Clef du Vin Goes Up Against Chateau Montelena and More – Episode #274

July 12, 2007

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Gary Vaynerchuk uses the Clef Du Vin and sees how it works and to see if it is worth it!

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Comments on this episode(226) Leave a comment ›

  • “Great job… going to start to follow you… I may learn something….” by Mark Kraus
  • “Fascinating and fun episode. It’s nice to have this kind of experiment…” by Adrian aka AnGkEr
  • View all 226 ›

Wines tasted in this episode:

2005 Bzikot Puligny Montrachet AcPuligny Montrachet play review at cork'd
2003 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet SauvignonNapa Cabernet play review at cork'd

Links mentioned in todays episode.

226 Responses

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  1. July 13, 2007

    Sassodoro

    I love the experiments, Gary! I would like to see some psychology experiments, too. For example: Why are blind tastings recommended? Is is because we taste what we expect to taste? What would happen if somebody screwed with your expectations by misidentifying the wines (say, by pouring some of the wines into empty bottles that had incorrect but plausible labels)? Would you discern the same characteristics as when the wines were correctly labeled? (And by “you” I don’t mean specifically you, of course. I’m sure that we are all affected by our expectations.)

    The Clef du Vin website doesn’t tell what metals are in their product. They say only, “What does the alloy contain? The answer forms the basis of four international patents.” However, I have found a number of websites that recommend using copper or silver to correct wines that are “reduced” and have sulfur-derived off-smells (e.g., burnt rubber; see http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/tswa060120.phtml). Tom Ciocco also talks about reduced wines (http://terroir.winelibrary.com/2007/02/12/reduction-augment-your-understanding/), but he doesn’t mention copper or silver.

    Great show, Gary!

  2. July 13, 2007

    italianwinelover

    Thanks for a great episode! Now I can save the 100 bucks and buy some more wine!! You are so informative and interesting…love to see you count to 50!!!

    QOTD: Don’t know any….glad I’m not!!!

    vino italia!!

  3. July 13, 2007

    hasbeen

    Thanks for another public service.

  4. July 13, 2007

    Jerry Chacon

    Great and informative show. Thanks for saving me the $100 bucks. My girls’ college fund thanks you.

    QOTD: Not me. I may not be in every comment box, but I am digging you and talking you up on twitter and pownce.

    Oh, I note from my “mint” package that you are using Wordpress. Nice choice.

    Thanks for the visit to my blog this morning and thanks for the nice words about my daughter Kailen (a couple of weeks ago on twitter)…yeah I think she is pretty cute too. Both my girls are pretty cute.

    Have a good weekend.

  5. July 13, 2007

    SS Chris

    Great episode….loved how you said “internets”

    Two quick SS Questions:

    You said that you would have rated the White Burgundy a 92-93…please confirm.

    What is your rating for the Montelena?

    (BTW, the ratings are based on your tastings of the wines without the “Clef Du Vin”). thanks, SS

  6. July 13, 2007

    eatapc

    Although a double-blind test would have been nice, it seems clear that the Clef du Vin isn’t dependent on a placebo effect (like many high-end audio and alternative medicine products). However, if the Clef du Vin isn’t junk science, it certainly is a junk product, as it clearly doesn’t do what it claims — help us predict how our wines will age. Thanks for doing this test!

    BTW, Gary, were you pronouncing it “vin” as a joke? ;)

  7. July 13, 2007

    gary pacheco

    wow…… that was a very entertaining show on the CLEF! Bottom line.. its a peace of crap….. and your fine store shouldn’t offer it for sale. Drinking wine is fun… playing science games with it with a shiny metal shoe horn is not!

    Love the store…… excuse me while i go drink.

    P.S. i think you are ready for Food Network.. i’d use that show as an audition tape!

  8. July 13, 2007

    Jayhitek

    QOTD: Probably me.

  9. July 13, 2007

    Rob B.

    Finally the Journey has stopped. I hope that doesn’t stick in my head all day.
    Seriously great episode.
    QOTD: I don’t know of any lurkers.

  10. July 13, 2007

    wineaddict

    The Myth buster of the year award goes to the one and only Gary Vaynerchuk!

    Excellent Episode! Gary, do you realize you just changed the Wine World!!

    With a lot of you today, Now didn’t you..

    QOTD: I was one, 15 episodes ago.

    MB

  11. July 13, 2007

    ChrisR

    I’ve never been more entertained by watching someone count to 50!

