Gary, think this was aked already but haven’t seen an answer:

How many people took advantage of the free shipping?

BrandonM – to answer your question (#8): I order from Ridge, Harvest Moon and Littorai (great Pinot Noir). I’m trying to get on the Rafanelli list but one has to wait for about 3 years. I’m planning a trip in February to Santa Barbara area and I’m sure I’ll wind up with more.
BTW, any advice from any of you out there in the VaynerNation regarding a trip to SB? Which wineries are musts? Thanks in advance.

Hi Paul,
Rafanelli wines are great. We go there every year when we go out to Sonoma- They have a 2 bottle limit at the winery(garage on a hill top). One night at dinner in Yountville we had a quater bottle or so left. Next to us was a pretty loud table of three -2 woman from NJ(pretty drunk) and a rugged looking man(pretty well off also). Since we are from NJ also we started chatting and the fellow asked about the Rafanelli as he had not had the current release- So I gave it to him(to my wifes horror) in turn he gave us a Half bottle of what they were drinking.

It was Saddle Back Merlot and we were hanging with the legend NILS VENGE the man who brought the first 100 score point wine to Napa Valley with Groth. What a treat, he owns Saddle Back, We got to go out to the winery the next day which was great and hang there for a while- His son is starting a new winery in Napa also-

Rafanelli is one of those wines everyone wants to know about if they are wine heads-Well anyway glad to know we have a new Rafanelli friend!

We were on a small wine club called Tara Bella very nice traditional in all manners tiny vineyard and small production- they used to be sold out but not sure if they still are.

les buveurs provencial transforment le vin en pisse
grout leger et mache

I’m looking very forward to finding out when palate fatigue will set in. Our son is getting married in Napa in June; so I’ll let you know about the palate fatigue post the wedding. All the best, Naples, FL Kathy

WOOOO HHOOOOO just got my four cases of wine delivered for FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Tasting vs Drinking Wine

I salute wine tasting athletes like Gary, Robert Parker and the rest who can endure tasting so many wines at a sitting. I donâ??t enjoy sorting through a 6 or 8 wine tasting flight (much less 50 to 100), but tasting is entirely different from drinking. Tasting is work, and drinking is recreation. Recreationally, I enjoy delving out the nuances at more leisurely pace, Iâ??ll leave the hard work to my friend Gary Vaynerchuk.

The forced pumping over in the mouth some have remarked about in this blog doesnâ??t make the wine taste better. Instead what the swishing does is blast past the previous flavors in the mouth so that the subtleties of the current mouthful can be discerned. The receptors in my mouth begin to fatigue after just a few glugs along these lines. I am, however, grateful that GV is willing and able to do this for me.

Being able to see nuanced expressions of body language and hear GVâ??s unique semantics provide me with a lens to narrow my selections to higher quality winners. Even more than that, by knowing which wines in my price range are worth drinking, I donâ??t have to visit all the wine shops and liquor stores for miles around trying to find these elections. I just order from WL. Over the past year WL has become my primary source for wine.

It has gotten to the point that I hate going to shop for wine locally. First you may have to run the gauntlet of the â??wineâ?? sales people smoking outside the store, then you have to endure the low level of useful information available for making a choice, if you ask invariably one the cigarette smokers will tell you, â??yup, thatâ??s a goodâ??un.â??
Thanks for all you and the folks who work with you do, Gary.

Chin chin

Gary-
What a GREAT episode! I give it a 98!
Whose office are you in while taping this episode?

LizV,
I have to agree with you.
All of the Vaynerchuk men got the looks.
Way to stand up for your man!!!

Gary,

I am going to have to call the Casa Marin pinot the ” Willie Wonka Wine”, based on your description.

Remember that gum that girl chewed that was like gravy and beef then she turned into a blueberry, it was like a whole meal. Thats what you just described!

Regarding tasting to palate fatigue, I haven’t run into it as long as I spit and rinse, take on some water once in a while. I also haven’t had more than 50 wines in a day, so maybe it’s out there somewhere. I think it’s the brain that goes numb when there’s no spitting.

Kahuna,

Thanks for the info. I got to visit the Rafanelli winery last Feb. Met Bob in the parking lot, too. Could only thank him for his marvelous efforts. Came back with everything they’d let me take – merlot, zin, 6 row cab was available. Since my wife and I were there, we got to double up. I can’t wait to get on the list. And the next time I get back that way I will be sure to visit.

BTW, I’m also in NJ. Work around the corner from WL. That can be good (easy access to wine) and bad (easy access to bank account).

BIG episode. Shocked at the Catena, although I have yet to taste it. Now I’ll know to stay away.

