What do you think of Beringer White Zin? I like it. Tastes decent and good price. I’m a wine beginner though and was wondering what else might be good to try that is better quality but similar taste?

I knew something was up when it downloaded so quickly. Have fun. I wonder what wine there’ll be at the wedding.

O no Gary!You had me all pumped up!!!!Lol enjoy.

MaryS – Check out Gary’s review of the ’05 Beringer White Zin at the end of episode 63.
-Sorry Gary, I couldn’t resist.

Mike F – Thanks for the info. I just watched Gary’s review of the Beringer White Zin. Not what I expected. I have been buying this stuff from him by the case for years. Will I continue or will I find something else??!! That is the question………..

I would say that episode had a rather ” short finish”. Certainly no middle palate at all! 🙂

My 69 episodes are undeniably better than yours…Now, that’s funny!!!!… cheers 🙂

okay, you have to be crapping me…i am down at the beach right now and i just spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get one of the two laptops at my disposal to work….i just spent about 2 hours trying to get these pieces of crap running so i could watch this episode that looked, from the picture, to be massive…and i was looking for my shoutout after my 30 second 1st comment on the last episode….always the bridesmaid or something…gary, you bastard! 🙂

Gary,
I was comment 72 in the last episode who complained a bit when you did the tasting for the single Swiss bottle. But this time, you REALLY got me. The sight of all those bottles open had me totally pumped. On top of it, I’m one of those total wine nerds who occasionally saves the last fifth of a bottle just to see how it changes after a day of controlled air in the bottle. And then not even a SINGLE swish and spit!! Are you seriously telling your WLTV fans you didn’t have an extra 120 to 180 seconds to do at least a couple and throw out a quick QOD (question of the day) to get our juices flowing?!? The whole thing looked staged for WLTV publicity to me. Ah well. Get ready for my comments following the next episode. Or NOT! Now there’s a 69’er of a different sort. Sincere best wishes to Brandon and spouse for a great wedding and future. 🙂

Mary,
If you’ve been buying it buy the case for years, you’ve obviously been enjoying it so why stop? But on your next order you might add in a bottle or two of some Rieslings, which Gary hinted at trying. The Spatlese Rieslings are a step sweeter than the Kabinett (dry) Rieslings so I would try one of those. Anything labeled ‘late harvest’ will have riper fruit, so the sugar should be higher as well. The Auslese Rieslings are sweeter still but the price goes up considerably. I saw a couple of Spatlese Rieslings on the WL website that are around 10 bucks, so why not start with one of those. 🙂

Mike,
Thanks for your suggestions. I have been wanting to try other wines but not sure where to start. I am not a fan of dry or “vinegar” tasting (red?) wines. And since I have a couple glasses on most nights, I don’t want to spend a fortune on it. How does Chardonnay compare? Does Gary ever respond to these comments? Or is he just pushing sales at wine library? But then why does he dog wines that he sells at his store? Just wondering.

Mike F.,
I thought the “late harvest” would mean more fruit, not sugar. As I understood, don’t they allow the extra sugar to ferment into alcohol, hence the higher alcohol percentage. The rieslings are usually bone dry, I think; the different levels just mean how much fruitier one is from the other, no? I forget the order. Maybe Gary can clear this up. I’ve gotta go and watch that episode. My family drinks the Beringer white zin like its goin’ outta style.

MaryS,
You should love the rieslings if you like the Beringer. They’re really fruity and some can be sweet. The “vinegar” taste is a particular kind of acid in some red wines; I think I had a coturri wine that was big on that flavor, wierd. (At the risk of sounding like a condescending wine snob, which I certainly am not, and insulting your wine intelligence, for which I would certainly apologize) Are you sure you don’t like dry wines or could it be that you like fruity wines, easily confused with sweet ones? I ask because I think we have similar palates; I recently found, however, that I like dry but very fruity wines after spending a bit of money on sweet and dessert wines. Anywho, I agree with Mike F. and Gary: start with the riesling then maybe you can try others. Good luck. HAVE FUN! 🙂

BTW Gary does respond to a few of the comments, but regardless you’ll learn a lot from the show and from other viewers. I have. As far as ulterior motives go, I think he’s a guy trying to live on both sides of a fine line, trying to be honest whilst making money.

What a complete waste of a customer’s time! How incredibly disrespectful and immature!

I mean really Gary, do you think that your viewers have nothing else to do but seek out information and get this juvenile crap in return!!

This is the last time I watch.

