I’m a newbie whose been learning so much from your TV. Dig the football inferences! I live in SOCAL (No PRO team…USC is it). Go Sanchez & JETS!

That was a half joking response…obviously, it’s easier to keep up with the short ones, but my real answer is to keep mixing it up the way you have been……..which I know is what you’ll do anyway as that’s your DNA. 🙂

Its time to consider bringing back Sir Gary. Maybe on Fridays. Like the ESPN not top 10 on Fridays. This will be the not Jersey GV. More like the pontifical Friday GV. GV from hell.

QOTD: Short is good. Sometimes I can settle in for a 36 minute episode, but certainly not always. 8-12 minutes, and I can almost always make it happen.

QOTD: I like short episodes as it is easy to watch them on a regular working day. Sometimes longer ones are also OK-ish but I have to watch them on the weekend, which I only do in case they are interesting. So I have to quote MarcBelgium: “AVOID BORING GUESTS”

Anyway I am wondering why you use the Burgundy grand cru glass for all wines. I´d rather take the Bordeaux grand cru for many wines you review …?
Take care
Steven

Two wines, ten minutes – ’bout right. Of course, the first time you have a guest it all goes out the window. :-] I’ve had the ’03 Clos les Lunelles (did you mention it’s a Perse wine – same owner as Pavie, etc?) and have also noticed the traits GV mentions – the 2003 vintage can be tricky both in Bordeaux as well as the southern Rhone (St.-Estephe was perhaps the most consistent appellation with its higher percentage of clay soils; less susceptible to drought & vine stress), which also has its share of “cooked” and unbalanced wines. The 2001 Clos les Lunelles (of which I have consumed the better part of a case) is a fantastic Bordeaux and is drinking wonderfully now. It also received a 92-point RP score, but is a totally different animal than the just-average ’03; tons of blackcurrant, cedar, licorice, and black cherries with a long, spicy finish…a true 92+ point wine that I wish I’d purchased more of…especially at around $24 at the time. If you happen to come across well-stored examples of this wine don’t miss it!
Hope the game is close & exciting; in the NFL you never know – I really think either team could win & will undoubtably come down to whoever does not turn the ball over.

As well as tears and depression when it breaks…

Sardine Juice on the merlot…Now yer talkin Bozo!!!

Have you ever hit a 100+mph serve? Run down a ball from all the way across the court and hit a clean winner? Those things take A LOT of strength and expend a ton of energy, and if you’re not grunting when it happens, you may not be human…

I thought Thor was the god of thunder (crappy movie to follow soon!)

Simon was a tough match, but he is one of the few to have a winning record over Fed (the other two being Murray and Nadal). The other top guys are still dangerous, but if Fed picks up his game in the next round, I like his chances to at least get to next weekend.

QOTD; Tight and focused, good back story, call the wines the way they taste. It works.

Regarding filtration, as far as I have heard from winemakers I have talked to and the little research I have done often times filtering is walking a fine line (as winemaking is in general many times). Depending on the size of your filter pads and type of filter, some people believe it strips wine of its “character” or can affect certain aspects (e.g. fruit, tannic structure, “drinkability” etc.). Most wineries filter their wine in some way, weather it be directly before bottling or shortly beforehand. Some individuals also believe that “bottle shock” often has something to do with the fact that wine is taken from barrel, often put in holding tanks and then goes directly to bottle, and this process (including the membrane filter than many bottling lines have on them) does not bode well for the wine in general. Of course all this depends on the winemaker (including all the tradition or style of that individual winemaker or winery), the region and technology used at that particular winery. As always there are very few simple answers regarding the art, alchemy, science and luck of winemaking.

The short, tight shows are not particularly a favorite of mine but when you?re trying to tape some shows in advance because you?ll be away, I?m cool with it. I prefer the spontaneous mind meandering of the less tight shows. As many have said, mix it up, variety is good. Information shows from wineries or vineyards would be great. I liked the long episodes you did from wineries in Bordeaux: 234 and 235. Shows like that from other parts of the world would be good. In addition to talking to owners and masters, talk to some of the grunt workers and have them taste along.

You are a bastion of knowledge. In rotation this week is Kurt Vile “Constant hitmaker” and Quincy Jones “Walking in Space and Bossa Nova.” I might also be getting really into Beach House with their “Teen Dream” album but do not judge me… it is too good to pass up on this time around. I resisted their music like hell (in their previous efforts) but it just feels sooooo right.

How ’bout you? What is spinning on your Music Hall turntable?