    Thank you thank you thank you for doing this ep! I have seen this metal mystery in wine mags for years and wondered what it does. This was truly an original and informative ep. LOVED IT.

    QOD: MsLurker you know who you are!

  12. July 13, 2007

    David Canada

    That was really cool….I never really thought it would work but it is good to see you put that into action….
    QOTD – Tim Burnham….he loves your show, is a buddy of mine and I never see him comment. How about you send him an email to get him on board. Email me and I’ll forward it to you.

    Dave

  13. July 13, 2007

    yoshie

    I’m very very interested in Clef du Vin!
    I want to try it!!
    Now I’m wondering if I’ll buy it…

  14. July 13, 2007

    Paul

    Okay, the science geek comes out.
    1) Needed to be tasted blind.
    2) As somebody else here noted, compare it to a spoon or a penny

    Anyway, great ep. Wasn’t planning on spending $100 on this, rather buy wine.

    The white zin was the kicker, since it was the only wine one could consider a control. And I was hoping it would make it taste like a well-aged Ridge Zin!!

    Where do I get this version of the wristband? Don’t want to be behind the current fashion trend.

  15. July 13, 2007

    David McWherter

    I also wanted to say that my girlfriend and I now covet that Puligny Montrachet. Time to start saving pennies!

  16. July 13, 2007

    David McWherter

    Great episode. Along those lines, you might want to try out the Wine Clip (www.thewineclip.com), which tries to do a similar thing with magnets. They sell it all over here in Pittsburgh.

    As a member of the CKC and a lover of Mr. Wizard, I’m betting that the Clef du Vin works via an electrolytic reaction, much like a lemon-battery science experiment. I’m betting the silvery part is galvanized (”zinc-plated”) and the coppery part is copper — and when you dump it into the acidic wine, you get both oxydation and reduction (Check out the Wiki article on “Lemon Battery.”). There may be, as the company claims, other metals, such as gold in the thing, but since gold is one of the least-reactive elements out there, I doubt it does anything.

    I’ll try making a WineLibrary clef-du-vin for a couple dollars and I’ll let you know what it does…

    QOTD: With only one post, I’m lurker enough.

  17. July 13, 2007

    MD20

    I am wondering if I apply the Clef Du Vin to my teenager son’s forehead if he will mature any, maybe I can save me some headaches that way.

    QOTD: Erica S.

  18. July 13, 2007

    NathanN

    Thanks for showing me the clef. I’ve been wondering what the heck it does.

    QOTD: I know a couple of lurkers in Q-town. Paul,Harry, Dad,….ect.

  19. July 13, 2007

    Brandon

    Great epsiode of course!
    However, a word of warning when dabbling with “dipping” and alcohol consumption.
    Watch how much your drinking, homeboy.
    I can see this quickly degrading into Gary’s Wine Teabagging episode.
    “ok….now let’s try the right side!”
    “yep, the white zin still tastes the same…”
    gross.

    Actually i was really hoping at the end you were gonna say:
    “guys, after 50 seconds of aging, this White Zin tastes exactly like Dal Forno!”

  20. July 13, 2007

    Daniel O

    Woohoo! Awesome show Gary. :-) You just saved me at least $100 (I’m sure if I found the Clef here in Toronto it would cost more than that.)

  21. July 13, 2007

    Rick McQ

    Gary:

    Loved this show!!! I have not heard Russian since Hunterdon Central . Mr Labashkas class 1986. Ps Just had Baby #2 -Maeve Rose McQuarrie – Newest Vayniac on 7/1/7 and getting ready to turn the big 40 on 7/17/07.

    Keep bringing the Thunder!

  22. July 13, 2007

    Chris Fehnel

    Great episode Gary, although I don’t think I ever want to hear that song again.

  23. July 13, 2007

    Christopher

    Good fun.

  24. July 13, 2007

    Elliot Essman

    Nice touch — очень хороший — adding in that Russian. For a non-scientist, you were fairly methodical. Aren’t some of those metals toxic?

  25. July 13, 2007

    Jon B Lodi

    We commonly add Copper Sulfate to wines that get “stinky”, usually from H2S or other sulpher compounds. A very small addition really zaps the problem and most of the copper just drops to the bottom of the tank.

    In my home winemaking days, if your wine got stinky, just whip out that copper penny and drop it in the 5 gallon carboy. Supposed to be a last resort though.

    Let’s see…

    $100 for Clef du Vin or both of those bottles of great wine you sampled today?

    :-)

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