Photographs by Richard Perry/The New York Times

We are all familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk and his gen-crazy style of marketing and wine tasting. But the truth is, the guy is incredibly successful. He is a tour de force in the wine world, gathering more new wine lovers than any other wine critic or writer in the world, I’d dare say. The following is an article in the New York Times. Check it out.
The Pour – This Wine Critic Can Drive People to Drink – NYTimes.com

One of my favorite episodes contained this description, which is also mentioned in the NYT article.

[W]hen he talked about another pinot noir from the Sonoma Coast, a 2006 Kanzler, he seemingly went off the deep end in describing its flavor:

“You hit a deer, you pull off to the side of the road, then you stab the deer with a knife, cut it, and bite that venison, and put a little black pepper and strawberries on it and eat it, like a mean, awful human being. That’s what this tastes like.”

I’ve got to love his ingenuity, his uniqueness, his passion. Gary Vaynerchuk makes me laugh: bottom line. And for that reason, I will continue to support his crazy antics. And I can guarantee that I’ll learn something along the way.

Dear Reader, please take note that this is a story of change. Some of us crave change, some of us are scared of it. Whichever side you’re on, AmericanWinery.com is bringing it–change. So how do I feel about it, honestly?

I’ve been thinking recently, pondering the ramifications of having a large wine sales company like American Winery in my town. What does this mean for me? The independent retailer? I thought about taking small petty actions against Lloyd Benedict, Founder of American Winery, egging his office window, screaming and jumping in front of him when he met Gary Vaynerchuk, warning Gary in person that Lloyd is (and here I have to use my imagination) contaminated—a highly contagious flesh eating virus or something—and that his company is a scam. I thought about posting mean notes on AmericanWinery.com insulting their business plan and web design. I thought about getting on Open Wine Consortium and telling everyone that American Winery sucks!

But that would be mean. And it would be… [long pregnant pause]… a lie.

The truth is I think it’s FABULOUS that there is this fresh new company–in my town–doing so much to promote American wine. They have a great plan and their web design is outstanding. I can’t in good conscience say anything bad about them.

And Walla Walla is a perfect base for such a project. Right here in the heart of wine country, a valley removed enough from Urbania (yes, I made it up) to maintain its grounded sense of place. It doesn’t hurt, either, that Walla Walla Valley is producing some of the best wines in the country.

So Lloyd’s a smart guy. And he’s a nice guy. His passion for wine is infectious (in a good way—not the flesh eating virus way). I’ve learned a lot more about wines from all over the country. I mean, who knew Oklahoma had good wine? Three months ago I had no idea! Check out the AW list of wineries by state and be impressed. Plus, although the selection can at times be overwhelming, the website contains a plethora of educational articles, definitions, and descriptions in addition to wine listings. To quote my sister, among others, “Edumacate yourself!”

Wine is a big deal in America. Wine sales continue to prove this. And I’m proud to do business in the same town as American Winery, the whole crew, knowing that we have a common goal of supporting winemakers, getting wine to the people, helping people learn about, find, and enjoy good wines from this place we call home: Walla Walla to the Nation.

It also means that from time to time I get to sample a fun spread, like this:

From L to R: Source Napa 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, Kaz “Dudes” 2005 Petit Sirah (another Cali wine), Nelms Road 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (local!)

How could I complain?

Wine. Deep, red, rich, tantalizing, delicious wine.
Chocolate. Deep, dark, rich, tantalizing, delicious chocolate.

I love chocolate! And I love wine. So, naturally, I love the two together. While I’m in the early stages of organizing a wine and chocolate pairing party (what could be more decadent?) I thought I’d share some of the amazing resources in the Walla Walla wine valley.

First of all, over at Walla Walla Wine Cellar, we are soon to feature Tertulia Cellars 2005 Les Collines Syrah. I bring this up because Petits Noirs, a company that everyone in this valley with any taste buds should know about, is working on chocolate to pair with Tertulia Cellars Syrahs. Oh wow! My mouth is actually watering now.

According to Petits Noirs, they are working on

[...] the debut of a Mole chocolate. I have been talking with Ryan at Tertulia cellars for some time about this one. It is going to be incredible. Deep. Dark. Nutty. Smoky. Spicy. Intense. MMMMMMole! Lan bought me some cool new ganache frames, so i may try and use those for this one. So it should look really different than most of our other chocolates.

To read the rest of their blog post, visit Petits Noirs: Chocolate Chat. They have many great ideas and I look forward to tasting new creations.

There’s nothing quite like a good pairing to transform my day. In fact, I think I’ll go visit Petits Noirs this week–meaning today.

This weekend the Seattle Times and Spokesman Review reported that Washington State is experimenting with a program allowing grocers to offer samples of beer and wine. Clearly there are mixed responses.

