W-I-N-E WINE WINE WINE

QOD: 33 bottles, definitely has grown since starting to watch WLTV, but consumption has increased as well to keep the number steady as of late. Most are from WL and GV’s suggestions, since The Library is just down the street from work (it’s just so easy to come home with a few bottles after watching the previous nights WLTV recommendations.)

The Super Tasting was outstanding! The highlight of course was meeting THE GARY V, but a close second was tasting the El Nido which the most outstanding wine of the night (great to see others thought so as well since it is part of this episode.) Kudos to garyv and WL for such a great event.

For Rich S, try and visit Glenora Vineyards while exploring the Finger Lakes region (love their Reisling!)

BTW- Go GIANTS!!!!!!!!!

An audio selection:

Wine – The Hollywood Flames

http://thehound.net/19891202/mp3s/start24.mp3

Gary,

Was that the honey nut cheerio bee on your table? And was that Scrunchy the Shop Rite bear next to you?

Question on that Vouvray. When was that wine released? Recently?

I have just under 700 bottles. About 75 in my apartment and the remainder in a naturally cooled wine cellar.

Another audio swelection:

http://thehound.net/19930313/mp3s/start29.mp3

Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee by Glen Reeves

Another audio swelection:

http://thehound.net/19930313/mp3s/start29.mp3

Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee by Glen Reeves

Gary,

Terrific episode. Loved the cut ins from the tasting. Wish I could have been there. Will you consider having one of the super tastings next year in NYC?

QOD: I have a about 130 bottles and about 90% are red. My collection is a mix of wines from France, Italy, Spain, California, South Africa, South America, Washington State, Oregon, Argentina, a couple from Russia and Lebanon. A little bit from everywhere.

Let’s see … 30 in the back fridge, 12 in the little one in the dining room (mostly ), 20 racked up in the wine room, another 30 boxed up in the front room, and a few in the fridge (one Vouvray, one Malbec rose) … mostly French & Italian, with the odd sparkler and assorted new world stuff gifted by my Rhone Ranger dad.

OK, that was a load off. As far as the best wine no one’s heard of, I’d go with Madiran but then I have a pile of it in the back fridge, so I suppose that counts as hearing about it …

Gary, from the clips the dress of your attendees at the super tasting was not very casual… is tasting an East vs. West coast dress thing?

QOD – 67 wineries, 127 bottles (7 are champagne). Those I paid for the freebies/trades I do not count and are in the kitchen racks for immediate drinking.

My wish list has 80 wines (oops, now 84) (1 champagne) of which 60% are WLTV.

QOTD: 52

Here’s my QOTD: Is that Scrunchy the Shop-Rite Bear sitting in on the episode?

Gary, I’ve got about 3 cases of wines I have bought over the years, but also have 10+ cases of wine that I have made from grapes we ship in from various Cali. sources. I drink my own swill and spend my cash money on better stuff. As for the question of the day yesterday, I would say China. With such a huge and varied country, there has got to be a few perfect places for growing wine.

One of my all time cellar favorites that would qualify for great wines you’ve never heard of is Chateau Musar from the Bekka valley of Lebanon. I would love to see you taste that. I don’t even know if WL carries it though. If you don’t you should look into it.

thanks
damon

I have approximately 600 bottles in my cellar, about 98% red, both old world and new world. Storage is a problem, as my wife and I live in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan. My wife also loves to taste and shop for wine, as I do, but doesn’t drink it as often as I. Sometimes I think the bottles are like Tribbles; they just keep multiplying and appearing everywhere. I do have a Eurocave unit, but that only holds about one third of the total, so we keep the best and most ageworthy in it. We also have a secure storage locker in the basement of the building where the temperature is relatively cool and constant, so I try to keep most of the balance there.

I have approximately 600 bottles in my cellar, about 98% red, both old world and new world. Storage is a problem, as my wife and I live in a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan. My wife also loves to taste and shop for wine, as I do, but doesn’t drink it as often as I. Sometimes I think the bottles are like Tribbles; they just keep multiplying and appearing everywhere. I do have a Eurocave unit, but that only holds about one third of the total, so we keep the best and most ageworthy in it. We also have a secure storage locker in the basement of the building where the temperature is relatively cool and constant, so I try to keep most of the balance there.

Hi Gary,
You know, I live rurally, and the number of people and the crowd at that tasting seemed a bit much to me. I was born in Brooklyn, but moved away from both “the city” and cities so long ago, I’ve lost my desire to be in big crowds. It is also interesting to me that wine is an agricultural, rural product, but is consumed in urban areas primarily. I think it is striking that we speak of terroir, but what would the terroir of a city be like if we could have a city grown wine?
QOD — about 200 bottles, of which 125 are German, 25 Californian, 20 red Burgundies, 15 vintage Portos, and various others. Do you have a personal cellar? Does WineLibrary have a long term cellar? And how do you keep track of what you have in your personal cellar, or of the companies? (I’m a cellartracker enthusiast.) Thanks for the info today. Jim V in Trinidad by the sea.

To Karen (#54) who wrote:
“did those of you with so many bottles acquire this desire or just start out cellaring from the get go? so far i only have the desire to drink and the idea of saving a bottle for 15, 20, or more years seems to be something i canâ??t grasp.”

