Holy Balls!!!

I just bought a costieres de nimes, Mas Grand Plagniol... I think I picked it up at 13 bones. It fuckin' rocks! I picked up the bottle tonight and searched for a show on this region and here it is!!!

I never watch gary anymore. I don't know why. I love the show......

QOTD1: I think that when the other wines of France continute to go up in price, people will look for alternatives and they will jump on these until they go out. QOTD2: Dont remember the score or the outcome, but I would have predicted a Farve win over a Bradyless Pats 24-17.

Good point GV about the power and influence of RP.
QOTD: Oooh, that wasn't a good game for you, GV. Not a great weekend for you. But pretty much the Pats suck at this point and your Jets are adjusting to Favre so you are having the last laugh.

Thanks Gv- I love hearing about areas making great wine that just arent known because of marketing and the like. QOTD: 1. Sounds like going big 2. I wish the Jets would have won (I'm a displaced Steelers fan in New England)

I used to live in the southwest of France, and apart from Costières de Nîmes, there are quite some other "to discover" wine regions in France with more affordable prices...for reds try Madiran, for whites (also sweet ones) Jurançon.
And even modest wine lovers are welcome at the producers, which is not always the case in Bordeaux or Bourgogne (if you don't look like an American wine critic or a rich snob, you might not even get in!), and can taste "for free, without any obligation to buy, at any time" the wines which are made there!
Now I live in Spain and wines from some lesser known regions here is even better value for money than Costières de Nîmes and friends in France, so I mainly expand my palette here! (although I still buy the sweet Jurançon over there)
Greets,
Ilse

QOTD: Southern France wines, especially the area between southern Rhone and Languedoc will soon start to grab the prices they deserve- especially Pic St. Loup, Lirac, Tavel, etc.

Good show. I am not sure that I have had a Costieres de Nimes, but I love wines from the entire souther Rhone and Languedoc regions.

QOTD - I am catching up late on the issues. Therefore, I will not predict that the Pats will beat the Jets.

We will be drinking a lot more of the obscure regions due to the euro

Got this last week, before I even saw the episode, (check out the forums - hint, hint) I am REALLY excited to try it, and love the advice at the end. I am always curious to try the wine in the same manner - THANK YOU!

I was lucky to get this wine here in Germany for Euro 11.90, 2005 vintage, and I think it is still true, amazing what you get for the money, I'm glad you put this wine on the show, and yes this is the right approach, there must be affordable good wines ... I have been following every episode of your show since I found WLTV through a side note in a German magazine in February this year, and I really learned a lot about wine from you, I wouldn't have Carm, Librandi, Pesquie, Morgante, and Tocai Friulano in my basement without you. Thank you, Gary! But Gary, why don't you friend me up on Myspace?

Bummer! It's sold out at WineLib. (Sigh!) I'll just have to look elsewhere. Your tasting notes alone made me want to try it.

QOTD: Cannot predict about the wine since I've never had it. As for the Jets, I would have predicted a loss to New England, but now that is a moot point.

I'm sorry about the jets Gary. I am a Packers fan and when Bret went to the Jets I was crushed. So now I'm a Packers fan, and a new Jets fan because of Bret.

bought six bottles today in cologne, germany. 10 euros. good value!

Great exploration and discovery, GV! I love the geography lessons :)

QOTD: Too late for a prediction, though I will say that I was VERY surprised by the Patriots' play. Outstanding defense (I guess the old guys can get it done).

Hey GV, another great show, another great wine from the old world.

I have to say I don't know sh*t about the jets, in fact I don't know nothing about American sports despite the fact I've been living in this country for almost adecade.
What I know though, is how to pronunce French names ;-)

Costières de Nîmes: [kôst-E-air duh neem], unlike in spanish, the final "S" are silent.
Chateau Grande Cassagne: you didn't butcher this one as bad.
Mourvèdre: the last E is also almost silent, and the Rs not as much rolled.
Languedoc: [läng-doc], another (pretty much) silent E.

Now you can lecture me about The Jets and my Russian pronunciation, as I log-in and order a few bottles of this "remarquable" wine.

Hey GV
I agree - there are some great little AOCs to be found down in the south of France outside the usual suspects. I like Cotes dy Ventoux for instance.
I have to say though that you were pronouncing costieres as if it were Spanish. Should be cost-ee-air!

QOTD: Sorry they lost gary vee. I've never heard of that region.

catching up so i can't predict the past...sry about your jets. good show.

Hey Gary

Great - please give the cellaring times, it's really helpful/intersting for me.

QOTD: Nimes is a place I've spent quite a bit of time (my car broke down there once). It's also the sunniest palce in France so it will be interesting to see how it goes as a wine region if global warming continues to cause temperature rises. But I'm positive. Stuck between the Rhone and Lanuredoc the two best places in France for value reds, what could be better!!!!