One at a time: “Changes in regions’ wines that begin to strip them of their identity.” Hmm. In almost every region there are producers whose wine reflects the ‘modern’ style & the more ‘traditional’ style – in Chateauneuf, for example, you have Clos des Papes, Henri Bonneau, and Beaucastel (traditional). While there are many “fruit-forward, jammy” wines in every appellation on earth, it is because these smart, savy producers know what sells – and for the most part, it ain’t tannic, sour wines. Also, these traits change with winemaker, vintage (2008 produced very few big, jammy wines in CdP), and yes, the ever-changing market. This is all natural and good, without any input from the (many) critics. These small, artisan winemakers still have to survive, ya know. If Robert Parker has done anything, it is to trumpet the natural strengths of these regions; should Australia or Napa fight nature and strive to produce thin, unripe wines that won’t sell? If the average uninformed wine consumer wants the latest 90+ point wine flavor-of-the-month, is it Parkers’ fault or the consumers? If enough people like something, be it wine or candy bars, they try it, stick with it and the “brand” survives. For comment on the shallow nature of the general wine consumer, one need look no farther than “Sideways” or the many who run out to try what Gary liked this week. But people don’t “repeat buy” what they don’t like, and the market will always have the final say. And never before in history has there been so many natural, unmanipulated wines produced as today. Have you ever drunk the vapid, thin, charmless Bordeaux produced in the 1970’s? And on the issue of coverage, Galloni HAS tasted/rated wines from those regions: in issue #190 (less than 6 months ago) he covered Veneto, Alto Adige, Valle d’Aosta, Lombardia, Trentino, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Campania, Puglia, Abruzzo, Molise, Sardinia, and Sicily. True, the size of the coverage was not that huge, but how many of these wines are available in the typical wine shop and (more importantly) when was the last time you heard someone request wine from these areas? Even large publications like Wine Spectator do not have the resources to cover these areas much, if at all.
Sorry so long, nice discussing’ this interesting topic.

Hell, I grunt when I comb my hair…

Wine Spectator SUCKS! ! !

While 2005 was not as bad as 2002 in Montalcino, it was definitely an off year. I’m not that surprised that the Barbi didn’t show that well. I have not had good luck with the few ’05’s I have tried so I have stayed away from them and purchased some ’04’s. I’m waiting for what is supposed to be a spectacular vintage in ’06 which will be released later this year.

While 2005 was not as bad as 2002 in Montalcino, it was definitely an off year. I’m not that surprised that the Barbi didn’t show that well. I have not had good luck with the few ’05’s I have tried so I have stayed away from them and purchased some ’04’s. I’m waiting for what is supposed to be a spectacular vintage in ’06 which will be released later this year.

Thanks for pointing out the WS issue on other Italian regions and again for your candid response. I do try and read WS on occasion and have read this issue, but as you conceded, the level and depth coverage to these areas are neither frequent nor comprehensive. In fact, I would really love to see WS make an effort to release more issues of this kind!

Your response is poignant about the solidarity of the market and I do not disagree that a lot of the changes in wine over the last decade or so are well out of the control of the critics. The market is the very item that has enabled us to access wines from different regions of the world that we never could access before. The market has driven many positive changes in a number of regions which can be touted as a result of such globalization.

I mean not to profess that I believe RP and WS and others have complete and exclusive control over market production or individual taste, just that they do play a very large role in market education and preference in a young and inexperienced wine culture such as ours. Ours is, of course, a rich market w/huge global impact (we will soon see China and India also begin to impact the global wine market). Yet, when we contrast our market and our media influence with Europe, where familiarity, culture, and consumption of wine are far more developed and ingrained, the influence of the critics here can hardly be downplayed. GV raised this issue a few shows back (can’t remember which one). Further, issues such as “brand power” that you raised have more pervasive appeal in the American market. This is because we are, as a whole, uneducated wine consumers and thus far more reliant on experts for recommendations. We aren’t entirely detached from the “brand power” and stigma of RP and WS either. As such, the power of the media and the power of the market are not mutually exclusive as our opposing stands on this issue seem to suggest. The overlap in many ways and influence each other.

While the market or the critics do not influence every region or every winery (as you pointed out), I believe that too much change too quickly can strip a wine of it’s soul. Away from it’s terroir, away from what makes it unique. Every wine has a soul. Wine is unlike beer in that wine is cultured and coaxed, while beer is cooked and created. At the time I was living in Italy, I was fortunate enough to develop relationships with some growers there. Upon seeing some of the changes taking place against the backdrop of thousands of years of wine growing history has put into perspective just how fast things are changing. I’m not an absolutist or an anti-market proponent. I don’t hate Australian shiraz for being bombastic and over-oaked. Young regions like California, Virginia, and Australia must find their way in the market sometimes before they find their soul. But I do believe that in many cases and in many regions where the history, market, and tastes are long-established, wine’s soul is being diluted.

I’ve had the Barbi in years past and it always showed well. This is a disappointment. I like the tight format but brown bag is still my favorite.

WE MUST BE OFF TO THE STEEL CITY.

Good Luck Gary (Not Really, Because the Steelers are going to win) Enjoy Pittsburgh

I would say the mendoza line of wine is 80 points. The Mendoza line is batting .200 in baseball, nothing special at all, just a line you have to get to to even stay in the Major Leagues. 90 points I would equate to hitting .280 with a little power. For every 10 points in batting average or 5 homeruns over 10 add a point to that 90.

Sorry, I am baseball nerd.

getting ready too!