Great episode – had to laugh about the little old ladies hittin the J&B and Bailey’s. I’ve never had a Muscat, and I am not necessarily sure I want to try it now after that….

QOTD: Any meal, any wine as long as I am with my sweetheart, Jason. If I had to narrow it down — I had stewed lamb dish over grits at a restaurant recently and LOVED it — so that and a great Cabernet Sauvignon. I like Quintessa, Togni, and Arietta.

here’s the thing: it’s called FUN. and is a perfect, scientific method for training your palate? prolly not. is it FUN to watch you and Conan stuff cigars into your mouths at high speed? A decided HELL YES. here’s the thing #2: that fun you showed on Conan is the fun that represents the *new* wine world. the inability of others to recognize that simple fact? well, they represent the less than fun wine world. they represent wine “sports” and traditional wine snobbery. they’ve forgotten that pedantics and stony reverence is not the only way to “live the wine life.” there are plenty of PhDs, doctors, and other professionals who count themselves as vayner-nauts. there are also working-class folks, too. there’s no discrimination. i say good riddance to fair-weather snobs who “used to be your friends.” screw that noise. you’re either someone’s friend or you’re not. an appearance on conan that basically mirrors a previous WLTV episode shouldn’t make or break any bonds that weren’t there in the first place. good on ya, my brother, and keep fighting the good fight.

They are running scared! How dense do people need to be to see that wine is meant to be enjoyed? Wine is not an institution, and it will never be. It is a part of life. Thank you Gary, for being brave enough to enjoy it with us.

Stick with the new tag line, “like it or not!”. I LIKE it!

QOTD: Grilled pork loin, a psycho California Zinfandel like Turley or Martinelli and Scarlett Johansson.

Great show, Gary! I love the food-wine pairing stuff. Wine snobbery isn’t only about the wines. It’s also about the food-wine combinations (e.g., “Red wine with fish,” said James Bond in the movie From Russia With Love. “Well, that should have told me something.”) And WE (with a little bit of YOU) have to change that, too.

By the way, a paper by Madrigal-Galan and Heymann entitled “Sensory Effects of Consuming Cheese Prior to Evaluating Red Wine Flavor” was published last year in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. (The abstract can be found at http://www.ajevonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/1/12 .) Quoting from the abstract, “Some attributes, such as astringency, bell pepper, and oak flavor, significantly decreased when the wine was evaluated after tasting cheese. Only butter aroma was significantly enhanced by cheese.” Very interesting.

QOTD: Dinner with my wife. Otherwise, I’m not sure. I like the sound of Martin’s idea — Ossobuco with Barolo. Some of the most profound food experiences I’ve had were truffle-Nebbiolo combinations in dishes that were very simple. One was a truffled not-quite-hard-boiled egg on toast with 2001 Pio Cesare Barbaresco. Another was a pasta with shaved truffles and a 1999 Produttori del Barbaresco Rio Sordo.

Gary,
Ignore them. Your opening is fantastic. Let those dry conservative
wine elitest go find another network. Your enthusiasm and upbeat passion
make this show fun to watch. Keep up the great job!

Jerry

Loved the episode!! Down with the wine snobs!

Great Show…even though you didn’t enjoy the Malbec…I did enjoy it but, I am a newbie so what do I know haha. Thanks for standing up for the Vayniacs.

My ultimate dinner would have to be First course: Smoked Duck and fois gras salad served with 2001 Domaine Leroy Vosne-Romanee Les Beaux-Monts. Second course: Asiago cheese with Yukon potatoes and baby spinach served with Vino Verde. Third Course: beef wellington served with Frenched carrots and potatoes and 1961 Petrus. Fourth Course fois gras pate crackers, and 4 year aged cheddar cheese with 1986 d’Yquem. Fifth Course: pecorino cheese with honey on top sitting on top roasted hazelnuts served with 1995 Krug Brut. Great Episode Gary. I am with you 100% people make fun of me all the time because I am a big vino verde fan but wine is about being true to yourself so I like what I like and I trust my pallet who cares what snobs think. I tell everyone here at UMASS Lowell that I know about your show and it is catching on! Do the show the way you want bro I think that it is good to keep it real. I love the show! Best show on the internet or tv!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAY 2 GO G-MAN. I’m touched with all that defending the family stuff, but let’s move on…

Hey Gary,

I am with you all the way on a big rasberry to all the critics who wish to preserve an elitist (imagined or real) vino attitude. But please lighten up on aligning yourself with the ckc (college kid crowd). I know you are a numbers guy and the majority of those face-twitter-book hits come from that demographic. But I was hooked by your challenge to develop a personal palate. Your theatrics are awesome but your shameless beggin’ for love has worn thin with this older, non-fratoid. Your audience must be more varied than your critics suggest.

keep the thunder comin’

Hi, I’m a freak who knows nothing about wine!

