Some people tend to think I don’t take wine very seriously but that couldn’t be further from the truth: I just don’t take myself and a large part of the industry very seriously. With that I mean the part of the industry, which was built on snobbery, mystique, inner circles and façades.

After spending a week in Margaux, working with the dedicated Chateau Palmer team, I learned two things:

1. There’s Bordeaux and there’s “New Bordeaux”
2. Being open and inviting doesn’t hurt the mystique… it raises it!

I didn’t know what to think when the request arrived for me to produce a trailer and event video for Chateau Palmer (which included an exclusive concert given by Jazz pianist Jacky Terrasson). But after some discussion and the first meeting with Thomas Duroux and his team, it was cemented: this is definitely going to work. We understood one another and there was a feeling of trust: they’d let me do what I wanted, knowing it would be what they wanted. It’s rare a project goes so smoothly. In my opinion, that’s strictly based on laying your cards down on the table and playing a good game of “No Bullshit”. Everybody wins in the end.

It’s exactly this aura of ease and openness which makes Chateau Palmer so special: in the way they make wine, in the way they open their doors to visitors, in the way the team interacts with one another, in the way they communicate… what I like to call, the New Bordeaux.

I wouldn’t say that I avoided wines of Bordeaux before having travelled there for the first time in March 2010 but I didn’t go out of my way searching for them either. The fact that the press and wine world alike puts Bordeaux on a pedestal is what hindered me from discovering the region to begin with – I felt I had nothing to discover on my own – then  there was the reputation… you had to like wines of the bordelais and if you didn’t, “you just didn’t get it” (but that’s just me, which can also be complicated at times).

I had tried maybe 20-30 classified Bordeaux wines (5th to 2nd as well and some Right Bank) in the past three or four years – compared to thousands of wines from other regions for example. It’s not like I didn’t appreciate them but I always had the feeling like it wasn’t my own opinion, I was being influenced – so I just left them alone, hoping one day I could make my own – unfiltered. And now that I’ve “tasted blood”, I can’t seem to get enough.

My change in attitude towards these wines and the region where they grow has very much to do with the fact that I’ve grown to understand them better – gotten to know the people behind the product – because they allowed me to. Something I find extremely important: having someone speak with me rather than AT me. This simple aspect makes such a huge difference.

Why don’t more wineries (regardless of their reputation) understand and practice this more? Letting people “in”, being real, allowing them to discover will only lead to them wanting to discover more. Put up a wall and people will be blocked by it, put up a façade and in this day and age, people will see right through it.

I will be returning sooner rather than later… I just feel there is so much more to discover – in the New Bordeaux! And what about the New Burgundy? Hhhmmmm…

It’s definitely not a secret that we’re able to contact, meet, communicate with, friend up, follow and be followed by – and whatever other terms we want to use – people at such an exponential level these days, that the rules have been re-written when it comes to branding and its possibilities – especially when it comes to the personal brand.

I just tuned in to one of Gary Vaynerchuk’s vids on garyvaynerchuk.com (click here to watch it) which pertains to the scalability of a personal brand… how thin can the butter be spread on the bread based on the fact that time is limited and we as humans don’t have the cognitive organisational skills to handle hundreds of contacts and handle these at a personal level – let alone thousands.

I also found a very interesting article on the subject posted by TwistImage (Mitch Joel) which explains why it’s virtually impossible to scale the personal brand.

But if you happened to watch Gary’s video, at around the 3rd minute, he makes a statement which I find absolutely viable – “EFFORT” makes a personal brand scalable. And I agree 100%. Nobody expects Gary to shake every hand and kiss every baby, but you do get the impression that he wants to and is sorry he can’t.

Isn’t that more than most overpaid actors/singers/models/athletes/whatever type of celebrity have to offer? The fact that these people were always untouchable or from “another planet” made it OK for them to keep a distance and it being acceptable or even expected. But how long will this bucket hold water?

Social Networking is definitely bringing changes at breakneck speeds and this is just one of them. Gary Vaynerchuk has such a firm grasp on how and why he ticks, it’s not even funny.

Classic and traditional theories such as these are being thrown out the window – and I’m glad they are. Back to basics, talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk. That’s what it’s all about.

Keep it real and keep on keepin’ ON!

The only thing this post has to do with wine is the fact that it relates to my wine studio… which I’ll be moving in to on October 1st by the way. Which also means I’m slowly but surely draining the biz account on designer furniture and more designer furniture. But of course I’ll also be needing coffee – shopping till I’m dropping - and the accessories to serve a proper espresso since I like to offer participants of my wine seminars a piping hot drop of fine Arabica/Robusta blends after they’ve been swirling and spitting for a couple of hours. I’d also like to think it helps sober those up who haven’t made acquaintance with a spittoon eventhough I know it doesn’t. Just wishfull thinking I guess.

