Wine Book Reviews
101 Wines - Gary Vaynerchuk
I have to start this review off with a confession; I used to hate Gary Vaynerchuk. In one of my daily morning journeys through all that is wine online, I stumbled across Gary's website Wine Library which consisted of Gary in his parents wine shop recording a Podcast that seemed to be dedicated just as much to the NY Jets as to wine. It wasn't what Gary was saying, it was how Gary was saying it. Gary was yelling the whole Podcast at speeds that were definitely not contusive to the pain my brain was reeling in from the previous nights wine. I quickly turned off Gary and swore never to listen to Wine Library again. A few months later while reading industry news, I came across an interview a reporter had done with Gary. The piece was a simple question and answer. What was interesting is when you read Gary's opinions and don't actually have to listen to his voice he is not completely annoying. He had some very worthwhile and provocative opinions on wine and the direction in which the industry was moving.
101 Wines is dedicated to the 101 wines Gary is reviewing for 2008. I think it should be said one of the things I get from reading the book is that Gary is honest as they come when talking about wine. Never once do you get that feeling Gary is working for anyone but himself and his readers. He calls it as he sees it and most of the time its on point. The book has a large spectrum of New World and Old World wines as well as grape varieties you have heard of and some you haven't. The Price ranges run from 10 to $200 a bottle (multiply that by 100% B.C. tax).
If you grew up as a kid in the 80's and 90's, you might appreciate Gary's wine descriptors: Fruit Roll Ups, Sour Patch Kids, Sweetarts, Upper Deck Baseball Cards, Darth Vader, Big League chew. What I like about Gary's book is he doesn't hide his dislike for certain wine styles. I also don't like the Oak Monster when he overpowers everything in his sights. Each page gives some informative information about the region or grape variety used, the amount of cases produced or imported (into the U.S.), and the winery's website. One thing you should be aware of is the B.C. availability of the wines in the book. I could only find 5 of the 101 wines on the B.C. liquor stores website, only 2 of the wines were of the same vintage listed in Gary's book.