Gary –

Wow! What a great two-parter and what a fantastic guest. These two eps and last week with Brice have been my favorite in recent months!

Keep the great guests coming!

Mark

Gary,

Like most of your viewers, I liked Heidi Barrett as a guest and I thought you did a very nice job of interviewing her.

Once in a while, you or a guest use certain wine terms that I don’t understand, but I am still learning. Ms. Barrett referred to a wine as “round.” At another point I think you described a wine as “fat” [and you have often used that term]. You both used the term “balanced” [again, as you have often done]. And you have often used the term “over-extracted,” as I believe you did in this episode. There are probably dozens more terms that other viewers could think up.

It would be great if you could take a moment, from time to time, to discuss the terminology, or if you would do an episode on the terminology. I know my level of wine knowledge is very fundamental, but I’d bet you have several viewers who would appreciate this information.

Thanks for bringing on the guests who know about wine and are happy to share that knowledge. And thanks for the great job you do too. Great show.

Michael D

QOTD: I love cabernet/syrah/shiraz blends. I love Wolf Blass Cabernet/Shiraz particularly well. The last couple of syrahs I had I wasn’t crazy about. I’m sure Heidi’s would be much better. I’m exploring priorats now.
Wonderful show. Very impressive guest.

Fantastic guest, fantastic episode! And as a loyal Pastafarian, the Pirate Wine sounds awesome. Though I have to agree the ass kissing was a bit much at times. The periodic cell phone radio signal interference was a little annoying too, but it turned out to be Heidi’s phone, so not your fault.

QOTD: I like a good syrah too. I prefer big wines in general, though there are times when I’m in the mood for something lighter and more subtle, so I usually try to keep some good PN around as well.

Great guest and episode. Thanks Gary for continuing to pump out amazing content.

QOTD: I prefer Syrah to Pinot Noir. I usually drink wine below $15 and there are very few Pinot Noir values at that price point, but there are some great Syrahs.

heidi was one of the greats! so infromative so enchanting, just wish i knew what she thought of the movie.

qotd: Syrah is the best my favorite reds are from the rhone and also australia, that is all.

This was a great two part episode. Great guest, great wines and great interaction between you and Heidi Barrett. The wines are way over my price range and with the small production probably very hard to find. Which wine did you like the best?

QOTD: Syrah is for me better than Pinot Noir. It has been easier for me to find Syrah that I liked than Pinot Noir.

This could of been a 3 parter , and not enough.

QOTD; Syrah way over Pinot

Great show, great guest! Really appreciate the candor and the overview of the recent Napa vintages.

QOTD: interesting, multi-layered question, really. I live in OR and drink a lot of both local pinot and southern or & wa syrah. A lot of the really seductive pinots, quite frankly, are syrah-like in character. That said, I gravitate more towards the more nuanced of each: the syrahs that aren’t oaky fruit bombs (southern or is a good region for those), and the pinots that offer a terrior-driven experience (e.g., Brick House Vineyards).

Gary – great show. The two part series was killer.

Don’t get me started on syrah vs. pinot. For me, the northern rhone truly embodies what wines can become. just imagine drinking a beaufitul vintage guigal la landoone….yum. by the by, glad to see you’re carrying the guigal ex voto. cannot wait to get deep on them….about 25 years from now.

best,
Tooch

Great episode!

QOTD: I love syrah. It’s my second favorite red varietal. I’ll admit that I am mostly drinking Northern Rhone syrah.

QOTD: I love Syrah.
Most of what I consider great california syrah are priced reasonably compared to same quality level Cab (if that makes sense)
My only complaint, many are fairly high alcohol.
Pinot aromatics IMHO are the most exotic.

Heidi, you were a wonderful guest. I hope that you come to Dallas for the Pioneer trade tasting of your wines next week.
Good show Gary.

ps – you have to check out our rookie – Neftali Feliz – he rebounded well tonight. 101 mph no problem! Talk about silky smooth

I have a QOTD: what do vayniacs think of all the wine descriptors??

