Gary: Well done on the WSJ interview. If only that stiff who interviewed you was half as at ease and comfortable as you were!

I am not a big Champagne person either but I have had a couple of killer bottles. Most killer: 1996 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne followed closely by a 1995 Bollinger Grande Annee.

WSJ! Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Hi Gary et al.,
My first Champagne was the Moet white star. I bought it for my gf’s first birthday. We liked it very much with strawberries; it was a great experience.

I must say that my best sparkling wine experience was with prosecco. For Valentine’s Day I cooked a great dinner paired with Sauvignon Blanc, picked-up desert, and served the prosecco with chocolates and strawberrries. This was the best celebration I’ve had to date.

Nice suit Gary gar! 🙂

Most memorable champagne – Krug Rose in the late 60’s. A friend of my wife’s was getting married and had us over for a very casual event where this was served pretty much by itself. I had never heard of it before, but was it good! It had an immense mouthfeel and dry rich flavors. I don’t remember a year, so it was probably non-vintage, but I’m not sure. Never tasted anything like it since. Now I realize how expensive it probably was. It just snuck up on me and hit me over the head!!!

Andre (aka asr2021):

“gf’s first birthday” ?? Isn’t that a bit young for champagne?

GIANTS 13, jets 7

OMG, Gary! I just watched the video (I was having plugin problems)! That tie!! (sound of hilarious laughing)…

Sorry, buddy, but that tie just cracked me up. No offense, and please don’t hate me, but I couldn’t contain myself. Tell me when your birthday is, and I’ll buy you a nice-looking silk tie. 🙂

Too bad you didn’t talk about the vlog during the interview, there was a good opportunity when she asked about marketing and attracting sales. Too bad she didn’t ask about it.

Tony

Way to go GV and Wine Library!!!

You get another 100pts from me on this one. I give the episode 95pts and another 5 for the Giants beating your Jets tonight!!! lol….

All kidding aside, I love the bubbly as well and look forward to your future episodes on some the not so well known producers “the growers”. I picked up the Brice earlier this week from your shop and can’t wait to try some more.

To answer your question of the day, I will have to owe my exploration into champaigne to just that, exploration- I fell victim to only cracking open the bubbly on special occasions and during the Sunday Brunch – but then I wondered into food pairings w/ Prosecco’s etc. and have come to love Champagne, as well as those sparklings and they have become a staple of the dining experience for my wife & I.

Great episode and great job!!!!!

Wonderful episode, Gary. I’m glad you explored champagne. I always seem to enjoy it when I have it, but that isn’t often enough. (Maybe I need more celebration in my life.)
I enjoyed the interview as well. The interviewer seemed well prepared, and you were both professional, and yet personable. Good stuff. Jim

Gary, another great episode. I’ve been a fan since episode one, and congratulations again for your feature in the WSJ. Now, here’s a request I’m really hoping you can carry out. This might be heresy for a wine cognoscenti like yourself, but knowing your love for Champagne and terroir flavors please seek out a Gueuze and tell me what you think. Yes, it’s technically a beer, a lambic to be specific but trust me here. Find yourself a bottle of Drie Fonteinen, Girardin or Cantillon (in that order of preference) and give it a try.

My father has always been an advocate of good Champagne, in fact our cellar is stocked with Laurent Perrier. Yet in my years of tasting them I have rarely found examples more powerful than a well blended and aged Gueuze. These sour beers tickle the same part of my palate as Champagne and are well worth seeking out.

Liked and congrats on your interview/exposure for store with WSJ.

QOD: Shramsberg is our current favorite. We made a trip to Nappa and spent time in thier caves doing several tastings and was really hooked. It is the only wine club we belong to and really like always having “bubbles” around. It really is a great tour (2 hrs) and I highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Nappa to make the appt. Then tour others like Domaine Carneros for comparison.

Gary – with a pallet as developed as yours I assume you have your prefernces with regards to oak. There is American, Hungarian, French…I get a different answer as to the differences between them and affect on wine from the wine makers when I ask – can you help clarify affect the region/oak has on the wines and why some swear by American or others French? I think in many cases it is cost!

Cheers

Gary once again congrats on WSJ.
My favorite champagne involves four.
One January 1st my parents invited my wife & me to their house for dinner. I brought a 1990 Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill; I thought this will impress the old man.
When we arrived he thanked me for the wine & said “put it in the frig with the others.”
The others were 1990 Dom, 1990 Krug & 1990 Crystal. I did bring a good one but….
The day was great & the champagne was even better.

yeah bob u…break out the barbaresco gary..how bout my Orlando abrigo vigna montersino stuff

Gary how bout some guest WLTV hosts during the 4th quarter…WLTV hosted by Gabe Conte

I ‘ll wear my giants jersey!!!!!

hahahaahah

Gary,

Sorry for laughing at your tie. That was mean. You were great in that interview.

