GrapeRadio – Wine Talk Show

23 Responses to “The Wines of Maison Jadot with Allen Meadows”

1. 1 Mike K Aug 29th, 2006 at 12:23 pm

   This show was sublime — one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever heard about wine. Thank you so much for posting it!

2. 2 GrapeRadio Bunch Aug 29th, 2006 at 2:34 pm

   Mike, I love this show. Of course, I am biased, but for me ,Burgundy is difficult to understand. This show helped me learn a few things. I only wish people have the chance to drink the wines while playing this show. Thanks for your comments, they hit just the right note.

   Jay

3. 3 dan Aug 29th, 2006 at 3:41 pm

   I am a Burgundy geek or a Burgterriorist. I find Burgundies do stand out esp the Grand Crus from the rest of the new world styles from NZ, US, Australia and so forth.

   Burgundies do have a better complex character with a earthy note as compared to fruit. It’s nice to drink, to keep and to present for both dinners and for tasting amongst friends.

   Thanks for the show. Nice one. There’s no wine podcast from where i come from.

   Cheers.
   Dan

4. 4 David Werit Aug 29th, 2006 at 7:22 pm

   OMG! This show was great. I am new to Burgundy and Mr Meadows sure seems to know his stuff.

5. 5 Shelia Macfenir Aug 29th, 2006 at 7:41 pm

   I think this show was the best yet. What has taken you guys so long to discover Burbundy and Mr Meadows? I have followed Mr Parker and to some extent Mr Tanzer, but really have not followed Mr Meadows. I have heard of him of course, but he does not seem to be on the WWW much. I like the way he sounds. Very knowledgeable and sorta likeable.

   Nice job boys. So when do we get another Burgundy show?

6. 6 Frank P Aug 29th, 2006 at 8:43 am

   Fantastic! Why is there not more of this type of information? Lots of detail and also some fun. I know some of these wines are expensive, but I am motivated to go out and buy a few.

   Kudos!

7. 7 Tom Perkins Aug 29th, 2006 at 8:19 am

   I could not agree more with the other comments posted here. Just packed full of great information. My impression of Allen Meadows has changed based on this seminar. I have never heard the man before, but I have read his reviews. You get a better sense of the man on your program. His love for the subject is clear.
   Thanks to GrapeRadio. I will indeed spread the word about, GrapeRadio, Jadot, and Meadows.

   A huge fan
   Tom

8. 8 John Aug 30th, 2006 at 6:11 pm

   The dialogue in this episode is a small and excellent example of what is possible to happen during the true lifelong enjoyment of wine.
   It is poetry, it is music, and it is more.
   It inspires a desperate thirst that can only be quenched ever so slowly and carefully over the rim.
   Welcome to wine. Welcome to wine.
   And it could not possibly have been experienced anywhere else on the planet, at any other time, without the continued efforts and vision of the fine crew at “Grape Radio.”
   Thank you.
   Most sincerely,
   John-Ohio

9. 9 Douglas Trapasso Aug 30th, 2006 at 6:31 pm

   Hello GR! If there is a different place on your website where I should post this, please feel free to move it there.

   My name is Douglas and I live in Chicago and am a huge GR fan! I personally think 30-40 minutes tops per episode is my preference; breaking up the longer topics into multiple shows is better. Don’t you like to save a little of your open bottle of wine to see how it changes the next day? Same idea!

   What I really want to ask about concerns the Frappr map. Are there a lot of GR listeners here in Chicago? I can’t figure out how to zero in on Chicago to see who has registered.

   I would be interested in knowing if any of the Chicago area GR fans would be interested in getting together for a dinner out at a really cool wine bar (or BYOB place where we can all bring our favorite GR approved bottle!)

   If this interests you, please email me off the board. Thank you!

10. 10 Paul Aug 30th, 2006 at 7:29 pm

    I have mixed feelings about this show. On the one hand, I found it quite educational. On the other, I found Louis Jadot and Allen Meadows extremely pretentious and full of themselves. I think it is this display of self-importance that turns a lot of people off to the enjoyment of wine. Sure, they both are very passionate and well-informed about wine, but this sort of self-aggrandizement makes me want to reach for a good ol’ bottle of beer.

11. 11 GrapeRadio Bunch Aug 30th, 2006 at 8:31 pm

    Paul, your comment blows me away.

    I will start off by saying that I am not a close friend of Mr. Meadows, but I have spoken to (and exchanged emails with) him numerous times. I do not come close to your perception. As a matter of fact, in an email I received from him TODAY, he was looking for feedback “because I’m always looking to improve, get suggestions and so forth.”

    While you are entitled to you opinion, I must say IMHO, you are way off base. As to Jacques Lardière, my only comment would be that he had me laughing my ass off during the seminar. He was so full of LIFE! I liked him.