I am a sommelier/wine director for a high-end steakhouse. I’m not really into all those specific descriptors like radish lignonberry tort, etc.

I am receptive to terms like ‘big’ ‘dark fruit’ ‘red fruit’ ‘vibrant’ ‘soft’ ‘bold’ ‘balanced’ ‘long finish’ etc. More general descriptors. Don’t get me wrong. If you want to use others that’s fine. I usually translate terms to my level.

Exact fruits spices or vegetables not so much. Especially, when they get to far out there. I feel we should use terms that “most” people can relate to.
I once had a girl slow me down & say “what’s tannins?”

QOTD: wha??? a top wine maker admitting that she likes shyrah more than pinot??!!! haleluja!!! I completely agree, I love shyrah as I only drink with food. I love South African shyrah, I find they have a bit more complexity than cali and ozzy ones.

Heidi Barrett is one elegant lady…..graceful, knowlegeable and passionate about wine…..a truly fantastic guest….

I love this 2 part episode. She was one of my favorite guests so far.
QOTD: Well I like Syrah very much. Sadly it’s hard to find good ones at about 10 to 15 bucks around here.

Nice two part show. It’s always nice to get to know how things work behind the scenes, and to get some history and stories from the making of.

QOTD: I’m a friend of the syrah. Hermitage, Oh my good! Australian fruitbombs from Heathcote, yum. South african spicesdriven, chilean sundburst. It’s just a great varietal. 1,2,3,4,5,6 🙂

I really enjoyed Heidi’s interview on WLTV and her comments on syrah. It has been a favorite of mine for years. So many people look at it as a lesser grape varietal. I have always believed it is wonderful and versatile. Don’t tip off the masses as it is also more affordable. Shhh…….Our little secret 😉

This is my new favorite episode. Heidi is a gracious lady with a wonderful sense of humor as well as an iconic winemaker.

Thanks,

John

Loved both parts. A great guest. Humble, down to earth.

I will say again that I thought Heidi was a great guest. Thanks for being on the show. I think the pirate wine sounds like a great ideAARH.

qotd: I love Syrah. I see no reason to compare it to the lovely Pinot Noir or to choose favorites. As others have said, I do find better values with Syrah, but when spending more I like both.

Hi Gary,

I’ll keep this one short – Part 1 and 2 with Hiedi was absolutely sensational, well done – the most professional guest I’ve ever seen – These two eps need to go into the Hall of Fame of Great WLTV eps (my opinion)..Thank you!!

Great show. Makes you feel like you’re right there in Cali.

QOTD: One would think that there would be more Syrah drinkers as a step-up move from Yellow Tail Shiraz—probably not realizing it’s the same grape varietal and also not wanting to pay the higher price. The movie of course pushed the pinot to which several producers added Syrah to their pinots anyway. Admittedly, I initially backed off a little from buying Syrah, but now it’s back in the mix for me and I really enjoy it.

great show and great guest! i dont know why people love pinot so much…i mean, i like it, but unlike other grape varieties, it costs like $40 a bottle to get anything worth drinking. you can stlil get a nice $20 bottle of syrah…

I looks like you both had a good time making these episodes. Keep getting these highly talented and knowledgeable industry folks. Fascinating stuff. But don’t forget the fun episodes as well 🙂

QOTD: 2-3 years ago when it seemed to me that everyone was making a big deal about Syrah I tried a bottle and hostly my wife and I hated it. To be fair we tried another one and didn’t like that one either. Now, I am perfectly willing to concede that it could very well be because I am not buying $50+ wines and/or that I really suck at picking wines (and I REALLY do), but that is where I stand with Syrah.

Great guest GV, Heidi seems like a true class act…If only she could improve on her resume a little bit, I think she might end up being pretty successful 😉

QOTD: Syrah is really fun because it can be represented in so many different styles, from Australia, to Rhone, to Cali.