Another awesome episode …
Sideways made me wonder about the wonder … of Pinot. I still do. My exploration continues. But, no, I didn’t get “turned-off” about Merlots. I welcome the occasion to have a worthy merlot — in between my love for cabs.

I’d like to know the personality differences between Silver Oak and Dominus.

gary,

at the time of the movie i was feeling what payne was feeling. i was tired of people leaning on a grape as a crutch. i was bartending at the time and had for some time been trying to get guests to try things other than merlot. my favorite was getting a merlot drinker on an aglianico del vulture. i used the movie as a way to talk to people about grape farming and the choice that is made to get 3 tons per acre or 20 ala rabbit ridge. thats where i was when the movie came out. this is a sociologists wet dream.

A couple of great Merlot’s are Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval 1998-99. Andrew Will by many people makes the best merlot in America and it’s made on a island in Washington State near Seattle. Another Andrew Will merlot of Seven Hills. A good California merlot is Barnett Spring Mountain District. The California merlot wines can be sweeter than wines from any where else where as the merlot’s from France are more earthy with “dirt” as some people say. Washington State merlot seems to be a good balance and the best merlot in America comes out of Washington State now in my oppinion. A good French merlot is Christian Moueix merlot owner of the world famous Château Pétrus. Year after year, his wines define Merlot. Soft and round with aromas of raspberry, cedar and blueberry, this wine delivers ripe fruit, great balance and a medium long finish. This merlot comes from the Pomerol area in Bordeaux.

There you go again dissinâ?? the Oakmon. Iâ??m doing a name change here. Iâ??m the commenter formerly known as Grif. Point one off the top, my BF knows heâ??s a monster. Heâ??d never deny it. But the term is not today. Itâ??s not really politically correct. Think â??Pokemonâ? and â??Digimonâ?. Heâ??d never tell you this himself.
I love the show. Iâ??ve watched every moment of every show from episode 1 thru 285. Iâ??m up to August â??07. Football seasonâ??s about to start. I feel bad because I know something August â??07 Gary doesnâ??t know, and that is that the Jets didnâ??t have such a great year in â??07. Iâ??m an Eagles fan, we didnâ??t have a great year either.
I loved your comments about oak in this episode. I know my pallet is underdeveloped. In time Iâ??ll probably appreciate more flavors and Iâ??ll be ready to back away from the oak but right now I really like it.

I forgot to answer the question of the day. I havenâ??t been a continuous wine guy. I liked Pinot Noir in the mid-â??80s. I remember enjoying 1982 Rodney Strong Pinot. I remember the price being comparable to the Cabs I was buying then. I bought the 2006 RS Pinot and found the price was a lot higher than the Cabs Iâ??m buying. Are you telling me this is because of a movie? I had my first Merlot ever just this year. You kind of act like everybody has seen this movie. It seems unlikely to me. I never even heard of it except for watching WLTV.

Good episode. Even though it was only 2 for 4, its nice to see (obviously) that Hollywood got it wrong. I do so enjoy the flavors a $10 or so bottle of merlot brings to a sauce. I admit to pouring in glasses of it when I make spaghetti sauce. Always better the second night, too. QOTD: Id never buy Hollywood trying to sell me something like that. Its all about my taste buds.

Bummer about the Souverain. Such a nice label.

QOTD: I wasn’t a huge merlot drinker before Sideways, and the movie didn’t affect my palate much. All the movie did was raise the price of pinot noir, which was sad.

I wasn’t drinking wine when I first saw Sideways. When I did start, I definitely went towards the pinot automatically to see what was what.

qotd I like the movie, but stuff like that never has an effect on what I want to try. I'm not a big merlot drinker because there are so many other varietals out there to try and I wanna try everyone. Plus when you hang out with fellow wino's or go to tastings etc. you end up getting to try a lot of merlot's anyway by default.