Late harvest means picked later in the growing season, usually late fall. Since the fruit is riper the sugar content will be higher as well. This of course could be partially converted into alcohol like in a zinfandel say. That is why we see zin’s at 14,15, even 16% alcohol. Rieslings however are typically much lower in alcohol, say 8-11%. There can be exceptions, but these are averages mind you. Late harvest wines are at 24 Brix (sugar content) and up which is at the high end for table wine (20-25%). The low alcohol in Riesling is due to the fact the sugar is not converted, and hence the sweeter style of wine. Rieslings can be bone dry and typically these are Kabinett Rieslings. Spatlese are sweeter. Auslese, BA’s and TBA’s are in the desert category. These bad boys are pricey though.
Hey maybe someone whoâ??s tried the Italian sparklers can make a recommendation? A spumante or a Prosecco maybe? This might also be a good transitional wine frome white zin.

Mary S,
You may want to try some of the inexpensive moscatos; Sutter Home has one that is in the $4-6 range or there are some Italian ones such as Marco Negri, that have some carbonation, that are $10-15. Those are some that my wife enjoys and she was a former white zin drinker. We also get a blush from New Mexico that is decent and costs less than $10 per bottle even with shipping.

Gary–you know my feelings about hype. Shame on you!

Mary S–If you are looking to keep it simple, cheap and fairly sweet, you might also look at the Chateau St. Michelle Riesling or the Fetzer Valley Oaks gewurztraminer or riesling. Both can be had for single digit prices. Neither will top out the professional wine ratings, but both will add some different fruit flavors to you nightly quaff.

New world chardonnay is a good next step to explore from sweet wines. It is not sweet, but it is often smooth and buttery.

when will someone speak about wines that are not manipulated by the marketeers? Look to the New York Times Business section today for details. 90 point wines are crap.

I think what the author was getting at in that article is how the scoring system has been helpful in some respects, but it’s continued usefulness is now called into question. He hinted at how dishonesty is possible in this system, for example:
A: Parker accepts free samples. (Hey who can afford to buy all those first growths?)
B: Wine Spectator takes paid advertising by wine producers. (Contrasting practices by Consumer Reports, who they reference numerous times).
C: Retailers like Beverages & More have a built in incentive to manipulate their internal reviews. (I thought the comment was telling about how an 89-point wine will slowly move, but a 90 pointer will fly off the shelves).
I think the scoring system is a very useful tool, but (we’ve heard this before) it isn’t the only thing to consider. I think people that only shop 90+ pointers are doing themselves a disservice. I believe itâ??s up to the consumer to move beyond scores in order to take the enjoyment of wine to an honest self-realized level of appreciation.

Gary,

Bush league move. Total lack of respect for your customers. You lost major credibility points.

wb – The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast et al are not marketeers. As it says in the article, they are scoring the wines and the retailers are using the 90+ scores to market the wines. The article points out that when a wine fails to achieve that score, “you (the retailer) can make up your own.” It further states that this rating system may lead to the homogenization of wines toward the varietals and styles favored by WA and WS. We as consumers need to show that we will not blindly follow that lead. I am fortunate to be able to shop in Manhattan at a few wine shops that offer wines from off-the-beaten-path and offer excellent quality at reasonable prices and have not been swept up in the 100 point system. (I also shop at the Wine Library, but usually it’s to buy what I have already determined I like.)
BTW, the link to the article is: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/business/yourmoney/13rate.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Shame on you gary I got all excitded and it was a let down. I did laugh though and I understand the humor. Going by some of the above comments looks like the joke pissed some people off, you can never please everyone.

I look forward to mondays show, they always make for me most enjoyable of breaks at work.

As a college student I can appreciate the need to be frugal. However, I bought the chat. ste. michelle riesling in the spring. i didn’t like it one bit. As I recall, the alcohol is very high for a riesling, more than 11%. The wine was very sweet and the alcohol made it taste almost like cold medicine, sickly sweet. Gary has some really inexpensive German riesling that’s not too bad. I stopped in one day or liunch and had a bottle with some taco bell; it was pretty good since the riesling ,irried well with the spiciness of the food and the slight acidity balanced the cheese. Try it.

Thanks a lot Mike F. i think I understand a bit better. I’ll keep drinking and reading. 🙂

Although I’m disappointed I had a feeling that there’s no way you could have re-tasted all those bottles in one episode. Oh well. Just means you have to make it up on the next one.

I found your blog a week ago and checked out all the episodes. Really educational and informative, but above all FUN. Not pretentious or snobby what so ever. I like it. Keep it non-commercial, keep it fun, keep it off balance, keep it spontaneous.

This episode was definitly not the best, but really what pissed me off was all the whining comments from unhappy viewers. If you can’t contribute something positive, even if it is constructive criticism, why bother.

And if you don’t want to watch the show ever again because of one so so episode good riddance. More bandwidth for the rest of us.

Come on guys. I cant’ beleive some poeple are upset at this episode. This was fun. Gary set up this bog to bring us together as family. We can joke on each other right?

Gary, keep on having fun. If we can’t have fun with wine – lets all start drinking Scotch.

Joe