Gary Vaynerchuk: Hello, everybody. Welcome to Wine Library TV. I am your host, Gary Vaynerchuk, and this my friends, is the Thunder Show a.k.a. The internet’s most passionate wine program, and we are here in the Time Warner Center, see all the cops on the New York City action at CLO Wine Bar which is an amazing spot on the 4th floor of Time Warner Center. It’s a really cool wine bar that has all these great different wines from pours but what really makes this place stand out is this table they have, which is completely bad ass and a really cool use of technology, and I'm going to have Brian here who let’s us in before they open. We appreciated it. Brian, how are you?
Brian: I'm well. Thanks, how are you doing?
Gary Vaynerchuk: Thank you. Tell the vayniacs what your favorite wine is at the moment.
Brian: My favorite wine of the moment in terms of value, I love the Lavradores Tres Bagos 2005 out of the Douro, Portugal.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Portugal. That was not set at the place in Portugal.
Brian: Oh, no, in Portugal as well.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Alright, anyway. This table, there’s projector up here, I see. Explain it. I'm going to get people to scope, but I’ll come right back.
Brian: Sure.
Gary Vaynerchuk: So, they got this great table. You could see that’s just goes across the whole bar and it’s pretty, video game day out. Tell us about this table.
Brian: Yes, so this is our wine list. It’s projected down on to the center of the bar, and when we load a wine up we take an image of that wine projected down on the table and all content and tasting notes as well.
Gary Vaynerchuk: And could you order from this, as well?
Brian: It’s not necessarily for ordering. It’s more a space to go for some information to learn little bits and nuggets about each wine and then make a more informed position as you had with the gin.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Got it, so let’s look over here and see if I can get on this.
Brian: Sure.
Gary Vaynerchuk: It’s going to let your skills, okay.
Brian: So this is our lists, again projected on the table with an infra red lens in the ceiling. You see the signs that are little cursive with the tip of my finger.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Yes.
Brian: What you do is come up to the scroll bar and you exactly scroll through all of our wines, and the way the wines are arranged is from lighter body to more full bodied, regions and varietals are all little mixed up.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Yes.
Brian: When the wines are highlighted you have an info button up here that tells you the styles, grape varietal, the wine’s origin, price per pour, price per bottle, and then some sliding scale characteristics just like when you taste wine, fruit, earth wood, sweet and sip or acidity.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Yes.
Brian: You also have tasting notes for each wine that are some ways put together, just quick snippet, some of them are funny, some of them are little geeky and most of them are somewhere in between.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Great.
Brian: The last function is a map that shows you where that wine is in the space, so these are center bar.
Gary Vaynerchuk: So, goes right over there. Got it.
Brian: Yup, so we’re right here. This will be in C2 which is in the C case, and that is one through eight, from left to right, so number two.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Simple.
Brian: It seems simple, doesn’t it?
Gary Vaynerchuk: I mean I like it. How’s the reaction? When did this place open?
Brian: We’ve been open since September.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Okay.
Brian: And the reaction has been really positive. People really get in to the wine lists and it’s a revolving door type list, so it’s a hundred selections, global in scope and we change 10% to 15% of the wines each week, so there’s always something new to taste which I think is huge.
Gary Vaynerchuk: And your neighbors per se mass that you’ve got some really upscale friends here, huh?
Brian: There’s no doubt that we have some high profile neighbors, and we’re very thankful for that.
Gary Vaynerchuk: You know what’s funny as I was looking through this, as I'm going through, the glass spaces are not that crazy. I mean obviously when you get to an old space you’re going to see something like 48 bones, but you’ll also going to have a $12.00 or something, and I thought it over here is an $8.00. Yes, I mean you’ve got stuff here which is eight dollar. The chit off is an eight dollar glass place , so even though you’re not in swanky place, and you’ve got this swanky neighbors the pricing doesn’t seem to be awful, and you guys know I would call the bad alley.
Brian: Thank you for that, first of all, but yes our goal is to get more people drinking more wine. New varietals, new producers, new regions—
Gary Vaynerchuk: Was there a point that there was a thought that said, “You know what if we price our selves out people might buy one because a community would rather see them buy two and three and enjoy the place.”
Brian: Yes, definitely. Comparative tasting or tasting a number of wines in one sitting is really our goal on our place, so—
Gary Vaynerchuk: Sure, very cool.
Brian: So, we’re more approachable we can make that the better it is for everyone.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Cool, so I'm going to walk around to show you some of the selections. They have the Ciro, Rochioli Sauvignon Blanc. We’re to pick one together. Obviously, we’re going to taste the wine. I did a little walking around before it’s a little kind of sucky excuse me action. There are some bubbles, obviously, they’re not on the machine yet that really I figured--
Brian: The old-fashioned way.
