Thanks for the great shows. I signed up a couple of weeks ago (lurking since the Slate article) and have been pretty much hooked! Loved the Cote Rotie episode. Am going to be in Lyon in mid September and thought I might do some tasting in between work, maybe even drive down to Cote Rotie… Shouldn’t be too hard to find some good places but I’d love to hear from anyone with suggestions.

QOTD. Tough one. Too many great cities to pick just one. Paris, SanFran, Barcelona, NYC, Sao Paulo (great food!), Seville…

Great show, Gary, as always.

Interesting comment about winemakers working for other brands versus their own label. I’m sure you’re right that one can’t help putting more love into one’s own project. The winery’s website implies something to this effect by saying, “After twenty years of producing wines for others, Susana decided it was time to apply her education and experience to her own wines and put her name right on the bottle.” (BTW, Balbo once worked for Nicolás Catena, who makes the Alamos.)

However, the situation may be a little more complicated between the Susana Balbo and the BenMarco. Diablito mentioned that the BenMarco is produced by Susana Balbo’s husband, Pedro Marchevsky. Actually, both wines are produced by the same winery, Dominio del Plata, that they own and operate together (http://www.dominiodelplata.com.ar/). Balbo is the winemaker and Marchevsky is the vineyard manager. (BTW, Marchevsky also once worked for Catena.)

So both wines are the result of a collaboration between married people. That being said, presumably Balbo has her heart in (and total control over) the wine that carries her name. The BenMarco is more identified with Marchevsky, and I imagine that here Balbo is trying to produce wine more in the style that Marchevsky is looking for. Regarding the name, at one point the winery’s website says, “BenMarco is Pedroâ??s surname which means son of Marco in Hebrew,” and elsewhere says, “Pedro produces his wines as homage to his father, Marcos who taught him how to plant, tend, and love the vineyards.”

QOTD: I’ve never been there, but I have a fantasy about the town of Bra in Piemonte, Italy, close to Barolo country, and world headquarters for the Slow Food organization (http://www.slowfood.com/).

Seville in Europe and
San Francisco in America.

the best Malbec is Catena Zapata.

Great show, Gary, tho’ I got a little frightened there at the end. I thought maybe you were gonna reach through the camera and grab someone by the neck!;)

QOD: Tough question…we really prefer the great outdoors, so a city has to have quite a bit to offer to draw us there. We just got back from Chi Town and I have to agree with posters before me. Great midwestern town. ALL people we came into contact with were friendly and eager to help. (We were constantly asking for directions)
A city we would visit would have to have a colorful history, good foods and wines,and great blues. Memphis (didn’t find such great wines, but everything else was plentiful) New Orleans, Chi Town, San Fran and Asheville, NC have been some of my very favorites. Have never been to any foreign cities, but one day hope to.

QOTD: I’m not terribly well traveled, but my favorite cities that I’ve visited are Juneau, Alaska, Minneapolis, MN and Toronto, ON. Vancouver, BC, seemed pretty awesome as well, but I’ve only spent a few hours there.

will oak, like tannins soften over time?….Does french oak impart as much “oak monster” profile as american oak?

QOTD…it’s tough to decide, but for one day, Venice Italy, for a weekend Paris, and for a week Rome.

Rome…great food, wine, women!

Rome…great food, wine, women!

gotham city

gotham city

By the way:

“Malbec’s” is possessive.

“Malbecs” is plural.

Drives me nuts when people do that to apostrophes.

You hit the nail on the head with the Alamos. I’ve had all of them since 2002. None were as good as the 2002. ’05 was OK. Have to pick up the ’06.

Ohhhhh….How about ParisRomeSanfranciscoPortlandPerusiaSeattleMexicocityLondon
OsloAmsterdamBarcelona but when it really comes down to it L.A.or Hollywood
because that’s home and that’s the place I like the best.

QOTD: From Boston. But loved San Diego. And Hamilton Bermuda was pretty sick as well.

Great show, thanks for the Malbec education – seems like they are everywhere these days.

QOTD: Paris followed closely by New York.

QOTD: Park City, UT – great snowboarding, incredible mtn biking, good eating, close the airport (SLC) w/o all the big city hastles of traffic, crime, etc. – what more could you want. On the other hand, wine selection is limited by the state (altho I was pretty impressed with the selection at the state store last time I was there).

Starting to become a Malbec fan, good episode.

QOTD: Cincinnati, OH, my home town, great city, great people!

Bummer about the oak monster. Can we start a petition? A group on facebook…”I hate the Oak Monster”.

QOTD: NYC with Sydney a close 2nd. Love the Thai food and the BYOB’s in Sydney, wish they did that more here.

Big G, Ya know you sure did sell at lot of Oak Monster T-Shirts for a reason. LOL

QOTD: Santa Barbara, NYC, Florence

Great show. Just started watching the other day since the Slate article and I’m loving the wine education Gary is giving us all.

QOTD: San Francisco. NYC is a close second.

So awesome to see you taste the Alamos! I think it’s great.

QOTD: Asheville, NC is my favorite city. Runners-up: Portland, OR; Louisville, KY.

C’mon, San Francisco baby!! Banff, Canada is right up there, too.

Great little bit about malbec. Mos def.

Ok a coomnet few will see cause Im a day late . . .

Great episode. I love Malbec since going to Argentina last year and drink it often. I am always looking for values, so the Alamos is a big hit. I have also liked the Clos del los Siete and Amancaya (they may be Malbec blends) for

wierd?

. . . for