polarbear22 wrote:You will be glad that you did. Of course, if you never tasted it, you wouldn't know what you missed.

If I didn't get this, then I would regret it I am sure!! That is what normally happens, I don't buy, then everyone is telling me what yummy stuff I have missed!!

Hmmmm...Rats or shills??

mschauber: A bottle of this lovely Viognier magically appeared right next to my sushi dinner tonight.

rjquillin: This Stillman 2012 Chateau d'Abalone fits right in there and I'm going to find some space for these next to those 2011's.

MarkDaSpark:
The magic Wine Fairy dropped off a bottle yesterday of this magic elixir. It tasted very nice yesterday and even better tonight.

klezman: So it turns out that I had a bottle of this on my desk at work today.

polarbear22: I happened to get my hands on a bottle of Stillman Brown’s latest creation – a Viognier from Paso Robles.

George pencilel made me go for a second.

I fell for the sales pitch(s). Or as some alude to, the shills.

kaolis wrote:Hmmmm...Rats or shills??

mschauber: A bottle of this lovely Viognier magically appeared right next to my sushi dinner tonight.

rjquillin: This Stillman 2012 Chateau d'Abalone fits right in there and I'm going to find some space for these next to those 2011's.

MarkDaSpark:
The magic Wine Fairy dropped off a bottle yesterday of this magic elixir. It tasted very nice yesterday and even better tonight.

klezman: So it turns out that I had a bottle of this on my desk at work today.

polarbear22: I happened to get my hands on a bottle of Stillman Brown’s latest creation – a Viognier from Paso Robles.

What's your issue with some reviews on current offer wines from well known community members? I guess you can't please everyone.

cortot20 wrote:What's your issue with some reviews on current offer wines from well known community members? I guess you can't please everyone.

No issue, just an observation.

Cheers!

kaolis wrote:Hmmmm...Rats or shills??

mschauber: A bottle of this lovely Viognier magically appeared right next to my sushi dinner tonight.

rjquillin: This Stillman 2012 Chateau d'Abalone fits right in there and I'm going to find some space for these next to those 2011's.

MarkDaSpark:
The magic Wine Fairy dropped off a bottle yesterday of this magic elixir. It tasted very nice yesterday and even better tonight.

klezman: So it turns out that I had a bottle of this on my desk at work today.

polarbear22: I happened to get my hands on a bottle of Stillman Brown’s latest creation – a Viognier from Paso Robles.

Jealous? I didn't pick these people to get rats, WW did. (I've met one of them, once) and WW knows if they've rated/tasted wines before. Also, I guess, if they are on these chat boards a lot and have a lot of 'quality posts' then maybe their opinions are worth more than mine, since I made the swill and might be presumed to have a conflict of interest.
Hey, are you a friend of Robert Parker?

ThunderThighs wrote:Definitely not shill.

Many wine wooters have met our vintners through various community activities. Stillman and other wineries will sometimes send out bottles of new wines to our active community members so they can share their tasting notes with others. We are very lucky to have such great participation from the wineries.

I guess in a way I "sent" them, having provided the wine but not selecting the recipients, compared to sending 6 bottles to a wine competition or buying an ad in a magazine, this is nothing - like sending clever wine bloggers a sample once in a while. Kinda like sucking up to a big magazine critic, only not at all.

kaolis wrote:Hmmmm...Rats or shills??

rjquillin: This Stillman 2012 Chateau d'Abalone fits right in there and I'm going to find some space for these next to those 2011's.

My last "shill rat". So you tell me.

Big thanks for your participation Stillman, and for providing samples for WW users. I was a little hesitant to hit the ridiculously large button despite your wines normally having "autobuy" status.

Seemed a little pricey for a white (or at least, for a woot deal on a white) and I already have a relatively high number of Viogniers in my cellar but the detailed reviews and your explanations of how you made the wine and there being such a low yield from the vineyard convinced me.

