Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World [Paperback]

Gary Vaynerchuk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2008

     Millions have logged onto Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV—watching him boldly and unconventionally rate hundreds of wines. Viewers are attracted to his youthful energy, unique voice, and often outrageous descriptions. Now, in Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines, Vaynerchuk reveals his first ranked list of the most exciting and tantalizing spirits he has sampled while traveling the globe.

     Deeming himself "the wine guy for the average Joe," Vaynerchuk avoids the pomposity of traditional educators. Unlike wine guides that lack animation and lecture rather than inspire, 101 Wines shows you how to develop the necessary go-drink-wine attitude. Vaynerchuk encourages you to trust your own palate—stressing that your love of a certain wine makes it good regardless of what the experts or the price on the bottle say.

     Vaynerchuk's recommendations span a wide range of prices, nations, grapes, and styles—allowing everyone from novices to connoisseurs to expand their wine horizons. Unlock the secret to why Vaynerchuk labels wines "From Ruins to Riches," "Red with Fish," and "Not Your Father’s Spumante." Discover wines that taste like ones 10 times their price. Read as Vaynerchuk illuminates his top choices with vivid terminology such as "Bring the Thunder" and "Riding the Rainbow." Demystify conventions that once limited your wine-tasting desires. Journey through wine styles and break down barriers with his technical notes and stories behind the vintage. Smile as you realize you too can become a wine aficionado. 

     With your newfound knowledge, you will out-entertain and enlighten your friends, host extraordinary parties and treat your taste buds to an exhilarating ride. So if you are ready to become a "Vayniac"—one devoted to selecting wines based on Vaynerchuk's innovative principles—grab that corkscrew because a wine sampling adventure like no other awaits.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

GARY VAYNERCHUK is the Director of Operations at the Wine Library, located in Springfield, NJ. He has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Ellen and has been featured in GQ, Men’s Health, and the New York Times. He was also the youngest retailer ever to receive Market Watch magazine’s prestigious Leader award in 2003, at age 28. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books; First Edition edition (May 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594868824
• ISBN-13: 978-1594868825
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #720,058 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Drinks & Beverages > Wine > Collecting

More About the Author

Meet Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY*NER*CHUK), a 33-year-old self-trained wine and social media expert who has revolutionized the wine industry. Gary's cult-like following is the result of his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, combined with his business acumen and foresight to use social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience. He hosts a daily webcast called "The Thunder Show"on tv.winelibrary.com that attracts over 90,000 viewers each day. Recently, Gary's podcast became the most downloaded show on iTunes in the Food category, beating out venerable names in the industry including Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver.

Known as the "King of Social Media," Gary is one of the first--and one of a few--Facebook users who has maxed-out his friend limit, with over 17,000 pending friend requests. He is in the top 100 people followed on Twitter and was the keynote speaker at noted events like the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive conference and the New Media and Web 2.0 expos. A weekly contributor to TheStreet.com and Popeater.com, Gary is regularly asked to consult on social media for some of the world's largest and most recognizable companies like Google, Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Proctor & Gamble, and Pepsi.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You must get this book!, May 14, 2008

By 

Chris Butts (Redwood City CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World (Paperback)

I'll have to admit something. Until recently, I've never heard of Gary Vaynerchuk before. I had no idea what Wine Library TV was. Then a couple months ago, I decided to finally join this little website called Twitter. It all went downhill from there! (haha) To make a short story long, when I first saw mention of this internet wine show, I was thinking - oh, sure - THAT sounds like a blast; probably some snobby, obnoxious old fart who waxes philosophical about wine and thinks his opinion is more sacred than Mother Teresa. (Have you met a "serious" wine critic before? I have. I'd rather be poked in the eye.) Well, you should never judge a book by it cover (no pun intended) and I bit the bullet and saw a few episodes of Gary's little wine show called Wine Library TV.

I was hooked. I don't think I've ever run across anyone more sincere and passionate about wine before, who is more anxious to teach the world not about wine technique and history lessons, but to teach people to have fun with wine. To remove all the stereotypical stigmas associated with drinking wine. That it's ok to pop open a bottle for a football game. If you want a glass of Napa Cab with your cheeseburger - why not?

It's this passion that really shines in Gary's book. He makes it perfectly clear that the book is not a "wine guide". It's not. Yes, at the end of the day, its just another man's opinion on wine - 101, to be exact. But trust me, you will learn a thing or two. And, like me, you'll want to run out and buy wine you've never tasted or heard of before. The way Gary writes here - "bringing the thunder", the "oak monster", "obnoxious silkiness" - or a wine can taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch or smells like poop (poop? Yes, poop) - it's just downright fun. The book is just filled with great stuff and little "fun facts" run rampant throughout.

So Gary - I sincerely thank you. To the world - buy this book and hopefully you'll get as much as I did.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gary Explains Wine for the Rest of Us, May 14, 2008

By 

Shawn Collins "Shawn" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World (Paperback)

Length:: 1:02 Mins

Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World Gary has democratized wine and lured me over from the beer side. Thanks for the ongoing education, Gary.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Thunder has been brought!, May 19, 2008

By 

Bradley Preuss "Vayniac" (Jacksonville, Fl) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World (Paperback)

Gary's book reads exactly like he reviews the wines in his show. He's down-to-earth, funny, and just tells it like it is. What really makes it fun is how he brings wine down to the basest level and makes it easy to understand. I had a bunch of laughs remembering Grape Ape and Big League Chew.
What's also great is that, even though he has fun with it and jokes, he still has the little bits of wisdom on the side, giving us a history of the label of some of the wines, the area, and about the grapes themselves.
I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel, "Gary Vaynerchuk's 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Depress, Cringe, and Bring Lots of Oak to Your Pal.