    Lastly, thanks for speaking your mind. Sometimes comments like yours are hard on the ego. However, I would rather someone tell me my fly is open then letting me walk around in ignorance. Thanks.

    Jay

12. 12 Stratton Aug 31st, 2006 at 11:22 am

    RE: Paul’s comment.

    I can appreciate the observation. However, this event, and the conversation stirred within, represents just one slice of the wine world. There are pleny of wines out there designed to appeal to people who could care less about this type of conversation — think “Screw Kappa Napa,” “Big Truck Red,” “Bandit,” etc.

    I might be right with Paul in reaching for a beer over a glass of the Bandit, but I don’t think it’s quite fair to knock off the entire wine species just ’cause you don’t like they way some of them talk about their craft.

13. 13 Brian Crabtree Aug 31st, 2006 at 6:43 pm

    I agree with at least some of Paul’s sentiments. I did learn some things, so the program was a net plus for me,but I remember thinking during the podcast that Allen Meadows seemed to like hearing himself talk. The rambling, seemingly pretentious loquaciousness went beyond focus and interest, in my opinion. He also made a couple of comments that enhanced this perception, including the comment about “if we lose you” at the beginning. My other problems were beyond anyone’s control, probably. I couldn’t understand some of Jacques Lardiere’s material because of his limited English language skills. That’s as much my fault as his. I had trouble hearing some of the questions from the audience and his answers were very long, pressured and rambling. Once again, on balance, somewhat interesting and educational, but way down my list of preferred GR programs. That’s ok. They can’t all be at the top.

14. 14 Tim Meranda Sep 1st, 2006 at 5:32 am

    I am beginning to like the “Seminar” format a lot. I spend long periods of time on the road and it is nice to have something like this to fill the time. Allen Meadows is an excellent speaker and educator. I learned a lot about Burgundy from this podcast due to him. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand a single word Jacques Lardiere spoke. But, i’m sure his enthusiasm in person made it a much better presentation in the flesh.

15. 15 Doug Smith Sep 1st, 2006 at 1:34 pm

    Thanks for the podcast, guys. This one is perhaps a bit long for it, but for shorter seminars, it would be nice if you could stop it at points to give your input on what you think is going on. I guess I just like to hear your voices more!

    

    I found Meadows to be really excellent, very clear and forthright, with a lot of good information on Burgundy, vintages, etc.

    OTOH I thought Jacques Lardière was basically incomprehensible … and I’m not talking about his accent. I just didn’t think his explanations helped me at all to understand Burgundy, and were extremely digressive. Clouds of words without any real sense to them. Again, I didn’t feel that was the language: I understood the words he was using. I just didn’t think he was saying much of anything.

16. 16 Bob Berman Sep 1st, 2006 at 8:26 pm

    Guys:

    Great show. Although Jacques Lardière was difficult to understand, I found Allen Meadows to be clear and full of knowledge. I disagree with some of the earlier posters regarding the detail exhibited during this seminar; it is a wine seminar, after all, presented to a small audience of wine enthusiasts who themselves bring a fair amount of knowledge to the table. It is clearly geared toward an audience with experience not only in wine in general but in Burgundy in particular. I can understand why some people might find it too detailed, but I for one would like MORE shows with this depth. Rather than reaching for a beer, after listening to the program I am anxious for the next great Burgundy vintage to make its presence in the marketplace (2005???).

    Also, I think the format works much better when presented as a whole rather than breaking it up into 30 minute bits. In response to an earlier post, for me a wine rarely tastes as good the next day.

    Thanks. Keep up the fine work.

    Bob

17. 17 Jack Johnson Sep 2nd, 2006 at 12:38 pm

    Thanks much for the past couple of seminar podcasts. Truly enjoyable. Always like to hear Allen Meadows and I litened to the first part of this telecast the second time with a Burgundy Atlas in front.
    Hope you keep up this format. Good luck.

18. 18 John Sep 6th, 2006 at 5:04 pm

    Jay & the crew,

    As for those who either “couldn’t understand” a word Jacques said, or thought his musings were too lofty, I gotta say: Gentlemen, gentlemen, take your time and really “listen” to what he has to say. Really. Should knowledgeable wine professionals from France NOT be invited to an event that people pay good money, and travel great distances for, to listen to someone who comes nearly half-way around the planet, to attempt to convey to them the love and appreciation that he, and others from his country have devoted their lives to? Should we NOT listen to what they have to say. Or should we just say, “they were so danged hard to understand, and they were too uppity… I’ll just go watch my football.”

    C’mon, slow down a little lest you display your “new world” impatience for listening to, and thoroughly enjoying, the musings of those closest to the source. Need you even be reminded of what Burgundy is? Or dare I say, have you ever known?

