps..!) and I have learned and experienced so much since then. Sure, it’s Hollywood, but how could it possibly have ruined anything for anybody?? I thought we were here to CHANGE THE WINE WORLD! Aren’t we?!?! It’s my way of thinking that to say the movie ruined pinot noir is to maintain an elitist attitude about wine. No way, man. If you love it, you love it. Period! There’s room for everyone. Thanks for doing this episode, Gary.
April 23, 2007

Chris D.
How could anyone get mad at Paul Giamatti???
“If anyone orders merlot I’m leaving. I am not drinking any F$@*ing merlot!”

Check him out in Cinderella Man and The Illusionist.
April 23, 2007

wayno da wino
Gary, Mooooocho Thanks for a Pinot Noir
(my favorite since da mid 80’s) Episode!!
I slobbered allover myself watchin’ ya
down dose gems!!

QOTD: I was in a panic at first when Sideways
came out. But all-in-all it hasn’t affected
my Pinot allocation/consumption as I thought
it might.
April 23, 2007

Jon B
QOTD: “Sideways” was a bit too depressing for me. Kind of a bad dream and I wanted to wake up. Cheval-Blanc from a paper cup, spooky! Enjoyed all the wine references, however, especially his monologue on what Pinot means to him. That was the “changing the wine world” moment.

There is no question it had an effect on the wine world. One winery was VERY happy that they had just purchased a huge Monterrey Pinot vineyard, and they are taking advantage of the opportunity big time.

Remember that Pinot was already pretty pricy before the movie. You were lucky to get a decent representative below $20. Now there are more choices on the market, and some great Central Coast producers from Santa Barbara County and Paso are finally getting some of the recognition they deserve. Check out graperadio.com and their archive for Pinot Days a couple of months ago.

Merlot needed a gut-check. Too many people were producing something red in a bottle and labeling it Merlot because they knew it would sell. It was giving a bad name to the most excellent CA producers, like Pride and Duckhorn.
April 23, 2007

tomavino
Opened a special bottle this weekend after all, not the 1973 MadDog 20/20. Actually opened two great wines, Viking Vouvray Cuvee Aurelie 2002, great white, out of this world, highly recommended if you like intense, heavy honey toned whites. Supposed to be Chenin Blanc, but you can never tell with the French. The other bottle just blew me away, 2004 El Nido Clio, WOW! Go find it, for $34 there is nothing like it. That has to be one of the most enjoyable wines I had in years. The bouquet is so good, that you just want to sit there just smelling the glass for a while, and is followed throughout the taste, mid-palate and finish.
April 22, 2007

JayZee
QOTD: OK, how can I be angry at a movie? I rather liked Sideways when I saw it. I mean, come on. Virginia Madsen is rather alluring, don’t you think? Do I like that Sideways made Pinot Noir the hot varietal and hurt Merlot sales? Well, no. But I am not angry at a movie. That’s just irrational.
April 22, 2007

Shotgun
I love California pinot, esp Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Santa Rita Hills. I also love Merlot. I love red Burgundies, but hate the rip-off pricing.

I hated Sideways not because of anything it did or did not do to the wine market, but because it was such a dreadfully horrible movie. I could only get about 45 minutes into it before having to switch to the BASS Pro Shopping Network or something similar that was far more entertaining.
April 22, 2007

Trish da' Dish
I was gifted with the Sideways book and movie, and I whole-heartedly agree with #104: If you enjoyed the movie, you will likely LOVE the book. And if you hated the movie, I really feel that you will still enjoy the book. The book is well-written, and it provides a lot more details about the store wine tasting experiences that one can have/witness/be a part of (Gary: Here’s a good QOD for you–What’s the CRAZIEST behavior or thing that you ever saw (or did! when you attended a wine tasting? . When you get a clutch of folks around a table of free wine, especially when those wines are expensive, some strange stuff can happen. I know that here in St. Louis when we still had a Brown Derby wine store, there was a guy who would come in to the wine store, get a Riedel glass off the shelf, purchase it at the counter, and then go to the tasting table, taste his free wines, and leave his paid-for Riedel glass behind! Every single time!

