Gary: Hello everybody and welcome to Wine Library TV, I am your host Gary Vaynerchuk, and this my friend is the thunder show, special Thursday edition, before the biggest football game of my life, not really, but way up there. This is the chance Mott for the New York Jets to make a statement, if you don’t have the NFL network then go out to a bar tonight and route for my Jets, I’m in New England as we speak, this has been tape a little earlier, and we have a lovely guess, clearly on the show with me, hopefully good luck charm. Please note that if we lose today, I will never talk to you again.
Kat: Oh no.
Gary: Just, it’s a risk you’ve got to take. Are you okay with that?
Kat: Alright.
Gary: Why don’t you tell the vayner nation who you are, and how we met and what are you doing here.
Kat: Hi folks, I’m Kat and I’m from Let’s Knit Together pod cast, and Gary and I, actually met at new media expo back in August of 2008, and ah, I host…
Gary: Way back in August, 2008.
Kat: Yeah. Seems like forever. And ah, I host a show about knitting which has an audience about 7000 knitters across the world in all the countries, and ah, as a, as a matter of fact, there’s some crocheters out there too, so I have to, have a shout out to some of the crocheters.
Gary: Big shout out to the crocheters.
Kat: And ah, actually we’ve been doing the show for two years now, Erick and I, and ah, we got it started as a larks so, we’ve been doing pretty good, since people keep watching.
Gary: Now two, I’m sorry, jumping two years is pretty long for a video cast.
Kat: Yes. Yes.
Gary: So, you, you’re somewhat of a pioneer.
Kat: I think so, I think we kinda started with fact, there’s over, well when we got started there was over 80 audio pod cast about knitting and we were one of the first video pod cast, and you know, really it’s, I hate, audio is great, but, if you can’t see it, it’s, it’s, since ah, obviously knitting is a very visual medium.
Gary: No question.
Kat: So we got started with video two years ago, we get about 2 episodes a month and ah…
Gary: Two a month.
Kat: Yeah, we do two different kinds of shows, we do demonstrations of different knitting techniques, and then we go to different ah, oh we call them field trips, and events across the world, and we’ve trying in the northeast at least to ah, shoot in all festivals and stitches event and conferences where knitters show up, so…
Gary: Awesome.
Kat: We’re able to bring folks from around the world to this little events because and vaguely, precariously through us.
Gary: Makes a lot of sense, it’s just like, I guess my people would watch me drink wine for 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And so, you rolled up on me after my speech.
Kat: That’s right. because you’re such a passionate person, and knitters are so passionate about their craft around the world. In fact I’m so passionate and I heard you’re birthday was coming up.
Gary: Indeed it is. In theory it’s tomorrow when this airs, but it is a Friday, okay.
Kat: But, but, at least you…
Gary: Uh oh, I’m excited, I see green, so I think something cool is going on.
Kat: I have this in time for the big game here.
Gary: Yes.
Kat: So here’s a hat…
Gary: Yes.
Kat: And a scarf.
Gary: This is, I’m gonna wear it on the show with you right now. Thank you so much, this is awesome.
Kat: And one more gift.
Gary: Here we go.
Kat: Since of course you’re the wine connoisseur…
Gary: This is nice.
Kat: A wine cozy to much your, your outfit there.
Gary: We need to talk about this, I see business opportunities here Mott. Getting a little hot in here. This is gorgeous, thank you so much.
Kat: You’re very welcome.
Gary: Thank you, I appreciate it. Mott, this is cool. I may have to use this for kinda like a surprise, okay, let’s put this over there.
Kat: And those knitters out there.
Gary: So how long did it take you to make this.
Kat: Well, actually it’s about a month, ah, this, the scarf took longer because it’s, it’s kinda boring and tedious.
Gary: Right.
Kat: When you start the green part.
Gary: Right.
Kat: But all together (slurry)
Gary: Are you making fun of the color green?
Kat: No.
Gary: Okay, just making sure.
Kat: No, no, I have, I love this color.