Yummé

Just what exactly is it they are trying to say? This coffee is just as refreshing as the abolition of slavery, that YOU – like Luca, is that his name? – will be dancing barefoot after its ingestion? The claim “E vivi la vita” (translation: and you live life)… what happened? Was “Livin’ La Vida Loca” already taken? A call out to the producer – GET WITH THE TIMES!!! Not that there was ever a right time to label a product with Africans who happen to look like cotton pickers… and yes, many did label their coffees with Moors way back when, and many still do today unfortunately. How do companies even get away with such racist inuendo? Gets me!

One thing I do plan on doing is writing to the company and simply asking “what’s the message you’re trying to send with this logo”. I think I’ll receive one of the two responses 1. no response or 2. Vafanculo! I will surely let you know what that response was.

If you happen to drop by for a visit some time expect a fine cup o’joe with firm crema, namely KIMBO, made by yours truly. Cuz you surely won’t ever be served a cup of “what’s its name” in my studio.

PS: I did some research on the internet only to find out that the Lucaffè bar in Toronto is always empty and I’m definitely not the only one who finds this logo racist :-)

I just got wind of a very discussed Italian wine blog post -on Intravino- last week: it had to do with an Italian sommelier who did a tasting at poolside – wearing sunglasses, no shirt on etc.

Boy did this guy (AIS Sommelier – Andrea Gori) get it from Franco Ziliani, a journalist who is also involved with the A.I.S. (Assoc. Italiana Sommeliers – Italy’s official sommelier association), writing for their magazine DeVinis, the AIS website and produces their weekly newsletter… and it seems, a huge advocate of wine tasting, wine drinking and wine talking etiquette. I don’t know Ziliani personally but would also like to mention, he is respected by many and really knows his wine.

The jist of those dramatic posts was, yes, drama was born in Italy -and his sisters are hand gestures-, “there is no place for such clownery” in the wine world and Gori should have known better as this puts his profession in a bad light. Really? Why? Since when did wine tasting become a Pagan ritual reserved only for those who chant in sync? It’s exactly this type of mentality which makes wine so “unapproachable” for many. The reason why wine is still regarded as a snob’s beverage by some.

Some may be thinking “Huh? Is this for real?”… but the fact is this is Italy, where so many things are tough to explain. For one, Berlusconi being voted in, not one, not two but yes, three times. Enough said.

Now as far as “representing” goes, it’s one thing if you go to a restaurant and the sommelier 1. slams your bottle on the table as if he/she were serving beer at Coyote Ugly, 2. looks like he’s washing dishes in the back when he’s not serving customers, 3. explains a wine with “uuhhh… it’s yummy” and so on. If you eat at these types of restaurants, I guess you’d expect a certain level of etiquette… I would.

I just can’t stand it when someone has the gaul to tell you how/what you should be drinking, eating, talking… in any aspect of life for that matter. Of course the Italians want to protect their traditions (which cultures don’t?), but will they do so through force feeding? I love tradition but I also love “today” and all the new traditions tomorrow will bring. A healthy mix surely can’t be a bad thing.

Since when did wine become a religion? And how the hell did I miss the headline?

Now I kinda knew it would be a contortion act doing a blind beer tasting on a wine show… especially since it was our first episode and we practically had more beer on the show than we did wine.

Analysing a wine on the fly isn’t the problem, it’s analysing with a lense staring at you, keeping it entertaining, informative and kinda concise at the same time… when you suffer from “diahorrea of the brain” like I do, a short story can suddenly become a very long one. Could be OK talking 1-on-1 but not so OK when it comes to viewing pleasure.

After viewing the footage from our first shoot, realised this was NOT how I wanted to do the show. There are definitely more than enough wine guys doing it this way, some better than others, but the task was “do it differently”. Thus when in doubt, “IMPROVISE”!!

You can view the whole WOTR episode here: www.wineontherocks.com

I’m off to Italy in a few days and are coming back with mucho wine footage for the next episode. Hope you tune in.

Like the Wine On The Rocks project wasn’t already enough.
After working so freaking hard on the new WOTR site I figured it was time I have my own blog as well – I’m starting to enjoy this – what are a few sleepless nights here or there… herzlich Willkommen :-)

I’ll be covering a variety of trivial things from my many brain leaks, things I find, things I’ve tasted, things I’ve seen and just felt the need to capture for the moment, places I’ve visited, did I mention things I’ve tasted? The kinda thing bloggers do.

Keep on keepin’ ON!