In closing: You should “seek out” Sideways: A Novel.
Get it at the library so that you don’t have to pay anything. Here are some reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Sideways-Novel-Rex-Pickett/dp/0312342519/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-6791406-6666569?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177249015&sr=8-2

Also, for people who were offended by the 2 main characters–if we never see movies that contain characters whom we don’t like, and if we never read any literature that makes us sometimes violently disagree with the author, then where will this eventually lead us? To me, this would be utter boredom. In real life, I wouldn’t be befriending Miles and his best friend, but on the other hand it is true that there really are guys out there who are acting just like each of those 2 characters.
April 22, 2007

winefornewbies
Great show, Gary (I’m playing major catch-up on your shows this weekend). 1992 McDonald’s french fries?

QOTD: Loved the movie, not for its wine-stuff, but for its story and characters. Was drinking PN before the film, but not angry with the increased PN popularity–seems we have more Pinots to pick from these days!
April 22, 2007

Vinacull
Yeah Gary lookin’ sharp with the haircut and fancy threads. Nice surprise for a Friday Ep. Gary I can’t tell anymore if you’re parody’ing yourself relative to the Vayniac vids! 1992 Macdonald’s fries before they changed the formula combined with the smell of a hundred pushups? Campbell’s chicken soup broth with fingernails? I half-expected to hear you pulling out the pickles and cat pee smells for Pinot next. And wow pretty racy with the Christina comment! QOTD: Not angry, but it is a drag when prices go up because people became aware of this exciting “new” discovery Pinot Noir, and prices were already challenging for the fickle varietal before that. Chehalem is a prime example, and I can say this because I lived in Portland for a few years and we drank a ton of Pinot while there. Is it a nicely made Pinot with great mouthfeel? Yes. But most places it’s 40 bones and I just don’t see it as a worthwhile QPR. I’d rather buy the Elke at 25 (based on your description) or even two bottles of grenache and/or shiraz at half the price that have the same score and overall are more satisfying.
April 22, 2007

carbon60
Fix up, look sharp!

QOTD: It was such a funny movie. A grown man throws a fit in a parking lot because he might be served merlot. It’s not like he’s being forced to eat at Casa Bonita (Colorado reference). And if his childish ouburst is not enough indication to the audience that the whole thing is just funny, the guy also steals from his mother to be there in the first place. Comic gold with little didactic tendency. Who takes that guy’s advice? (A lot of people, I suppose.)
April 22, 2007

YoungDave
QOTD: Ok. “Sideways”: Good movie (not spectacular, but pretty good), and I think Paul Giamatti is an extremely talented actor. HOWEVER, I’m a little upset about how it has changed the wine market. I was not a huge wine fan before the movie, but it wasn’t the movie that turned me on to wine. I’m upset that it is impossible to find a decent Pinot Noir (regardless of where it is produced) in the U.S. in the $10-$12 range since the popularity of that movie, and what ticks me off even more is that even the Pinots in the low teens from CA can be rediculously over-rated. What’s MORE is that the varietal is being made (mostly in CA) completely out of character, being more of a fruit bomb than the elegant wine that Pinot should be.

BUT what pisses me off the most is that there are more people now than ever in the US that think they know so much about wine after seeing the movie, and think that they are connosseirs just because they order a Pinot. Obviously I’m talking about my customers at the restaurant, but it’s annoying. The worst thing is probably that so many of these Pinot-loving connoisseurs turn their nose up at Merlot with no reason to back it up. Honestly- I’m not a huge Merlot fan, mostly because there are a lot of watery, seemingly tanninless Merlots made from CA these days. BUT I’ve also had a few really good Merlots and Cab-Merlot blends that have a great balance of fruit and tannin structure with that great chocolate undercurrent.

