I had the pleasure of hosting John for a Pinot Noir event and a few days before this show at the A+D gallery in Los Angeles.

Hosting a wine event is a little bit like throwing a dinner party - you are the last one to eat… I didn’t get a chance to spend any time with John or drink any wine. Listening to your show now gives me a much better appreciation for his talent and wisdom. I only wish I could have heard this show before my event, I would have stopped him for his autograph.

Anyways - the book is really a good source of wine information about each brand and an excellent gift for those that want to be in the know.

To the accusations that we are “Pinot-centric”, I would argue that the accuser is being “Grape Variety-centric” in his view of wine. Napa Cabernet Sauvignon will often hardly bear a resemblance to wine from the Médoc, same as Australian Chardonnay vs. Chablis, Central Coast Californian Pinot Noir vs. Chambolle-Musigny, etc.

For quality wines, region will trump grape variety every time. That being said, we can often be a bit “California-centric” in our coverage.

Jay

Since the beginning of the year we have aired 56 shows. Only 14 are about Pinot Noir. That’s 25%.

I encourage you to explore the archives.

But, to your point, it’s interesting to philosophize about the current pricing difference in Pinot and Cab. My own theory is that Cab pricing began to take off with the Opus One venture, circa 1979-80. There had always been an [unfortunate, IMO] effort to create some familial link of Napa Cab-based wines with those of Bordeaux. Finally, Mondavi and Rothschild actually managed to pull it off with Opus One, and their product appeared at the meteoric price (at the time) of $50. (Mondavi himself used to compare/taste his wines with the great Bdx.) This was followed shortly thereafter by the Dominus joint venture, and by the mid-80s, a de-facto linkage existed. IMO, generally higher pricing then kicked in with the appearance of low-production cult wine producers, mailing lists, and the Wine Advocate. All of which was certainly encouraged by the ever increasing Bdx prices, and, in the usual effort to keep up with the “Joneses,” we were off and running.

Pinot producers, OTOH, have actually fought hard to keep themselves separate from Burgundy, and in so doing have not mirrored Burgundian pricing - as yet. The current Pinot pricing, however, is creeping up there, so it remains to be seen how long this pricing disparity between “affordable” Cabs and Pinots will remain.

For my palate, affordable Pinots taste better than their the equivalently-priced Cabs, which for me is tantamount to heresy.

Eric

You also made a very good point about the price point of a good Calif. Pinot being much more affordable then a good Napa cab. Unfortunately this is too true. I really wonder why this is true. Is their a pinot Screaming Eagle lurking somewhere out there?

I did take you up on your recommendations of the Castle Rock Reserve and I have to tell you I agree 100%. This was a very enjoyable bottle of wine for a very fair price. I look forward to trying some of the others you and your guest recommended.

Keep up the good work.

On the La Crema, their Sonoma Coast bottling is less ($16-17 at Costco and Winex) than their other bottlings. And the Castle Rock Reserve Sonoma PN is about $15. In addition, there is a Calera Central Coast bottling, and a few from Oregon like Benton lane and Ponzi - all under $20 from discount wine stores.

Eric

I don’t think I’ve ever seen La Crema for less than $20 here in Ohio, but I did like the one I tried a couple years ago. I’ll have to try one again soon. I haven’t seen a reserve wine from Castle Rock.

I was in the grocery store a couple days ago picking up some bread and milk. The path to those items (and all others) leads through the wine department, of course. I spotted a single bottle of a $9 pinot with the name “Baron Rothschild” prominently displayed on the label. Would he risk his name on a bad wine? The spot on the shelf was empty except for that one last bottle. People must be trying it and liking it, right?

The temptation of finding the grail (a.k.a. a drinkable sub-$20 pinot) proved irresistable, despite my having told a coworker earlier that SAME DAY that I’ve never found one! I still haven’t :-). It was drinkable, but generic red wine that had no detectable pinot character.

I’m looking forward to a couple cases of value selections from Siduri and Boedecker coming soon. I also like Patty Green and Navarro for good values and will doubtless order some from them when the offers come. I’m really limiting the over $30 bottles this year. The one exception I’ll probably make is for Loring, but at a lower quantity than last year. I met him at a local tasting this Summer and spent quite a while talking with him. He was very gracious and approachable, so he gets some bonus points :-).

While I passing out compliments, take some for yourselves. You guys put on a terrific podcast time after time. THANK YOU!

Chris

Eric

Jay

I really appreciate your show and the array of guests you interview. Keep up the good work!