Cheers
Andrew

G...Sorry to see your Jets go down yesterday. They, like my Bears, just looked flat. They'll both come around...I hope.

Watched this episode on Monday so I can't really respond to the second question, but on the first, my prediction for wines of that area are that I will be trying a few of them.

Thanks for the tip!

I shouldn't predict the outcome of the game, because it is Monday and I already know the outcome. My prediction for wine is more of a hope than a prediction. I predict that North Carolina wines (from the western part of the state) will rise to the level and will be good and affordable (i.e. be able to compete with West Coast wine prices) within the next 5 years.

ha ha ha. Jets have been and apparently still are the Patriots' Bit$%es.
Brady or not!

I find this great GV. Always looking for new wines that I haven't had and this is one. One of the things that keeps people from buying new things is the availability. None of the stores in my area would even think of carrying a Nimes wine much less a costeres de Nimes so trying them requires someone like you pointing them out and then being able to get them. I spent nearly 2 1/2 hours in the Wine Library going over aisle after aisle to find the wines you have mentioned. Unfortunately, that was before you made this episode so I guess I will have to order. Cellaring and decanting times are great. Pairings to me are very subjective. Again, you like what you like. As I have the benefit of posting on Monday sorry to see the Jets didn't quite make it but a better game than last year.

This is a great episode. I really like the addition of the cellaring, decanting, and pairing.

QOTD - I know nothing of this region and as I am commenting on Monday morning it's not fair as I know the score.

Good show, Gary. I'm a big fan of the other French wines as they seem to be placed in one region or another especially the Mourvedre. I think that these deals will continue for a while longer as people still need to do a little work to find them.

Bordeaux and Burg are just too expensive. That means that the person wanting a good $15 - $30 bottle will have to go elsewhere. I think this means that the price and demand for southern french wines will escalate. Buy now!

Good show. There are some french gems around even in the overly oversold french wine market. These locations between regions can get pretty interesting. It's a good find & will seek out & try.

QOTD1: I think the wine will maintain a very good value for the price and I don't see the price going up much any time soon.

QOTD2: Unfortunately I didn't get here in time and the game was already played with the Pats winning 19-10. Hope you had fun at the game anyway though. And by the way, I'm really a Dolphins fan more than a Pats fan. Just gotta stir the pot sometimes.

Sounds like an awesome QPR!!! thanks!!

and....AWESOME Dwight Bobblehead!!!! Where'd you get that?





jerk.... :)

Hey - we loved the final touch on the show. I loved the cellaring notes (as cellar master in the house) & my wife loved the food pairing suggestion (as head chef in the house). We did a 9 course / 8 wine dinner last weekend with a bunch of friends that was all about pairings so it is always great to have that info.

QOTD:
My daughter says Pats win (only because her best friend is ALL about Boston sports)
Before today, I am not sure I have even heard of costieres de nimes. Hope they stay under the radar so we can continue to get some outstanding values. On this flip side, the more regions with a high quality rep there is out there, then more competition there will be between regions , which will hopefully keep good QPR's coming from all regions.

QOTD: My prediction is that I am buying more from the netherregions of France. And that one of the two teams will win the game.

David's wife took it A LOT farther in her fandom than a buddy of mine, a huge "Lord of the Rings" fan. When his wife got pregnant with his first daughter, his first thought was to check the release date of the first movie in the series. He was relieved to find it was about eight weeks before the due date, so he could attend the movie comfortably (with his wife, as it turned out).

As for wine and patience...well, when you think about it, all alcoholic beverages require a bit of patience to make, if not to buy. Since as a species we aren't the most patient creatures, it's kind of a miracle that the whole wind & spirits thing ever happened (except that we also enjoy altering our mood a great deal, that is).

Sounds like something I should try to hunt down! Wanted to find it in Switzerland, should be easy, no? So far no luck! I will try harder!

QOTD: I think a lot of the southern French wines are going to continue to stay under the radar as long as the general buying public is kept unaware. I have a sense this will be true with the Languedoc and Costieres de Nimes. Such a shame.

QOTD: Jets 17, Pats 21. Sorry GV.

Go PATS!!

QOTD1: JETS 17 - pats 16 Goooo JETS, JETS, JETS........ :)

QOTD: Hopefully some of those Good Vinos (Southern France) will
remain "unknown", there's enough over-hyped, over-priced vinos
already......

I tried finding the Branson Coach House wine 2004 to buy online
and every place I look for is over $100 USD, though Gary mentioned
it being only $60, it seems his pricing is wrong?

I am going to the Jets game and tailgating before. I have no prediction for the score, only hope the Jets win.