Gary: Just making sure, fair enough.
Kat: I love this color in fact when I post this on twitter, everybody’s like, oh my god, look at that color, they didn’t know it’s for you.
Gary: This is awesome. Thank you. This is awesome. Okay. This is the official colors, this is our official color. This is gorgeous. You know what, I’m going to wear this hat at the game.
Kat: Absolutely.
Gary: Even if, I have a great seats. So, maybe you’ll even see me on TV with the, with the hat. Okay, so.
Kat: Awesome.
Gary: I’m gonna keep this on, even though I’m sweating, okay now, so how about wine, what is your wine world. Are you a nube, or you drink wine, it’s funny I, I, when we thought about doing this knitting wine show, you know, a, I always thought of that, you know, when I think of knitting, it’s you know, casual kind of, it seems very chill, zen like, my mom used to knit, when we first came to America, that’s how, she sold some sweaters, that how we made some money early on, then the only other time knitting really hit my, ahm, radar is ironically Erick Kassner, who is the original camera man of Wine Library TV, Mott and him have a huge feud, doing the first view, ahm, who really is the lead developer here at Wine Library, who really was a pioneer in getting me into Wine Library TV by showing me other video cast, he got really into it, he’s kinda one of those passionate characters.
Kat: Cool.
Gary: And so, it’s, it’s seems a very small, is it a small, is it a small nitch, you know, how big of the nitch is the knitting out there, at least online where you can kind of figure it out.
Kat: Well ahm, well I’ll start with in the world that they’ve come a just gagestics they say a third of north American women and men crochet or knit, which is a huge number, when you talk, when you think about it.
Gary: Yeah, that make drinking wine, you know, a pea on.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: That sounds like, that’s huge number.
Kat: And, and a lot of them have been active as bloggers online since their, you know, 2000, 2001, which really how, which is how I got started really getting engage in…
Gary: Is that when you got into it.
Kat: Well it’s when I got more excited and passionate about it, coz I started blogging and other people were like, ooh, that’s cool, and I would get on…
Gary: You like that feeling when people said something cool.
Kat: Yeah, that every knitter.
Gary: Cool.
Kat: Crocheter loves show and tell. Show off what you’ve done and get hoorah.
Gary: Every person I think likes a little ooh ahh. Mott, you should see when the fans go crazy for him. He acts like he hates it, loves it. Ahm, so , I was thinking about, what wine could go well with, you know, the knitters out there who, you know, casual, and what came to mind was very clean, crisp, simple white wine, and so that kind of led to a sauvignon blanc idea. I’ve been dying to do sauvignon blanc from Chile, New Zealand, California, because Chilean use, Chilean sauvignon blanc, ahm, sauvignon blanc is something that has been really exciting me lately. New Zealand is really the hot upstart, then California is a category that I actually did this quite a bit and have a lot of fans out there that wanna throw down be upset with me about that, so, I’ve got three sauvignon blancs, all in the 10 to 12 dollar price range. To go along with, you know, this, the gorgeous wear that I have here. Tell me this, what about your personal wine drinking experience, are you a big wine drinker, do you not like wine, where are you at?
Kat: I drink wine every night when I come home from work, and I sip…
Gary: Like you pound it, coz it’s been a hard day.
Kat: No.
Gary: Okay.
Kat: In fact I got involved with this wine clubs recently to try to experiment. I didn’t learn much about what was a good wine or what wasn’t, I just like, well I like that, and I put that on my like list, so I got that again in the future, but of course I’ve been drinking since I was young. I’ve come up…
Gary: Like, like, like 13, or?
Kat: No, Italian greek households, we drink a lot.
Gary: So wine has always been a part of growing up.
Kat: Always. Always.
Gary: Let’s get into the first wine, Kat. This is the Glaze Brook, 2007 sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, 13.5 alcohol content, and it is 80 points J Miller who is reviewing this wines for Robert Parkers wine advocate, it rolls in at 11 US dollars, I listen to the vayniacs out there and we give, we’ve given you the actual official spit bucket for yourself.