    Don’t be dissappointed by your own impatience to listen to the show again, or even to simply hit the replay button and replay the few words of the accent that threw you off.

    Learn Burgundy, you will be the better for it. Honestly. Honestly.

    Allen and Jacques are professionals of Burgundian wine, are we? I think not. They have so much more knowledge than can possibly be imparted during a weekend,. You and I would have a hard time trying to wrap our brains around much more than a a few hours, let along a few days, or even more.

    Enjoy what “World of Pinot Noir” has graciously allowed us all to be a part of.

    Turn off the television, and the talk radiio. Go out and buy a good Burgundy and then “re-listen” to these guys. You just might enjoy yourself, (not to mention the wine) a little bit more.

    Thank you GrapeRadio, Allen & Jacques, and thank you WOPN. It was educational on several levels. More please, more.

    John-Ohio

19. 19 Scott Torrence Sep 6th, 2006 at 7:54 pm

    just listened to Meadows/Lardier and now this one…great stuff! Now, if you could just shorten the 3′30″ infomercials. Cheers!

20. 20 GrapeRadio Bunch Sep 6th, 2006 at 7:59 pm

    i must confess that the sponsorship was much longer than normal, but 3 minutes for a 2 hour show is not exactly unreasonable.

21. 21 Paul Sep 29th, 2006 at 1:46 pm

    Wow, you guys made me famous! Never thought my comment would become a topic of discussion on your show.

    In the case of this particular podcast, I think reception is a function of context. One of the reasons why I found Jacques Lardiere (I mistakenly wrote Louis Jadot above) and Allen Meadows pretentious is because I, unlike you, was not a participant of the seminar; I was not physically there to see Lardiere and Meadows in person, which I think has a tremendous effect on how I, as a listener, ended up receiving them.

    Now I have no doubt that both Lardiere and Meadows are extremely down to earth and amiable people. But without the context of actually seeing them in action, as it were, what I am left with is a Frenchman who elevates the drinking of wine to the metaphysical construction of a unique subjectivity, à la Descartes (I drink, therefore I am), and an American whose palate is so refined that he can correctly identify whatever wine is put in front of him (because all you have to do is identify the markers, stupid!). If this is not pretension, then I don’t know is.

    In fairness to both men, they are not conducting a radio show, which is usually directed toward a more generalized audience. Because radio hosts — such as the Grape Radio crew — cannot assume to know their audience, other than the fact that they like wine, they are compelled, I think, to speak in a way that is more accessible to the average wine drinker. Lardiere and Meadows, on the other hand, are conducting a seminar for a very specialized audience. And because the seminar is directed toward self-described wine geeks — more precisely, pinot geeks — who have the will and the means to spend the time and the money (WOPN is not cheap!) to further their already advanced understanding of Burgundy, it is perhaps appropriate for both speakers to tailor their speech and rhetoric toward the small percentage of pinot drinkers who might actually appreciate the philosophical discourse of Lardiere and the connoisseurship of Meadows.

    So this is perhaps where the seminar podcast has its drawbacks. Whereas I immensely enjoyed the panel discussion of the Bien Nacido vineyards and the roundtable on the Santa Rita Hills, I did not care for the long protracted lecture on Maison Louis Jadot. I usually like to listen to your podcasts on my iPod while I am on the go, so I think the long lecture format — one that requires focused listening — kind of defeats the whole idea of a podcast.

    That said, I think you guys are doing a great job!

22. 22 Howard Dec 16th, 2006 at 2:00 pm

    I have been a fan of Allen Meadows since before he started Burghound — on the old AOL wine board. I love his work. This seminar was fantastic. I see you have more interviews scheduled with Allen. Great!!!!

    I would love to see you do more on Burgundy. Another person out there you could interview is Paul Wasserman. Also, Bobby Kacher or Neil Rosenthaul would be great interviews.

    Another new name in wine newsletters who would be fantastic is John Gilman (in NY). He is very interesting and has a very traditional point of view.

    Keep up the good work. Your podcasts make my commuting bearable.

23. 23 Jessica Jun 12th, 2011 at 12:50 am

    Hey guys,
    I know I’m a bit late to comment, but I only discovered Grape Radio a few months ago and this is my favorite show to date.

    I’m not a “pinot fanatic” and definitely not someone who has the financial ability to participate in WOPN. This last year I have been working in vineyards and in wineries, and even with that smidgen of knowledge (and I speak french) I had to stop the show multiple times, replay, or go dig out a map.
    This process might be boring for people who don’t like the challenge of learning, but to the curious mind, this show was sheer pleasure.

    Last of all, the passion and knowledge that was evident here is something to strive for and be proud of, whether it is in wine or art or plumbing. I’m very happy I found it.

    Cheers from Germany
    (I’m on a bike trip through Cote D’Or on vacation next week!)

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