oh my god! gary read one of my comments! we now have a special connection. haha. awesome show. the wine experts are the best guests hands down. it’s great having them discuss their take on the wine and the process of their winemaking.

QOTD: totally agree that syrah has been taken advantage of and because everyone thinks it’s so easy to make, they put little or no effort in whatsoever. one day i’ll make enough money to grab one of her wines.

Cheers Heidi and Gary.

A fantastic two part show, probably in the top 3 of WLTV.

Vaynerchuk “Licking the Glass” was a very fun quirk of the show. Also the six-pack Pirate wine sounds super great, will definitely buy two.

QOTD: What I like a bout Syrah is that regardless of where it is planted, with local nuances and distinctions in every one of them, it always gives you that fresh ripe stingy aroma(in a good way) and taste right at the beginning which I like, and it is a very versatile grape that I have paired with the most unusual foods like aged beef, rabbit stew, bear meat, beets, tamales, chocolates, candy bars and yams, all good.

Great show to say the least.

Fantastic episode(s). Any time you want to have Heidi Barrett on as a guest is fine with me. She’s a charming woman with a huge amount of knowledge to share.

QOTD: I really like Syrah for the up-front fruit. I also like Pinot Noir for its subtlety. Given a choice, I’ll usually pick the Syrah.

I think you’re partly right about “Sideways” and Pinot Noir, but I’d throw this into the mix, as well: wine geeks love the stuff, so everyone else thinks that’s what they need to like. Critics have gone on for decades about Burgundy and how that’s the way great wine is “supposed to taste.” That’s had an effect, and people think that they have to like Pinot Noirs, even if those aren’t always the most approachable wines around.

I think this may be more of a problem among people who have only some experience with wines. Beginning wine drinkers are more than willing to say they don’t like a particular wine because they don’t know that they are supposed to like it, and long-time wine drinkers know enough not to let the hype get in the way of what they taste. Most of the folks in between don’t have the confidence to, as you keep saying, trust their own palates.

Sorry to ramble on like this. I’ll be more concise in future.

Fantastic episode(s). Any time you want to have Heidi Barrett on as a guest is fine with me. She’s a charming woman with a huge amount of knowledge to share.

QOTD: I really like Syrah for the up-front fruit. I also like Pinot Noir for its subtlety. Given a choice, I’ll usually pick the Syrah.

I think you’re partly right about “Sideways” and Pinot Noir, but I’d throw this into the mix, as well: wine geeks love the stuff, so everyone else thinks that’s what they need to like. Critics have gone on for decades about Burgundy and how that’s the way great wine is “supposed to taste.” That’s had an effect, and people think that they have to like Pinot Noirs, even if those aren’t always the most approachable wines around.

I think this may be more of a problem among people who have only some experience with wines. Beginning wine drinkers are more than willing to say they don’t like a particular wine because they don’t know that they are supposed to like it, and long-time wine drinkers know enough not to let the hype get in the way of what they taste. Most of the folks in between don’t have the confidence to, as you keep saying, trust their own palates.

Sorry to ramble on like this. I’ll be more concise in future.

I don’t comment very much but, hey, good is good and needs to be encouraged.

QOTD: I definitely go for syrah over pinot. Pinot is so overpriced in Michigan and are not the great for the efforts. I do not drink enough syrah, because it is a little overpriced for Washington and Cali ones.

I am definitely going to try to find her wines somewhere and try them. Superb episode!! Thanks for sharing with us!

Bests

These two episodes with Heidi are now my all time favorites! You have been on a roll with the recent guests (well, maybe not the pizza guy….). More! More!

QOTD: I’m not sure that I like pinot more than syrah, but one of the reasons I do like it has to do with its amazing pairing with salmon. If Heidi would care to suggest a syrah pairing for salmon, I would be deeeeeeeeelighted to try it.

Splendid two-part show. Very, very classy guest. Gary restrained. Good lighting and sound (thanks, Mott). Superb wines — four hands down, no debate winners; when was the last time that happened (if ever) on WLTV?

QOTD: Hallelujah. Syrah and Northern Rhone do beat Burgundy (but it is a contest). That said, I fervently pray Hollywood does not anoint Syrah as the next big thing; we all know what that did to value Pinot Noir.

