Great episode bro,
This shows why the $9-$13 sauv blanc is killing it. Mass majority of the public loves it! Very interested to try the Riesling. The Stump Jump White is way more interesting than the red. Thanks as always

QOTD- Recently I would have to say The Mollydooker Blue Eyed boy just because it is so fresh in my mind. Big, rich, and velvety but with a nice little uplift of acidity to not make it over powering.(if that makes sense)

qotd: wolf blass gray label shiraz… i only found it when i was in Canada 🙁

good that you put pretty girls to your left and right. very good. do it often.

echo echo echo. this is real video blogging! haha.

QOTD:

New Zealand: Cloudy Bay Sauv Banc.

Haven’t had an Australian wine since the Thunder Cruise…couldn’t tell you

QOTD: Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 200
Dry River “Lovat” gewurztraminer 2008.

Can’t think of any decent Aussie wines.

Vayniacs should not some excellent cab/merlot blends from the “Gimlett Gravels” region of Hawkes BAy on the north island of new zealand. Watch out for Church Road, Craggy Range and Villa MArie. Their entry level wines as well as top tear wines are worh a look.

I’m loving Australian wines right now. Recently enjoyed Turkey Flat Rose, Yalumba Viognier, D’Arenberg Hermit Crab and all the Penfold’s.

Enjoying seeing you interact with the table of people this week. Interesting to see their reactions then yours.

QOTD: Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2003 -OR- Cape Mentelle Shiraz 2004 Margaret River

That chick in the red next to you was clearly diggin you. I bet Lizzy was jealous at least a little.

Yo G, Nice Scenery (Chick in Red) in this Episode !!! 🙂

qotd: Single Best New Zealand/Aussie Vino???? Got Two….
Red: Kilikanoon Parable Shiraz 2004
White: Kathy Lynskey Single Vineyard Gewurztraminer 2006

QOTD: It was one that an aunt of mine braught back from australia a few months back. I can not remember the name though.

Great to see a new Aussie / NZ show :: call me biased, but I like those!

QOTD: very tough to choose with so much good wine here in Oz, but recent stand-outs would have to be the Fortified Shiraz by Penny’s Hill, Moorooroo Park’s Sparkling Shiraz and Sabella’s Reserve Shiraz. Outside of reds, Cappa Stone have released a beautiful Moscato this year and I would sell my grandma for a bottle of the limited release fortified (port) from Caught Redhanded.

Holy echo G – man!
That shotgun mike only caught your end of the table well, too close was out of the cone. Will have to look for that Riesling. Stump Jump takes it on the chin…

QOTD: Had a nice Kim Crawford with sushi in Montreal last weekend ( the sake list was not that great and way over priced).
However, the best thing I’ve enjoyed lately was the 2006 RedHeads Pieri Azzardo amarone style…GV scored the 2005 an 86+ back in #276, but it hit me just right when I tried it.

QOTD: hands down Craggy Range Syrah or the Te Khau Merlot, both phenomenal, if I had to choose one over the other I think I’d pick the syrah. SOOOOOO DELICIOUS and seductive.

QOTD: Kumeu River 2005 Chardonnay, Maté’s Vineyard

QOTD Either 91 Grange (my only Grange experience) or 98 Fox River Reserve Shiraz. Good show, I love the table.

QOTD: Sunday Mountain SB. Sorry u sold out and it never came back. Great QPR.

Mott – get your S together with the sound or you’re fired!

I’m a few days behind and trying to catch up.

QOTD: Amisfield Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand

Gary –
It’s all been said in prior comments – audio was poor for guest comments, the guests were a hodge poge – no idea if they were serious wine fans or not (didn’t care for that – prefer other non-NYC tastings episodes), echo all the lady in red comments posted.

Overall, fair show – somewhere in the middle or later end of the pack … you didn’t “crush it” with this fan. That’s o.k. … I don’t expect perfection.

QTD – Killakanoon Oracle 1999. This was the total package – strong but classy, powerful yet graceful. That was back when Oracle was their flagship, highest end wine and was available in Ohio – probably in the upper $30’s or low, low $40’s. Second choice was 2001 Marquis Phillips S9 – totally powerful – could see how many would not like the MP’s brand.

