As many of you are aware, I work in the media and advertising world. I am the VP of marketing and the creative director for MediaTrust. Scott Parent, (who by the way is off to Napa this week and will be bringing us some wicked wine reviews from the nation’s wine capital) and I were in Vegas for the New Media Expo and we caught up with Gary and spoke with him about how he is using things like social media to introduce wine to a “crap load of people.” We posted the interview below to our industry blog Relevantly Speaking

If you have yet to watch him do his show, you should jump over to Wine Library TV and have a look - after you watch our interview of course.

And then show some love in the comments section here. Do you have a question for Gary? Put it in the comments. I’ll be certain Gary sees ‘em. And just so ya know it looks like Gary is starting to do a WineWoot sort of thing with a daily wine special. Be sure to follow it on Twitter.

Sometimes its difficult to get things out as soon as they happen, no matter how much technology I try to surround myself with. Its pretty much just a factor of spinning a lot of plates and trying to not drop any. Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of spending time at Lido, quite possibly the best restaurant on the central coast, where every Tuesday Chef Evan Treadwell invites a different winery to present their wines, and the chef has his staff create some fantastic hors d’oeuvres. Lido is at Dolphin Bay, a luxury resort in Pismo Beach and a winner of a 2007 Wine Spectator Restaurant Award.

The winery that was presenting was Riverbench from Santa Maria, CA and after tasting a series of four different wines, its obvious that they have taken advantage of the unique micro-climates that the Santa Maria Valley provides. I happen to live about 15 minutes north and reap the benefits of the cool ocean breezes, the fog layers, and the moderately warm temperatures that has made the Central Coast an exceptional grape growing region. Now, mind you that as I am tasting the wines, it wasn’t until I was speaking with Riverbench’s brand manager Laura that she mentioned that the winemaker was Chuck “Mr. Chardonnay” Ortman, of Meridian lore. He has an amazing history of great wines and used to source grapes from RIverbench before coming to make their wines in 2006. (Here is an interview with Chuck in the March 2008 issue of Wines & Vines)

The wines we were tasting were the 2007 Bedrock Chardonnay, the 2006 Estate Chardonnay, the 2006 Reserve Chardonnay, and my favorite one of the afternoon, the 2006 Estate Pinot. I also understand that they have a wonderful 2006 Reserve Pinot but I will need to head to the winery for that.

The 2006 Pinot was everything I hoped for after tasting thru the very excellent Chardonnays. Chef Treadwell was serving up some gourmet pizzettas such as spinach and shrimp, a pancetta style bacon, tomatoes and I believe Fontina, and a tasty apple sausage. By the time I was poured the Pinot my taste buds were calling out for red and delicious. The full fruit aromas, noticeable and vibrant with a beautiful burgundy hue was punctuated by the extreme panorama from the outside tables of Lido. Sitting literally on the cliffs of the coast line, it would have been difficult to not be pleased by both the wine and view.

Now, I am by no means a cork dork, but I have been working on my tasting memory and right away I was surprised at the berries that sort of jumped out of this wine, both in aroma and in taste, delicate but not “jammy” if you know what I mean. Pinot is ever the seductive mistress of wines in my book, with the teasing perfumes, the tastes lingering on the tongue, and the feeling of wanting just a bit more when gone. Light, and balanced, this Pinot Noir is very drinkable, and when I get my hands on a few bottles I bet it will go well with a grilled lamb burger and asparagus. The tasting notes even recommended serving it with a spicy Thai risotto and calamari, which sounds great as well.

Go buy it. Seriously. Its a perfect Pinot to bring in the change of the seasons, and the change of the weather, especially if you are local to the central coast. Our hot days are gone, the fog is lingering a little longer in the morning, and the grill is begging for just a bit more attention. Its also a perfect way to see what Chuck is spending his time on now. And after being named “Mr. Chardonnay”, you know he is bringing all his tricks to this winery, his own touch to the Pinots.

