Happy Thanksgiving Mott!! you do great job and make this possible as much as Gary does. See you on the Thunder Cruise!

Didn’t get the secret pack this time, but had some great wines, including a 2002 Hirsch Riesling Zöbinger Heiligenstein, an E & E Black Pepper Shiraz (also 02), and some delicious cider. I made a video (in three parts due to youtube) with my picks and tasting notes:
Wine Picks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd-0zRV1QmU
Cider Notes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyGGsOxn6yY
Cider and cheese pairing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPxtMDXwdOA

Good episode. I didn’t get the secret pack (Maryland, no shipping), but I had the Francis Ford Coppola 2005 Rosso (51% Zinfandel, + Shiraz & Cabernet Sauv) and a Gascon 2006 Malbec. At $10 or less each, both were very solid. Then, I even mixed a bit of both together, which made an even better composite wine.

Discovered an awesome Zin Gary.

Golden Mile Cellars Estate Winery
2006 Zinfandel, Okanagan Valley, BC

You’d appreciate this Italian wine too. It’s aged for 18 months in Slavonian Oak, but NO Oak Monster.
I get nice floral notes, Lillies specifically.

Tommasi Viticoltori
“Ripasso” Valpolicella 2005

Hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving my American friend!

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving, Gary. Thanks very much for a great show with some new things.

HAPPY (belated) THANKSGIVERS! Great episode, and I hope tha everyone enjoyed spending the day with their family or at least with loved ones.

Thanks for the Thanksgiving day show…..I really enjoyed it…..I have had a Torrontes and enjoyed it very much and also had a Muscat and Grenache Gris blend that was very good….any info on Grenache Gris?

In agreement Gary on Torrontes.

Can the Argentine advertorial in Spectator be accurate? Torrontes is less than 2 percent of plantings?! WTF?

Gary & Chris, Excellent episode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Will have to get the Shifrin Zin soon………………………………………… BTW: Go Panthers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Broncos!!

I’m sorry to see your beard go, but I’m glad it was my Broncos that made it happen.

-Jon from Denver

Can’t wait to try the Pinot and Zin from this show. Both sound great!

Happy belated Thanksgiving. Did not participate in the pack, but did watch the Jets fall to the Broncos today. Hey, who am I to gloat, I’m from the PNW – home of the ‘Hawks, the Huskies and the Cougs.

I had 8 other people do the tasting with me on thanksgiving and was really fun to taste along with you. Some watched your show for the first time and now have a different view of the wine world. I didn’t get to leave a comment that day because I wanted to taste how the wines developed in a couple days.

About the wines.. that Torrentes was really nice, my first ever.. I will definitely seek that out more often.. I tasted the wines on Sunday and it went from a super tropical nose to a very fruity pebbles cereal kind of smell (my childhood favorite cereal).
The Thunder cuvee is really good! Pretty well balanced. Very interesting blend.
I never had a “text book” pinot noir so now I know the difference from all the other ones.. this was very nice.. it got even more floral to me after tasting it a few days later.
Zinfandel is one of my most favorite varietals and the Shifrin zin is up there.. very nice weight and far from being AC. I see what you mean now that it can last for the next 5-10 years.. it was still dry on the back end when tasting it Sunday but still brings a lot of flavors to the table. I want to put a few away in my cellar.

I happened to have WS # 10 wine which was the 2007 Seghesio zin and did a battle of that between the Shifrin.. The Seghesio won at first (yeah I popped and poured unfortunately) but now that I tasted it Sunday, the Shifrin smashes the Seghesio by far.. they’re both very good but the Shifrin is so good!

Thanks for being apart of my Thanksgiving!

Gary
Great show, I’m in the US Navy stationed overseas and my wife “AI” pronounced “EYE” is Japanese and also a BIG wine drinker; mostly italian. she LOVES the show, and I say “Go Jets”

All the best without the oak monster
Robert Hawkins

Another Zin to try.
Sorry about the Jets. Probably a let down after the big win last week.

Did this episode (along with the secret pack) with the family/friends on Thanksgiving and it was a HUGE hit. This was a blast and now they all want to do another one!

The Just Grapes Wine Blog has tons of info on holiday pairings, gift giving ideas, and when you are ready to buy just the right presents for the wine lovers on your list, head on over to JustGrapes.net and have it shipped to their door.

The Just Grapes Wine Blog http://blog.justgrapes.net
Online Store http://www.justgrapes.net

QOTD – what happened to the question of the day?

Loved the 5 second history of Gary Vay-Ner-Chuck and WLTV.

Too bad I missed out on this one, but the mailing lists have taken their toll. Happy belated Thanksgiving to all.

Really enjoyed the Torrontes. Had not tried that grape ever before. I bought two more to try of that varietal from two other South American producers. I agree that the nose is great. We also had the Shifrin Zin with our Thanksgiving dinner and it stood up very well to several other more expensive wines that night including a Caymus. Have not tried the white Thunder Cuvee yet or the Pinot. By the way, as someone who has dissed the Nouveau Beaujolais the last few years, I have to say this year’s was pretty tasty for what it is. A big improvement over last year. Regards, sorry about the Jets. My Bears were also disappointing.

QoTd
Super nice reds on the T-Pack GV! I did not get them because I received a 4 bot pack from my wine club!

Great show!!!! Happy Tday!

Caught ya!! I was at the store a couple of Saturdays ago and you were there. Among the 85 questions I asked you that day (sorry!) I asked you for the perfect Thanksgiving Pinot Noir under 30 bones. You didn’t hesitate for even a nano-second. You walked straight to the Buisson, took it off the shelf, and handed it to me. Now I learn you had never tried it before!!

There’s a happy ending, though. I poured it into a decanter the night before (your recommendation) and poured my first glass during “Alice’s Restaurant” at noon on T-day (a family tradition). It was fantastic!! My brother was over, and he’s not far from a wine newby. This is now his “all-time” favorite wine!! Cudos to your guy that recommended it to you.

Dude – keep doin’ what your doin’. You make wine fun. Go COWBOYS!!!!

Gary & Chris, LOVE the secret packs!!!!!!! LOVE this ep as well!!!!!!!!!! 🙂