My .02; I hate flies, they drive me crazy

At least your boys brought the lurkers out.

QOTD: Oompa Loompas are my favorite popcicles.

Great group, and IAN (I remember him from Ep. 197- give me the Vayniac props!) obviously has ample knowledge about the wine he sells. However, I don’t think you have any competition in the personality of energy departments from these guys…not even from the wine glass burgler from Ep. 100.

QOTD: What am I drinking tonight? I thought you’d never ask!
Montalvo Wilmot 2004 Syrah (90% Syrah, 10 Cab)- I SMELLED LIQUORICE IN A WINE FOR THE FIRST TIME!! As well as some black berries, Lavender, wild red berries as well- very perfume-esque. Similar flavors on the palate, especially the wild berries- like those unknown red bush berries that always taste underripe and you lied to your friends by telling them they were poisonous after they ate them when you were 10 years old. Good mouthfeel, peppery, damn fruity, well structured, I’ll agree with the label about the Balsamic notes, although the acidity is shooting WAY up disrupting the silkyness of the wine, and the tart, underripe berry flavors keep this wine from soaring into the 90 pt. range. Oh, by the way, Old World fans should’ve bought a one way ticket out of the country before I started this QOTD.

That was cool!

I think the funniest part was AJ saying “… aka Hollywood is still at home…” –> hilarious!

-Nico

Interesting to see the guys who work behind the scenes. (Is AJ a math major at BU or something? What’s up with pi?)

Way to fill in for Gary guys.
AJ enjoy your summer & maybe get a haircut:)

where’s Tony Soprano in the group

Hey, Rollie Fingers just called and he wants his mustache back!

OK now that it was posted who these cats are, I went back and re-watched. Ian & Brandon W, you guys can stand in for Gary any time!

Now, When do we get a Mott/Kastner ep – I want to see the 2 non “wine guys” go through one!

I like the idea of the (no offense guys) underlings stepping up and taping a show. That being said, out of the lot of them there has to be someone that’s even half as excited as Gary to bring some enthusiasm to the episode. And don’t be shy! But thanks for the show guys!!

I like the idea of more people giving their opinions on the same wine!

When the Cat’s away the mice will play. Who needs Gary when we have the stooges.

Gary, think you gonna need to do some effort to convince us …
Great, but guys, where … o WHERE is the QOTD???

Remember when these were filmed, don’t be fooled into thinking Gary didn’t have input into the price point of the wine or more importantly wasn’t behind the camera making goo-goo eyes and silly faces at them(something tells me he had something to do with Bobby laying prone under the table as well).

All in all a good effort but no obscure tasting notes, redonculous expressions, non-wine related banter or cork throwing? It’s just not the same, and that’s not taking anything away from the crew, motley as they may be (he he).

That was lame! These guys have no personality – Other than the first guy, I wouldn’t trust those fellas to recommend me a bottle. Guy 1: “cherry cola” guys 2-6 ” yeah, what he said” Guy 1: “89 points” Guys 2-6 “yeah what he said!” Lame staff no input, do these guys taste wine? Where’s the Bordeaux glasses? Gary i’ve been in your store. These guys are not symbolic of the professionalism you are portraying. Don’t let these guys near your camera again! They are pissing in your church!

While it was interesting, I didn’t learn much about the wine. They only had one to taste. Gary, they are not competition for you. Next time they should introduce themselves and no Snidely Whiplash moustaches.

Thanks for filling in guys!!!

Hey Brian….take a pill dude…..isn’t it understandable that they’re not used to being in front of the camera? Just go back and watch some of Gary’s early episodes to see how much he has grown and evolved.

You say, “Lame staff no input, do these guys taste wine? Whereâ??s the Bordeaux glasses? Gary iâ??ve been in your store. These guys are not symbolic of the professionalism you are portraying. Donâ??t let these guys near your camera again! They are pissing in your church!”

I’ve personally dealt with a 4 of these guys at the store and they have all been excellent. Do you regularly throw out such harsh critcisms in your daily life?

I can’t believe how incredibly rude some of you are being. I think that some of the Vaniacs out there are losing site of what this is supposed to be.

Gary regularly challenges top critics in an effort to change the status quo. Sometimes he agrees with them, and sometimes not. I don’t ever recall hearing him say that he is the only authority and yet some of you are acting as if he is a god amongst mere mortals. Yes, Gary is very charismatic, and that charisma is what has brought so many people to WLTV, but are we so insecure of ourselves that we need one man’s verification of a wine in order to be able to enjoy it?

An example of Gary as a wine taster. He reviewed a wine awhile back which he disliked. I wrote in the responses that I disagreed and found none of the characteristics of which he spoke, and I encouraged people to seek it out anyway and judge for themselves. And what did Gary do? He wrote to my personal email and applauded me for sticking to my guns. He also said he would do a retaste… which in point of fact, you have not yet done, Gary my friend!

Anyway, my point is that Gary values other people’s opinions. I can’t see him being too happy with some of the comments here. I think this was a great idea and completely in the spirit of WLTV.

Coincidentally, I’ll be tasting the Pontet Canet 1996, 2001 and 2002 over the weekend. Maybe I’ll throw my notes onto the forum.

I agree with the comment by Chris just above mine. Jim Gorman has recommended excellent buys for me time after time. Brian, you may make your next comment when you become an adult — if ever!

Ack! Do not ever do that to us again Gary, that was nearly painful. I say nearly because half the time I was laughing at this. Stick to AJ if you need to have a stand in, he seemed like he would have done a better job than the other guys even if he is under age.

What the heck! May not of been the best show ever, but sometimes changing the wine world means just having a little fun! I enjoyed the little show and I hope the guys enjoyed making it. Way to fill in!

Nice one Ian! You can stand in for Gary any time. The “Ianiac” t-shirts are being designed as we speak. : ))

Great Intro by AJ! Nice job on the review guys! WHAT the heck was the guy doing on the floor? Is he always there!? Is there something we need to know????

I enjoyed he spirit of this episode. Nice job~

Whoa! Some of you folks are harsh! Guess you’re not into change and are still drinking chardonnay rather than a Torrontes! Way to go guys! Thanks for putting in the time. Hey, Ian, how about that Calon-Segur??

Delegation is the most difficult of all skills to master. It means setting one’s ego aside.

But, to be honest I kind-of miss the ego 🙂

Enjoy your holiday

WLTV the pirate episode! 🙂