Gary Vaynerchuk: The old-fashioned way, then figure that out.
Brian: Not really as exciting for our guests.
Gary Vaynerchuk: This is actually what caught my eye. This one is what I'm going to order. This Rolf Binder Hubris merely because a buddy of mine had been singing the praises of this wine, so talk to me about what we’re going to do now.
Brian: Alright, so we showed you the list and the map and how the wines are located, now with your CLO card, what you do is go up to machine. We’ll be going to M7 and you insert the card with the arrow side down.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Alright.
Brian: So just like that. Always going to show your balancer or how much you’ve really done.
Gary Vaynerchuk: This is our balance. Vayniacs, we’re not very rich around here.
Brian: Oh that’s it. This one is going up. That unlocks the whole case.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Yes.
Brian: And these are on the outside, so you hold your glass up, and then you’re just going to press the zero button and it kind of gives you a pour.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Okay, it’s not bad and that’s the pours. So, then that card has $19.00 balance up so it works backwards kind of?
Brian: Yes.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Do I like hand down that card at the end of the night and play?
Brian: Exactly, you get the run while then we’re your done we collect the cards.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Is there a way that I sneak out without paying the cards? You guys pay attention to that and the adjacent diners?
Brian: We’re going to take a credit that sort of anchor. You need space.
Gary Vaynerchuk: I see.
Brian: Nothing personal.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Understood. Alright, cool. Thank you so much.
Brian: Yes, my pleasure. That was great. It’s awesome. Thank you.
Gary Vaynerchuk: This place is good enough. Thank you.
Brian: Thank you.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Alright, now let’s get into this wine. Now, this is 65% Shiraz, 45% Mataro, also known as Mourvedre in the different parts of the world. Rolf Binder Hubris is a very sought-after producer, Parker. I especially love this guy. Huge scores till the last half decade to a decade. This wine can be called as the $50, $60 range maybe a little higher or lower left to their homework, but great color. You know, just big dark, black fruit, coming through. A little bit of that, a little bit of that, a little bit of this. Alright, let’s give it a little sniffy-sniff.
Big dark fruit or blackberry coming through, it’s also a little bit like an engine oil plan. It’s like an oily kind of, greasy kind of mechanic arm you know like mechanical candy from just like black because there’s wheel and greases, a little bit of that coming through mixing which is like big bright black raspberry flavor. It’s definitely some cleanliness, and I'm definitely a little worried if the oak monster makes some appearance because I'm definitely getting little less pointer wood, creaminess coming through, let’s give it a whirl.
Let me start by saying big shot up to my buddy Craig N. Bossman whose been pushing me to review this wine, and what he said to me was, “I know you’re starting to like the fruit wines a little more than you used to and I think this has a little more balance than most.”
I completely disagree. This wine is massively over the top and tastes like dessert candy, cream pop strawberry jam, needs like baked vanilla cake. Now, on paper that sounds delicious. What’s missing is anything outside of that candiness and here’s like a concern. Don’t mad at this wine and really what’s kind of interesting is this is probably the most strawberry short cake like flavor I’ve ever tasted. You know why, and that’s not bad because I like that dessert.
What I don’t like is it doesn’t seem to have any tin bounce and no secondary action going on it. It just like fruit bum which is fine, but here is where Australia in my opinion and parts of California definitely parts of Spain and even Papua New old world country have strapped themselves. This flavor is delicious like easily replicatable for $12.00 to $15.00 retail a bottle, and naturally you get scared. That’s what really hurt when products like Markey Phillips can come out, or like you know Leo cake can come out for $12.00 to $15 and because it’s so hidden by the make up that this wine clearly has it is over oaking, attracting style.
You start having the scenario where consumers question why they would pay $50.00 when they can get that singing sensation for 13, and I think that’s what often a wine gets into. I like the deliciousness factor. It doesn’t bother me. It’s a fun drink. Talk about the kind of wine that probably looks for place like this. It would be goes most absolutely with sushi. You come here. You want that big bowl, to had a night cap it off instead of glass of scotch this is a great play, but it is not very complex and it’s simplicity bothers me a little bit especially the place where you loading wine for this wine, and I think they didn’t make up to it and just having power.
Even if you can hit a crop little home runs you don’t have the ability to hit to the office of field or take a walk once in a while. You’re not going to play baseball, and it’s kind of high feel with this wine on the score of 86 points because I don’t think it’s awful and it’s got some nice flavor, but the seriousness is seriously lacking, and I’m disappointed by that. It’s what I feel about that.
Question of the day, what is your favorite wine bar at this moment? Write a wine bar, I'm curious. Hopefully, we’ll see from Germany and all the other countries in the world. What’s your favorite wine bar right now? You, give a little bit of me, we’re changing the wine world.
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