TO THE VAYNER NATION:I have had the pleasure of hosting customers and attending wine seminars at the Terlato Tangley Oaks World Headquaters in Lake Bluff Illinois for a dozen years now. The last time Tony Terlato was in attendance about 2 months ago. He is truly a wise and passionate man!! Thanks Gary for having him on your show!!
Regarding the QOTD, my old boss said it best,”You have to keep tasting wines in the $6-$12 category until you have mastered them.” Then move up a category to the $13-$20 level, then the $21-$30 level and so forth while reading and learning. Everyone knows what a McDonalds hamburger tastes like, probably blindly. You have to be able to do this with wine as well. Train your palate to distinguish what sets each category apart. Taste,read,learn. Taste,read,learn, etc.

great guest….with a tremendous question!

QOTD: there are many 90+ points out there, some cheap with a great value but others which are priced at ends where not many are able to afford. But to me what should separate a $15 95point wine with a $100 95 point wine would be the added layers and complexity that the latter wine should posses from the terroir, viticulture and so on, because all bottle of wines starts from the vineyards!

Hey, Gary. Sorry for all the lurking I’ve been doing lately. Regarding the big Binny’s store in Chicago, you are probably thinking of their South Loop store. They have 60,000 square feet, according to a March 15, 2008 story in Wine Business Monthly (http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=54596 ), at which time the reporter described Chicago’s South Loop as “economically booming.” At about the same time, Sam’s also opened a South Loop store (only 20,000 square feet, according to the Wine Business Monthly article), but sadly that store recently closed its doors. (See Chicago Tribune story at http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2009/08/sams-closing-south-loop-store.html )

QOTD
So how come we Chicago-based opinion leaders (i.e., those of us who watch your show) didn’t get invited to the tasting next Tuesday? Mr. Terlato said himself that we are in his target group. We could be a resource for him. He could persuade us to move up to more expensive wines, and we would tell all our friends that they should do the same. It’s not too late to invite us. (You have my permission to pass my email address along to him.)

I loved this episode. Hearing about the history of the wine business was very interesting and Mr. T was such a great guest. More please!

QOTD: I work in the retail end of the grocery/wine business and most of my customers are value-driven even in good economic times. It’s a stretch to convince many of them that $10-15 is a reasonable price when they can buy lots of the $2 stuff. Sometimes it just comes down to wanting quantity vs. quality.
I agree that the more opportunities regular people have to taste wine, either for low cost or free, the more educated palates we will eventually have in the wine world. Also normalizing alcohol regulations and access across the country would help as well. Living in CA and hearing about folks back East not being able to go to the grocery store and pick up a bottle to go with dinner is just weird.

Personally, if I find a wine that I like that’s significantly north of $20-30, I probably wouldn’t purchase it. However, if it was truly, life-changingly awesome, I might make the effort to set aside a few dollars here and there until I can afford it. (Especially if it’s a Riesling!)

part two was also great. Nice to see how distributors influenced the market.

QOTD: To move me from a $20 to a $30 bottle, I’d need to know it was twice as good as the $20. how do you do that? testimonials in your marketing. I would need a marketing campaign that is on the street, and getting America to taste the difference, then I would be swayed to try it. If you went on a road tour of wine tasting comparisions, or did it over the internet reaching out to different sites, and I saw it on youtube, and TV commercials, I might be swayed.
Otherwise, I am a wine maker myself, why not enjoy the $20 or less high rated wines and pocket the rest.

Yo G, the Jets need any linebackers???? I think I can get Ya a Package-
Deal from the Chargers!!! Shawne Merriman AND Tila Tequila in exchange
for a Case of Two Buck Chuck…… 🙂 🙂

Very interesting guest. Great to hear his perspective!

QOTD. For me to shell out 20 vs 30 on a wine certainly comes down to pleasure and intrigue. Only a small percentage of $30+ wines get purchased multiple times. The 1st time is usually reputation of either that exact wine, the producer and region being a favorite, or just an experiment. To buy it again, it has to really appeal to my palate. It has to tell a story. It has to go with some type of food. It has to have balance and finesse.

Awesome two-part show, I very much enjoy guests with such history and knowledge. QOTD: I find myself spending in the 20-50 range when I find something interesting AND has received stellar reviews from multiple sources.

Gary… I love you man, but stop with the interruptions. I’m not so concerned with how polite you are, but when your talking over the guest it is difficult to listen to.

Great two shows there. I really like hearing from people in the wine industry so keep trying to make shows like this.

Qotd: Well it would required more money on my part and friends who also appreciate good wine. And along with that, right now I drink with people who respond to my wine choices with ‘it tastes good’ and ‘i like sweet wine’. And to be honest, i’m not going to waste $30 for them to just say ‘it tastes good’ or ‘i don’t like bitter wine’ or ‘its bubbly…cool’. $10 to $20 I’m fine but over that range and I expect them to really appreciate the wine.

Mr. Terlato, An increase in salary would allow me to take the leap from 20 to 30. Great show and verrrrry interesting. Gary, keep it up.

