GV & Michael – Such a great show…Michael, the way you talk about wine, is quite inspiring. And as a wine lover, it’s great to see people even more pumped about the grape than you are, just so you have something to strive for with personal interests!

QOTD: I think it’s a good thing for the som to taste the wine. Who better to give you a sneek peak into what your about to imbibe! I am all for it!

To Michael’s question, I have absolutely no problem with the sommelier tasting the wine. But, I would like him (or HER as Gary rightly pointed out!) to taste it in front of me. I want to hear what they think of the wine, what flavours/aromas/nuances they are picking up. I also think they should open the wine at my table. I like it when a good sommelier spends time at the table. They usually add to the evening with some enthusiastic wine conversation. BTW, Michael comes across as a consumate gentleman with some terrific insight into wine. His pronunciation of French is also spot on! (Chassagne Montrachet is one of the most mangled French phrases spoken in English – his was perfect.)

Great and inspiring show, thanks both of you. Would love to dine at Boulud, but NYC is not around the corner for me 🙁

QOTD: By all means taste it, but don’t drink too much 😉

Mr. Madrigale, you were fantastic! Gary, you led part of the conversation as a rapid fire style interview, and you both were running at high performance levels! 35 minutes can get to be much for some of our lesser einvolved viewers, but I found this exciting, all the way through. Very nice selections, but then again, your establishment is among the top of the wine game in town, and I love the large format picks, and am always, with one eye out for such things on lists, and in retail.
Qotd – I would not be averse to a good somm sampling the wine, particularly higher pedigreed, or priced wines of noble provenance. More modern, culty style (Newer World) ‘names’ might not require such a quality check – their flaws, the typical manufacturing infections, are pretty basic to detect. But well AGED Burgs, Bordeaux or refined, (esp.) European wines of more noble regions might like to be inspected for proper development, profile, and lack of faults.

Such a rad show! Super nerd style, I love it!

QOTD: 14 months ago when I first got into wine, I would have most likely been put off by my sommelier tasted the wine, but you soon realize how complicated the world of wine is. Now days it would make me feel good to see the sommelier tasting what I chose, especially if was a pricy bottle. I would get the sensation that that sommelier stood behind the wines they purchase, cellar and serve.

Love the show.

Great passion today. Love Michael’s story. I think if the Sommelier tastes the wine he or she is taking the final step in making sure the quality is right. I work in a restaurant in Toronto, called the Southside and I serve some nice wines and feel that if after seeing the wine as it pours and getting a bit of a sniff, if I tasted it I would resolve any question in the mind of the guest that the wine is at a great state of quality. The guest is King or Queen. Making sure their experience is 100% perfect makes sense to me.

QOTD: I think that it’s necessary, I think that if you have a sommelier they need to make sure that they can sell you their product with confidence. I’m sure there are those out there that disagree with me but it’s probably because they don’t understand the fickle nature of wine and the business side of being a sommelier. It’s important to be able to put your stamp of approval on the wine you’re serving as a somm.

FIRST: GARY, I am deeply saddened by the Jets.

Second: Great episode–please have more with friendly and passionate sommeliers like Michael.

Third: QOTD: I am not offended, but I am fine tasting the wine myself.

Fantastic show and I plan to be in NYC soon. I’ve wanted to eat at one of Daniel’s restaurants for a while. This show has helped me determine which restaurant in which I will be having dinner.

QOTD… I have no problem at all with the sommelier tasting my wine. If I trust him/her enough to ask for an opinion or recommendation for selecting a wine, I should trust enough for an honest opinion on the quality. To me it says that a poor quality or corked wine will never land in my glass or ever taint my opinion of the cellar at the establishment.