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EP 804 2004 and 2006 Alsatian Riesling Tasting

Gary gets back to the Thunder Saddle after a very disappointing Jets loss. He tastes 2 vintages of Riesling from Alsace, a region that is underrepresented in many wine circles.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2006 Schlumberger Riesling Les Princes AbbesAlsace Riesling
2004 Leon Beyer Riesling Escaillers Alsace Riesling

Links mentioned in todays episode.


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luca bercelli

89/100

line of the day – ‘I reckon one day we’re going to have rock juice, because we want minerality in our bodies’

I actually laughed out loud at 17.21 – let’s face it, Gary is a funny guy

Tags: alsace, France, review, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • DavidSeiler

    Burger and Cream Soda.

  • scottEJ

    Welcome back, G. I won't mention a thing about your Jets and next season. I'm a Cub fan…so, I think you know why.

    QOTD: Not a whole heck of alot Alsatian wines, but, I am a fan. Quite simply, I'll take any G-Wurtz, Riesling, or Pinot Gris they have to offer over most anything from the states.

    QOTD: Whole milk and double chocolate cake. Tea & english biscuits. Good beer and any sport.

  • eastcoastchris

    Tiramisu with some coffee…
    or red beer perfectly paired with a hangover… mmmm

  • JimboJones86

    Wow Gary, I really gotta venture out and try some whites; I can't even remember the last bottle of white I bought. I think I'm gonna have to buy a bottle of Riesling soon.

    QOTD: My answer might be incredibly boring and non original, but I will never, EVER, get tired of good ol' milk and cereal; one of my favorite food/drink pairings. Give me some good old fashioned Land o' Lakes Skim Milk (being from Minnesota and all) and some delicious cranberry granola cereal and I am one happy camper. How about you Gary?

  • darinlatimer

    First, to those who do not understand the agony of the almost for the True Fan – try to commiserate. My sole passionate sports allegience is to the Detroit Pistons – their four season long, Godfather-esque stagger to the titles of 89/90 and 90/91 still call up a spinal echo of intensity and emotion (and makes Adrian Dantley – integral to the titles but gone by the time they won them – a tragic, beloved, personal figure). Their who-saw-that-coming title over the Lakers a few years back kind of corresponds to this overachieving Jets run (minus the happy ending). In other words – screw that 'just grateful to be here' crap…these opportunities occur rarely and one-step-away is no less agonizing because of everyone else's sense of surprise. It hurts and it sucks – that's being a fan (and any out there – if there's no local component to your fanship…it doesn't count).

    That said…favorite non-wine food beverage? Eezy-Peezy. The Milkshake. Here I offer a shout out to Edzo's Burgers in Evanston, IL where I had one of the best burgers and shakes (Chocolate, but I was tempted by the Nutella) I've ever had anywhere and for 10 bucks total. The Milkshake strides across culinary ethnic barriers – great with Mexican, Great with Chinese, Great with BBQ, Pizza, Reubens, Sausage and Peppers – you name it. A little heat, a little consolation – a chubby Yin and Yang.

  • Loved the surprise finish the 2004 Leon Beyer gave you. Classic reaction.

    QOTD – Coke with stale Oreos… long story.

  • rowiebabe

    Ah Gazza, you sounded so depressed, thank goodness you made a mid ep recovery!
    These wines sound intriguing, certainly the second, not so easy to find all this goodgear in Australia, but you have got my attention with this one…
    QOTD; Club soda and marinated goats feta on water crackers…so good! 😛

  • QOTD mini 2: Maybe half a dozen. I too am a HUGE fan of Riesling. More Mosel than Alsace usually, but really love almost all I've ever had.

    QOTD: Tea! Usually iced tea and as much as I love it, I don't really pair it, except maybe with dark chocolate sometimes.

  • Bryce

    Duvel beer with Guta cheese and herb crackers is one of the best food pairings I have had. If you haven't tried it I recommend it.

  • benbron

    Great show Gary, love the riesling, good to have you back.

    qotd: this isn't so much a pairing with food as it is pairing with after the food, but a nice glass of grappa after a filling meal really brings me right back to memories of special occasion dinners with my family and time spent in Italy.
    I feel compelled to mention that not all grappa is the rocket fuel people often worry about. There's a lot of seriously complex and smooth stuff out there. One thing that consistently eludes me however, is how grape varietal affects flavors in grappa. I've seen stuff labeled grapes as different as nebbiolo to prosecco or merlot, and have yet correspond grape to taste.

  • Yikes. I love IPA's, but the Ruination is just a little too much for my palate.

  • Chip Glenn

    i loved watching you transform in the video. i dont recall you ever opening the show like that, but you got out of it pretty quick. do you have any pictures of your nephew?

    but above all that, i think thats a fantastic thing you are doing for haiti.

