QOTD. Great question! Wines should maintain their traditional typicity both from varietal and place or “terroir”. For anything else you have the IGT, Vin du Pays and the rest.

Hey Gary, “kasha” is buckwheat in English.

Great show Gary,

The guy you interviewed was uber cool. Not just his knowledge base on wine, but also his stylish pocket handkerchief. The square look is in according to GQ, he is in the know haha.

Anyway, I love these types of shows. Keep the guests coming.

Qotd: Until I try every traditional style…no changing to the tasty styles. I would feel jipped.

RE: The comment…

How Gay is NYC/NJ
HEADS UP, GAYNIACS!

It seems that along with success, jealousy and envy are inevitable.

That guy is one jealous, envious dude…!!!

Didn’t his Mommy ever tell him if he didn’t have anything nice to say, not to say anything at all…??

I would love to see him talk that way to you in person, with me standing next to you. Guess that’s like him doing $60 mill a year in sales….lol

Just not happening….!!!!!

Yeah NJ… and lets not think like Gary….after all….who wants to be Highly Successful before their 30….. not me!!!! What an idiot!!!

While he’s so proud of working with his hands in the mud, his brain must have remained there. And what a shame that his parents who taught him such values of hard work, didn’t teach him any manners. I wonder what part of Italy they were from because where I’m from, it’s all about teaching your kids respect. Guess they missed the boat on that one as well with Junior there…

This guy should run, not walk…to the nearest Psycho ward and check himself in. Anyone who leaves a comment that stupid should commit himself to a mental Hospital.

I’ll pray he gets well…. let’s all pray together!!!

QOTD: I love the question! I like everything everywhere to be different. Do I want Montgomery cheddar to taste like velveeta? Hell No! Do I want Hunter S. Thompson to write like Danielle Steele? Hell No! Individuality, variety and personality matter. I am not saying that new is wrong, new is great but be new and like you not new and like everyone else.

QOTH- Absolutely I want my wines to associate with the regions they come from. If they do not then we would be left with 1 style of each varietal and how boring would that be!!

QOTH- Absolutely I want my wines to associate with the regions they come from. If they do not then we would be left with 1 style of each varietal and how boring would that be!!

Awe…..you took it down..!!!

🙁

this goes along with the previous comment…i love how this guy cares what the average wine drinker thinks…great guest and this was an awesome show.
QOTD:i think its good that there are the blended wines and the fruity sweet wines for people without an adventureous palate, because they are still drinking wine and enjoying what they like. i do feel, however, that the wines from certain areas and climates where the taste may not appeal to the average wine drinker is still great not only because of tradition and unique characteristics, but tasting them gives people a chance to see what else is out there are how different wines can be and how they can really define a region or climate.

Awesome.

QOTD: I want there to be an expression of the differences of each varietal and region – and believe this should be maintained by wine-growers if at all possible. Knowing that, if some places end of creating ‘spoofalated’ wines, maybe that’s what have to offer; it becomes their character, and should be available alongside the old-skool wines.

QOTD: Good episode, interesting guy. It’s nice to hear two guys my age know so much about an age old art. QOTD: Can’t we have both even from traditional makers. I think in some respects tradition, leaving out nature of course, can encourage recipe followers instead of wine makers. The guy from a few episodes back said it best “nature assistant.” Nature gives vineyards something new every growing season, so to say traditional wine making is to say “our grapes grow traditionally,” or “our seasons are traditional, we know what to expect,” which we know not be be the case. For me, fundamentaly the word “traditional” comes with all the baggage as well. Who likes baggage? What if french artists were only allowed to paint impressionistic, I think some guy said on the show, maybe I’m mistaken but it makes sense. Im never writing this much again….

QOTD: Personally, I like the complete range from the traditional to the cheap and tasty. Kind of my versions of weekday and weekend wines.

(great question)

Dear Robert,

I’m sorry, but I agree with Jeff R and found your sense of jokishness a bit off putting. It was a combination of the comments about the friend at Terroir, or wherever (I didn’t even want to go back to check again whom/where you said) making one feel like you/I/they know nothing, the Barbera/ imbecile dig, not being willing to answer a customer’s request on value, and the general EMPHASIS on the list’s strength’s being YOUR (collective) definitions of what is good.

