Wow! What a cool episode. I love Calistoga(been there 3 times) and am going again late summer. I’ll have to see if my stepdad knows of this winery(native CA man and Stanford alumnus and loves football) and maybe check it out in person! I take it the Syrah didn’t float your boat(rather made it with all its wood)…those coy knowing looks into the camera…hahaha! I will definitely be checking out these wines when available.

QOTD: That little voice inside my head who I sometimes ignore…even though it says things so true…the truest things.

QOD: The truest thing in my life is the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thru everything he brings me peace and joy and happiness!
🙂

Gary- Very interesting show. DV is one of the legendary coaches. The wine did not appear to bring you much WOW factor, however.

QOTD- That I will be there for my family and friends, and they for me.

Awesome!

I really enjoy when you have the wine maker from a winery on, but today’s show was the best. It was awesome to hear Dick Vermeil talk about his family and roots in wine. Thanks Gary for a great show. What’s not to like about this show? Football, good! Wine, good!

QOTD: The love of my wife.

Dude…where did you get that haircut?

GREAT SHOW (as usual) Gary. The Charbono sounds like a real treat. It reminds me a bit of Bonarda. Broquel has a Bonarda out that you, me and the rest of the wine-changing world would love. Give it a whirl.

QOTD: The truest thing in my life is my relationship with my girlfriend (mush mush)…and my palate.

A few interesting facts…
Mrs. Frediani used to babysit Dick Vermeil as a youngster, so he is not “another celebrity who wants to make wine”, he grew up in the vineyards and his passion shows during the conversation – great job with the interview Gary.

The wines are on order from the winery and will be coming to the Wine Library in the next few weeks (thus the “Coming Soon” banner). They will be no more expensive than if you walked into the winery tasting room and purchased them, so again props for keeping the cost in line. And there is not much wine to around the country, so if you want the Charbono or indeed any of the wines, get the message out to the WL staff early. The Syrah is just bottled and needs labels, so it will probably be a little later getting in.

That’s all folks – a little background from a mutual friend of Messrs. Vermeil, Smith and Vaynerchuk.

(And the wines TRULY rock!!!)

Keen observation CabernetNoir, there are some camps that believe Charbono and Bonarda are indeed the same grape. Not familiar with Broquel but will have to track it down.

And RE: QOTD, I know someone whose truest thing in life is his relationship with his girlfriend, but if his wife ever finds out he’s dead-meat…

Keen observation CabernetNoir, there are some camps that believe Charbono and Bonarda are indeed the same grape. Not familiar with Broquel but will have to track it down.

And RE: QOTD, I know someone whose truest thing in life is his relationship with his girlfriend, but if his wife ever finds out he’s dead-meat…

Show # 257 – One of your best!! I’m old enough to remember those great Zin’s from the 50’s and 60’s. Thanks to these guy’s we can still enjoy some real wine today (if we can get it). (QOTD). The truest thing in my life is that I was lucky enough at the age of 21 to pick the right women to share my life with. In two weeks we will be sharing our 49th. Wish I had one of Paul Smith’s Cabs to celebrate it.

Gary, really great episode. Not everyone that does a monlogue can do an interview! I was very pleased that you were able to integrate the things that you do, and still allow your guests to provide interesting, and informative information. REALLY super that you were able to get someone as prestigious as Dick Vermiel, to come in and share thier time with us!

Great episode. Your usual monologue is fun, but discussion is great too because for me wine is all about having fun with friends.

QOTD: One word. Today.

Some interesting factoids…

Paul Smith was one of the key players in the design and building of Opus One, and he is a true “garagiste” – the barrels are stored in a garage that is dug into the side of Spring Mountain and maintains at a very cool temperature all year-round.

NFL & Vino…awesome!

One of the best episodes ever. Very nice job, GV. You held your own against these heavyweights — a real pleasure to hear their discussion.

Great episode !!!

My mom grew up in Calistoga where DV is a legend. Paul Smith is a legend in the wine world. Nice job interacting with these guys. Great Ep!

Ciao

Really good show. It probly could have gone on for hours. Napa is all about rich people making wine. In this case it’s not a bad thing. There needs to be more people like those guys starting wineries in Cali.

QOTD: The wine I make at my house. Some times its good, sometimes it’s so so, but sometimes, very seldom its great and that to me is the best.

2 classic moments from this episode: 1) After took a drink of the Syrah, he looked at the camera as if to tell us Vayniacs that “oh yeah, this is full of the OAK MONSTER!”. and 2) watching someone on WLTV hoist a wine glass up while wearing an actual super bowl ring bigger than your face! Really cool!

Most entertaining episode yet. Cannot put a price on the Richard “We don’t use the name Dick much anymore” Vermeil’s reaction when you called him out for mentioning how well his wine faired at a non-blind tasting in Kansas City. Followed by you joking “in Oakland you’d probably come in last”, to which he choked out an “I don’t know”. Priceless. Apparently a sense of humor is not required to be a successful NFL coach. Also, when you scored his wine a 92+ he made a face like he had just smelled poop. He seems to be as competitive about his wine as he was about football. Great job being honest with vintners present. I actually enjoyed seeing them react to your reviews. Paul Smith seems like a class act. Keep up the good work GV.

Sensei,

Reading all the comments can be great fun….

I agree that you should pull back camera when you have a group like that. Your new interface already has larger screen and you did look like three guys in seats A, B, C on a SW flight..:)

Also have to say that when Dick was reciting the names of his family and you said..”and you ended up with Dick?” i almost lost it!!! All time classic moment…

I am now going to watch todays episode. Keep up the unbelievable work and congrats on all that happening with WLTV and Cork’d!!

Grasshopper

At a loss for words. Cool.

Dude. How big are those guys? You looked like a quarterback flanked by two linemen. Great show, interesting wines. I need to try some Charbono soon.

QOTD: Easy — my 11-month old son. How much truer does it get than that?

GV:

I know you’re a football nut, but you gotta have Scott Stevens on! Vermeil was cool for sure, but Stevens leveled people for a living! He’s a Cab junky. Get him on.

Great episode.

I do not like episode with the vinters attending. I think you must feel very self-conscious giving a direct opinion. Also Paul got a little defensive with the rating on the first zin you tasted. I think it makes for an uncomfortable situation.