  • Ya, its a little gnarly, but I got so used to regular IPAs, now I look for the Double IPAs and the extra hoppy IPAs :O Surprisingly for me too, because I used to not drink beer and then went to brown ales and then stronger beers and then my Dad got me hooked on IPAs and now almost nothing is hoppy enough for me 🙂

  • Chip Glenn

    Q1 i like sparkling water with a cuold cut sandwich

  • Grill Factor

    One of my favorite combos: Orange Soda with Portuguese Chilli Chicken!

  • Grill Factor

    I reckon that Springbank is phenomenal. It's one of the best to collect and stow away…Try finding Springbank 21-Year-Old (bottled in the mid 90s)…

  • DPnCali

    Not to be a jerk off or anything, but “Riesling” is misspelled there in the “wines tasted this episode” section on the Leon Beyer listing. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

  • Glad you're back ! Thanks for reviewing Alsace Riesling, it's just about my favorite white. Muscadet, from the Loire, is a close second.

    QOTD: S.Pellegrino on ice with a lime wedge and a shrimp or seafood taco (made from scratch).

  • SourGrapesFC

    It's not a bad place to be trapped, but you definitely need the occasional day trip to Springbank or Balvenie.

  • Great to see you back Gary! 🙂 I feel your pain…as a Seahawk fan, from a few years ago.

    QOTD: Snow Cap beer and Blackened Wild Alaskan Salmon/Garlic Mashed Potatoes

  • Brady_B

    Well every pizza company, heck… every individual store, will make their pizza slightly different than another. I've had some good Imo's and some that wasn't as tasty for one reason or another. I mentioned “St. Louis style” in quotes because that's what I meant, as opposed to any particular brand/location/day/employee that makes it. I would hope that my experience of “Brooklyn style” pizza isn't completely comprised of what Domino's has to offer.

    Really, all I meant by “Saint Louis style” is a super thin and crunchy, yeast-less crust, and provel cheese instead of mozzarella.

  • Lisa from Canada

    Diet Coke nicely chilled direct from the can ( no glass / no ice ) and peperroni pizza are the perfect pairing.

  • It has been tough to get past Sunday's loss. As true Jets fans, we know how rare these opportunities are. Your passion for this team has helped my husband to see that my family is not alone in our craziness in taking this so hard. Thanks for being there and helping to pull us out of our funk.

    QOTD: Nothing beats cold milk and warm brownies

  • SouthernBrewDude

    Hey Gary, been lurking a month of two- first time poster. Your show is frickin' addictive (I'm not even a big wine drinker right now, and I can't help but be horribly fascinated).

    QOTD: IIPA w/ funky-ass blue cheese. Particularly the HopSlam w/ the Cabrales I had tonight.

    Also, middle of the road pale ale w/ a chocolate chip cookie is surprisingly good.

  • Salomon Rodriguez

    Cerveza Indio, viva mexico!

  • Welcome back GV! Sorry 'bout them JETS.

    QOTD: I kinda like Coke and brown sugar Pop Tarts. (that might kill me)

  • SamKw

    QOTD: My favorite pairing is makgeolli & hongeo. This is as authentically Korean as anything can get, and it's highly pungent so if any of you out there travel to Korea any time, I dare you to try it. (In fact, a lot of Korean youngsters in the under-30 crowd don't even know what it is)

    Makgeolli is, I guess you could say, a kind of rice beer. It's milky white, slightly tangy and sweet, with 4-7% ABV typically, so totally different from Japanese sake. Hongeo is a species of skate (looks like a stingray), and eaten raw as a sashimi. But it's special in that it's left to ferment for a few days before consumption, and apparently something in its metabolism means that the fish's flesh produces ammonic compounds instead of rotting, giving the fish a unique flavor. Some people can't stand the stuff, others LOVE it. For me, it's probably one of the most important reasons that I miss Korea. Makgeolli + hongeo + a little kimchi = gold.

  • kathyinahwahnee

    Gary, I was thinking about something you said about just post a comment, Episode 801, and it just struck me that during Episode 800 with Sasha that you said that you would not do a tasting on any wines that you had 10 or more cases of. The problem with this is that many of the wines that you do sample I cannot find at my local wine shop and must order via the internet if I want to try it for myself. Maybe you should consider trying some of these other wines as other establishment are carrying them (as you do) and at the very lest we will be able to get the best of what's available locally. I'm not saying don't bring us other great wines, but help us out a little with these other wines.

  • Phil – Boston

    QOTD: When up all night working my hands down fav is a western omlette with Orangina

    Glad you are back GV, I was really missing my winelibrarytv!

  • Don Simpson

    SQOTD1: Went to high school in Fairfax, VA and we had auto shop, although I never took it because I did woodworking shop class instead.

