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EP 833 Washington Merlot and Twitter Tasting

Gary wanted to join in on the Twitter tasting for Washington Merlot, going on Thursday March 25th. Grab a bottle of WA State Merlot, use the hashtag #WAMerlot , and start tweeting next Thursday to share your thoughts on these wines!

Wines tasted in this episode:

2008 Charles Smith Velvet Devil MerlotColumbia Valley Merlot
2005 Bergevin Lane MerlotColumbia Valley Merlot
2005 Long Shadows PedestalColumbia Valley Merlot

Links mentioned in todays episode.


Latest Comment:

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luca bercelli

87/100

line of the day – ‘If you ever had rusty nail juice, you’ll know what I’m talking about’

GV seemed a bit bored in this episode; either that or as he said, he was tired

Tags: merlot, red, review, Video, washington state, wine, wines

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  • Bill_Murray

    Fair to point out that Spring Valley Vineyard is Walla Walla I suppose . . .

  • Love some WA merlots as long as they aren't overoaked like the Long Shadows version.

    QOTD: Couldn't really care less, but I'll go with Houston and the massive barrage of threes they throw up.

  • ahhh got ya, i stand corrected….it’s what happens when i drink and watch…..so that is your full time job, now I know~

  • waynoooo daaaaa winoooo

    Aztecs, Aztecs, Aztecs, Aztecs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!

  • QOTD – a little late since the games already have started, but my big upset was Murray State, however my cindarella (wine) to go deep was Marquette and that did not work out well at all.

    Really is nothing like the first couple days of March Madness!!! Enjoy

  • wayno da wino

    qotd: Since Ohio U. beat the 3rd Seed Georgetown already, i'm gonna go wit them…..

  • winemonologues

    Gotta agree on Baylor. . . but watch out for Xavier. . . I am just sayin. . .

  • DCaragher

    GV – I was hoping the Velvet Devil was going to be great! I love Charles Smith…man I just want to hang with that guy!

    QOTD: I am going Murray State!

    FREE WEEZY…go to http://www.mrbrownstoneindustries.com and buy the hottest shirt out there today! Follow us Twitter/MrBrownstoneInd…

  • jsums

    I really like the Merlot coming out of Washington. I think the grape has found a sweet spot there. LI needs to get off their Merlot obsession and start focusing on the Island's real star, Cab Franc. LI rivals Chinon for some of the best Cab Franc terroir in the world. Anyway, QOTD – No idea. Not following it this year. 🙁

  • QOTD: Washington Huskies baby going to make some serious noise

    Best WA Merlot (my home state): Brian Carter Cellars Bordeaux Blend (probably too much other stuff to be termed 'merlot' but it's mostly merlot so good enough in my book 🙂

  • rickbakas

    Thanks for the shout out in your video, GV. Good hanging w/ you in Austin.

  • plcb

    I've enjoyed HOUSE WINE in the past (haven't had a recent vintage) but I've never seen The Velvet Devil. I've had fruit bomb-ish WA merlots from Columbia Crest.

    QOTD: I didn't fill out a bracket (correct lingo?). My husband and younger son are not doing so well in their first round.

  • teckdeck2008

    Wow, I thought the wines would do better…I'm a big fan of Washington State wines for their pricepoint.
    Qotd: I don't get into the whole bracketology thing much, but I'm hoping the Texas Aggies win it; and that would technically be considered a cinderella pick so I'll go with that.

  • Had the Devil a month ago… Really didn't enjoy it either, plenty of good Washington merlot out there though.

  • YoungDave

    QOTD: I'm a bit behind with my WLTV this week, so this is a late prediction, but I think that (in the East) #12 Cornell looks really solid right now, and they have a legit shot at #4 Wisconsin on Sunday.

  • Well I couldn’t disagree more. Gary isn’t the one keeping the sentiment of Sideways alive. Hollywood is just a liiiiiitle bit more influential than Gary Vee. It is a proven statistical fact that Merlot sales plummeted after the release of that movie, and Pinot Noir sales skyrocketed. THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS of people have made their choice of wine based on Sideways, over and over again. For someone like Gary who has clearly been affected by that phenomenon to ignore it would be like ignoring the elephant in the middle of the room.

  • I recently had an AMAZING Washington Merlot. Here's my review on Cork'd: http://corkd.com/wine/view/112976-2008-owen-roe…

    QOTD: I think Murray St. will beat Butler which will give them a shot at a true Cinderella story, but for a more realistic scenario, I'm gonna go with Wisconsin into the Final Four.

  • QOTD: Yet again no idea.