Kat: My own.
Gary: I got the helmet spit bucket it is all Jets style I like everybody to take a moment of silence right now and pray for the Jets today, it’s a huge game considering that it’s my anniversary.
Kat: Wow.
Gary: Today, Thursday, we should give a huge shout out to my wife Elizabeth, who is clearly one of the greatest human beings of all time. That she would spend her anniversary at fox borough at a football game. That’s pretty big time.
Kat: That’s probably…
Gary: Kat, would you do that?
Kat: Absolutely.
Gary: Well then, you’re awesome. And then, tomorrow is my birthday, so, anniversary and then birthday…
Kat: Double wammy.
Gary: Mott, if the Jets lose this game, it would be devastating. I mean, that they would just crush me, on these very special days.
Kat: Oh, I’m cheering for you.
Gary: Alright, so let’s get into this. New Zealand sauvignon blancs, have you had any?
Kat: No, not this one.
Gary: Okay, have you ever had New Zealand sauvignon blanc at all?
Kat: Yes.
Gary: Okay, this is from Marlborough which is really popular, it’s really the area where we’re seeing a lot of great sauvignon blanc come from. It’s in the price point that a lot of people are buying New Zealand sauvignon blancs at, it’s screw top, like almost all of them these day, which is fine, we talked about that at length, ahm and what’s really exciting about New Zealand sauvignon blanc and what made them extremely popular in the US is their extremely aromatic. So let’s give it a sniffy sniff first.
Kat: Uhm, pretty, apples.
Gary: Yah, you know, I get a lot of grassiness. Are getting any grass?
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: To me, I’m getting a lot of grass there’s some sugar cane component coming through and there’s also like a grape fruit juice.
Kat: Yeah, that’s what it is, I think I smell juice, yes.
Gary: You smell that? That’s like really to me the big component of this wine which is quite nice, so, almost like taking a cut of grass, grabbing a grape fruit, cutting it in half squeezing it on top, taking it and then smelling it, that’s what this smells like to me.
Kat: Awesome.
Gary: Alright, let’s give it a whirl.
Kat: Uhmm.
Gary: Now, Kat, I did not make any of this wines, I am not emotionally attach to them, if you hate it with every ounce of your soul, it is okay with me. what do you think of this wine.
Kat: Well it has a really strong finish on it, which I was surprise about. Ahm,
Gary: So. Very high acid on the back end.
Kat: Yes, yes.
Gary: And now, it’s not chilled, so you’re gonna taste a little more alcohol than if it was in, you know, a fridge or something in that nature. Are you tasting a little of that alcohol?
Kat: Yes, I am.
Gary: Is that bothering you Kat?
Kat: No, no, actually I kinda like that.
Gary: You’re enjoying the alcohol.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: I knew I like that. okay, so, why, me too. So, so, are you liking this wine, is this good, do you enjoy it. where are you at?
Kat: I would probably like this with some cheese, because it really has a strong powerful palette to it.
Gary: Kat is doing a very good job here. I agree with this factor. This wine is very high in acid which makes it very food friendly, that’s what we look for in white wines. This is pretty good balance, I think there’s a lot of upfront sugar cane fruitness, which is really nice, and then you get acid city USA, and anybody who is really into wine, especially the real wine connoisseurs, why I think so many people get addicted to a, Riesling, we’re addicted to acid, Kat.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: Yeah, you have to understand this about wine drinkers, and this, it’s, it’s a really fundamental aspect of white wines that we look for, because a lot of times, white wines can be very flubby, and fruit driven, and not have that balance of acid. To me, this is a pretty strong balance of acid, though it’s a two part series, fruit and then acid, it’s still kind of equaling out, I’d like to see a little bit more integrated but I think it’s pretty solid. Let’s give it one more shot. There’s almost like a kiwi like fruit thing going on in the mid palette, which I like quite a bit. It’s a little sugarfied in the middle palette for me, but it’s still quite strong, I kinda, I kinda like this. How about you?