Critical Viewers! Wow! I’m seriously amazed about how many viewers get critical about Gary’s excitement, i.e. interrupting. I’m pretty sure he has a wife to try and make him someone he isn’t. The guy gets excited. If you’re a guest or watch the shows expect that it might happen. He is who he is! I’ve never seen him be intentionally rude or spiteful towards any one or wine. You’re doing an awesome job Gary and I’m not just kissing ass. I’ve learned a lot from watching your show as I’m sure everyone here has and I thank you for that.

QOTD: I buy wines in the $30 plus range when I know them. In other words, I want to know that a person made the wine and not a machine. I want to know about the vineyard and how the grapes were grown. I want to know about the maker. Are they good people that I want to support? And of course the wine has to have that special character(s) that makes it stand out. I don’t think most people have a clue how much work goes into making premium wine. If we all did, I don’t think $30 would be as difficult to swallow (pardon the pun). I think most people would be appalled at what goes on at $5-10 a bottle wineries and if you buy those wines, you’re supporting that behavior. Drink better less frequently is my motto.

Hey Gary,
Loved the episode, the guest had a bit of a dry personality, but you always make up for that. Really like hearing about the history of the wine industry.
Next time try not to casually dismiss a good wine (if in fact thats what it was) just because youve had so many other good wines in that same category.

Gary,
I really enjoyed hearing Mr. Terlato’s take on making and marketing wine. A wealth of experience presented in an easy to enjoy and understand manner. I do feel that you have a tendency to sidetrack your guests with your inserted and sometimes talked over comments. There were several times I was very interested in his line of thought and you interrupted and started talking about something else. I do understand you wish to move things along and cover a lot of bases, but I think you went a little too far this time. You asked a question and then didn’t give him time to answer several times.

QOTD: I already drink a fair number of wines over $30, heck even a bunch over $60, even a few over $100. What I look for are wines that provide a unique experience of nose and taste that cannot be reproduced at lower prices. I still prefer a 95 point wine at $20 but it is very hard to find. The name game involved with expensive wines is a fact of life but I still prefer to find value rather than simply prestige.

Great show as usual!
QOTD – That is like asking,” what will it take to get you to stop borrowing your girlfriends 1978 bianchi ten speed and into a 2010 Audi TT……….. you guessed it MONEY! Hey, I’m a college student, but believe me the desire is there!

Honestly, you aren’t interviewing them. You’re not even having a conversation with them. You’re just talking over them.

Granted, this may be the way you talk to everyone. Here’s a thought, how about you pick a topic and go with it. Don’t ask off the cuff questions about sports or what have you in the middle of a wine conversation. Cuz, quite frankly not everyone gives a crap about sports. Shocking, I know.

Have you ever thought of having a dinner conversation with Gary? Not a format like that other website you do, but just sitting back and shooting the “shit”. Talking wine and whatever. Letting the other people speak. You’d probably have to have some peeps that are as charismatic as yourself. Otherwise you would dominate the conversation.

QOTD: Economics. Like everything else. The more money in my wallet, the more I spend on wines. It’s all about the money.

Great guest…, but honestly why do you even invite people over if you won’t let them finish their thoughts and constantly talk over them. It’s really disturbing to watch.
Hope soon you’ll have a guest who won’t allow it and we’ll finally be able to listen to him!

Nothing…

I’ll Take my Cote du Ventoux.

sucking..
Gary Grow a Pair.

Gary, when interviewing guests…you have to remember to breathie-breath…

QOTD:
Its easy to say money is the answer, and of course that will play a part.
But in the long run what will increase the number of people willing to spend more money on wine will be a greater appreciation of wine – and that will take time.

I did think you spoke over this guest, more so in part 2, definitely something for you to keep in mind and improve on.

OMG. I couldn’t finish the interview. Very uncomfortable watching Anthony Terlato compete with Gary to answer a question.

I already by and own many $30+ bottles. It is either ones that I have liked in the past and am excited about that vintage or new ones that have been significantly reviewed and match my tastes. Tasting a lot of wine helps a lot too. Interestingly, GV gave away a half bottles of the Rutherford Hill Merlot to every participant on the Thunder Cruise and I really enjoyed them. Even with all of the wine we had they didn’t last long in our room. Great interview.

Great show, Gary! So much to learn about wine. Keep it coming! Thank you, Mr. Terlato for sharing your experiences.

QOTD: A guarantee of quality. Unfortunately there’s no correlation between that price and that quality.

Gary, I know you’re excited (deservedly so) and I appreciate the enthusiasm but I think these episodes with guests need to be less of a conversation, wherein we all interject during talking, and more of an interview. That said, these were excellent, excellent episodes. Thank you to you and Mr. Terlato.

Gary: Love having the “greats of the industry” on, and you must continue to do that and post them over there —–> as an educational tool for all. Also I must commend you on your improving interviewing style by being a little more on point, asking relevant questions and cutting out unrelated comments/quips; keep it going

QOTD: I need to know what exactly I would be getting in that extra $10 (50% more) that I couldn’t get in one of your $20 bottles. Likely to do with fruit, but what abuout it makes it more special?