    SQOTD2: I ENJOY Alsatian wines quite a bit. If I had to guess I'd say probably in the 10-12 bottle range for Alsatian Rieslings.

    QOTD: Inca Kola & Pollo Rico Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING…

  • Don Simpson

    Or if I was in Patagonia, yerba mate and sauteed rainbow trout.

  • jasonmoore1113

    Gary , anyone thats a football fan , feels your pain!! Qotd: my favorite beverage pairing would definitely be 100 degree day on my boat, ice cold corona paired with bikini!!!

  • marcusguiliano

    Rock juice, funny you say that Gary. I'll bring you some Shilajit powder. It's rock sap from India. Talk about minerals. It's loaded with 85 ionic charged minerals.

  • Beeper

    miniQOTD: 0 ever tried, 1 in the cellar
    QOTD: RED BEER & BRATS! AHHH!

  • Don Simpson

    When I was in New Orleans over New Years I really enjoyed the Chargrilled Oysters with an Abita Amber beer. Love the food down there….

  • yacochuya

    Recently read that you are intrigued by Baja Cali wines in Wine Enthusiast. I am a big fan of some of the wines I have tried from Mexico, especial LA Cetto Nebiollo, but also some of Adobe wines. How bout a Mexican wine tasting?????I think it would be interesting, and defnitely would expand your viewers palates. After living in Italy from 2002-5 and then going to a nice restaurant with a buddy in Mexico City in 2007, I almost completely resisted trying the recommended Nebiolo from La Cetto, thinking that there was no way that Mexico could do anything good with this gem from Italy. I was blown away and now have a few bottles in my collection and stunned people at a Piedmonte wine tasting at my house. Later learned that WS also thought it was the best nebiolo outside Italy. Just a thought.

  • cvinall

    QOTD: Miller's gin and tonic with a cucumber slice. Paired with oysters & lemon.

  • Well,
    Diet Pepsi or Snapple. More Snapple now because the soda is not a good for me as the doctor says. I think the best is in the morning when I'm doing the systems check I have peanut butter on toast and the Unsweetened tea Snapple drink helps pass the time through all the server logs.

  • manonthemoon

    Nice show, love alsatian whites. Look on the brightside GV, you can already look forward to pick #29 in April thats all the playoff run got ya. Heart says Nawlans, but head says The greatest Manning will prevail once again.

    QOTD: Hot tea, with nothing

  • carlo10

    LOVE IT DON! i like where your head is at. where do you normally fish?

  • First, “The Jets have a lot to build on…The future is bright…” 😉

    Favorite non-wine beverage:

    1. Pouchong tea
    1a Goat Milk Kefir smoothie with mango, strawberries, banana, and blueberries

  • ahh. forgot the yerba mate. drank 3 today. gotta try that with rainbow trout.

  • QOTD: Apfelschorle (apple juice with sparkling mineral water) and some proper German rye bread, covered in tiny layer of pesto, then fresh cheese and a sprinkling of chives.

  • richarddelisser

    Gary, First time commenting from Jamaica. Visited France about 4 years ago went to the Alsasce region and visited the Marcel Deiss Winery and fell in love with their 2004 Reisling. Bought a bottle and saving it for a special ocassion…maybe my 50th birthday this year Sept 9. Thanks for this episode enjoyed it…sorry about the Jets.
    Richard DeLisser.

  • YES! it is a gamers stand-by booster pack!!!

  • ahillsey

    Alsace in a word for me is ZH. Also, I think you should change “let's give it a whirl” to “let's give it a swishy, swish”. QOTD: I like margaritas and nachos.

  • Don Simpson

    HOW COULD I FORGET THE BEST PAIRING EVER….

    chips & salsa w/ a margarita on the rocks.

  • John Clements

    Hey GV,am I sensing a little whine with your NYJ cheese?? Why such a downer on Peyton's crew?? Are they not the best team?? As a Hoosier born and bred, we are proud of our Colts, man. Don't hate the playas, hate the game. Indy played you guys like a cheap violin. Really, did you think you were gonna come back to Payton's house and win again?? I sure hated to see them throw you guys the bone a couple weeks ago. We shoulda, coulda beat ya twice!!!
    Don't be a soa loosa!! Granted, the SB will be no cake walk for either team. I hope for a finish like we saw with the Vikes/NOS, but with a Colts win, of course. Hey man, all in fun.
    If you were in Virginia Beach for the SB, I'd track you down and drink with ya.

    QOTD – Milk and cookies….Santa can't be wrong.

    GO COLTS, really, GO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!

    JC

  • Anonymous

    I esp. love the charbroiled oysters at Dragos!

  • Don Simpson

    Jamaica, wow! Is it difficult to get wine down there?

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