I’m thinking either a Provencal steak with Bordeaux (if it’s grilling season) or leg of lamb with Madiran (if it’s winter). That’s a start.

Speaking of which, I cracked one of those 2003 Sansonnets out of curiosity to see if I wanted any more … sweet merciful crap, you weren’t kidding about letting it air out all day. Nice stuff, but four hours barely seemed to put a dent in it. More dirt than I expected though, and I don’t mind that one bit.

Hi, I’m a freak who knows nothing about wine!

I’m thinking either a Provencal steak with Bordeaux (if it’s grilling season) or leg of lamb with Madiran (if it’s winter). That’s a start.

Speaking of which, I cracked one of those 2003 Sansonnets out of curiosity to see if I wanted any more … sweet merciful crap, you weren’t kidding about letting it air out all day. Nice stuff, but four hours barely seemed to put a dent in it. More dirt than I expected though, and I don’t mind that one bit.

Keep on spreading the love, Gary. We’re gaining more Vayniac “freaks” by the minute. Those envious nincompoops will never get anywhere.

Dear Gary,

I loved your appearance on the Conan O’Brien show.

It was Very Funny, Entertaining, a thoroughly fun filled wine class.

I gave you a perfect score of 100, and Conan too got a highmark for being a sport; you were full of all the adjectives reserved for describing a perfect wine.

DO NOT CHANGE COURSE, STAY AS YOU ARE.

And to those upstarts, stuffy neck, snobs, have more wine and do not smile too quickly, so as to prevent cracking them cheeks

Love Ya

Noah

The Thundercats hail from the planet Thundera. It was destroyed and then reformed as New Thundera.

Good ep.

I’m going to have to agree with Mudd’s comments. I’m still a huge fan and I look forward to your show everyday, but it seems to be getting a little more about the other stuff and less about the wine each day. With that said, I loved the Conan show and I’m looking forward to see where this goes.

QOTD: I’m old school – juicy filet, potatoes au gratin and an aged Bordeaux with my girlfriend.

Gary, with you all the way – never take any cr@p about your family!

QOTD: Start with an appetizer of Onset Oysters and Littlenecks with Verdicchio, Osso Bucco served on a bed of saffron risotto and roasted vegetables with a ’90 Mascarello Monprivato, cannoli with espresso for dessert, and a Barbaresco Grappa just for sippin’. Dinner should take at least 3 hours and have my extended family present. If you’re in the neighborhood Gary, you’re welcomed!

Gary, I’ve been watching for a few weeks now and I have to say that it’s your enthusiasm, energy, and personality that keeps me coming back everyday (I check the site multiple times a day waiting for every update). I’m 25 and just started drinking wine about two years ago while I was in school in Virginia so I need all the help I can get. But I love the show, don’t change a damn thing. Keep it real!
~John

QOTD;
lobster bisque (note; all my cooking), w/Perrier jouet
broiled lobsters stuffed with little peconic bay scallops, w/ a Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru, Barbara (for dessert)!
btw when i bartended in college circa 1976 at a steakhouse that served a lot of seniors i made a ton of rusty nails, scotch and drambuie

Growing pains can be a bitch, Gary. Keep at, don’t change, and thanks for sticking up for your fans.

Oh SNAP! Somebody did NOT call GV a jerkoff. We’re protective of our Gary…don’t make us release the Vaynerthugs. Mkay.
I don’t have any Thundercats (to my recollection, unless they’re in the attic), but let me know if you find yourself wishing you had one of the Strawberry Shortcake dolls around. That I can help with.
QOTD: Italian (dish/pizza depends on mood), friends back home, wine: anything that everyone can agree on.

Loved the rant!!!

What some of these people who write you, but haven’t met you is that you are just as enthusiastic and sincere one on one. Stay real!

I just have to point out something cute. I was just reading over our comments- it reads funny. Everyone’s riled up over some of the e-mails Gary got and we’re all upset spewing “Oh, kiss my a$$! You suck! … argh argh argh! … ” then “QOTD… a lovely filet and creme brulee with a delicate reisling with my fabulous spouse” Classic.

I just have to point out something cute. I was just reading over our comments- it reads funny. Everyone’s riled up over some of the e-mails Gary got and we’re all upset spewing “Oh, kiss my a$$! You suck! … argh argh argh! … ” then “QOTD… a lovely filet and creme brulee with a delicate reisling with my fabulous spouse” Classic.