Normally, I like to give my opinion and maybe I will link to others at the end, but I try not to let others sway my opinions. However, while I do follow Farnum Hill Cider in cyber world in which they have a large presence as an American cider producer, I am unable to acquire and taste their product on the West Coast. Therefore, when a video blog by Gary Vaynerchuk reviewing Farnum Hill Cider resurfaced, I thought I would make an exception and post it.
Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur who was able to “[grow] his family wine business from $4 million to $60 million in five years”, and he did most of this by “focusing on the Internet and leveraging social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter." His book gives you a little bit of his history so you can understand how he worked to earn his success.
I first checked the book out from the library, but quickly released I should buy it. It is because of that book that this blog exists today, along with my Twitter account and Facebook page. The timing of that book coming out was perfect for me – I had realized I wanted to make cider, but had not realized the potential of the Internet to help me grow though writing rather than struggle silently on my own.
I then went out and bought two more copies to give to my brother-in-law who was finishing up his graphic design degree, and for my favorite cousin in college for interior design. I think this is a great book for people coming out of college, people looking for a career change, people who want to grow their business, and most importantly, people have a job or hobby they love to talk about. What topic do you talk about that puts a twinkle in your eyes?
Gary Vaynerchuk is a wine guru with a video blog called Wine Library TV. Vaynerchuk’s family immigrated from Belrus to New York, where his father operated a liquor store in which he worked as a janitor. He realized that when people came in for hard liquor, they knew exactly what they wanted, bought it, and left. However, wine drinkers would often browse the selection and ask for advice, and he saw a potential to grow his father’s business though these drinkers. Problem was, he was still underage:
As a teenager, tasting wine was legally impossible, so he set out to train his palate “backwards.” To study various flavors associated with wine, he tasted obscure fruits and vegetables, along with earthly influences, including grass, dirt, rocks, tobacco, and wood [based on a wine’s description]. “I probably consumed more New Jersey grass in my teens than any lawn mower.” By familiarizing himself with the numerous tastes that contributed to a specific wine, Vaynerchuk was able to detect subtleties that an ordinary palate wouldn’t recognize.http://crushitbook.com/about-gary-vaynerchuk/
The following is a 30 minute long Wine Library TV video blog #148, “How to Get Your Wine Palate Trained”, which shows Vaynerchuk using foods to build up a palate. It is interesting to watch, because he eats something, and it reminds him of a particular wine.
He admits early on that it cost him $180 to obtain all the foods for this segment, but a lot of what he buys are items slow to expire in multiple servings, such as jam and spices, and can be bought over a period of time to reduce the impact on your wallet. Some of these items you probably already have in your cupboard. It is the fresh things that make it more difficult.
There were a few foods he was missing that are listed in the comments, but I’ve also noticed that some are missing from his list that are on the wine wheel. I think I would use the wine wheel to help guide my grocery list of wine tasting.
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