Just now tried the Thunder Cuvee while watching this episode. A friend gave me the bottle for my birthday a month ago. Definitely Thunder-licious! Glad you called out the cherry flavor at the end. For $15? Sold.

Tried the Thunder Red. Has all the characteristics of a $20 red. Loved the earthy taste with the peppery kick. Nice dark cherry/chocolate essence, still dry - good balance. Again, great tasting along with you.

Disappointed with the election results, but the show kicked. QOTD: Washington. He could have been king but he declined. Humility, character, ...

Nice secret pack. Too bad I couldnt drink along with you, Gary. QOTD: Its a tough choice, but Id have to maybe go with Lincoln.

Late comment I know but I just now opened the Thunder Napa Red. Quite lovely. I really enjoyed it. Very interesting blend - definitely rose petals. I feel like I want a piece of pizza with this wine. Nice effort.

QOTD: FDR- He was bad ass w Polio and a sweet wooden wheelchair! QOTD2: Lillet w lemon

QOTD: FDR!

oh fav prez... Jeb Bartlett.

What I drank election night...

2005 Zinchichi Petit Syrah about $45.. I barrel tasted it a couple of years back, he makes a Zin too...

Gary, really, this guy was the team Doc for the Saints till Katrina hit.

Check him out... his office is like a Saints museum..

Interesting Secret Pack selections. They all sounded good.

QOTD: Reagan. I still believe that he was the greatest President in my lifetime. I sure hope Obama turns out good.

Pigeon.. Octopus Salad..where do you eat this stuff? QOTD: James Polk..why? Why not? I don't remember what I was drinking two weeks ago, unfortunatly it was not the secret pack though.

Nice Thunder Juice. I hope you guys still have the Anwilka.

Favorite President = Reagan.

Favorite Reagan quote = "Government = If it moves, tax it, if it keeps moving, regulate it, if it stops moving, subsidize it."

I like the idea of your packs...I something go to my local wine shop and ask the owner (who is oenologue, is it like this in english?) who knows the wines I like, to suggest some new wines. I like trying less known grapes or rare blends, but sometimes a "vino de autor" (the winemaker's oenologue makes his/her own blend) is a nice surprise too (often it is just more expensive, with no added value...but fortunately, the shop owner has tried all of the wines, so she already tells me).
The pump we use since 5 years now (we even have spare tops which allows us to change , within a few days, according to the food we have)...definitely one of the better buys!

QOTD: GHWB1. Smokin hot wife..

good secret pack. Since we have neighbors over, the 6 of us like our whites chilled. smile.
QOTD: Partial to Reagan. Who else could handle working with a chimp and then work with all the DC chumps so easily? wine: Menage a Trois - three blends or red that is ripping the thunder for me this week. 2nd bottle!

GWBush is the biggest idiot ever, obama green energy promises could improve wines enviromental energies long term. If he delivers of course. Remeber USA contaminates more than all the rest of American countries.

Im drinking Chilean wines, they got in general a lot more vitalle, energy, nerve, try De Martino 347 Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Maipo and Casablanca vivarietalle, impresive energy elegance and depth, citric, sub-troppical fruit, well balanced nose mouth acidity. A fresh oyster and a chilled glass blow my socks this weekend. A must drink wine for 10 dollars.

QOTD - Favorite president - Abe Lincoln because he had great courage and did what was right for the country.

what am i drinking right now?

i'm having a nice & crisp CasalGarcia Vinho Verde, of which i'm getting lots of green apple & lemon zest notes with light minerality.

Awesome Show, loved how you put in the the Thunder Cuvee Wine

GV - Great show.

The Thunder Cuvee, which was a very cool surprise, lost a bit of strawberry's after few days but they were obvious and cool on tuesday. It still had a ton of tannins and was fun to drink on friday night. Hats off, well done.

The Anwilka, I thought was great, well balanced. It had that earthy quality that is cool in most SA wines. The character of the wine changed after a few days and the "darker" qualities started to come out a bit more. The nice-fruitiness calmed down and you got the wine's true personality.

I enjoyed all three wines very much. Looking forward to the next secret back.

QOTD: ????? Need some more time on that one

Truth be told, I did not believe your claim that the Anwilka would last 3-4 days with the pump. My SO made me leave some in the bottle on Tuesday because you said so. How do I argue that?

Tried it tonight. I am impressed. I dare say, it is better than it was for election day. Tasting it at room temp, you get hit with alcohol, so you have to look past that. But the nose is still incredibly dense with dark fruit, brambly and such. There's a port-like quality with a rich, sweet fruit and alcohol thing. It is alive and loaded with fruit. The oak has toned itself down to some subtle dark caramel, thankfully, and the fruit re-asserted itself. Probably at a reasonable temperature, the thing would kill. But I'm loving it at about 78 degrees.

Can't say I'll never doubt you again, but you get huge cred for calling this one. Really didn't think it would go the distance.

I agree...George W. Bush. Just cause everyone hates his guts. We'll see what they think in 50 years.

Kudos to Gary for including the Thunder Napa Red. Laying his rep on the line like he always does.

Quote Of The Day: "You stick it in and you pump away." - GV

Dude... I know you're sick and all, but your sniffling was killing me!

QOTD - Favorite president? I guess I'd have to go with our *current* president, George W. Bush. The reason? When you look at "hollywood" presidents, they're all strong and convinced in what they do. They do what they think is right, polls be damned. Well, despite having a 28% approval rating, GW continues to do what he thinks is best for the country, not what will make him popular. That kind of backbone is rare among men, let alone politicians.

QOTD2 - I'm drinking a Bells White Winter Ale. I just saw that "the plains" got 4 feet of snow! Yikes!

Decent show! I can't taste along because I live in MA.
QOTD - Abraham Linclon.