I guess that overall I’m glad that some people have become more interested in wine after watching the movie, but I’m upset that the U.S. market has been thrown off kilter because of it.
April 22, 2007

Robin
I loved Sideways, but it spawned a jillion cheap $20.00 and under pinots. Now I don’t even know what pinot is really supposed to taste like. Waterered down cherry juice is the most frequent version I see.
April 21, 2007

Canada Pete
QOTD. Sideways allowed me to go out and try many pinot’s all over the price range, which allowed me to conclude, it is a dramatically overpriced and hyped grape!! Lots of good vino, but way more average tasting stuff, and hell there’s a whole lot better value out there.
April 21, 2007

Kevin
Hmmmm Sideways. Angry how it raised the prices on Pinot Noir. Don’t forget, however, it may have lowered to price on some excellent merlots at the same time!
April 21, 2007

aaronT
QOTD: Mad at Sideways? Nah, gets people excited about a varietal I’m happy to see a lot of focus on. Mad at you for outing Elke? Maybe, we thought that was our little secret and now > one hundred billion vayniaks > know about it. If Elke goes up in price now, I’m sending you a bill!

Maybe we’ll follow your request to drink a fantastic bottle of wine this weekend by opening the ‘01 Elke Pinot…
April 21, 2007

SacramentoCharlie
QOTD: Loved the movie regardless. I love the irony of Miles being an expert at wine and terrible with women. Jack is skilled with women and knows nothing of wine. Both continually try to impart their wisdoms in these areas to each other to no avail.
April 21, 2007

SoCal
G,
Hope you had fun in Chi-town.
QOTD: I was mad at sideways because I thought there would be more about wine and less about infidelity.
April 21, 2007

poquelin
I love Sideways. A great buddy, road movie. Giamatti’s character is not to be taken seriously in his love of pinot and hatred of merlot. The proof: the great 61 Cheval Blanc that he drinks alone towards the end is merlot-based. It’s all a big joke. People who know nothing about wines may not have gotten this subtlety
April 21, 2007

JCfromtheWC
QOTD – nothing wrong with Sideways. I think it has really helped expand the American palate. Prior to Sideways, everybody was drinking cheap (and lets be honest) in many cases not so great merlot. Now they are just drinking not so great pinot, but I think one could make an argument that Pinot Noir is a bit more sophisticated of a grape in many cases. (Note: I like Merlot. I have respect for Merlot. I’ve also had a lot of VERY basic, artificial tasting Merlot’s in the $10 range) And even if you disagree with that, change is good.
April 21, 2007

thkorent
Qotd: I don’t know, Sideways didn’t seem to affect the wine world so much over here, in Europe.
I really like both, Merlots and Pinot Noirs and if anything, then their prices have changed very little. I found it was a funny movie!
April 21, 2007

Adam from Denmark
QOTD: have seen the movie many times, always with a glass of wine by my side. Can’t be mad at a movie for saying whats right. Merlot sucks! It really does (in that lower price range), and pinot noir based wines can be what miles says they can.
Prices going up on pinots from california is not really an issue for me, since we don’t get them as much in Denmark.
April 21, 2007

Malarkey
qotd: loved the movie Sideways. Why? Because it’s not formula. Characters are imperfect, just like real life. imagine that!

Are you dining at Alinea while in Chicago??
April 21, 2007

ChrisR
QOD: Loved Sideways. Hate the price increase but LOVE that Sideways now gives me more distribution of Pinot Noir. Let’s be honest, before Sideways the Pinot Noir section in the wine stores was pretty weak. Now its a lot more vast. So for that I’m thankful that Hollywood has helped. It has also helped propel the interest in wine which leads to more consumption and availablitity. It is good thing.
April 21, 2007

wannaBconnoisseur
QOTD: Always been a Pinot fan……long before that stupid movie came out.