I missed the QOD yesterday:
2001 Yangarra Park Shiraz Appelation Series McLaren Vale I only found two bottles to buy. Enjoyed that spicey wine with leg of lamb both times, shared the last bottle with friends.
QOD:
I hit nose fatigue in Oregon during my day of wineries. I was at my last stop, the Carlton Winemakers Studio, when I realized that the 5 pinot’s all smelled the same. I could taste the difference but my nose had given up. I ordered a glass of reisling to taste, let the pinots sit for 15-20 minutes, tried again and found I could smell their differences again. Palate fatigue hasn’t happened yet, oh, I spit when I’m tasting and driving.

Words and Wine

Hereâ??s a terrific article, easy to access (no subscription required) from Linda Murphy, Wine Editor at the San Francisco Chronicle (sfgate.com).

The article is titled:
Here, Kitty, Kitty
Wine Critics Love Cat Pee,
But Hate Wet Dog.

Hereâ??s the link, check it out. A good read.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/24/WIG80BRKHC1.DTL#smell

Cheers

Mildly topical: I’ve mentioned that when I was in high school, I worked in a farm market in CT. In June I worked the strawberry table. I’d make up pints and quarts of fresh picked strawberries right in front of the customers. The first day of working the table I noticed the strawberry smell. However, on subsequent days I didn’t notice it. I always thought the customers were nuts because just about everyone that came over remarked at the overpoweringly strong smell of strawberries. I’m convinced that the exact same thing has to happen to guys who smell wine everyday.

Furthermore, I’m also convinced that the majority of quality a wine possesses have relatively little to do with the nose. For me, the best wines are pleasing in my mouth and have a great balance of mouthfeel, tannin, acid, and sweetness.

I’m curious. On a similar note to Gary’s QOD……..Do you still get a buzz from the wine when you are only spitting? If so, after how many tastings?

To some degree, I think Gary overdoes the “pumping over in the mouth” as BBFBD puts it. It’s helpful to take in some air with the wine and gently swish it around to make sure the wine reaches all parts of the mouth, especially the tongue, so that all the different taste receptors are active and used. If the wine is high in alcohol, you’ll know it; if it’s high in acidity, you’ll know it; if certain flavors are there, you’ll know it. Your mouth is quite capable of determining what’s in it and whether you like it or not. I think Gary might be increasing the intensity of what he senses in the way he tastes the wine. Just one man’s opinion.

Hey guys,

Are my eyes deceiving me….or did I actually see TWO profound VaynerCLANKS!!!! The VaynerCLANK after the Tallulah was the most pronounced CLANK thus far in WLTV history. I was hysterically laughing at Gary’s face when he tried the Tallulah…guys, go back and watch his face as he pours it out…it’s classic…that alone makes the episode worth 100 pts!!!!!

Just want to give a shoutout to LizV….we met at the wine tasting at the Manor last week and had a good conversation. Like Gary, she’s a class act….love those Vaynerchuks.

I have got to try the Togni Cab…….Gary, how long is the free shipping good for?????????????????

-Stallion

TimF – Quite the opposite. It has everything to do with the nose. Read on.

“Approximately 80-90% of what we perceive as ‘taste’ actually is due to the sense of smell. Just think about how dull food tastes when you have a head cold or a stuffed up nose. At first students may not be able to tell the specific flavor of the candy, just perhaps a sensation of sweetness or sourness. If students are patient, some may notice that as the candy dissolves they can identify the specific taste. This is because some scent molecules volatilize and travel up to the olfactory organ through a “back door” – that is up a passage at the back of the throat and to the nose. Since we can only taste four different true ‘tastes’, it is actually smell that lets us experience the complex, mouth watering flavors we associate with our favorite foods.” (or wines.)

Julius – I know that’s what they say about the nose, but I argue that the ‘taste’ of wine is a little bit overrated. I think the mouthfeel, acid, sweetness, and tanin are at the heart of what makes a wine great. But maybe I’m crazy. My thought is this — if a guy like Parker can taste 100 wines a day and still accurately score them it has to be based upon much more than smell. Furthermore, if someone could prove that when you smell the same thing over and over again you don’t notice it anymore, then my hypothesis has to be at least partially true. Either that or these supertasters are frauds — which may also be true…

Can anyone tell me how sweet the Dr L Riesling is? I’m looking for not too sweet but not too dry and was wondering if this is a good choice. Thanks.

Mary S,
I’ve had the Dr L on two occasions and have found it not be overly sweet, but it is sweet with a nice acidity and nice apple flavors with a little note of the Mosel terroir.

Cheers

TimF – I think that a wine having good body, ripe tannins and a good amount of acidity without the fruit and other developing flavors (leather, cedar, spice, chocolate, etc) is incomplete and should not be considered a great wine. As far as Parker’s prowess, he has been accredited by many as having a palate cabable of discerning an amazing number of different flavors.

Seriously, what a treat that was, 30 mins of WLTV! Thanks GV! Almost as much airtime as LOST last night, ABC stuffs in so many commercials on that, TIVO rules