Awsome job Nick. I am so envious.

Hey Vayniacs!! You know the month of sparklers by Gary is just a bluff. He is way to ADD (and busy)to stick to anything that long. Except the Jets of coarse. 🙂

QOD: Turn off the radio and tune into the internet. Millions of great musicians out there. There's a band from Kansas City called The Life And Times that you might dig, given your taste. Google em.

QOD2: I got a Foreigner – Say You Will 7″ by winning the dance contest at my buddy's bar mitzvah. Still got it.

I had heard it made waves in Cali as well. My wife went to a bridal party for a friend of a friend here in NYC, and the bar they were at had a promotion going from A-B/InBev with the premixed stuff.

will do

HUGE Music fan and guitrar player and as much as I love dylan, beatles, Nick Drake, floyd led lep, faces, yardbirds, stones etc…. the greatest band of all time in my book who deliveredon the greatest album all time (in my humble opinion) is Radiohead (greatest album is ok computer) … you have to invest and make an effort in all radiohead (except the bends which is imediatly lovable) but like a great floyd album you will be richly rewarded! along the same vain is Wilco… two of the best bands in history and they are producing great stuff and putting on great shows today! I would also check out Spoon, Some older Ryan adams (Heartbreaker) so many more…. just gotta open your mind up and appreciate the artistic authenticity!

really enjoyed the show, beeper. I’m with you on Jack Johnson; also Ben Harper, Wilco, etc. It’s music with a soul.

Hey, Nick, great show. Thanks for bringing the thunder.

It’s a shame blues traveler’s last album was really bad. The bridge was their best effort so far.

Have you ever gotten into Jazz? Some tommy igoe, buddy rich, gene krupa, dave weckyl drumming?

You could add Arcade Fire to this list pretty easily…

Cool episode, it's always nice to see normal guys who are into wine on the show. I don't drink sparkling wine that much, maybe once or twice a month, but when I do it's generally Francia Corta, or a prosecco, bc I live in Verona. Maybe a couple sparkling wines a week for the next year would be better than an entire month of the same.
For good music today you have to look past the radio, for example Ray Lamontagne, State Radio, and John Butler trio all make great music. As for the game of chance, I'd have to say the coolest thing I ever won was a cruise at some car show. Unfortunately I was like 7 yrs old, so I couldn't accept it.

GV Love the show with peeps!! Think you should do this more! So excited for you that the Jets won and will be on the way to the SB!! Positive thoughts to you and them for their hard work!!

QOTD: YES YES YES!! I have been pushing champagne/sparkling for a long time now and glad to see you do the same!! I drink two bottles of bubbles a week….sometimes from France sometimes from CALI, Italy or Spain. As long as its bubbles its delish!! Hope to see a month of bubbles!!

QOTD2: Yes lots of different artists making their mark…its just different from what us who grew up in the '70s but the music industry changes and evolves just like other industries! It seems though that when someone has a hit song they don't get the recognition in their other songs.

QOTD3: I unexpectedly won tickets to see Bob Dylan. Although I love his music I never would have bought a ticket and it just worked out to be the best concert I've seen…small intimate venue and with a surprise friend!

So glad you could come out!!! Thanks a bunch- and I hope you and Carrie get home ok!

I gotta get my two cents in about music (see me drumming in my avatar)

Yes, there is lots of great music being made today, but as some commenters have said, you gotta look outside the mainstream. Just about all of the rock on the radio today is corporate, manufactured garbage (like Yellowtail, for example). Just about all the “pop” on the radio today maybe shouldn't even be called music (like Beringer white zin shouldn't be called wine). So in that respect, Mott is right.

But there are still plenty of great bands out there. Some of it is even produced by major labels, even though it doesn't get to the radio or the charts. Lucero is a fantastic southern rock band from Memphis, TN, that has made 5 great albums, only the most recent one on a major label but still retains musical integrity. Ben Harper has been making great music for 15 years, and in 2009 he released an album with his new band, Relentless7, which is brilliant, honest rock. Black Mountain is a great band from Vancouver on an indie label, playing muscular, sludgy but not particularly heavy rock. Speaking of muscular, Clutch is an awesome, powerful band from Maryland that has been flying under the radar for about 20 years now. TV On the Radio are another great band on a major label. Royal Bangs are an up-and-coming band from my hometown of Knoxville, TN that play innovative, energetic electro-rock. And let's not forget about Pearl Jam, which hasn't stopped rocking since 1991 and still plays some of the freshest rock out there even after all these years.