I’ve been around food and wine for too many years, in too many capacities (yes, I’ve had, and sold Dujac, DRC, Faiveley, Gaja and all the rest) not to know that people don’t want to be talked down to (even when they ARE stupid PBR drinking alterna-beards, like I crrently deal with) or whatever. Any consumate wine, OR even regular service person (barista, etc.) treates me like an effete, rude, or impudent snob will be looking for a job in the morning.

In a terroirists world, from the apex oeno-pro, down to the farmer, the area’s wines are known (somewhat logically) to go best with it’s native foods. So why then, would Barbera (Piemont) be THE non-imbecile choice for pizza (a somewhat Greco-Southern Italo concoction with versatility even broader than its motley heritage)? Must we have truffles and scrambled egg on that pie? What if we’re not even particularly mad for Barbera? (I would take a reasonable level Langhe Nebbiolo first, anyday.) Pass on the pizza.

I think that as a wine director of an esteemed place such as yours, you have a resposibility to your customers to help them, and answer their questions and needs, not deny them. Perhaps the appropriate answer to questions of greatest value might be best met with a short inquiry into THEIR general to specific interests, experience, (and budget, but with subtlety, and class). When Gary questioned a $22 glass of wine, he wasn’t critisizing, he’s getting to an important point for middle-Wine-America, so to speak – the regular customers that you already have, but your response was to contextualize it to a relative value comparison to $60/glass wine. That’s either nonsense, or I’m not sure you’re listening.
Learn to have better set of commnicating skills.(You talk too fast too. That’s shifty. That’s what my shifty wine reps did. And I told them to slow down, or go to an account where they do have the proper time to make the sale, cause I won’t be rushed. That’s kids stuff in sales.) The public has the right to have pro, classy and courteous service from ALL industry people, and I would think especially those with premium and up pricing. It’s much more than quality that you’re selling. And for what modest successes I’ve had, I’d have to say that pleasing customers has been one of the great rewards of the industry, weather on-premise, retail, or wholesale, in which I’ve spent years in all three. This is just one area where Gary KILLS IT. One can see his pleasure in sharing, and making his audience satisfied. I am always reminded, how, many years ago, before my wine journey had gone very far, an excellent wine educator spoke to us on not disparaging peoples’ taste. He said “If she says Robert Mondavi Winery White Zin? Oh, wonderful, ma’am. Would you like a glass, or a bottle”. And the way he said it, I will never forget – and that he was offering me my first chance to upsell, which I have done, ever since, because I realized that at a prominent jazz club, the alternative was for her to have none at all, or not even be there. And thank you.

Of course, I understand your enthusiasm, vast knowledge, and the vested interest of the restaurant to move numbers on the upsell and upscale beauties. So the very existence of Wine X on your list at CRU should be endorsement enough. Yet I’m confident that, though you must have “something for everyone”, an 80/20 rule is in play, and entirely too many people go for the same, predictable, routine selection, and it’s anethema to the exitement and vitality of your list. I’ll bet it drives you nuts. But continue with your best efforts, a specal promo here and there, end of bin sales push,etc, and one by one, you can have an effect on changing their wine experience.

The list is beautiful, as is, I’m sure, the food. Tons of stuff I’ll never afford, but on the other hand, there’s so much WORTH having there! (And I could never be happy with the ‘cheapest’ items on a menu OR list.) CRU is exactly the kind of place I’d love to go to on my next visit to my sis in the city. And though times are as sucky for me right now as they ever were, let alone the rest of the world, I’ll hope to visit, and trust in your and your staff’s care.

Thanks for your time, and efforts,

Wishing you continued success.

Me.

QOTD- Please more real wines!! I dont drink wines like Ch. Musar and Donnhoff with the “casual” wine drinking friends. These are for the few of us who truly know about the subtle quirks and can appreciate them. I’m not saying this in a snobby way, but these wines are for the passionate few of us who have spent so much of our lives reading and searching the shelves for something new and great. For that matter I wish there were more of us and have hope that there will be. So YES more real wines

Qotd – As far as Montalcino goes, I’ll have to agree with you in the purist/traditionalist sense in remaining pure Sangiovese.