  • As for merlot, I had the 2005 Clos de L'Ortoire recently. It wasn't a WA wine, but it was great, so I had to mention my favorite merlot again.

    As for the picks: don't know, don't care. Whatever…

  • Phil G

    QOTD – have to go with Cornell… Let's Go Red!

  • Lulaskitchen

    Had a bottle of 07 Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley Merlot last week. A fantastic wine from top to bottom… sets the gold standard for good American Merlot.

  • JiminAtlanta

    I have had some good cabs, merlots, and rielings from Washington. I would not have had the guts to pick some of the cinderella teams that have won games in the first two rounds. But that's what makes March Madness fun.

  • Mike in C-town

    Gary, what is up with the nation? Only half the usual posts!
    Is it Merlot? Is it the Thursday tweet event? Yikes.

    QOTD: Was watching this on 3/21, so the first weekend is done. I thought Baylor was going to be a suprise, but they got a 3 seed. The low seeds that you have to be impresssed with are St Marys and Cornell. Kansas falling killed 92% of everyone's brackets.

  • mukl

    Long-time watcher, occasional poster, and I thought I understood where you were coming from when tasting wines. But now I'm not so sure.
    Here's the issue I have with an episode like this: It is unrealistic to compare these three wines. They come from the same area, but they are completely different price points. No kidding the Velvet Devil isn't as good as Pedestal. Duh! There's a 35.00 difference.

    Certainly, there are times when an inexpensive wine can match up to a more expensive wine. But you aren't doing the wine world or consumers any favors comparing these two wines. And if you listen back to this episode, that is exactly what you do.

    You have to remember you're talking to a diverse crowd who purchase at many different price points.

    Given what I said above, here's my QOTD to you: what is the basis, or the general theme to your tasting criteria? Let me clarify. Some people read the Wine Spectator, some people read Wine Enthusiast. Each magazine has their own criteria for rating wine. In the time I've spent at a wine shop, we have to ask people how much they want to spend on wine. Those people who are looking for an every day, easy going red, have come back time and time again for the Velvet Devil. Is it a high scoring wine? No. Is it good for its price point? Yes. Is someone who is used to spending 30.00 on a big merlot going to be disappointed? Yes. Is someone who is used to spending 10.00 on merlot going to be happy? Our repeat customers tell us yes.

    I've spoken with Charles Smith about his wines and he never meant for the Velvet Devil to compete against more expensive wines. Remember, Charles makes 40.00+ wines also. He will tell anyone who asks, the Velvet Devil…and other labels, Charles Smith Cab, Kung Fu Girl Riesling, and others are designed to be great wines for their price point. Not to compete against the big dogs. As a retailer, its frustrating when people make comparisons as you have in this episode. And I'm a little disappointed in your stance on this episode.

    So again, what should people expect to learn from your tastings? And how could you educate people to say, “…at this price point, this is a good wine or a bad wine.”

    Don't get me wrong…this is just a little tough love…I'm still a huge fan. Mike

  • LOve seeing some Merlot on here. I just need to find a domestic one that I like as much as bordeaux.

    QOTD: 1st year ever filling out a bracket, I have been devestated so far :(. If I had to pick a Cindy team this it would have been Louisville.

  • JayZee13

    Nice show, even though the wines seemed to disappoint you a little. I really like the back-to-back Merlot shows.

    QOTD: My Cinderella pick was Cornell – only I didn't really think they would make the Sweet Sixteen. Go Big Red!!!

  • I really like the whites I've had recently from WA

  • If I had to pick, it would be the Jets. It would be illegal, but I think they could pull it off.

  • A dumb Rhein king

    QOTD: No idea, but since Washington is the theme of this show, I choose them.

  • Was hoping Mizzou would be my cinderella but always glad to see the kings of choke kansass go down.

  • Weston3220

    qotd: Washington!

  • QOTD : boo sports. yay nerds.

  • Redmeat1969

    I was hoping when I saw the Tagline “Washington Merlot's” that we would see some god juice….I was surprised that you would run the Velvet Devil with the others as it is not even the same game if you ask me.

    The low end Charles Smith stuff BLOWS away wines in the same price point….on the other end of the spectrum the Pedestal get blown away by others in Washington in it's price point…

    I would have loved to have seen your take on some of our Big Bad Boy Merlot from up here in the WA…..I am not saying that these wines are crap,,,,just that they were not a good representation of the WA Merlots as a whole…

  • John_Kenneth_J

    qotd: I cant remember who won

  • Love seeing some Merlot on here.

  • luca bercelli

    87/100

    line of the day – ‘If you ever had rusty nail juice, you’ll know what I’m talking about’

    GV seemed a bit bored in this episode; either that or as he said, he was tired

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