Yo P.S. Gary your the official witness, here on Wine Library, I coined the future term “Super Hudson.”

Guard tradition. Even though sometimes I don’t like how tradition tastes! =)

As a new player here, I love how complex the wine world is. Learning characteristics of all the regions is fun and challenging. Ultimately, I still want to drink something that tastes great. I don’t want to choke down a glass of wine just because it’s supposed to impress me. Tasting great doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a fruit bomb wine or one-dimensional. I think there’s a place in the wine world for everyone, just make it worth everyone’s time and money to make it taste great.

I want wines with honest practices, if they have sharp edges let them be!, In our days perfect wines for scores thought from the begginin to satisfy international markets, once I try them, they feel an-authentique to me, its like women, i preffer them not perfect, with their honest expression.

Market and ambitions ruins most of wines. thats why we will always find quality at all prices and countries, because it depends on the human integrity, knowledge and vision.

GREAT question, AWESOME guest.
I’m Franco-American, which I think makes me even more prone to guarding my turf. I’m very proud of French wine culture, but know very little. Yet what makes me excited about wine are the clear differences I can spot in differen’t regions’ wines’ tastes, smells, what have you. What I think is most unfortunate about the globalization of wine culture is the reliance purely on varietals, without any attempt to shape domaines, appelations, to find mixes which compliment each other well within the specific region, no matter where that may be in the world. It could be that with time such specializations will form; I certainly hope they will, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

GREAT question, AWESOME guest.
I’m Franco-American, which I think makes me even more prone to guarding my turf. I’m very proud of French wine culture, but know very little. Yet what makes me excited about wine are the clear differences I can spot in differen’t regions’ wines’ tastes, smells, what have you. What I think is most unfortunate about the globalization of wine culture is the reliance purely on varietals, without any attempt to shape domaines, appelations, to find mixes which compliment each other well within the specific region, no matter where that may be in the world. It could be that with time such specializations will form; I certainly hope they will, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

QotD: Everyday wines should be great drinking wines. Special Occasion wines should express their place of origin and be delicious.

Robert was a great guest, too bad you talked over him so much Gary. He had a lot of interesting things to say.

QOTD: I fall on the side of keeping the tradition. What draws me to wine is the never ending facets of different varietals, different locations, etc. I keep experimenting with wines I have not tried before. Certainly I gravitate to specific flavors, profiles that I find enjoyable, but how do I know if I haven’t tried. Also my palate seems to change where today I’m hot for Southern Rhone, tomorrow it may be Barbera or Australian Shiraz.

I would love to see an episode with Robert on Tuscan wines. Brunello was my epiphany style.

Robert was a great guest, too bad you talked over him so much Gary. He had a lot of interesting things to say.

QOTD: I fall on the side of keeping the tradition. What draws me to wine is the never ending facets of different varietals, different locations, etc. I keep experimenting with wines I have not tried before. Certainly I gravitate to specific flavors, profiles that I find enjoyable, but how do I know if I haven’t tried. Also my palate seems to change where today I’m hot for Southern Rhone, tomorrow it may be Barbera or Australian Shiraz.

I would love to see an episode with Robert on Tuscan wines. Brunello was my epiphany style.

QOTD — I think I am in agreement with alot of people here when i say BOTH. Tradition is critical to guard so that people can experience everything it has to offer. Innovation and rule-breaking is critical because the industry as a whole has to stay fresh and accessible. This is true for any great art from music to painting to wine making. It’s people like Robert and Gary that will ensure that wine grows with the times. This show ranks as one of my favorites. Great job, both of you guys!

I say stick with tradition only to the point where people can make sense of where your wines are coming from. Once you’ve done that, make the best wine you can make. If you have to break tradition to do that, do it. Evolve if you need to. The greatest retort to “It’s not traditional” is, “Perhaps. But it tastes fantastic nonetheless.”

QOTD: It depends on whether the wine is the focus of the experience, or if the wine is the complementary piece. If wine is the focus, then, yeah, terroir is of a primary concern. Most of my wine drinking does not place wine as the focal point, however: it is often a complementor to the food I’m eating. In those situations, I want deliciousness is my primary concern, followed by how well the wine goes with what I’m eating, and whether the wine gives me a new experience.

I’m definitely in the camp of tradition with the caveat that the wine should taste interesting and be provocative. Deliciousness is nice but not if it’s just berry juice or grape juice or whatever…That can get stale and way too predictable. I like wine that responds to the earth and weather not the lab work.

“Robert was a great guest, too bad you talked over him so much Gary. He had a lot of interesting things to say.” – Rick D

Wow! That’s awesome!!

My answer is yes let the wine keep it’s regional profile. Growing up in Germany my hometown Hof had 12 local breweries in the the 60’s dwindeling down to 4 currently and each of these beers had their own flavor and following. The same with wine and women,some like blondes others redheads be true to your taste buds and drink the wine you like. The best comment i had about wine, came from my brother-in-law, we were going hard and heavy at his “inventory” and he said it does not matter where the wine is from, how much it is, how many points Parker gave it..if YOU like it it is a good wine. don’t turn wine into model T’s where your choice of color is black, black or black.