While other results (particularly w/ Merlot, or Syrah, for me) may be enjoyable, when we make something new like that, we’re loosing something old, historcal, traditional. We need progress and evolution in so many areas of life and the world, but this need not be one of them. I’m afraid that it’s happening it too many places. Garagists wines are wonderful, and I love lots of Mssr. Roland’s , and JeanLuc Thunevin, and Derenencourt, et al, Bt Classified Growths, and heralded and historical Chateaux must remain with their tradition intact, lest, next thing ya know, we’re gonna have Yellowtail in Alsace, and Branson in Austria, and bogus gold rush for land which will only result in a bunch of horseshit wines with stupid animals on’em.

QOTD: I appreciate wines that speak for the place in which they come from. They should have a sense of pride for their terrior. However, it does not excuse poor winemaking.

Great 2 part episode – I just wish I could afford to hit CRU up from time to time… looks/sounds like a great place to go!

QOTD – great question. I think it is imperative for regions to remember what makes them unique and hold to those standards (somewhat). Wouldn’t it be sad if everyone in the world watched, wore, ate, said, and listened to the same things? There are so many different grape varieties and so many vineyard sites, it would be a shame if everything tasted the same! I think the guest last week wrote a whole book about the small and more unknown places with special terroir – including food, wine, and more!

HOWEVER, a few caveats… if there was no experimentation, than new categories like Super Tuscans or NZ Pinot Noir would never exist. In other words, some new French Hip-Hop artist could come out and be awesome – even though he’s not from the US. But that doesn’t mean all ‘French’ music needs to be ignored.

ALSO, history and tradition do come into play here. It would be a shame if the Grand Cru sites in Burgundy were torn up for Cab or Syrah because those were more popular. Think about Nicolas Joly’s vineyards – they have been there for like 800 years! Let them be! But on the flip side, the folks from Ampelos vineyards are plating new vines and trying for something completely different and unique. That sound great to me! Hopefully they strvie to be unique as well – rather than go for a Left Bank or Napa taste…

Hope this makes sense.

QOTD: Some where in between your two choices..

One of the best shows!You really have changed a lot of the wine world by keeping things simple.But, it also cool to hear about the knowledge you and your guest have,it was very interesting.That mix appeals to both new and seasoned wines drinkers.

QOTD; Keep tradition all the way.It’s what makes wine unique and as individual as the people who drink it.

Big G, Wow this board is humming with opinions and what fun it is. I’ll just say I enjoyed the two parter and would love to visit their Restaurant.

QOTD: All Wines need their own personalities.

QOTD: I like wines to be individualistic and representative of where they come from. However, that doesn’t mean that they become museum pieces, i.e. never changing. In other words, I’m all for evolution of styles with integrity but *definitely* not if that evolution means wines become indistinguishable “global” products.

Edwardo

THERE IS ROOM FOR BOTH.

There is room for both, cheap clean new world quaffing wine for parties, and real traditional wines from a true terroir. I generally do not like industrial wine. but many do. let them drink that an I will drink Vina Tondonia. thanks.

I just want there to always be new tastes out there to discover. Tradition is great. It gives a wine its identity. However, that doesn’t mean that producers should stay locked into a certain style and taste. When I’m 80 years old, I want wine still be able to surprise me.

QOTD: Great question. I think it’s VITALLY important that wines from various regions keep their sense of place. That’s not to say wine making techniques can’t evolve, etc., but whether I like wines from a region or not is actually part of the issue. It’s a common language, so all the nuances of micro-climates and vintages aside, I can identify characteristics that I can pretty much depend on. It’s branding in a way. Why would you want people buying your wine when after drinking a bottle they are going to say “This isn’t what I expected at all, I hate this, why did I buy it?” You want them to know what they want, and then try to give them the best version that they can buy. It also makes it much easier to recommend wines to others knowing the styles they like and how that matches up with various wine regions around the world.

Gary, great two part show, what am i saying, excellent two part show, best guest i have seen on the thunder show, that wine list on the CRU Restaurant is outragous, hoping of one day visiting it. great work.