If you like Chocolate, and we already know you like wine, Riverbench is having a Chocolate and Wine pairing on Saturday, September 6th from 5-7pm. I would see you there but I will be in the north county doing the color commentary at Cops and Robbers - where the ladies of the Central Coast Roller Derby take on The Sac City Rollers. If you happen to come to the Paso Event Center for the derby bout, please look me up over at the KZOZ tent.

Well, for me its not that difficult to choose. Coming off a 16 day road trip where I ate amazing food (a Bobby Flay Mesa Grill review is coming), drank great wine, and hung out with wonderful friends, I need to sit back with a good wine, a soft couch, and the only slightly abrasive Bourdain as he travels to Egypt. Do yourself a favor and grab a pigeon, some savory spices and a boat on the Nile and you too can play the Anthony Bourdain game. Tonight, Monday at 10pm on The Travel Channel.

Looking forward to seeing Bottle Shock this week as it is finally in my neighborhood. If you haven’t heard about it, its a little film staring Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Bill Pullman, Dennis Farina, and Rachael Taylor that tells the tale of what many think is the most important blind tasting in the history of French and Californian wines. Occurring in 1976, the tasting in Paris became known as the “Judgement of Paris”

Have you seen it? Let us know what you thought, but please don’t spoil the ending. Not like they did in that Titanic movie when the trailer showed the ship sinking. Almost made me not want to go watch the movie.

So over the past couple of weeks I have been crossing the country from my home in California, first to NYC then Boston, then back to SF then off to Las Vegas - a total of 11 days on the road. I have a lot to say about the trip, and a lot of event and restaurant and wine and interviews and stuff to talk about but we will start with The Blue Man Group, which I actually saw on the last day of the trip, due to a chance meeting near the first day of the trip.

While the story about how I ended up with tickets in the front orchestra for a Sunday performance is interesting, it is not as interesting as the show itself. Now with my wife, partner and all-round amazing woman who sticks by me for more than my knowledge of a wine list on my arm, we head over to The Venetian and The Blue Man Theater. Head to the bar, grab a cocktail and make our way to the seat. Right away you have a sense that you are in for a treat when the left and right pillars begin speaking to you via a dot matrix display, red text on black ala Jenny Holzer.

Once the audience has taken the seats, and the LEDS have scrolled out messages and instructions, the stage opens to exactly what you expect: three blue dudes. What you don’t expect is the entire rest of the show.

The Blue Man Group has successfully combined Art, Science and Rock and Roll into such an entertaining performance of anything that I have seen since U2 dragged the ZooTV tour around the US. First off lets start with the Blue Men themselves. A trio of silent performers that speak only with their actions, most of which are minimalist head turns, arm waves or a deep stare down with bright eyes embedded in blue grease-painted bald heads. Creepy and yet endearing. They are obviously not from my neighborhood, nor my state for that matter, yet they are not so strange as to be aliens. With expressionless stares and percision timing The Blue Man Group takes you through a series of sets that incorporate visually splendid performance pieces set against a Phil Spector-style Wall of Sound. And throughout the performance, just when you think that things are explosive and can’t be topped…a BOOM and a BANG and they are off in another direction, providing another level of curiosity and amazement at their ability to make music from plumbing material, sonic percussions and eye bending graphical displays.

Now, what really got me excited about these guys was the educational value that was intertwined in their performance. I learned about cones and rods and nodes and networks and stuff I would have remembered from science class had I actually attended science class. They also reminded me about the concept or phrase about great music, that its not always the notes that are great, but the spaces between the notes. Their performance was restrained and yet massive at the same time, stopping at just the right moment for the audience to take it all in.

Now notice I am not telling you about each little bit they do. You have to go see it for yourself. If I were to describe it to you then a.) you wouldn’t need to to go and b.) I wouldn’t even begin to do it justice. Book your next trip to Vegas. Get tickets to The Blue Man Group. While we weren’t able to get a room at the Venetian we did stay a night at TI, which is right across the street from the BMG Theater and quite nicely remodeled for about a 100 bucks. It makes it a convenient walk in the 109 degree heat we had to deal with.

