Comments on The Gray Report: Gallo's new Russian River Valley vineyard: Good, b...

Great article! It's without a doubt the most i...

2012-01-16T09:13:31.377-08:00

Great article! It's without a doubt the most insightful I've read on the whole Gallo / RRV debate! Thanks for taking the time.

Here is an article regarding Gallo's Earthmovi...

2012-01-16T09:03:43.005-08:00

Here is an article regarding Gallo's Earthmoving. A side note, I used to live in the area mentioned, and Gallo also had an illegal water diversion from the Russian River going on into a non permitted and very large storage pond, right above my house.

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/01.22.98/winecountry1-9803.html

Ron: Gallo knows what it's doing in pretty muc...

2012-01-13T10:48:36.952-08:00

Ron: Gallo knows what it's doing in pretty much every aspect of the wine business, which is why it's successful.

Let's face it, many people disagreed with Gallo over this redistricting. But who had the skills to influence the government?

I'll even step outside myself and say Gallo's media strategy shows its savvy. The "no news is the only acceptable

I have been through several tastings with Gallo pe...

2012-01-12T16:22:50.291-08:00

I have been through several tastings with Gallo people and found them to be more hospitable than several other large winery groups. Their gray-hairs are very hospitable, knowledgable. and definitely trying to overturn an old image of plunk wines.

Jay: Normally I agree with you on upscale Gallo wi...

2012-01-11T15:06:17.889-08:00

Jay: Normally I agree with you on upscale Gallo wines. They tend to be very good value at $20-$30, but rarely interesting at prices above that. This Chardonnay had a soul. That said, it was still in that $20-$30 range. So we're still in agreement, which feels nice.

Jim: That's a good point about cattle farming in Sonoma County. Thanks, it hadn't occurred to me, but should

Lee: They weren't actually that lovely. Does r...

2012-01-11T15:01:16.560-08:00

Lee: They weren't actually that lovely. Does raise an interesting question, though. Is there anything philosophically wrong with moving earth to create hillside vineyards? I can't think of anything offhand if it doesn't damage -- damage, not change -- the environment.

Regarding this comment: "I could have easily ...

2012-01-11T14:56:28.209-08:00

Regarding this comment: "I could have easily paid for my buffalo burger by pulling the bills off the wall next to me. This decoration wouldn't last in San Francisco."

Dude!!! You obviously never went to the Gold Spike in North Beach!!

"Johnsen says that it doesn't have the da...

2012-01-10T18:29:46.450-08:00

"Johnsen says that it doesn't have the day-to-day or diurnal temperature variation of the Russian River Valley."

So their vinyard manager himself says there's a significant difference between Two Rocks and other areas of RRV. If your own vineyard manager isn't convinced, how are you going to convice anyone else?

Head a little further down the road and you'll...

2012-01-10T09:33:53.817-08:00

Head a little further down the road and you'll find those Two Rocks, complete with historical marker. It's a major geo reference for the area, on the way to Valley Ford and Marshall, on out to the Coast Guard training school. All the cattle areas on the coast are bone-chilling cold brother. That's why they're so well suited for it, because they aren't good for things that

Gallo obviously has the resources to do whatever i...

2012-01-10T09:11:46.091-08:00

Gallo obviously has the resources to do whatever it wants. What prevents them from making great wine, in my opinion, is their obsessive need for control (as in bulldozing vineyard land). The other side of the paradigm is the Jess Jackson approach in which you hire talent and give them the latitude to push the envelope.
The up-scale Gallo wines are generally good but lack soul. In short,

I'm not 100% sure, but I vaguely recall that c...

2012-01-10T08:46:38.077-08:00

I'm not 100% sure, but I vaguely recall that consistent with normal Gallo farming policy, those lovely rolling hills you mentioned were artificially contoured to be that way.