Kat: Yeah it’s nice I like it a lot.
Gary: Uh huh, you can drink this.
Kat: Yeah, in fact, I’m more, I usually drink more red wines than white, I really like the, the sort of bite of this. It’s a nice bite.
Gary: Yeah I think, I think it’s got some good freshness. To me, I think Miller did a pretty good job, I’ll probably go 87 points on these, probably coz I want to give a big shout out to Levinous Coles, Levinous, big day today, please catch some balls. But, I think it’s an 87 point type wine, good fruit, good balance, 11 bones, you know, I don’t think it’s a screaming value, all my god, Kat, let’s hold hands and run to the store and buy cases. However, I think it’s a good solid value, it’s not, it’s not trying to be too much, it’s just good solid New Zealand sauvignon blanc, reminds me a lot of Babbage or King Crawford, some of the brands you’ve seen out there. So, good start, sound start. Let’s pour this out. Alright, let’s give this a rinse. And now we’re moving on to the semi. Let’s give it a rinse and then, rinse it all around, good, perfect. And let’s dump it. Now, what’s, just curious back to one in every three people, just kind of fascinated by that, when you go to some of this live events, are there big turn outs?
Kat: Oh my gosh, we were just at the New York state sheep and wolf festival in Rhineback, New York, and there was more than 10,000 people there, they come out from all over, not just from New York, some people from Texas, and Toronto and so forth.
Gary: Passion.
Kat: And ah, it was awesome. They are, you know, donate.
Gary: And everybody have…
Kat: They never leave empty handed, Gary, they fill up their car, go back and fill up the car, go back.
Gary: What are they buying, like materials?
Kat: Yarns, and patterns, and fiber for spinning, and ah, and accessories for knitting.
Gary: Were you interviewing people there?
Kat: We totally did.
Gary: That’s awesome.
Kat: In fact, we have 7 hours worth of footage for that.
Gary: That’s 7 hours. Some serious work.
Kat: We do multiple shows out of those events, because they’re such, such, great stuff.
Gary: Now I have a very important question to you, 10,000 people you said…
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: Did anybody had a wine stand there?
Kat: Yes, in fact that was one of the things that I wanted to share with you.
Gary: Damn it, that was gonna be my angle, Mott, I thought we had something.
Kat: They actually had an entire section put aside for the cheese and wine, local wineries.
Gary: Was there anybody really good looking and charismatic behind the wine stand?
Kat: I wouldn’t have known, I was too busy sipping the wines.
Gary: Working. Working. You’re drinking the wine, fair enough. Alright, let’s get into the next wine. Simi, 2007 Sonoma county sauvignon blanc, 13.5 alcohol, also 11 US dollars this is one of the big brands in California, you know, their chardonnay and cabernet sells like water, their sauvignon blanc is also very popular, this is the top five selling sauvignon blanc from California, at Wine Library for like last 10 years. Popular city USA, what the matter Mott, oh, bad angle for the bottle, thank you Mott for saving me, coz otherwise, there’ll be ten comments on what a jerk I am, ahm, let’s give this a sniffy sniff. Let’s see what we get.
Kat: Uhmm seems lighter.
Gary: Agreed.
Kat: Not as fruity.
Gary: Agreed.
Kat: Kind of flat.
Gary: Agreed. You want to take over? I mean I agree, I think it’s aromatically challenged, we’re always are upset when a wine goes AC on us. I do get a little fig component on the nose, which I think is kinda neat, I love figs, and I think it’s a nice little fruity kinda, kinda like apple – pear, apple – pear and fig thing going on, which I think is kinda neat.
Kat: I like the pear.
Gary: You know, I think the pear is coming through quite a bit, but it’s definitely not as aromatically exciting, it’s not popping out of the glass. It’s more subtle, ahm, and, you know, it’s fine, I mean, I don’t think it’s, I don’t think it’s bad, I actually think the fig is quite attractive on the nose.
Kat: I like it differently.
Gary: Alright. Let’s give it a whirl.