Enjoyed the show. thanks for linking the Cru wine list. a great way to prepare before you visit the restaurant. I guess I just put one more thing on my “bucketlist” for 09

My answer is yes let the wine keep it’s regional profile. Growing up in Germany my hometown Hof had 12 local breweries in the the 60’s dwindeling down to 4 currently and each of these beers had their own flavor and following. The same with wine and women,some like blondes others redheads be true to your taste buds and drink the wine you like. The best comment i had about wine, came from my brother-in-law, we were going hard and heavy at his “inventory” and he said it does not matter where the wine is from, how much it is, how many points Parker gave it..if YOU like it it is a good wine. don’t turn wine into model T’s where your choice of color is black, black or black.

Enjoyed the show. thanks for linking the Cru wine list. a great way to prepare before you visit the restaurant. I guess I just put one more thing on my “bucketlist” for 09

QOTD:No tradition for me. I want wines to be completelty homogenized. How about all reds tasting like shariz and all whites tasting like chardonnay.

QOTD – tradition of course. Then let people decide what they like.

Off topic, tried a Alsace Gewurzt grand cru 02 yesterday, felt like jumping in a lychee juice swimming pool with beautiful women around throwing petal roses on me. Brought a lot of thunder to me !

Big Up to Gary and Mott for these great shows, keep it flowing my friends.

Amazing question- I would like wine to taste like it region/birthplace but I think winemakers should have some freedom to add their flavor/spin to it. If there can be a balance between the two then I think you would have a wine that I could drink forever.

Great episode, would love to sit and share a bottle of wine with the two of you- as long as you are supplying the wine 🙂

Guard it forever – keep it authentic !!! and TO to BUFFALO BABY !!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful show. Gary you have to give these guys an opportunity to speak. We can listen to you anytime. Many of your guests have great stories to tell but they can’t tell them. Your enthusiasm is wonderful and infectious and the main reason why many of us watch your shows. But it can interfere with the balance and flow of some of your shows. Saying that I’ll take your interviewing style any day of the week when you have quality shows like your past two. Congratulations.
Answer to the question posed. Both. There are times when a terrior-driven wine is nice and others times a homogeneous wine is preferred. The trouble is you have to drink a lot of wine to appreciate the former and many of us don’t have the opportunity to do so and simply can’t afford it. Great show and wondeful guest. Love listening to two wine geeks.

QOTD: I personally want a wine to as an ambassador of its land, and carry a report of the culinary, historical, and ecological milieu from whence it came. If wines lose this role and cease to be windows into their worlds, they will lose a portion of their pull on our imagination.

I want to be able to sit down anywhere with a great Bordeaux and sense far-off echoes of the history of that particular place, to think about Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with those wines, and the rivalries of the great chateaux, etc. At the same time, I want to savor a Stag’s Leap and remember the role that wines like this played (for better or worse) in the global revolution in wine drinking and appreciation.

Just as a language preserves — with all its idiosyncrasies and clumsinesses and errors — the story of a people, and as we justly recoil from the technical perfection, logic, and universality of Esperanto, we should treasure wines as the bottled heritages of the world, and hope that inspired wine-makers continue the magic of capturing these unique essences and sharing them with those who care to listen.

GARY!!!
ROBERT!!!!
Great show to watch, you two really seem to be on the same page..and its fun to watch you open such bottles….

QOTD: I DO want wine to reflect where theyre from…and I want variety..and to have measurements from which to distinguish wine…rather than everything tasting the same… ALSO, if my palette is going to change, that I certainly want wines to taste and feel different also…

Thanks Gary!
xoxox

CRU, Love that restaurant. I’ve been to several 3 star Michelin restaurants in france and all the 4 stars in NYC and Cru was the best overall experience of the bunch!! Shea Galante is a food god. GV, you gotta stop interrupting the guests, let them finish a sentence.

QOTD: Authenticity is the name of the game for tasting but with dinner or friends just hanging out, the wine must be delicious. Trouble is…how do we quantify delicious? What is deliciaous to me may not be for others. That debate will go on forever, that’s why we are wine geeks.

First off, let me thank the crew at WLTV for pumping out shows of quality on a regular basis, even going out of their way to providing a show on a week-end. I’m watching this on Sunday, ending a week of vacation (March break up here in Québec), enjoying the last moments, drinking a good La Clape, while chilling to a WLTV episode. Thanks!

Second (tying in to the question of the day), wine is a combination of tradition and innovation. Too many people out there are trying to make it a black and white domaine of either or. I say “your black and white needs a little red”. What I am saying has been influenced by my recent readings about Italian vino history. Let us remember that Italy is one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world, hence the tradition. However, Italian wine as we know it is a fairly recent phenomenon, post World War Two (innovation). Of course Italy underwent tremendous change politically, culturally etc. throughout its history. Its viticulture and understanding of wine has also been transformed through the ages. To therefore say the wine should stick to tradition is not understanding that wine is a living entity that evolves through time for innumerable reasons.

As a wine enthusiast, I love drinking wine for multiple reasons, as do most people. Yet winemakers have to balance the different influences that modify wine-making philosophy and appreciation. In order to make good wine and to satisfy the wine drinker, a blend of innovation and tradition is quitessential. Each area, each vineyard, each oenologist, each afficionado has its particularities.

(Sorry for the ramble here) Let me sum up. To survive, wine must change. Yet to remain it must stay true to its capability. Too many wines out there today are still uncertain about who they are. That is why innovation is important. It is also important to be aware of the trends in consumption to remain on top of the game. If the product is good and has a good consumer response, let it hold on to that. But let winemakers all over remember that what keeps them growing vines and making wine, is that people drink it.

That’s all 🙂