BTW the Matua Sauvignon Blanc is on sale in PA Aug 24-Sep 27. Good price and I may try it. I’m not a huge Sauvignon Blanc fan but I may ‘give it a whirl’.

QTD: I’ve never had top shelf Aussie or NZ (ie Grange or Hill of Grace…)I do collect and drink more than my fair share of Aussie and my favorite for its combination of fruit, complexity and balance was the 2005 Parri Estate Shiraz (also some Viognier in it if I remember correctly). Fruit was sourced from the relatively cool Fleurieu Pennisula in S. Australia. The complexity on the nose jumped right out of the glass and I was in the Northern Rhone, but the fruit took me back to Australia. All this for around $15!

QOTD – I am a NZer so watched the show and read the comments with interest. NZ is cooler climate than Australia so can produce more nuanced, varietal wines than Australia, eg reisling an pinot varieties, but struggles to ripen Bordeaux varieties (particularly cab sauv) outside of limited areas such as the Gimblett Gravels and Waiheke Island. Te Mata Coleraine is the blue chip NZ Bordeaux-style wine and the vintages mentioned – 1998 and 2005 – are excellent – as is the 2007. We produce excellent pinot compared to the price of good Burgundies. I like Central Otagos – Mt Difficulty and Felton Rd rather than Amisfield or Gibbston Valley – but prefer the longer established Martinborough area – eg Escarpment, Dry River, Martinborough and particularly Ata Rangi. Syrah is the NZ rising star, more in the Northern Rhone model than Australian shiraz. Man O’ War, Dean K, is a good pick, but anything from the Gimblett Gravels is worth a try eg Craggy Range, Stonecroft, Esk Valley etc.

The Australian wine industry is also excellent with what they do well eg the Penfolds range and Amon Ra.

NYC women are the classiest dressers in the land. Nice show. Fun to see ordinary drinkers do a kind of focus group.

Hi Gary, nice set-up in the hotel. Nice energy with the group. One bad comment. I work in sound… The sound quality is really bad. we don’t hear your guests!!! And we hear you with a delay after the first wine, on your voice, The mic on the table is useless. Use a boom mic with a boom operator for the guests. At least, fot the recording of the show. I know i can get technically anal, but that’s my job!!! I’m totally into wine and actually am seriously right now considering moving to a wine region 2 hours south of Toronto, Canada in about 5 years, when i’ll be 55. Anyways, to make it short, like you always say, the importance is content. But after the first wine, i stopped watching, because i could’nt deal with the sound quality. It got better when you got to the stump jump red. The white version is actually pretty good. We pay 16$ for the white version. But, still if you have guests, please make sure we hear them, out of respect for them and your viewers. Thanks Gary. I still think you’re great and if you ever need a sound guy…. Lol!!!

Gary,
I blasted the last EP, so for fair balance I’ll comment on this one because an effort was made to correct some things.
1) Still too many guests. Six seems like it might be more do-able and still give a representation of people from different walks and experience levels, if that’s what you’re intending.
2) The sound was better, but as noted by many others, was still mediocre. Although the reverb was annoying for approximately half the show, what bothered me more was that I had to turn up the volume to hear the guests, and even then I couldn’t hear some of them very well. For future EPs (most likely beyond this week) please follow the viewer comments on getting a boom Mic.
3) The orientation of the camera throughout the EP was clearly to your right (thanks Mott?), and when combined with her (gorgeous “Lady in Red” – like the 80’s song) leaning toward you on a number of occasions, was both entertaining and distracting.
Overall this EP was WAY (way) better than the last because each guest really did have something to contribute, and Gary your detailed descriptions were very helpful. Regarding the Stump Jump, we are big D’Arenburg fans, but the last one we tried was the ’05 and I was hugely disappointed.
QOTD: For AUS, it’s like trying to pick a favorite child. Back in ’95 we drank an ’82 Grange, but I wasn’t WOW’d because it was still too young. Top 3 would be: 1) ’02 Torbreck Descendant (sublime, ethereal after 18 hour decant) 2) ’02 Integrity (Truly liquid sex in a glass. Much better than OTT MollyDooker COL’s, IMO) 3) ’01 Clarendon Hills Romas (world class grenache)

The chick in red was hot.

Love NZ SB’s. Can’t go wrong with a good ol’ Kim Crawford.