Gary Vaynerchuk
Encyclopedia
Gary Vaynerchuk is a video blogger, co-owner and director of operations of a wine
retail store, and an author and public speaker
on the subjects of social media
, brand building
and e-commerce
. Vaynerchuk immigrated to the U.S.
in 1978, and after graduating from Mount Ida College
in Newton, MA, transformed his father's Springfield, NJ
liquor store
into a large scale retail wine store named Wine Library, and in 2006 started the video blog Wine Library TV, a daily internet webcast on the subject of wine, which launched his career of internet celebrity.
, GQ
, and Time
, appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
and Ellen
. Vaynerchuk has been described as "the first wine guru of the YouTube era", "the wine world's new superstar", and by Rob Newsom, a Washington State wine maker, "outside of Robert Parker
, probably the most influential wine critic in the United States". In the July 2009 Decanter
publication of "The Power List" ranking of the wine industry's individuals of influence, Vaynerchuk placed at number 40, citing that he "represents the power of blogging".
In August 2010 it was announced that Vaynerchuk will host a weekly, two hour call-in radio show titled Wine & Web with Gary Vaynerchuk on the digital radio station Sirius XM.
hosted by Vaynerchuk, featuring wine reviews and advice on wine appreciation. Episodes consisted of wine tastings along with other wine related topics. The show debuted on February 21, 2006, and is produced on a daily basis, on weekdays, and is taped in the Wine Library store in Springfield, NJ. Episodes taped Monday through Thursday usually took place on a desk in Vaynerchuk's office, normally tasting three or four wines, and the Friday episode took place on Vaynerchuk's office couch, tasting usually only one wine and answering questions submitted via his Facebook
application Ask Gary. The show may be watched by 90,000 viewers. Vaynerchuk appeared on the cover of the December 2008 issue of Mutineer Magazine, launching the "Mutineer Interview" series.
After 1,000 episodes of Wine Library TV, the show was retired in March 2011 , replaced by a very similar video podcast called The Daily Grape, with a slightly shorter format of only two wine reviews, and fewer guests.
Vaynerchuk gives his impressions and finally rates wines using the 100 point scale. As an outspoken critic of numerical scores, he has acknowledged his hypocrisy in using them.
While typically a one man show, on occasion guests have been featured in the program. To date celebrity guests include Jancis Robinson
, Heidi Barrett
, George M. Taber
, Kevin Rose
, Maynard James Keenan
, Michael Steinberger
, Ingrid Hoffmann
, Timothy Ferriss
, Jim Cramer of CNBC's Mad Money
, Kermit Lynch
, Wayne Gretzky
, and Dick Vermeil
.
Vaynerchuk has also announced a partnership with Eatdrinkordie.com, where he has released videos about wine, sometimes working with celebrities like Anna Faris
.
In March 2009, Wine Library TV was nominated in the Streamy Awards
.
August 23rd, 2011 he announced on Daily Grape that he is retiring from wine video blogging.
world as one of the first attempts to successfully use a low-advance/high royalty business model
.
In the first weeks of its release Crush It climbed to #1 on the Amazon Best Seller list for Web Marketing books. It also opened at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and #7 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller List.
The book encourages people to determine what truly makes them happy and pursue monetizing around it on the internet. It argues that because of recent social and technological trends the cost of producing content has been driven low enough that passion, knowledge, and effort, which the book calls "sweat equity", are now all one needs to build a brand and business.
Crush It was also among the first books released on the Vook
platform.
