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EP 879 California Pinot Noir Tasting with a Guest – Part 1

Gary Vaynerchuk sits down with Michelle Turnbull from David Family Wines and tastes through these Pinots, including 2 barrel samples.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2007 David Family Pinot Noir Santa Lucia
2009 David Family Pinot Noir Mission

Links mentioned in todays episode.


Latest Comment:

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luca bercelli

87/100

Not my favourite episode. The guest is probably okay but everything she said had a marketing slant behind it (which is fair enough as she’s trying to advertise her wines) and no matter how hard GV tried to keep it real, it came across as a bit of an advert as far as I was concerned

Tags: Pinot Noir, red, review, Video, wine, wines

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  • Michelle Turnbull

    Great news! “VaynerNation” code is up! Thank you IT guys.

    Now on to more important things…
    Am loving the comments, the questions, the good, the bad… (the ones about the hands – well, I'm just not sure I'll ever figure out a good response to that one)

    I'd love to take some time over the next few days to respond if that's ok. If you'd rather not hear from me, that's ok, but frankly, you've drawn me in and what can I say? Now I want to chat.

    I think many of you have made some very good points and brought interesting questions to the table. Just give me a day to get over the fact that AUS is now out of the World Cup – it's no surprise but the reality still hurts a bit – and then, let the discussion-fun begin.

    Cheers

  • sethsethy

    yeah id love some decent affordable pinot noir as well. every $10-15 bottle(what i can usually afford) i try im not loving. ive heard so much positive things about PN, but i dont have much to say about it. maybe its just the sideways hoopla, or maybe just my palate…

  • waynooo daaa wino

    YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Looks like a FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN TWO PARTER iiiiiin daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
    HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • waynooo daaa wino

    CHAT AWAAAAAY, MICHELLE !!!!!!!!! :O)

  • I do understand that growing and making pinot noir is not an easy thing…and the great american pinot is the grail of many a winemaker. Patricia Green Cellars makes some excellent pinots and they have held their pricing pretty low, like the low $20s…but that's still not an every day wine for us.
    Burgundy has a production scale that is built on an eon of work, and there the 'everyman' can enjoy his neighbor's wine. Here, it's hard for a small high quality place to get started, considering the real estate and capitalization costs, and so the pricing can be a function of the overhead. The wine has to be mass produced, probably a lot of mechanization, to deliver the pinot noir to our $8 – $15 price range, often blended to within an inch of its varietal, in order to deliver 'something'…
    And then there is the bandwagon effect, with a lot of overblown pinots here in the US.

    Burgundies in the low price range are a total crapshoot, and it's best to have a recommendation…maybe better off catching a discount ticket and heading to Beaune for a week.
    In the meantime, better off trying inexpensive pinots from places like Chile, and saving our pennies to pick up a nice bottle now and again, and try the pinots from the folks who have been doing it here for 20+ years, and it will probably be worth every drop.

  • thanks, I'm thinking we should start a budget pinot list

  • there is definitely stuff out there to try, and it's kind of fun to grab inexpensive pinot from different producing areas around the world, just to taste for the overlaps and the uniquness..

  • waynooo daaa wino

    Watched the first half of this Ep, GREEEEEEEAAAAAT STUUUUUUFFF !!!!!!! Lookin'
    forward to the Rest of this Two-Parter, Gooood Job, Michelle !!!!!!

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Hi Chadwicktyler.
    I must say, your comment has piqued my curiousity. I understand the comments from others of concern or question over a new producer in this industry but would love to better understand how you think you’re being ‘taken’?

    Cheers

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Jay – I think this is a very fair comment. I like your idea to maintain a post-show guest rating. Talking about the wine and dissecting flavors, aromatics etc while the guests is there is great. That way he and the audience can first learn about their point of view in wine, their vision and what they’re trying to achieve, afterall, not everyone has the same palate when enjoying a glass a wine. So once that is all established, he could really tell it like it is and get down to brass tacks and brutal honestly once guests leave based on what you’ve all just heard from the guest. Perhaps this is the best way to go? Curious to hear more about this from the Vayniacs.

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Cheers to you orangebottle.
    Not everyone prioritizes the same things in life, so it has to be about giving people the option. I’m not forcing anyone to buy my wine at $45, $50 or $70/bottle. But let’s think about this… Comparing a $70 pinot to a $20 pinot is no different to the comparison of Kia to Lexus. Yes, Kia is going to get you from point A to point B, and with this notion in mind, why would you ever spend 2-3 times more on a Lexus which functionally is going to do the exact same thing. Or is it? We all seek and appreciate different things in life. While some may not appreciate all the extra creature comforts in a Lexus, the whole point of Lexus is that it raises the quality, presentation and experience. Just like Pinots, taste in quality, presentation and experience can differ and as a result, so do the price points. The pinots I make are about the latter, offering a richer experience through the quality of wine and package it comes in. I’d be curious to know if I put my wine in a box if people would feel better or worse about it.