Kat: Now this is crisp and light.
Gary: It is very light. It’s almost like we didn’t drink anything. I feel like I drank a water. With a shot of vodka in it.
Kat: With a little, yeah, with a little finish, yeah.
Gary: Like 80 percent water and like a dip of pop up vodka from a plastic bottle.
Kat: Really light.
Gary: Do you like this?
Kat: Ah, I wouldn’t tend to drink something like this, no.
Gary: It’s too light for you.
Kat: It’s, I hardly taste the wine, yeah.
Gary: We’ll just give it one more shot. I’m gonna agree with Kat here. This wine is very subtle, which is fine, but if I’m gonna pay 11 dollars for a bottle of wine, at some level I wanna feel like I’m drinking wine.
Kat: You wanna taste it.
Gary: Yeah. Kat’s getting feisty. Ahm, you know, I think it’s, it’s, it’s off balance, there’s more heat on this wine on the back end, but unlike the last wine, where the fruit allowed you to kinda say, okay, well, at least I’m getting this with this, there’s really, this wine is relegated to like a very light water down apple juice with a shot of vodka. It’s a poor effort to my opinion and a complete waste of your time. I would stay away from it, like the plague, I’m probably gonna score this wine 64 points.
Kat: Wow.
Gary: I think this is a really poor effort. This is kinda reminding me of the feelings I have towards New England Patriots, maybe that’s giving you an indication of how weak this effort is. Now, I have a major bias towards California sauvignon blancs, I’m tend to not being bias on wines at all, but this is again, we tried to pick one that was selling really well, well respected and I think it falls pretty flat.
They seem more popular.
Gary: They’re great, listen, listen, if somebody, if you love this, god bless you, drink it and enjoy it. To me, this is so light and the only way I would see somebody really enjoying this is that they really don’t like wine in the first place.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: You know what I mean, you’re not that big of a wine fan, you don’t wanna drink wine, coz and this can, it just gets you but kind of like just very, very subtle.
Kat: It’s for social drinkers.
Gary: Yeah, I mean, at some level it’s like the people who drink really water down drinks, right, like they go out, they wanna drink, get a drink at the bar, and like, give me a little vodka, like in a crap little orange juice. And you know, it’s that kind of that kind of mentality that bothers me with this effort, it really has to me, it lacks soul. This wine lacks soul, it’s not trying to bring any thunder to the plate, and that bothers me, and, and, it’s pretty disappointing. It’s pretty disappointing. Kat?
Kat: Well, I’d, I’d drink it, if I was nursing a drink for the night.
Gary: That’s a good point, nursing, Kat’s tough. Alright, Leyda, 2006 sauvignon blanc, this is from the San Antonio valley in Chile, 13 US dollars, 90 points wine spectator, a wine that a lot of people had been buying up and a lot of buzz around, we’re rinsing, rinse it all the way, there you go. 90 points spectator, it’s a big time score Mott. You got to like that. ahm, let’s see what’s going on here, let’s see, stylistically this tends to be more similar to New Zealand than California, let’s see if that’s true, one more shot for you Mott. There you go, pretty little label, let’s give it some credit for its package. 13 bones, lucky or unlucky, depending on who you wanna look at that number. Todays the 13th, ahm, let’s give this a sniffy sniff. You can smell it already. I mean, you can smell it from a distance.
Kat: Yummy.
Gary: Wow. So to me, this is almost like moss. You know, like green moss.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: It smells like a little bit like moss to me, like moss man, the he man action figure from the ‘80s. I get a little bit of that action, remember that guy?
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: I also get lime, and I also get a very heavy dose of green peppers coming through.
Kat: Pepper.
Gary: Which is really nice. Again much more aromatic than the last wine. Back to the aromatic levels of the New Zealand sauvignon blanc from Blaze Brook, ahm, I like this…
Kat: But still not as fruity.