One thing that stuck with me from this episode was that you talked about wines closing down. What causes this? Please spend an episode talking about how, when and why wines close down and go through dumb phases. Is there a way to counteract it (decanting, etc.)? The whole idea mystifies and fascinates me. I’m going to add this to my list of episodes that I’m going to bug you endlessly and relentlessly about.

Speaking of which…well you know what I’m going to say. 🙂

Also, I just want to thank YOU for doing WLTV. I know you are totally slammed making WL the best wine store out there and I know I speak for everyone when I say that we really appreciate the time, effort and dedication you put into each episode of WLTV. I’d hate to see you burn out on doing WLTV, so please take time off from doing it whenever you feel you need to.

Tony

Champagne — As Gary said, we in the USA drink the Gallos & Yellow Tails of Champagne. The problem is that Yellow Tail costs $5, but the “Yellow Tail” champagnes cost $30. For my personal wine $ curve I’d rather buy wine than champagne. That said, I did have a champagne under $30 once that I really liked, Nicolas Feuillate Premier Cru (non-vintage)

Tony’s comment re: burn out — Gary, your show is so great. It doesn’t seem possible that you can continue with such energy doing so many shows, so if you need to take some time off in 4Q, please do. Just keep WLTV alive!

Question – Gary (or anyone on the blog), how do you clean your wine glasses? The large stems are difficult to hand clean. Obviously a dishwasher is bad news. Do you use soap, salt, baking soda, or just hot water? What to do?

Garry,

Congrats!!,

Cuvee Louise 1989 Pommery. It was a warm summer night…the stars were aligned just right, and thats why it was the best one yet! (I stayed in a overpriced hotel in S. Beach, Fl. please don’t ask me how much I paid for it). Now a days I enjoy a great Prosecco.

Well, the secret is out – find the champagne that isn’t hyped into stratospheric $$$ and drink it while still at a good price = Nicolas Feuillate Premier Cru! You could also try an American sparkler that is about $10 = Gruet Brut from New Mexico.

Gary, great episode and thanks for the answer! The WSJ interview was also interesting. How do you make money selling at cost?

Best champagne: VC Grande Dame. Beautiful notes of honey on fresh baked bread.

Best Champagne experience was a few months ago. Here in NM, tailgate parties at the Santa Fe Opera are a tradition. I am a so-so opera fan, so I had not tried it until now. The experience is something special.

Imagine a parking lot on the top of a rocky mountain foothill with a gorgeous view of a mountain sunset. Behind almost every car is a card table covered by a table cloth. On top of every table is one or more bottles of wine–usually Champagne and food. Hundreds of folks in a line raising a glass and enjoying a picnic together as the hills turn from red to purple to black.

On your WLTV recommendation I bought a batch of the Brice Premier Cru a while back, and drank the last of it on that hill with good friends and a wonderful dinner. I received so many compliments on the wine, that I think they would have been bowled over to find they were drinking bubbles which cost less than some of our local NM sparklers. Great recommendation and a terrific evening! (Oh, and after a nice Champagne and a sunset, opera is fun)

BobM,

You are so right… I forgot how great Nicolas Feuillate are even the N.V. Blue Label. An other steal is L.Vitteaut-Alberti, Blanc de Blancs, Love it!!

Gary:

I never really drank Champagne because the bubbles give me gas. Only Kidding! Learned alot from the show, maybe I’ll give it a try. Can you move the picture behind you either to the right or left it would be easier to see.

good job…and congrats for getting on the cover of WSJ. QOTD: 96 dom p on valentines day last year with my girl, whom had never tasted anything other than korbel! i opened her eyes to the wonderful world of good champagne…the brice rose was good as well.

Mwf,
LOL! I meant the first of her birthdays that I’ve celebrated with her. 🙂

Gary,

Great episode (would love to see the “value” oriented champagne episode though). Loved WSJ piece. I have to say that Vanessa was pretty hot too 🙂

Keep it up!

“OMG, Gary! I just watched the video (I was having plugin problems)! That tie!! (sound of hilarious laughing)”

Real Men Wear Purple.

Gary I too want to thank you, you have taught me a lot about wine, if it wernt for you I would not have developed a passion for wine.

If you are too busy in the 4th qtr to do this show I would rather have the show go one with one of your emplyees than have no show at all.

Hey Gary,
Great show again. I love Champagne as well, especially with sushi.
My favorite champagne bottle I own is worth about $5.00, but has the most sentimental value by far. It is a bottle a comic gave my wife and I on our honeymoon last summer. It is a N.V. Pol Clément Vin Mousseux Blanc de Blancs Brut.
On a separate note, I have a question for you. I know you rate wine with the price taken into account. Do you think this is fair? Is a $10.00 90-point wine the same as a $100.00 90-point wine in terms of quality? Shouldn’t wine be evaluated independently of its cost?
Adam