Seriously Blue Man Group for the win! They were brilliant performers, exceptional entertainers and above that, groundbreakingly entertaining. Like nothing you will see in a while, and I have seen quite a lot.

As you watch the trailer to the upcoming Woody Allen movie “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” you tend to notice a few things, well at least I did and here is my list.

One - Scarlett Johansson
Two - Rebecca Hall
Three - Wine glasses. Lots and lots of wine glasses. Which to me continues to validate my affection for wine, beautiful women and Woody Allen.

“We will eat well. We will drink wine. We will make love”

Sounds like my life was being written into the script, until the WE in question was points one and two from above and Javier Bardem, handsome in that rogue-ishly Spanish sort of way, but well, not my cup of tea.

Noticeable in the trailer was the tactics employed by one Juan Antonio, that rouge-ish Spanish fellow. When Scarlett agrees to go to his room, she says he still has to seduce her. Cut to him opening the door with a glass of wine, Rioja most likely, in his hand. Note its just one glass. Then cut to SJ on the bed with what I can only presume is the same glass of wine. Hence, the axiom, that wine and an open collared shirt are two vital ingredients in the seduction game.

The movie is slated for release August 15th.

Every year, up in Paso Robles, the Mid-State Fair brings us great bands (we happened to catch Steely Dan), not so great food (deep fried twinkies) and a line up of wine that bring out the best and the not so best that the four participating counties have to offer. And as Space is infinite, and Time is fleeting, I only list the winners here, we will be reaching out to the prize winning wineries to taste, and talk about this years barrels of the best. In all there were 11 double gold medals, and a whopping 51 gold medals in a field of over 600 wines.

I have provided links to wineries so you can read more about each, and bring some of your hard earned cash down to my town, and support the local / regional wine industry. We thank you for you continued support.

Super Awards went to:
* Best White Wine, Eberle 2007 Viognier, Paso Robles Mill Road
* Best Red Wine Halter Ranch 2005 Syrah, Paso Robles Estate
* Best Dessert Wine 2005 Robert Hall Vintage Port, Paso Robles

while the Best of Class was handed out to:
* 2007 Huber Chardonnay, unoaked, Santa Rita Hills
* 2007 Vina Robles Sauvignon Blanc, Paso Robles
* 2006 Castoro Cellars Pinot Grigio, Paso Robles
* 2006 Claiborne & Churchill Dry Gewurztraminer, Central Coast
* 2007 Harmony Cellars White Riesling, Monterey County
* 2007 Ventana Vineyards Dry Rosato, Arroyo Seco
* 2005 Halter Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles
* 2005 Niner Wine Estates Merlot, Paso Robles
* 2005 Per Bacco Cellars Pinot Noir, Dronysus, Arroyo Grande Valley
* 2005 Penman Springs Petite Sirah, Paso Robles
* 2006 Sculpterra Winery Statuesque, Paso Robles
* 2006 Eberle Barbera, Paso Robles
* 2006 Kenneth Volk Vineyards Mourvedre, Lime Kiln Valley
* 2006 Ancient Peaks Zinfandel, Paso Robles
* 2006 Alapay Late Harvest Moscato, Paso Robles

BTW - If you are a winery and would like to have us review your wines, tour your grounds, or just stand on the porch and watch the sink into the ocean, drop us an email: christopher at drinksomewine dot com.

Gary Vaynerchuk needs no introduction to most of you, so I will just let him explain about where I want to be in April of next year. With any luck I can convince The Chick that she needs to meet Gary and pop his cork - so to speak - on the high seas.

I am also looking forward to meeting Gary in Vegas at the New Media Expo, where he has a keynote. As a wine blogger, and a social media guy, his work in podcasting has really been fun to watch. I have always felt that the more disruptive the channel+message the more success you will have in breaking market stereotypes and Gary has done that in spades. And yes, you will see updates here from the NME about the show, but more importantly about the wine me dine that is Las Vegas Baby! My partner in crime, Scott Parent - the man behind the microphone over at American Cliche, will be joining me here at DSW (more on that later) and we are both traveling to Vegas for NME. You can best believe that we have a very good set of standing dinner reservations while there.

