I mean “fella.”

Qotd: For me it doesn’t matter, as long as it tastes good I enjoy it. And besides, there is still a certain amount of skill in being able to pick out good wine.

Joe
you get 95 pts.
your business model 96 pts.
The browns bucket, priceless!

Gary, did you know Santa Clause does exist, in the HUDSON VALLEY!

Yo I love how honest you are, can you tear some holes in my buisness plan? I honestly think it would help me.

qotd;I like the romance, but i want a good wine over an ok wine any day.

This was a lot of fun.

QOTD: When I buy wine here’s what I think about: Taste, Organically grown or not, Value and Taste. Like both of you mentioned the image of ladies laughing and stomping grapes or old men with weathered hands picking grapes is definitely one part of the wine equation but there are also the tractors, the “de-brettocizers”, Super Purples, de-alsc, etc. that demystify the industry. Many wines are maybe a tad more mad scientist experiments than soulful art pieces. If it’s not poison, and tastes good for the price I’ll buy it.

79 to 83 points is NOT good wine!
I do like Joe. I do agree – 3 btls of this 3 btls of that. I used to do that. Now. I just say it. We aren’t really going to move that. I like it but it doesn’t fit here.

Good episode! I greatly enjoyed the guest (despite him being a Buckeye).
Best of luck to him.
QOTD: I would go with the negociant’s wine.
GO BLUE!

Part 2: I often debate the wine geek vs the public.
Sometimes…often-times… the wine geeks try to force our “intelligence” on the consumers.

I thought Joe’s explanations of research, price analysis, demographics, labeling were great. Too many wineries have the “if we make it, they will come” attitude and they don’t have a mkt plan or a target consumer:
let’s make a CA Cab, Merlot & Chard. No let’s make those and a reserve line. No let’s make those, a reserve line, some single vineyards and a proprietor’s blend, no let’s…

I personally would never buy his wines…see what I mean. I debate this topic in my head all the time

QOTD: I don’t care whether it’s negotiant juice, private label juice, blood-sweat-and-tears-made by the winery juice. All I care about is whether I like it. Many pricey French wine are negotiant juice and I love them. I don’t research who made it. I’m an equal opportunity wine consumer.

As I watched this ep. I felt embarrassed for everyone concerned.

HHmm; what did the guy expect? I’m sorry these are not “real” wines; I would’nt have had the ordacity to bring them onto a show which tastes some of the best wines to offer to ordinary consumers from around the world. Gary; lets get back to old skool just you and the camera and some great wine please!

Good show and you know what…Wine is all about farming folks. : ) Keith Miller

I have been enjoying all the quirky shows of late Gary so keep them up! Its not all serious and wines most people can’t find. I can rarely find the wines you talk about down here in SW Florida. Remember everyone, this is to get the stuffiness out of wine and into the real world. Thanks for all you do Gary keep it up!

I think that there are all kinds of wine drinkers out there – and many people that look for the right wine for them – or for the right wine for that night. How can people get upset with someone that is trying to profit off of seeing the entire picture and trying to predict the market of people that enjoy wine? Wine is not just for people that want the best possible bottle every single night – or the best bottle for their party. It is about having that bottle that is right for one particular night. I drink wine almost daily and I love going to the store to see what is new or what will pair with my dinner for that night. Isn’t it better to have more choices out there rather than having a bunch of same priced bottles – with the same rating – and the same taste? I commend Joe for getting on the show and being honest about his labels. I have tried his wines and I think they are good – I have them at my house for friends to enjoy during parties – variety is truly the spice of life. Keep going JZ!

Great episode, Joe & Gary.

QOTD: Negotiante, done and done- i like good wine just like i like good hip hop- “truth” is a subjective idea, and marketing is ubiquitous across all genres of everything. i’ll buy a mainstream good-fruit wine when it’s accessible and there, fo sho. Good job.

Logan

hi there…a lot of my favorite spanish wines are not estate bottled—i dont care too much. This guest, all due respect, is not doing anything to improve the quality or appreciation of wine…he may as well be selling cheap vodka with a snazzy label.

Great show Gary! I am glad that this can of worms got opened, because it is a side of the business that many people are unaware of.

I wish people wouldn’t rip on someone like JZ too much. Quite simply there are a lot of farmers that might only have two acres of land or don’t have the deep pockets and capital to grow the grapes, make the wine, nor have/can afford the facilities, equipment, staff, and overhead to bottle, market, and distribute the wine. So the farmers stick to what they do best – farming grapes and making small lots of wine while delegating the other side of things to those who can sell it.

It is symbiotic. Without purchasers who can buy, blend, and market these farmer’s produce – they would all be out of a job very quickly. That is where people like JZ step in and buy a little here and there, slap a catchy label on it and make money for everyone involved.

The guy is very upfront – he is not trying to make legendary wine – he is trying to fill a market niche.

There are a ton of consumers out there who want nothing more from the wine that they are purchasing than for it to compliment pizza and not bust their budget. And there is nothing wrong with that at all.

Now I personally don’t drink those kinds of wines, but a lot of people do and at least they are drinking wine. Eventually they will graduate to higher expressions of wine as their palates become more discerning, but in the meantime let them drink Pizza Vino, Fat Bastard, Barefoot Cellars, Smoking Loon, Red Bicyclette, or whatever silly label that they remember and enjoy.

QOTD: I enjoy both types of wine. If you take something like say a Verget in Burgundy who is making premium negociant blends and put it next to some lesser skilled domaine bottler – obviously the Verget is more desirable. But if you were to take a small estate bottled Rhone and place it next to a bulk bottler like Guigal or something – my natural inclination is to prefer or desire more the tiny bottler.

my .02

QOTD – It’s about the taste and the value. While it is fun to buy some wines from people you have met, for every day drinking I just want something that tastes good, goes well with food, and is priced well.

Gary: why didn’t you drink the wine with the pizza? That’s the whole market niche of this wine and you didn’t go there.

Interesting show. People can debate the Estate vs. Negotiant, designer vs. knock off, chicken vs. egg. I just suggest that while they do all of that they drink something they enjoy.

Gary,

I also question why the Pizza Vino wines were not tried with the Pizza. These wines reach another dimension with the flavors of good slice.
I do appreciate JZ’s business approach to marketing and selling these wines. He, much like yourself, is trying to take the mystique out of wine drinking and opening the drinkability to the next generation…most of whom love nothing more than a $10.00 – $14.00 pie.
Great Show.

Been watching for awhile. Best episode yet. Got more insight into GV I think. But then I am watching from the business side not the wine side. Impressively negotiated tightrope.

Very insightful episode, thanks! I will start watching for the pizza label, though it sounds like it might take a while to hit the shelves out here in Washington.

A very interesting show, with a seriously different look inside the wine world. Negotiant wines have never really bothered me, but I have always enjoyed the idea of the estate-grown wines (my first exposure to wine was in Niagara).

Joe, it was great to see another Browns fan on the show… here’s hoping we get a 1-4 or 1-5 for Braylon.

QOTD: Value, always…

Oh! I forgot to say that I’ve had the Cabernet with pizza at Luigi’s in Akron, and the touch of sweetness did pair quite nicely with their sauce (though their pizza is actually pretty uninspiring, despite thousands who line up outside of their door to get some)!