Gary Vaynerchuck's 500th Episode

WinoTrippers attend the taping of the 500th episode of WineLibraryTV in San Francisco

Posted by Rich

Gary Vaynerchuck 500th episode

Love him or hate him, every wine lover from total beginner, to aspiring connoisseur, to outright expert, should at least check out Gary Vaynerchuck's daily wine video blog WineLibrary TV. His irreverent delivery is sometimes more than people can handle, but it's also what people love about him, and what connects him with the "everyman". He takes the snobbery out of wine tasting and preaches a "go-with-your-gut" philosophy.

I got turned on to Gary Vaynerchuck's show about a year ago by a Bonny Doon tasting room host who demanded I check it out. I was hooked. You can imagine that I was pretty pumped when I heard Gary was taping his 500th episode live at Crushpad here in San Francisco.

Hundreds of people RSVP's for the free event, the only requirement being that you bring a bottle of wine and/or some food to share. Crushpad had a great setup in their warehouse space in the up and coming "Dogpatch" neighborhood of SF. The big, main space had many tables set up, some with red wines, some with whites, and others with food. Of course, some people wanted to impress with the wine they brought, so it was a great opportunity to get a taste of some great wines. Among others, we tasted a awesome 1999 Stag's Leap Merlot and a Chateau Neuf de Paup of some kind, (sorry... got caught in the moment and didn't write it down!!).

The smaller room had tables set up with reps from about 10 local wineries pouring free tastings. We were overjoyed to find Edmund St. James winery present, who make one of our favorite wines, Rocks and Gravel. We met a great wine maker from Twisted Oak winery in the Sierra foothills. (got a little loose at the Twisted table, fer sure!)... Great guy and great wines!