Ok - I’ll let you all know more about the cruise as I get some info. Who knows… maybe Gary will run some sort of contest and give away a few berth’s. You never know!

DISCLOSURE - Bourdain, No Reservations, and The Travel Channel do not pay me for the love I give them week over week. I do it because I am a big fan of the show, and because I hope someone will recognize this fresh new voice in the blog-o-sphere and send me on assignment somewhere to screen test a new show they are developing. And if they aren’t developing a new show I have the perfect one for you. It’s called Tripped Up. Here’s the pitch - a married couple picks something to go to, say The Kentucky Derby in, well, Kentucky or the Festa di San Marco, in Venice where every year is the gondola races.

They take you with them along their journey from point A to point Z and explore the nooks and crannies of life along the way. Traveling as a couple is very different than traveling the world alone, if you consider traveling with a camera crew and stylist alone. It’s no longer just your agenda, and you get to discover things, the good and the bad about travelling together. And in the process of sharing with the viewing audience, which hopefully would be couples considering taking similar trips (think product placement, sponsorships, packages all neatly bound in blogs, webisodes and landing pages), you learn a thing or three about yourself, each other, and that crazy little thing called love.

Oh yeah, Bourdain, Monday night at 10pm EST on the Travel Channel. He goes to Uruguay with his brother and they eat a bunch stuff. Like meat. Watch it. Then have your people call my people.

Wine Blogging Wednesday! I remember when I made the logo that is currently in use for the monthly topical wine tasting event. The logomark was an obvious riff off of the one used here, with two wine stains indicating, well, more than one person drinking some wine. And from the look of things there were over 40 plus wine drinkers swirling and sniffing and spitting and drinking for the past WBW.

Over at Lenndevours, the next installment of WBW is not only #48, but the 4 year anniversary of what I actually believe was the first successful wine social network, no matter how informal or how loosely ran. And the best part was that it was created without a platform, a VC play, a “path to revenue” It was a bunch of wine bloggers and a great idea. So my congratulations to everyone that has participated over the years to make this thing pretty fuckin’ cool.

Ok, so the topic of #48 is “back to your roots” Now this ins’t a discussion on terroir, or hair color, or even ancestry. It a suggestion to go back to that first wine you drank. And not the stuff you shoulder-tapped out of the mini mart on the corner where your Uncle bought his smokes. We aren’t talking the “fortified wine varietal” here. No Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill, although that is probably what accounted for one of my earliest hangovers, and another reason I tend to avoid Modesto, from whence the liquid evil is brewed. We are talking REAL wine, like in the kind with a cork and maybe even some history behind it. And with this in mind, I bring you the Chianti!

Who hasn’t drank from the mouth of the wickerman, at a beach party, or a spaghetti dinner back in our misspent youth and thought “EYE-Talian wine is very good?” I remember collecting the finished bottles and pluggin the neck with those cheap dime store candles to get that “Creature Features” drippy wax action going. Sharp to the taste, easy on the wallet, the wicker basket chianti was always a staple in my early forays into buying wine for Crazy Sauce spaghetti nights in school. It wasn’t until much later in my life that I realized that Chianti came in a “regular” wine bottle and could cost more than I made that day washing dishes at the local diner. And then of course it took a flesh eating psychologist to catapult the Chianti into the lexicon of often repeated phrases from pop movies, and made me wonder “what the fuck is a father bean?” It must be noted however that in the book of the same, Dr. Lecter says “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone”. Guess the pedestrian American film market just couldn’t wrap their heads around pairing a big-bodied, dry Italian wine with a census taker.

So, for WBW #48 I plan on revisiting the old wicker bottle, and then a bottle of an Amarone for bonus points, and see if indeed, it would have made the movie any better. Links to WBW #48 will be posted on the internets August 13th over at Lenn’s blog.