Corey Charette (dot) com

I love the Internet and I’m obsessed with podcasts.  (So obsessed I currently have one up and running and are trying to get at least two more online.)  One of my favorite online shows is Wine Library TV hosted by the overly-energetic Gary Vaynerchuk.  What it is is a 20 or so minute video show usually covering 3 to 4 wines.  I can’t do it justice to describe it, you’ll just have to go to the site and see for yourself.

Ever since the plan to move to Northern New Jersey I was hoping that Gary V would make an appearance at his store, Wine Library, in Springfield.  The drive is about 35 minutes from the house and close than the daily trip to work. 

Well, that day finally came.  Gary announced on his show that he would be making an appearance at the store and taping a live episode of WLTV too on October 11th! 

As things turned out, my son’s football was on Sunday this week and the weather was BEAUTIFUL! 

So, I made the trip to the store.  This place is amazing, it’s a 2-story building with every type of wine imaginable inside!  Their parking lot was PACKED!  There was no where to park in there, but they had one of the workers outside directing traffic to open spots.  I got a spot within minutes thanks to that man.

When I walked in it was overwhelming.  The place had wines from everywhere in the world.  Aisles upon aisles on every wine known to man!  For the record, I’m a wine virgin.  The only wine I’ve ever had are usually from the local Wal-Mart and cost less than $8 for a bottle.  I walked up and down the aisles taking in all the names, years, regions, ratings, prices, other information that is placed on the fronts of these labels. 

I walked up to the second floor and they had tables offering samples of cheeses, fruit spreads and even something called a truffle spread!  Very classy.  Was nice to try this stuff and to get information from the people selling it.  They gave suggestions of what it goes good with.  (Meat, Cheese, Bread, Wine, etc.) 

As I turned the corner I noticed a balding, overweight man wearing jeans and holding a camera on a tripod.  It was Mott!  The man behind the camera that occasionally makes an on-screen appearance.  Without Mott, WLTV wouldn’t be what it is today!

I knew that I was in the right place.  Then I heard that the taping of the show would be in 5 minutes.  I didn’t move from my spot.  Within a few minutes the trademark Jets bucket came out.  That’s the bucket that Gary spits his wine into after tasting it.

Then the man himself showed up.  I felt like a little kid again.  He was very personable when he came out and didn’t make anyone feel that he was better than them.  Then the cameras rolled and he started off he trademark sign on, “Hello everybody and welcome to Wine Library TV.  I am your host Gary Vay-Ner-Chuk!….”

For the next 20 minutes, he sampled three wines that I’ve never heard of before and gave his personal review on them. 

Gary knows how to work a room.  Not only was he making sure to pay attention to the camera but he was also getting the room involved too.  It was a good feeling that we weren’t just voyeurs, but actual participants.

After Gary ended his show, he stood there and spoke to the audience for a few minutes, and excused himself, but said he would be on the floor in a little bit. 

One of the Wine Library workers, Julius, gave all of us samples of the three wines tasted on the show.   I’ve never done wine tasting before so it was a great experience.  I could tell which wine was better than the other two.  Of course, Julius also sampled the wines with us and gave his opinion on them.  It was a very great experience to be able to do that with only a dozen or so other people in my company.  Something I would love to do again.

After my experience with the Gary and Julius I walked through the store to see what kind of wine ‘catches my fancy’.  Within moments, one of the workers asked me if he could help me.  (I don’t remember his name now, so I’m sorry about that.)  I asked for something inexpensive that doesn’t have any “bite” and can be enjoyed without any food.  Quickly, he took me over to the one of the white wines and suggested that.  I thanked him for his selection and I picked it up and took it home.  (BTW, it was a very good choice.  Kudos.)

My experience at the Wine Library was superb.  I went in there for the main reason of seeing Gary V and enjoy a live taping of WLTV, and I walked out there with a little more knowledge on wine and a great time.

If you ever get a chance to stop over at Springfield, NJ, you need to stop at the Wine Library.  Don’t be afraid if you know nothing about wine.  The people are very helpful and very knowledgeable.  Gary has a great crew that works for him in the store and should thank them for all their excellent work!

UPDATE: The episode aired on 10/14/2008. Click here to view it.