Sounds like some highly concentrated grapes were used and I look forward to seeing how that translates to the palate. I love the fact that you let the wine decide what it wanted to be without over-manipulating it to hit some target "numbers".

rjquillin wrote:My last "shill rat". So you tell me.

rjquillin wrote:My last "shill rat". So you tell me.

so, if I'd dosed the Vio with brett, I would have gotten a 97?

stillmanbrown wrote:so, if I'd dosed the Vio with brett, I would have gotten a 97?

Does that even work in a white?
Like you said earlier, it's too quiet around here. And hey, meeting as FB friends don't count!?

stillmanbrown wrote:so, if I'd dosed the Vio with brett, I would have gotten a 97?

at least...or a real steely dan (no, not the kite surfer)

chipgreen wrote:Big thanks for your participation Stillman, and for providing samples for WW users. I was a little hesitant to hit the ridiculously large button despite your wines normally having "autobuy" status.

Seemed a little pricey for a white (or at least, for a woot deal on a white) and I already have a relatively high number of Viogniers in my cellar but the detailed reviews and your explanations of how you made the wine and there being such a low yield from the vineyard convinced me.

Sounds like some highly concentrated grapes were used and I look forward to seeing how that translates to the palate. I love the fact that you let the wine decide what it wanted to be without over-manipulating it to hit some target "numbers".

Thanks for trying it! - and for still being a Viognier fan - I certainly drink it more often than I make it. Shoot me an email when you try it, if you get the chance. (My email address is on the bottle, right next to the picture of Cthulhu in invisible, glow in the dark ink.)
Hey, that's not a bad idea.

rjquillin wrote:Does that even work in a white?
Like you said earlier, it's too quiet around here. And hey, meeting as FB friends don't count!?

Yep, band-aidy.
I am another person on FB, thoughI have met MarkdaSpark in person, and there was a real Zeppelin presence at that. I will be at D&D (Petite Sirah madness in Alameda coming up soon) though I may just hide behind the Rosenblums and pick Kent's pocket.

ThunderThighs wrote:Actually, I think the wineries are damn brave to send wine to you guys. If you don't like it, you'll give a very honest opinion while still trying to be respectful.

I'm brave as batshit lying in bed behind my laptop.

stillmanbrown wrote:Thanks for trying it! - and for still being a Viognier fan - I certainly drink it more often than I make it. Shoot me an email when you try it, if you get the chance. (My email address is on the bottle, right next to the picture of Cthulhu in invisible, glow in the dark ink.)
Hey, that's not a bad idea.

I'll drink just about anything but Rieslings are probably my favorite whites and Viogniers remind me of Rieslings if they aren't too flabby. I love the viscosity that gives both varietals that great mouthfeel.

Flashing back for a sec... now that you have made a Verdejo, any chance you might consider an Albarino or Torrontes in the future?

stillmanbrown wrote:Yep, band-aidy.
I am another person on FB, thoughI have met MarkdaSpark in person, and there was a real Zeppelin presence at that. I will be at D&D (Petite Sirah madness in Alameda coming up soon) though I may just hide behind the Rosenblums and pick Kent's pocket.

Perhaps we'll meet up there then, I'm hitching a ride with Sparky.

chipgreen wrote:I'll drink just about anything but Rieslings are probably my favorite whites and Viogniers remind me of Rieslings if they aren't too flabby. I love the viscosity that gives both varietals that great mouthfeel.

Flashing back for a sec... now that you have made a Verdejo, any chance you might consider an Albarino or Torrontes in the future?

I'm not going to say no, but I don't know that I'd encourage the Salty Spitoon (one of my pet growers) to plant it for me. Then again, since you mentioned it, I should mention it to him. But it may be too warm there for Torrontes (Argie Mission/Muscat)

rjquillin wrote:Perhaps we'll meet up there then, I'm hitching a ride with Sparky.

You guys going to need one of these for the ride home?

stillmanbrown wrote:I'm not going to say no, but I don't know that I'd encourage the Salty Spitoon (one of my pet growers) to plant it for me. Then again, since you mentioned it, I should mention it to him. But it may be too warm there for Torrontes (Argie Mission/Muscat)

Sweet! I mean... Salty!

chipgreen wrote:You guys going to need one of these for the ride home?

I do recall a nice PS vertical from them.

rjquillin wrote:I do recall a nice PS vertical from them.

