Very interesting show. Have been that “lurker” for a few months now. Trying to watch every episode and am becoming more and more a fan every day. The Heidi B episode was awesome!! Cannot wait to try some of her new projects.

I figured out why the show was awkward……no wristband.

Only one favorite for merlot, shafer.

Thanks for the great shows Gary, you rock man! Love the Blind Tastings.

By the way, where are the wristbands for sale? I would love to get a few for a wine tasting hand out.

The wines may not have shown well, but you were crisp and focused none the less…you are the one that makes the show great, not the wines.

QOTD: usually only approach the merlot in blends, but had a great experience years ago in grad school…skipped class with a buddy, sat on a riverbank drinking a tasty 89 Santa Rita from Chile ($3 at the time), eating slices of his dad’s home made sopressata. An important lesson in taking a break.
Worst was definitely at a party, trying an “Up Chuck the bucks”.

Hey,

Awkward doesn’t mean bad, I’d put this in one of my top 10!

For Tom Mok, Here’s wikipedia’s entry for “Corked Wine,” which smells like cherry soda that has gone flat to me:

The chief cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine. Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or damp basement. In almost all cases of corked wine the wine’s native aromas are reduced significantly, and a very tainted wine is completely undrinkable (though harmless).

Gary
Too bad for the corked Woodward Canyon…probably the better if not best merlots in Washington. Think you should definitely do another merlot tasting and toss that one back in the bunch.

Worst ever…anything with over-cooked fruit. Terra Blanca and Yakima River do that pretty well. YUK.

LOVE those blind tastings, and REALLY appreciate those honest opinions, recognizing that you’re just your personal opinions. Too bad about the Woodward Canyon. Do you think that the “wet dog” wine might have been a bit corked too?

I feel like this happens more often than not with Merlot. It seems like winemakers are trying to change the style to appease “Pinot lovers”.

QOTD: Cant remember the last time I had a “great” one. The worst was a Ravenswood.

QOTD: That $3 Oak Leaf stuff from walmart, I get bad shivers when I think about it. I don’t drink much Merlot and have never sought after a good bottle. Best in recent memory was Frei Brothers Dry Creek Valley 2006

Threatening us? That sucks. Bummer.

QOTD: The Velvet Devil is great (charles smith wine). Duckhorn is usually fairly reliable. Love Pomerol wines

Worse merlot? No idea. I try not to dwell on them.

Gary,

Bummer WA State showed so poorly today. We know we can do better! Maybe do a Walla Walla Merlot tasting blind next time!

Trey

QOTD: I don’t drink any $#@!ing Merlot.

Gary- change your shirt, only Superman and Batman can rock the same outfit two days in a row. Ha! I’m guessing you filmed this episode and the last in the same day 🙂 Good work (if that is the case) workin’ hard!

Merlot… Maybe you caught Paul Giamatti on Jimmy Fallon a couple nights ago. He brought up the infamous line from Sideways, apparently he can’t get away from it either. As some others have mentioned, I think Merlot is a blending grape- it does much better in a bittle with friends IMO.

QOTD: No best, but definitely had a bad one a few days ago called Perfecta. Uber boring.

***I commented because I could tell you were genuinely a bit sad that I hadn’t on the last few episodes. I was just plain busy/lazy. I absolutely loved the 2 part Heidi show***

As a Pinot and Merlot drinker, it’s good to see Merlot get a fair shake.

QOTD don’t remember the worst, but my favs are Shafer and Robert Keenan.

I thought it was a good episode–your comments on low quality wine are still educational. I didn’t really appreciate merlot when I first started drinking wine, but I’ve learned to like it, and I’d pick it any day over pinot noir. Please do some more merlot episodes, because I think it has gotten a bad rap.

I also thought it was kind of interesting, if unfortunate, that one of the wines was corked. I’m still learning how to recognize a corked wine. It might be interesting if you did an episode on how to recognize traits of wine gone bad, maybe with smells and flavors familiar to us, like the “Training your Palate” episode.

Thanks for enduring all those wines for our viewing pleasure!

My comment: Is it really all about you?

Fantastic episode! I really enjoy your blind tastings, no matter how they turn out at the end. I love merlot. In the movie, I don’t believe Miles was trying to put down Merlot. It was just the fact that Merlot reminded him of his ex-wife. But he speaks well about Chateau Cheval Blanc, which is in fact mostly merlot based. QOTD: I don’t recall precisely, but I remember liking the Firestone Merlot from Napa, and I often enjoy Chateau Ste. Michelle from Washington. Sometimes I don’t care much for chilean merlot.

QOTD: Beringer Bancroft Ranch, superb stuff, $75 at the winery but you can find it much cheaper, especially the 2000 vintage which was great. Drink a lot of Bordeaux as well, so many great Merlots coming from the Right Bank and Bordeaux Superieur.

Too bad about the WC, it is usually a consistent performer. Would have like to seen Columbia Crest Grand Estates, great everyday Merlot that is widely available.

QOTD: Beringer Bancroft Ranch, superb stuff, $75 at the winery but you can find it much cheaper, especially the 2000 vintage which was great. Drink a lot of Bordeaux as well, so many great Merlots coming from the Right Bank and Bordeaux Superieur.

Too bad about the WC, it is usually a consistent performer. Would have like to seen Columbia Crest Grand Estates, great everyday Merlot that is widely available.

Had a terrible cono sur reserve merlot, I dont remember the vintage.
The best was a bottle of Charles Krug 1999, drank with the fragrant Mrs pete, with dinner at Coles Chop House, Napa, a good evening and a good wine.

regards Pete.

Hi Gary!

I just wanted to confirm to you that I get all my podcasts from Itunes, and that I enjoyed this one for being a little different, and specially the look on your face was priceless!

Keep up the good work!

“…solid on the back end, like J-Lo.” Classic.

QOTD: Haven’t had too many, but I really liked the Casillero del Diablo I had a while back.

Hey Gary,
Great show. I am just learning about wine and your show has helped me out alot. It is very intimidating to go into a store and just pick stuff at random but you have stired me in the right direction. I would love to see a show about rioja. In my very short experience I find that it is very hard to find a good rioja wine that is also inexpensive but maybe I just don’t know where to look!

Hopefully the rumor of the iTunes 9 integration with Twitter and Facebook will allow us to comment on your iTunes episodes through those venues. Although I love your website design and layout, my wife and I find your show more enjoyable sitting on our couch in front of our AppleTV. Keep hustlin’.

I think it’d be interesting to do 2-3 more blind merlot tastings. 6 isn’t enough, you’re right, but about about 18? That would say something.

Best: Columbia Crest! Great cherry flavor, little oak, $8.

It comes as no surprise. Glad you found 1 good one, but at that price…I still won’t be drinking f%*^#(g Merlot!

GV: Great episode. Love the blind tasting. No surprise with the Duckhorn victory. Excellent producer. Can’t wait to visit them again.

QOTD:
Best – 2004 Darioush. Bought it at the winery, so that probably made it seemh better. I really like the Provenance Merlots too.
Worst – Clos Du Val. Probably worse Merlots out there, but this is not good for the price.