QotD – L'Aventure Marsanne/Rousanne/Viognier. One of my favorite whites of all time.
Also, Hugel Gewurztraminer with Thai, Chinese, Indian…spicy.

I'd say that the food was a nice addition if you actually paid any attention to the food. I have seen a number of shows with chocolate, cheese, Thai, etc, where the food was little more than a prop. In fact, the only food I can remember that actually got its time in the sun was breakfast cereal. Go figure.

2008 Navarro Gewurztraminer – dry. Very expressive and flamboyant nose. This follows through on the palate. Great acidity. Long finish. I'm sure Gary would score it in the 90's. What, a Gewurztraminer in the 90's???? This is a versatile wine that will go with a lot of things, including Thai.

my favorite white wine (for a couple of years now) is the 2007 Seresin Reserve Sauvignon Blanc- not available any more- luckily we bought a few cases a couple of years ago. more recent vintages are good- but do not compare in my book.

heyo! kinda lazy episode. did you even taste the food?

anyway…

QOTD: haven't had anything to write home about.

Hey Gary, I've noticed that you're referring to “mochi” a lot in recent episodes, which I find interesting. Mochi is a Japanese rice paste that is often molded into shapes, and I believe is nearly flavorless/scentless (like white rice). I think you mentioned mochi ice cream, which is typically a pocket made from mochi that is filled with a flavored ice cream. I wonder if the flavor you are referring to is the flavor of the ice cream filling the mochi ball and not the mochi itself. Unless I'm totally left field, and there's something else out there called “mochi” that I don't know about.

QOTD: I have had a nice macabeo from spain recently, and an interesting vinho verde.

Old School is great and highly educational, but let your passion be your guide.

QOTD: Heidrun Meadery Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Sparkling Mead NV: Dry with an nutty oiliness similar to a Semillion, nice notes of yeastiness with a little fruit and honey on the finish. Extremely food-friendly and a wonderful change of pace from traditional Champagne for weddings and/or everyday dinner parties.
All of Gordon Hull's products are delicious and each new one is better than the last.

Past 45 days??? Oooo, I haven't really drank a lot of wines lately (was concentrating on beers). Um…I'd have to say the Chateau St. Michelle Gewürztraminer. It was so sweet, it tasted like a dessert wine to me, even though I usually lean towards more of an acidic and mineral-y wine. That's not saying much though since I've only tasted around 3 different white wines in the past 45 days.

Thanks, btw, for doing a show on Thai food and white wine pairings! I dunno if you've already talked about this (I'm guessing probably), but what do you consider a good rule-of-thumb from your personal experiences with pairing wine with Asian cuisine that has so many different types of flavors? I'm thinking Korean food with its many side dishes or Chinese food as well.

Nice show. There are some amazing Gruner Veltliners out there and boy do the single vineyard stuff age well. Of course they are not that cheap but then again they often easily hold their own against stuff like 1er cru Chablis, Alsace Grand cru etc that is priced similarly.

QOTD: Haven't had too many good whites recently but one that I found very good especially for its price was Pieropan Soave Classico.

Great Question!

Last Saturday my good friends got married, and after the rehearsal dinner I opened a bottle of DeLille Cellars 2003 Chaleur Estate Semillion Blend. I have been saving this wine since 2005 and it was a pleasure to open it in such great company.

The complexity and depth to this wine easily rivaled any red I have ever had. It was amazing, layers of wheat husk, petrol, tangerine, grass, rock, and rust enveloped the palate. A great experience!

Kung Fu Girl Riesling: Crisp clean and applicious.

qotd a Chasselas from Switzerland

I thought I was going out on a limb earlier by mentioning Vinho Verde, but it seems to be on everybody's lips, so to speak…

Gary – I think you keep using the word “mochi” when you mean “lychee”. Mochi is sweet, neutral, gelatinous rice paste. Lychee are sweet fruits with a pear/grape/melon/floral-like flavor.

QOTD – Getting here kinda late… I had a Terlato 2006 Chardonnay (Russian River? not sure) a couple of weekends ago in the woods. Very good stuff, especially with grapes at 4am.

Love the more back to basics shows! I've been disappointed with the Gruners I've had but have a Brundlmeyer waiting to hopefully show me something new! Huge long-time fan of Gewurz, though never had one from the Alto Adige.

As for the QOTD, hmmm. In the last 45 days I've tried a number of top-end Didier Dagueneau wines (06 & 07 Silex, 04 Buisson Renard) but none of them really did a whole lot for me, very disappointing. Top 3 would have to go to, in no particular order:
2007 Chateau Carbonnieux – love white Bordeaux when done properly, this is a great example.
2007 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Mule Blanche – my first good white Rhone, yum yum yum.
2002 J. M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Champ-Canet (my white Burg epiphany wine)

GV…late on this but wanted to say the Soave you recommended about a month or so ago on WL has been great over the month.

QOTD: Grenache Gris (DOUBLE G). Oustal Blanc, Naick White. It's so good. Neighbor of mine in the Languedoc (Minervois La Liviniere). I believe you used to sell his wine at the library. Although I don't know that I'd pair it with spicy thai food.

QOTD: The only white I've had in the past 45 days was just the other day, a Fetzer Gewurztraminer. I think it was '08. It was grocery store wine to go with grocery store sushi. Actually, for an $8 bottle of Gewurtz, it was pretty decent. It wasn't as sweet as I thought it might be, and it had some nice sour-apple/peach flavors and even some minerality. The acid was a little on the low side, though, and it was slightly thinner than other Gewurtztraminers that I've had (just slightly). All in all–for $8, I can't complain. And it was my gf's first bottle of Gewurtz, so that has to count for something.

As for your question about the show: I like “back to basics,” but occasional guests are nice just to mix things up a bit. The problem with guests is that they're basically a wild card. When it's GV flying solo, you know the show's going to be solid (even if the wines suck). When it's GV plus guest … well, the guest adds that element of variability. Guests are like oak. In moderation, they add a little flavor to the show and keep things interesting. But too many just begins to take away from the main attraction. So–just steer clear of the “guest monster.” 😉

Quintessential GV & Mott love it.
QOTD: Stuhlmuller Chard. 2004 It was great.

GV – Great show, I love the Gruner!

QOTD: My recent most favorite white was the X White from the X Winery!

QOTD. Now that I think about it better, while visiting Bordeaux we had some AWESOME '07 Domaine du Chevalier Blanc that was OFF THE CHARTS! But it was only a tasting at the winery. If we can include sweet whites the '06 Suduiraut and '05 Reiussec weren't too shabby!

Severin of Washington State 2009 Viognier, Close to the Hedges Whites oh oh oh and the Buty Semillion pretty sexy

I like the wine and food parings gary. The best for me are blind tastings. But back to basics is just as good.

QOTD: It was an orveito from a Itallian restaurant we always go to in Asheville NC. I really enjoyed it.

Jason

QOTD: “G” for Girardin…

2005 Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets (France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru) 5/3/2010 AMM3RD 93
93+? Pts. This wine is still young, but has a certain deliciousness about it. Lovely golden blond color, nose of citrus fruit, somewhat muted as it was served at cellar temp. Nice lemon custard notes giving way to a mild nutty flavor, Brazil nut? Soft buttery flavor, but nothing like you see in Napa. This butter adds texture and depth. Slightly modern syle, but this is slightly young, with fruit, acidity, balance, depth and persistence. Great match with Grilled Marinated Local Tuna steaks. Give this a year or two, then drink over 5-10 years…AMM (156 views)

Have not tried either and from the faces Gary was making a big pazz http://www.winelx.com