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you for me it started with some 1989 red california wines I purchased in 1994. It was just 6 bottles. I decided to hold on to them and see how they changed over the years. After 5 years sitting in my cellar I was amazed at how much they had evolved. I also noticed how much more expensive the same wines were just a few years later. I decided that being the bargain-shopper with champagne tastes that I am, I needed to consistently buy young wines and hold on to them. I guess before I knew it my collection continued to grow.

To ML (comment #81) who wrote:
I noticed a lot of people use cellartracker to manage their wine inventory. I maintain my database in MS access. Is it possible to import an excel or .csv file into cellartracker? Are there benefits to using cellartracker?

YES!! Here is the link with info . . . http://www.cellartracker.com/bulkfaq.asp

The major benefit I see to cellar-tracker is seeing the community tasting notes and comments, it helps me to make decisions on wines to buy, and helps me decide when the best time might be to open a wine based on other users’ comments. After a while you start to notice users who have similar tastes to your own which I find very helpful in trying new wines. Plus, I love being able to access my wine list anywhere there is an internet connection!

Gary, did you say 2 bottles or two million? As I see it that whole store could be your stash. You want a bottle, grab it and go. Enjoy. Enjoy. Ever think of a tasting at a Pocono resort?

Gary,

I have about 400+ wines. 300 or so for long term cellaring, 50 for everyday drinking (Cheap and Cheerful) and the remaining 50 are for Friday & Saturday night consumption. I have a wine fridge that holds about 100 of my long term cellaring wines and the remainder are on racks in the basement. I am looking to build a temperature-controlled wine cellar in the next couple of years. Does anyone have any recommendations of companies or contractors that you have used in the past? Should I build it myself with a do it your self-book or is it worth the extra cost to have a professional do it?

GO METS

Paul

Good show Gary. Thanks for taking questions, and answering mine and others. Nice intro Stallion.

I see that the heat epsidode, albeit an ETA, will be on my birthday next year!

I see the Clio is sold out, and the Nido is out of my price range. Good thing I’m a patient person. 😀

I’ve had Vouvray and enjoyed it, but I did wonder about the Viking. Thanks for the review. “It’s a refreshing beverage, but so is Sprite.” Classic!

QOD: I have about 6-10 bottles in the house at any given time. I really started to appreciate wine about 5 years ago, and I would say that I buy wine to drink, not store, at this point. My wife and I are having our kitchen renovated next month, and I had the designer work a 50-bottle fridge into the plan. Even then, it will probably not be full for some time. I applaud those who have a nice collection. It’s always fun to come to your house to hang out for a game or dinner. A buddy invited my son and me over to watch the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. He pulled me to the side because he knows I appreciate wine. He takes me to the basement and, low and behold, he has an 800 bottle cellar. Wow! It was amazing. It was all good, though, because I have a healthy dose of cellar envy but not jealousy.

Question: Gary, You’ve had guests on from Hogue, which I like, and Ch. St. Jean, and other vineyards. What producer, or producers, do you think does the best job making a number of varietals? Or do you think a producer should make just one varietal really well?

QOD- i have about 65 bottles with a good mix of old world and new world. red/white split is 90/10

everyday drinks v collectibles 70/30 most wines purchased are under $50 with the vast majority under $25. I am quickly approaching the realm of seeking very good wines for $15 or less, especially with the help of WL.
China or India I vote India.

Gary,

Let’s go Mets!

QOTD….about 45 bottles mostly red and pretty young. Being the WLTV addict that I’ve become my wine list has grown and will definitely grow even more soon 😉

Thanks for the great service. Hope to meet you in person some day.

Tom

Folks: (I cleared this post w/Gary, BTW) Below is a link to sign up for notification of wine events from Local Wine Events.com. They have listings in many US and international cities. For each person who registers using referral code 42003-38 (specific to me and this particular offer), I receive one “grape” (point). The person with the most “grapes” by Nov 10, 2006 (Fri) will win four free tickets (reg $95) to a Benefit for City Harvest – World Tasting with Spanish Wine Festival (full deets about the event at http://www.pjwine.com/html/events.html)

Date: Nov 15, 2006
Time: 5:30-10:30pm VIP Admission; 7:00-10:30pm General Admission
Place: The Puck Building
295 Lafayette Street (at West Houston ST)
New York, New York 10012

If I win, I will take the first 3 WLTV-ers who email me at juschul@yahoo.com with me! You donâ??t have to be a NY-er to sign up with the link below (although you will have to be here to attend the event, of course).

Hereâ??s the link to click:

Thanks, and letâ??s hope we win!

Whoops! Here’s the link to click: http://www.localwineevents.com/be_notified.php?ref=42003-38

I have about 280 bottles, 98% red. The only white I am aging is a 2000 Hermitage. 200 or so are in a storage unit and the rest are in racks or in case boxes in my basement. My collection started with a bunch of 2000 Bordeaux and some ’98 Rhones and includes a bit of almost everything though the single largest portion is Italian. In general, I don’t buy enough of one particular bottle to sample them over the years so I am constantly wondering when to open what bottle. Sounds like Cellartracker might be an option for me (Thanks, Jaye!).

Gary: In many of your e-mails, you mention that you are buying a case to put away for yourself. Now you claim to have only two bottles. I hope Derek does not find out about this! He’ll think he was right about you!