As much as I respect Maureen Walsh’s position, I wonder what she means by this:

“Wine is a legal product,” said Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla. “And if we quit putting such a stigma on that, maybe our kids, when they grow up, would not think that it was such a great thing to have alcohol.”

Anyone who knows anything about marketing knows that scarcity breeds desire. (Huge generalization?) Walsh is from wine country. She’s been here to see it develop. And if she’s been watching, she’ll have observed that wine drinking — even for the younger drinkers — can be quite civilized. If her goal is to turn people away from alcohol, free samples may not be the best method. However, as a response to the arguments that these samples will cause public drunkenness and debauchery, degrading the foundations of an already fragile and depraved society, I think she has a point. Lift the stigma. If we could be a little less uptight about wine (and beer), it wouldn’t be such an easy weapon for adolescent rebellion.

I say, lighten up.

I’m interested to see how Senate Bill 5751 will fare.

For the full article, see Food & wine | Grocers might offer taste of wine, beer | Seattle Times Newspaper.

Sunday an article on Walla Walla was posted by The Voice of the Rockies, as I like to call it. Will Success Spoil Washington’s Walla Walla? As you will note, Knute Berger’s article originally appeared in Crosscut last Thursday.

Much has already been written about the Walla Walla miracle, how an old, insular small town in the farm country of southeastern Washington emerged as a major wine center with all the accoutrements that go with it: tourism, fine food, and lots of newcomers looking for all-American livability…. [read more]

The article offers good insight into the community, the effects of tourism, and the bing bang boom in the valley. Berger provides a variety of links to relevant sites and discusses the impact of the wine industry on Walla Walla’s neighbors as well. Thankfully, he makes clear that it is NOT Walla Walla’s goal to be “the next Napa.” It’s true. First, we’re too far away from a true metropolis to attract the same kind of settling. Second, thank God we’re not Napa! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my share of good times in Napa Valley, but there’s something special about Walla Walla that I would never want to see taken away. Michael Davidson of the tourism office is right; this town is unique. And not just because I was born here. (Okay, that was a bit egotistical.)

There are a few comments that I’d like to add, however. Not everyone from Walla Walla loves onions, though I do. Not all of us know someone in the penitentary or have witnessed a hanging. And if you want live music, well, open a venue. There’s karaoke at The Golden Horse, live music Wednesday at Barnaby’s Pub, and jazz at Backstage Bistro. The Walla Walla Symphony is the longest running symphony west of the Mississippi River. But you’re hard-pressed to find quality live music on the weekends.

This is my one request for the valley: With all this growth, someone please help out the music scene! What do we have to do to get regular good live music in town? This isn’t my area of expertise, but I’m more than willing to help out if someone’s got a plan.

In the meantime, I’ll be visiting the Jim German Bar in Waitsburg, hanging out for brunch at 26 Brix, sipping on a favorite cab franc (this week), enjoying some imported goat cheese from Salumiere Cesario, and loving the ever-shifting light on the Blue Mountains in the evening.

My grandfather was a good man. Smart. Successful. Loving. He moved to Dillingham, Alaska in the 1950s to run the small hospital. From there he started his own medical practice which he ran until he retired after his 80th birthday. Everyone knew him as Doc Libby. So what was he right about?

I read a blog post today about the most common mistakes made by entrepeneurs. Nitromarketing.com has just started the post series. Today was about avoiding future spending and remembering taxes.

Future spending is defined as spending based on what you expect to make in the Future rather than present reality. “But I have to focus on my goals!” you say. And I don’t disagree, but I think it is such a common mistake for people in all areas of life, not just entrepeneurs, to spend based on what we want to make, what we hope to make, rather than our actual financial status. For those who believe in the law of attraction and positive thinking, I want to point out that no one said to throw caution to the wind and do whatever you feel like with no action focused on reaching your goals. Just because I want to live the life of financial abundance does not mean I can sit back on the sofa and buy whatever I want and fairly expect that the universe will pay for it. I have to take action to reach my goals. My grandpa always said to practice. Practice takes focus. Focus strengthens energy. And with practice I become better… at whatever I am practicing.

Grandpa also warned me about taxes. I know he helped out his own children when they miscalculated what they’d have to pay early in their adult lives. His advice to me was the same as to them. Don’t wait until the end of the year. Steadily put money aside for taxes so that at tax time you don’t have to stress about how you’re going to pay them. He said to expect the unexpected. That applies to taxes as well as future spending. Things change. That is a guarantee. And at our commercial fishing camp, working on a Honda three-wheeler with my grandpa, I realized he might know a thing or two about it. We hadn’t expected to need a new sparkplug and fuel line, but here we were, fixing the machine instead of mending nets and racking pull lines. But it was all okay. Grandpa had made sure he had enough time for those “unexpected” tasks, like teaching me about mechanics, future spending, and taxes.

For the full post from Nitromarketing.com, visit: The 13 Top Financial Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make