Gary: No, not as fruity on the nose. Definitely not the kiwi, grapefruit. This is more of that moss.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: Green pepper. Do you also get ahm, I do get a little, what is this? Ahm, almost like weisenburg, it, it’s a, it’s a very interestingly distinct berry kinda thing, maybe a goose berry. It’s kinda nice, I really like the aromatics of this wine.
Kat: I don’t know, I keep smelling almonds.
Gary: You get almonds? I don’t get almonds, but you know what if you get them that distinctly, you’re probably pick up on them. I’m not really, I’m picking up on basil. Are you getting any basil?
Kat: Yeah, some, definitely the grassiness.
Gary: No question. Let’s give it a whirl.
Kat: Wow.
Gary: What do you think Kat?
Kat: That was the best one.
Gary: You like this the best?
Kat: Yeah. I tasted fruity after, in the finish rather than smelling it.
Gary: You know it’s funny, I like this wine. There’s a creaminess component to it on the mid palette that I find much more exciting than the last wine, and I almost feel like where that one was grape fruit on grass, this is lime on grass. Put the lime on the grass, you know, that whole thing, well that’s coconut, but anyway, there’s definitely a lime, grass component going on here, but I’ve got to be honest with you, it dips off a little bit on the finish for me. I wanna retaste the Glaze Brook real quick, excuse me for a second Kat. Apologize for the reach. Just see this real quick. Let’s quick comparing this two for my own sake. Lot more acid in this wine than, than the Leyda, ahm, I don’t know, I, I think the Leyda’s a very nice Chilean sauvignon blanc, I’m a big fan of Chile. I think it’s a, it’s got more creaminess. It’s more structured than the Glaze Brook, but it’s missing a little something on the finish for me. But for you it’s definitely a better wine, huh.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: You wanna try the Glaze Brook real quick.
Kat: This was too light and then the ah.
Gary: Try the Glaze Brook one more time.
Kat: Okay.
Gary: That one right there, grab that after this one. Just want to see what you think. Leyda is probably the wine for your sadsere drinkers out there. It’s got a little more creaminess. It’s little bit more classic. Little more old world believe it or not. Ahm, I don’t know, it’s a really, a toss up, to me this probably has a little bit more balance, and when I tasted more by each other I get a little bit more seriousness at the Leyda, but it didn’t really crush my palette, that as much as the Glaze Brook, I think…
Kat: That definitely hits your fan.
Gary: That, that, very spritzy and exciting. Good wine. I mean, I’m a little bit disappointed with that, ahm, spectator went 90, I’m gonna go 88 plus, I think it’s a strong effort, I think it’s a nice wine, but it’s not a crusher, it’s not a no brainer, you know, tok, out of the park wine, it’s not that, and I was kinda hoping base on the score and based on the return business we’ve seen from it, for it to be that, but it’s just not doing that for me. How about for you, this was definitely the best one?
Kat: I think so. I think the ah, which one was this…
Gary: Glaze Brook.
Kat: The Glaze Brook was a little too strong
Gary: On the finish.
Kat: On the finish.
Gary: And the Simi?
Kat: Too light and then, this was nice because I like that creamy finish.
Gary: You like the balance of it.
Kat: Yeah.
Gary: It’s a good wine, alright, sauvignon blancs, like a Chilean, slightly, maybe ahead of New Zealand, California below. Again, no hidden agenda, Kat doesn’t care, ahm, and so, ahm, once again interesting to see, but most of all, very clean, crisp, nice price point, easy drinking white wines that you don’t need food with, but I agree with Kat. Love to eat all three of this with cheese, heck, I’d like to eat poop with cheese, that’s how much I like cheese but, that’s another story for another day, Kat, it is always customary for the guess to ask the vayniacs the question of the day, so you get to ask them any question you’d like. About anything you’d like. Doesn’t even have to be about wine or knitting, it could be about outer space, fire away.
Kat: Aren’t you psych on what is happening in the US today since the election?
Gary: You weren’t suppose to get political. You, with a little bit of me, Kat, thanks for being here.
Kat: Thank you.
Gary: We’re changing the wine world.
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