As stated yesterday, a great all time episode and such a class lady. I am so very impressed with her.

QOTD – Am still learning my red wines, but so far am not so impressed with Pinot Noir. Have a soft spot for the Australian Shiraz/Syrah. The L’Hiver syrah you sent in a secret pack a while back was very good.

As fall gets here I will concentrate more on the red wines.

Definitely wines for the well-healed. I would love to see you do a blind tasting with my modest Spanish ‘house wine’. I could see you and Mott running naked through the Barrett vines as dirty pirates! Yes, I agree you guys should make a funny short movie. Smell it first. TR

Hiedi is so cool, calm, and collected, she didn’t even bat an eye when she spilled the tea!

What a great guest!

QOTD: Syrah is my favorite varietal after Zinfandel. I love it so much its the 2nd most prominent varietal in my Napa blend The Vault.
62% Zin, 25% Syrah, 13% Cab Sauv.

Gary,

I usually don’t like the guest shows, but this was amazing. Instant Classic!

QOD: I like both pinot and syrah but don’t understand the pinot pricing explosion. I think for food pairing pinot may have more verstatility but lacks the yum factor of well made syrah.

Great Show!

Loved the show, what a Lady.

There is more syrah in the cellar than anything else.

Gary: Had my last ’03 Corte Riva Merlot tonight, thank you again for the recommendation.

Enjoyed the shows…

QOTD: I dont think i have had a Syrah i liked, they tend to be heavy and far to rich. Pinot on the other hand is a nice light red that i can drink anytime. I often drink without food, so Syrah is just too much, while Pinot is great.

Great guest! Heidi is a class act. Bring her back again (if possible).

QOTD:Love a good California Syrah, but prefer a good Australian Shiraz.

I love Heidi. I have lots of her wines, different producers , and whenever I open something out of my cellar and say “Wow, This is GOOD’ , I look at the label and its made by Heidi. Great guest, Kepp bringin’ the wine makers.

QOTD– I like both Pinot & Sirah—- I think I like a great pinot better,but maybe never had a great (but definitely had very good) sirah. My “go-to” every day wine is a less expensive Sirah– Bogle. I was drinking it before Garys Sirah episode, where it beat-out Sirahs that cost 2-3 times as much.

Great show.

Gary,
Incredible, incredible job with the Heidi Barrett interview?. Yes I?m partial to cali cabernets, but Heidi is so un-pretentious and as real as it gets and it was easy to see that she enjoyed herself and the style of the taping. I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane she took us down and you had some GREAT questions that she gave honest and precise answers too. In my opinion, this was by far the best guest and interview you have done. Kudos to you my friend?

HOLLY CRAP!!!! Talk about a huge guest. First Gretzky and now the 99 of the wine world.

QOTD: Syrah is vastly under appreciated. I would argue that quite a few of the Rhone varietals are.

QOTD:Arrgggh Matie! Allow the future to present itself in time, Que sera, sera.

I would have loved to see you taste those blind. The ass kissing was enormous . I m not a hater, but a spade is a spade.

Good show, but you were a little more over the top with this one GV.

QOTD: Love syrah, one of my top go to wines since they can be so different especially in cooler climates like WA where there is depth of flavors purity of fruit. Pinots are also great and go so well with many different food items.

Hey Gary, I have been completely enthralled by Heidi Barrett. I don’t know how you can ever top these last 2 episodes. What a lady!

WOW, first of all, what a lady with much poise. I have always have had much respect for Heidi Barret. Talk about women in wine making, she is the queen, I bow to you my queen.
QOFT- I recently began to drink syrah again, did not like what i was drinking before, found it to over the top. Now I have found there to be a balance in the syrah I have been drinking. Looking forward in drinking all of your syrah Heidi.
Thank you so much Gary for bring a queen to your show. I could tell the level of respect you have for her, which is much deserved.

Great show Gary,
What can I say? She is a beautiful, graceful woman, with enormous skills.
Bo is certainly a very lucky man.

Syrah- Another what can I say. I farm four Syrah vineyards, and make three different versions, with very little new oak, in order to let each vineyard site shine. It is hugely underappreciated- I might be just a bit biased though.