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Alright! You're a fun/tough/interesting crowd so I first poured myself a glass of the 2009 Anderson Valley barrel sample and am now ready to dive into the discussion. Will try to answer as many of you as possible.

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Would love to hear your thoughts after you have the chance to taste it (brutal honestly is always welcomed). It's a bold vintage for sure. In fact, most of the critics are calling '07 the vintage of the region (Santa Lucia) for that very reason, it has SO much to offer in terms of flavor. Enjoy!

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Firstly, thank you “patflat6horn”. I appreciate your call to 'give me a chance'. Secondly, if everyone liked just one kind of Pinot, the world would not be nearly as interesting and we'd probably all have the same haircut. So I like the concept of an constant palate evolution you mention. I want to ensure there is variety within the offering of Pinots we produce without compromising on quality. After reading your post and the comments from Lisa and Randall below, the expression “Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet” came to mind. I fully realize I'm new and people are taking a chance by trying a newbie like me, but I strongly believe it's worth your time to try the wine for yourself, especially if you are someone who enjoys the nuance and intricacies of pinot noir. You may very well decide its not fitting to your flavor profile, but I know you will at least be someone who appreciates the quality and structure behind it. And that's why I want to offer a few pinots to choose from. The flavor profiles of Pinot coming out of CA are limitless!

  • Anonymous

    Cheers Michelle, I hear you. I buy silver oaks and they don?t even have leather labels. I just like the wine. I love the leather labels that you can keep so I?ll remember the name and year of the wine. As for the box for your wine, maybe it can be a leather box for gifts only. It?ll be more money but it?s worth it as a gift. It?s the total presentation. I came across a presentation from Spinneybeck on a project.
    http://www.spinneybeck.com/products/ProductList.aspx
    I was amazed the things you can do with leathers. Congratulations on your Silver Medal for your 06 Pinot.

  • Joe L

    Michelle,
    I've tried to order the 2007 but i get an error code when checking out.

  • Joe L

    Michelle,
    When I tried to purchase 2 bottles of the 2007 with the code it was accepted but i couldn't finalize the payment. I then tried without the code and got to the payment page.

  • Pat__B

    Would like to see Maslow's Wine Hierarchy of Needs.

  • waynooo daaa wino

    LOOOOOOOOVVVED this Episode !!!!!!! The David Family Pinots are definitely on my
    Radar-Screen, Looking forward to trying Them !!!!!!! Now to Part Two…….

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Sorry about that Joe – email me directly and we'll take care of it. Michelle@davidfamily.com

    cheers

  • Joe L

    Michelle, the code is working now, thanks. I bought 2 bottles.

  • plcb

    Pricey wines that I can't get my hands on in PA….let's move on….part 2

  • Grammercy

    very entertaining ep. good chemistry w/ the guest and I'd say why stop w/ the leather label? Different bottles, boxes, make it look special! I dont get why there so much hate they had a good back and forth and its not like she was clueless about wine

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Futures are up. And VaynerNation code is working (sorry it had a few early hiccups).
    Let me know if I can help with anything.

    Wine Futures Prices:

    2009 Monterey County is $50 (will be $70 when released)
    2009 Anderson Valley is $70 (will be $90 when released)

  • nitaT

    very interesting. good show.

  • Michelle Turnbull

    Impressed! you got the spelling of Cornubia down. Sorry about the USA vs Ghana match. Some tough breaks.

  • Not to me Michelle I’m from Sweden, I don’t cheer for soccer at all 🙂 If your wine ever is imported to Sweden (state monopoly) let me know, I’ll buy a bottle or to and review them on corkd.com.

  • DCaragher

    GV – Another great two parter! Wine seems interesting…love the labels! Bring on part II!

  • Bill flock

    Burt Williams is not with Williams Selyem any more his ranch is Morning Dew and he has no relations with W.S. also only sells grapes to a select few wineries not including David Family.
    Very nice lady but dropped a couple false vineyard sources.

  • Mike in C-town

    Interesting marketing concepts but almost lost me a couple of times with all the marketing blather…part 2 looks scary becuae there is only one wine to review….

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  • Tjgrace

    This episode is very disingenuous. Gary, as if you are going to bad mouth her wine right in front of her? Obviously, as you noted she is about MARKETING hence the “Habitat for Humanity” tie in. Hand imprinted and applied “Spansih Leather” labels…BIG DEAL. That gamey, meaty Pinot style is everywhere at a considerable lesser price point. To claim it is a “premium wine with a more approachable” price point that is “NOT overpowering”. HA! She is a beautiful woman and I can imagine many wine buyers would buy from her. But her wine needs to speak for itself when she is not aaround to “sell” it. Nothing about the description made me want to buy this wine. So I guess YOU were not disengenuous and I was able to read between the lines as you graciously manuevered through that tasting.

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  • luca bercelli

    87/100

    Not my favourite episode. The guest is probably okay but everything she said had a marketing slant behind it (which is fair enough as she’s trying to advertise her wines) and no matter how hard GV tried to keep it real, it came across as a bit of an advert as far as I was concerned

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