Sorry for the laundry list of bands there… But despite the depressing state of the music industry today, I believe this era is as rich with great music as any–you just have to look a little harder to find it.

Changing subjects… I would get bored with an entire month of sparkling wines. I don't drink them any more than the average fellow, but I have a good reason: I don't like carbonation. I can tolerate it to some degree, and great sparkling wine of champagne is still very enjoyable. But I just prefer still wines.

Best thing I've ever won by chance: Great question, but I don't know the answer. I won a gift certificate to a bomb Chinese restaurant once, but I feel like I've done better than that…

QOTD Sparkling Wine: Value Sparkling Wine for the win! Also, have you done a blind tasting sparkling wine show?

QOTD Music: Good music is being made, but most likely it never gets to you. Only a handful of artists ever truly make it each year and the great ones may throw in the towel before a big record company gives them a chance.

QOTD Chance: I won a year supply of Coca-Cola from the McDonald's Monopoly game.

(and if anyone wants to know what this little drummer is up to, you can listen to his band at http://www.myspace.com/diaconpanthers)

QOTD 1: That would be great. You should to some sparkling Rieslings!
QOTD 2: There is some good music from these days out for sure.
QOTD 3: I “won” a girlfriend in a game of spinn the bottle. With won I mean that I got to know her during said game.

I loved the Red Beer shout out! That was my Grandmother's drink of choice; she claimed it was a big thing in Canada.

GV's mini QoTD: Definitely do at least a couple weeks of Sparkling Wine. Maybe even some blind tastings mixed in would be good times.

QOTD 1: Music is always going to be a subjective thing that boils down to your own personal tastes. Much like wine, your music “pal” is going to be a personal thing, so it's tough to say that, for a young guy who really digs on the 70s music, there is (or is not) good music still being made. I think there is a ton of it out there, both on the local and national level, but it is really going to be about sampling the stuff that's out there and making your own decisions. I'd suggest starting with Muse, The Fray, and The Mars Volta.

QoTD2: I had a great run in Vegas with a friend. We played Craps for 3 days, and won about $5,000 each.

Do the sparkling month!

Great show GV, i am always pleasantly surpirsed to see a bottle that i have purchased, end up on the T-show.
As mentioned, i have the wine, but my plan was to cellar it for 3-5 years. Based on the tasting would you not recommed that? do you think another timeframe is better?

Late arriving since I played tennis last night but had to see if you made it back in time for a show since you were out in Charger Land kicking butt. Congrats my man to you and your Jets.

Also congrats to the gentlemen who won the prize of sitting down with Gary to review some wines and talk some football. Great show with some nice wines.

QOTD #1: As Guest #1 said, the 70s music rocked the house and a resounding “No, there is no more good music nowadays and it's not because I'm an old man.” Statistics prove the music industry is taking a huge downturn. Lady HaHa more like it and Mott's analogy of an icepick in the ear is appropriate. Fav 70s band: Chicago

QOTD #2: I won a very nice selection of Italian wines in an auction promoted by GaryV and WL a few years ago to benefit world hunger. Great wines which included a Gravina.

Now on to better things, football. If we could have had a “Dream AF Championship” well, this would be it. Buckle up your seatbelts, rant and rave about your team, you deserve it. It's going to be a great ride.

GO COLTS!!!!!

Cheers!

Oops, forgot the sparkling question. It goes without saying since it's my fav wine. Yes, plenty and often. Like the Colts scoring next Sunday. 🙂

Good episode and I am taking your suggestion to heart and trying sparkling wines more frequently.

In Texas it is called a “Red Draw”, mixing beer and tomato juice. Not very popular and you find folks for very rural areas (at least that is my experience) drinking it.

QOTD #1 – Your question will be answered very differently by the different generations. I find the vast majority of music is not very good but the younger people I work with are very satisfied with the artists and music. I do think there are a few bright spots, I very much enjoy Susan Boyle, Paul Potts, and other artists but the “new” generation is pretty much what my parents thought of the Beatles and other groups of that era.

QOTD #2 – I have hit a jackpot for $1200.00 several years ago at a casino is Shreveport, La.

Red beer & chislic must only be a South Dakota thing! Knowone knows what the heck your talking about!

Gary: How cool would it be for you to sit with old #12 at a playoff game? Smell it first. TR