...and a train car, but not that one

Ha!

First Sucker:rjquillin
Last Wooter to Woot:rjquillin

Thanks Stillman.

stillmanbrown wrote:I guess in a way I "sent" them, having provided the wine but not selecting the recipients, compared to sending 6 bottles to a wine competition or buying an ad in a magazine, this is nothing - like sending clever wine bloggers a sample once in a while. Kinda like sucking up to a big magazine critic, only not at all.

Well we appreciate the faith you and a few other vintners have in this community. You know, for better or worse, that you're going to get very honest tasting notes from us. I can't imagine a better term than 'labrat,' official or not.

I for one would not have placed an order had it not been for yours and WCC's generosity. And I'm sure with so many positive reviews, it was quite helpful given the kind of high price per bottle for a woot deal.

Looking forward to more offers from you're collection.

stillmanbrown wrote:Jealous? I didn't pick these people to get rats, WW did. (I've met one of them, once) and WW knows if they've rated/tasted wines before. Also, I guess, if they are on these chat boards a lot and have a lot of 'quality posts' then maybe their opinions are worth more than mine, since I made the swill and might be presumed to have a conflict of interest.
Hey, are you a friend of Robert Parker?

Thanks to all for the responses. Seems like there is an underground rat program going on which I was not aware of. It was a serious question though. I see a popular Woot winemaker. I see Woot users who are very active in the community. I see them all use terms that the bottle magically appeared or some variation thereof. I see all glowing reviews. I think maybe you can see why I asked.

So jealous? Not at all. And who is this Robert Parker of which ye speak? ;)

kaolis wrote:Thanks to all for the responses. Seems like there is an underground rat program going on which I was not aware of. It was a serious question though. I see a popular Woot winemaker. I see Woot users who are very active in the community. I see them all use terms that the bottle magically appeared or some variation thereof. I see all glowing reviews. I think maybe you can see why I asked.

So jealous? Not at all. And who is this Robert Parker of which ye speak? ;)

If I didn't like it, I would have made that clear. My review was on the glowing side. Two days later, I still have positive memories of tasting the wine. I look forward to having it again. So it was not just a "free wine" glow.

kaolis wrote:Thanks to all for the responses. Seems like there is an underground rat program going on which I was not aware of. It was a serious question though. I see a popular Woot winemaker. I see Woot users who are very active in the community. I see them all use terms that the bottle magically appeared or some variation thereof. I see all glowing reviews. I think maybe you can see why I asked.

So jealous? Not at all. And who is this Robert Parker of which ye speak? ;)

You only articulated what some of us were wondering about. I suppose you could compare it to the Amazon Vine program. I did purchase Stillman's Petit Sirah and Pink Zeppelin (enjoyed immensely) but passed on this one since it was a little above my price point for whites. I appreciated your post and I also don't attribute any nefarious intent on the part of Woot or Stillman.

sphervey wrote:You only articulated what some of us were wondering about. I suppose you could compare it to the Amazon Vine program. I did purchase Stillman's Petit Sirah and Pink Zeppelin (enjoyed immensely) but passed on this one since it was a little above my price point for whites. I appreciated your post and I also don't attribute any nefarious intent on the part of Woot or Stillman.

I'm capable of nefarious intent, but not execution . . .

stillmanbrown wrote:I'm capable of nefarious intent, but not execution . . .

Good to know, the no execution point that is...make many a trip to Cali. wine country from the Great Midwest here, but never in your neck of the woods. May be that way in September, looks like a fun stop...assuming we get out alive!

kaolis wrote:Good to know, the no execution point that is...make many a trip to Cali. wine country from the Great Midwest here, but never in your neck of the woods. May be that way in September, looks like a fun stop...assuming we get out alive!

September? Why not the first week of October? (nefarious intent hidden, for now)

stillmanbrown wrote:September? Why not the first week of October? (nefarious intent hidden, for now)

It sounds like you will be held captive in a tasting room and forced to drink lots of delicious swill. I envy you!

stillmanbrown wrote:September? Why not the first week of October? (nefarious intent hidden, for now)

hmmmm..... not only nefarious, but ominous as well....