QOTD: Ronald Reagan. Although you have to give Nixon props for keeping a secret bottle of Margaux for himself when the guests were forced to drink Napa wine.

I just finished watching the election pack show. Can anyone help out someone living in Minnesota (who can't get WL wines because of state laws) with a bottle or two of the Thunder Cuvee?

QOTD: Jefferson because of is love of wine.

Sorry to here you ill, but could I have a secret pack for the one I just spilled?
Clinton by far. A real dude that I got to meet, shake hands with and he even autographed my bar napkin.

QOTD----- Andrew Jackson ....... a great American hero ...he loved good wine too.
.... Drinking a little Oregon Pinot

Ok, as I posted Tuesday, I did NOT like the Anwilka. I tried the Thunder cuvee yesterday, however, and really liked it. Didn't get rose or chocolate, though. From CellarTracker:

Nice blueberry over red current nose. Nice red raspberry, current, blueberry upfront, light to medium tannins, medium acidity. A little heat on the end, but over-powering the plum and blueberry finish. Moderate length.

Even after an hour, the profile is holding steady. 88

Yo Mott, Ya supposed to show some RESPECT for da Thunder Cuvee.....
What do Ya mean "Tooo Bitter...."??? Smack Him Upside da Head, G!!!! :)

qotd: Favorite President?? George & Abe mustta been pretty cool dudes...
What is i drinkin' tonight?? Might satisfy da Sweet Tooth & crack open
a Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2001....

Iggy
Hey Gary why didn't you swirl and spit your post nasal drip and add some tasting notes ? [Heavy on the oyster] LOL .. Big shout out to Mott what a company man for taking your glass.. awesome!!! But seriously you rock bigger than Mt Rushmore,GV for president. Being an Aussie i don't have a fav president just a fav American, you! Keep up the good work mate ... Oh and right now I'm drinking a Mitolo Jester 06 shiraz definitely bringing the thunder for me.

Had an awesome night drinking the Election pack with the Thunder Show, and living in this historical moment. When people ask me what I was doing on election day 08, it was drinking wine and watching Gary V. Wish you told us about the South African wine earlier, we killed it before we could save it. I have to say, the Thunder Red was very interesting, and a great value. Good job blending.
QOTD: Hands down TR.

I am a new viewer. I decided to stop lurking! I ordered some wine from Gary's picks to compare tastes. I decided to try the election pack too. I got my election pack today.( a day late but hey I ordered late). Opened the Thunder and hated it. All I could smell was alcohol, all I could taste was alcohol. After a couple hours it's just gross and near undrinkable for me and for a while it smelled like a wool carpet soaked rubbing alcohol. Harsh and dry "pucker" is an understatement. A mouth full of barrel splinters. Of course these are just MY opinions. I was thinking that for the price of the "pack" we'd be tasting something more like 20 dollar bottles. By the sound of the Anwilka, the more costly of the bunch, I am going to have to wait ten years to even get close to that investment. Bummer.I am trying the pump on it so we'll see I look forward to the white in the near future as it will at least not be a tannin "monster". I hope my 12 other choices from Gary's picks fare much better. I do like the show for some strange unknown reason, perhaps because it's real. I am entertained while learning and that is always time well spent. Thanks WLTV

QOTD: I have to say Clinton, but I am not really sure if it is just the fact that every one else has been such a gang of screwups =0)Tonight, I am drinking a Dessilani 2000 Gattinara Reserva (Nebbiolo from Piedmont, Italy), and it is outstanding! It could honestly use a few more years of rest, but if you leave it out for an hour or two, it settles down quite nicely. So many people forget about Gattinara (and Carema)because of the overwhelming popularity of their Nebbiolo neighbors, Barolo and Barbaresco. In fact, many Gattinara are considered to be the BEST agers of the group, and this bottle should prove to be an lively old man in the future. Another great producer is Travaglini, from Palm Bay Imports, which is more feminine and relaxed, but quite seductive, nonetheless. Salud!

QOTD Drinking a very good Guffens Heynen Mâcon-Pierreclos 1er Jus de Chavigne 2006. Already loved what this guy does with the Verget negociant house in burgundy, this is my first encounter with his own domain bottling. Serious stuff from the underrated Mâçonnais region (i.e. Pouilly-Fuissé, St-Véran, Maçon, ...).

I'm rockin' cause I'm learnin'.

QOTD: Teddy Roosevelt. Long Island boy and a great mustache!

Not a hater...I have watched ALL the episodes and bought $1,000's of dollars of wine from you until you stop shipping to WA. Okay but heres the thing....you seem to be getting a bit "full of S***" 3rd wine...first you say you have only had a barrel sample and a quick taste at the super tasting...but then further along in the segment you say you had a bottle that you let evolve over 5 days ......so which is it....by the way this is not the only one of these little .....inconsistencies.

Great run of shows recently, Gary.

QOTD 2: For election night, I pulled out the only good bottle of champagne I own: a '93 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame that I bought on sale in 2003 for something like $60. I never was sure when I would have the occasion to open this -- maybe when I get engaged, or something similar. Last night seemed as good a night as any, and it was still delicious: almond-paste croissant on the nose, honey on the tongue. I had stored it in dark closets over the years that I tried to keep at room temperature or below -- was good to find out that the bottle survived that.

We had a great time tasting along with you (even though it should have been live).
QOTD: Kennedy - I had the same feeling of excitation when he was elected.
QOTD2: We have been drinking a lot of Norton Malbecs- excellent.

And Gary, you have the same birthday as ME!!!
What a great day for the world that was.

QOTD: I'm still partial to William Clinton, though of course what Kennedy and FDR did was incredibly important. Last night I drank a Lungarotti Rubesco, nothing outstanding but it was nice.