Steve is an amazing guest because he is a hardcore Vayniac and his passion is undeniable. My epiphany moment with wine was at a 2003 Bordeaux tasting and Chateau Margaux blew my doors off. I never thought wine could be so powerful yet elegant at the same moment.

Great energy even if the tasting notes might be a bit wonky. Like both of you on speed. My wine epiphany with the 1966 Cheval Blanc. Nothing I had ever tasted before and this was 1984. Started collecting wine after that.

qotd: it was a stag’s leap petite sirah

A vin jaune episode would be interesting to watch Gary

Gary,

I’ve been lurkin’ for months now and feeling guilty about soaking up your knowledge and not giving back. So here I am…leaving Comment #1. Great episode. Way to take it back to the ghetto without the wine glasses.

AOTD: Hugged the wifey. She loved it, but thought I might be trying to make up for something I did wrong!
QOTD: My first visit to Napa Valley in 2000. Tasted at Charles Krug and was hooked. Bought a wine fridge in 2008 and finally got into wines outside of Cali.

Good episode for me, as coffee and wine are my two favorite things. How come there wasn’t anything that you could use as a glass? What kind of place were you in?? Pinot is one of my favorite varietals, but I don’t know if I’d like the one on the show if it’s “soapy” or green-pea like. I do like avocados, but I don’t eat the skin! I have the patience to cut it! 🙂

Awesome show and a great energetic guest. (I was unaware of his show, it’s good)

QOTD: my epiphany moment, as I recall has to do with my chosen profession, architecture.- while studying in Europe in my college years I stumbled onto a giant Gothic Church in the town of Burgos, the moment I walked up the stairs of the portico and entered the magnificent gates I knew… I could smell and feel the 800 years of dogma and the amazing feat it was to build such a magnificent structure. (I’m not religious but I like history and this was history embodied)
From then on I was sure I would make the world a better place through design and development of architectural applications.

QOTD: Wow. That’s a hell of a good question. I’m not really sure for wine. I do remember one big epiphany moment for me though. September 1994 I discovered the WWW. I remember telling everyone and it took about 9 months until I found people who listened (and hired me).

That was a phenomenal episode, tough tasting or not. Good for you and Steve, Gary.

Great show! Love to see guests with a passion for what they love.
QOTD: My wine ‘moment’ was what got me into wine for the first time. A dinner party with old friends and a randomly selected 2007 Gehringer Brothers Riesling from B.C’s Okanogan Valley. It rocked my tastebuds and unlocked a passion in me that I didn’t know was there.

Great episode! difficult question though…not sure of the answer. Love when you have people on who don’t speak American English.

An idea for next time: it’d be neat to ask your next non-American guest what the wine world is like where they live (what they drink, when, with food, prices, etc.).

Seen just about every episode, never posted before, but something about this episode made me finally chime in. I am in the industry and my epiphany moment occurs just about every tasting I attend. I love the look on a persons face when a flavor is pointed out by someone and someone else genuinely gets it. It is obvious by their excitement and you can see their eyes light up.

My pseudo-mentor once told me wine was not about what was in the bottle, but the relationships and the moments that occur once the bottle is open.

Cheers!

WOW! Awesome Dude, that Steve… his web site is pretty cool too… too bad I don’t drink coffee…

QOTD: 1993 Chateau La Pointe… changed me forever…

Yeahh…..this is the type of wltv show that I got to know and loved…..keep this up. Drinking direct from the bottle awesome….this is why wltv is different from the others. Good enthusiasm and passion from Steve. Fantastic show.

Talk about a rough show,no glasses. Great interaction with Steve, He has the passion and like you it shows. One of the more interesting shows you have done. How can you go wrong talking about wine and coffee?

QOTD; I was drinking just white wines(german riesling) and a friend kept trying to get me to drink red wines. He had a split from BV, a CB 1985 that he opened and it just was soo good. The wine was aged eight or nine years before he opened it.

GREAT episode, nice to see GV meet his match on the energy level.

QOTD: Last year when I worked in Jerz and had access to Wine Library, Gary reviewed a South African Sauvignon Blanc that was about $7, and he raved about. I swung by the store, grabbed a few bottles, and headed home. Watched the episode again, tasting the wine as well, and I was equally blown away. I really liked it. Better yet, I went back, got a few more bottles and served it with a dinner I cooked. I got more compliments on the wine than on the food 🙁 so when they asked what it cost, I told them $20 and was complimented on finding such a great value. From there, my search was on for the hidden gems in the wine world.

Loved the comments on Central Otago Pinot Noir – it really deserves your No 2 rating after Burgundy. The 2007 Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir is available from the Cellar Door at NZ$42 per bottle.Order online at http://www.gvwines.co.nz. Door to door shipping is available to pretty much anywhere in the world and all states of the USA.

Great show, really fun guest.

QOTD: The first wine that really challenged me to look deeper into the aromas and flavors of what I was drinking was a Spanish Verdejo. Grapefruit jumped out of the glass so much that I had to ask someone if grapefruit juice was added to the wine.

it’s really great to see gary reach out to make a big fan’s day!

Two of my best moments:

First when I tasted a 2001 Brunello di Montalcino, before it most wines tasted the same for me, I spent more time sniffying it than tasting it, I was delighted with the complexity of this wine category.

Second when I visited London for the first time, walking through Paddington , heading towards victoria station by underground and then I was aware of the power of the Houses of Parliament and other remarkable buildings of your city……

Gary this is the best show ever……

Awesome show, awesome guest!

YES! I’ve wanted that “like it or not” phrase back to. so excited you said it again. great show.
QOTD: It was someone’s birthday in my family, and we we’re having the party, with cousins and family, and at that time, my parents we’re big into the U-Brew stuff. probably why i never really liked wine. But my cousin and i were sitting there drinking a Merlot or something, that i thought tasted like wine, as did he. We then opened up a Cab Sauv, and smelt it and tasted it. And i noticed, for the first time, it was completely different than the other wine, and not only that, it didn’t taste like red wine, it tasted like roasted marshmellows! Having drinking something like that one now, i probably would almost throw up, they were so bad. But that that realization that wines could impart such a drastically different flavour was so appealing to me. They can taste like pretty much anything you can imagine! So awesome. With that i started the wine tasting fun with my dad and cousin whenever we were together, and got my dad off U-brews and drinking better wine.

This Guy is Clearly “Authentic Thunder Show Material”. Gary you really bring out the best in people.
http://www.zazzle.com/tshirtblitzco

My tummy holds approximately 5.5 drinks.

Well done GV, you found the one guy who can out-energy you!

Very enjoyable!

Oops, forgot QOTD: New World epiphany: I was about 21 and wanted to buy my folks a really nice bottle for their anniversary. Spent like $80, cannot for the life of me remember what it was, merlot i think, black, tall bottle. When my mom and I opened it the entire room smelled like chocolate and raspberries.

Old World epiphany last weekend: Montecillo Riojas. One nose was straight-up dirty diaper. The other more fruit but lots of horse manure and hay. first time i’ve ever experienced that. they smelled like poo but i couldn’t stop sticking my nose in there! i was so tickled by the fact that wine can smell like that.

QOTD: I had my epiphany moment the day after I saw Gary interviewed by Eric Worre. Never heard of Gary before, never seen WLTV before. In the interview I was instructed to find my passion. Thought about it the entire next day… then it hit me and I cried. (yes it took me all day to figure it out) Now… I’m going to CRUSH IT! Brilliant show gentlemen 🙂 Thank you very much.