Vaynerchuk appeared in an episode of the CollegeHumor
web series Jake and Amir
in 2009, and parodied the slightly nonsensical aspect of Crush It.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
retail store, and an author and public speaker
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
on the subjects of social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
, brand building
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
and e-commerce
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
. Vaynerchuk immigrated to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1978, and after graduating from Mount Ida College
Mount Ida College
Mount Ida College is a private college in Newton, Massachusetts offering professional undergraduate and graduate degrees.-History:The Mount Ida School for Girls was a private all-female high school founded in 1899 by George Franklin Jewett, named after the hill on which it was located in Newton...
in Newton, MA, transformed his father's Springfield, NJ
Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey
Township of Springfield is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population increased to a record high of 15,817....
liquor store
Liquor store
In the United States, Australia and Canada, a liquor store is a type of store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In South Africa and Namibia these stores are generally called bottle stores....
into a large scale retail wine store named Wine Library, and in 2006 started the video blog Wine Library TV, a daily internet webcast on the subject of wine, which launched his career of internet celebrity.
Reaction
He has been featured in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, GQ
GQ (magazine)
GQ is a monthly men's magazine focusing on fashion, style, and culture for men, through articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books...
, and Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
and Ellen
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
. Vaynerchuk has been described as "the first wine guru of the YouTube era", "the wine world's new superstar", and by Rob Newsom, a Washington State wine maker, "outside of Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...
, probably the most influential wine critic in the United States". In the July 2009 Decanter
Decanter (magazine)
Decanter is an up market magazine on wine and spirits, published in over 90 countries on a monthly basis. The magazine content includes news from the industry, vintage guides and wine recommendations. Decanter organizes the annual Decanter World Wine Awards.-Wine Ratings:Decanter employs a 1 to 5...
publication of "The Power List" ranking of the wine industry's individuals of influence, Vaynerchuk placed at number 40, citing that he "represents the power of blogging".
In August 2010 it was announced that Vaynerchuk will host a weekly, two hour call-in radio show titled Wine & Web with Gary Vaynerchuk on the digital radio station Sirius XM.
Wine Library TV
Wine Library TV (WLTV or The Thunder Show) (2006–2011) was a video podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
hosted by Vaynerchuk, featuring wine reviews and advice on wine appreciation. Episodes consisted of wine tastings along with other wine related topics. The show debuted on February 21, 2006, and is produced on a daily basis, on weekdays, and is taped in the Wine Library store in Springfield, NJ. Episodes taped Monday through Thursday usually took place on a desk in Vaynerchuk's office, normally tasting three or four wines, and the Friday episode took place on Vaynerchuk's office couch, tasting usually only one wine and answering questions submitted via his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
application Ask Gary. The show may be watched by 90,000 viewers. Vaynerchuk appeared on the cover of the December 2008 issue of Mutineer Magazine, launching the "Mutineer Interview" series.
After 1,000 episodes of Wine Library TV, the show was retired in March 2011 , replaced by a very similar video podcast called The Daily Grape, with a slightly shorter format of only two wine reviews, and fewer guests.
Vaynerchuk gives his impressions and finally rates wines using the 100 point scale. As an outspoken critic of numerical scores, he has acknowledged his hypocrisy in using them.
While typically a one man show, on occasion guests have been featured in the program. To date celebrity guests include Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
, Heidi Barrett
Heidi Barrett
Heidi Peterson Barrett is a winemaker who has been responsible for some of California's most notable cult wines, including Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle Vineyards, Paradigm Winery, Grace Family Vineyards, Amuse Bouche, Lamborn Family Vineyards, Showket Vineyards and Fantesca, is a consultant for...
, George M. Taber
George M. Taber
George M. Taber is a journalist and entrepreneur.Taber was a reporter and editor with Time magazine in the United States and Europe for 21 years, working in Brussels, Bonn, Houston, Washington, DC, and New York...
, Kevin Rose
Kevin Rose
Kevin Rose is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk...
, Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...
, Michael Steinberger
Michael Steinberger
Michael Steinberger is an American author and journalist, and was the wine columnist of the internet magazine Slate from 2002 to 2011. He has been described as "one of the greatest wine writers on the planet", and to possess a "blessedly trustworthy voice and palate"...
, Ingrid Hoffmann
Ingrid Hoffmann
Ingrid Hoffmann is a Colombian-American television personality and restaurateur, currently hosting the Food Network series Simply Delicioso and the Spanish-language cooking and lifestyle show Delicioso on Galavisión. Her cookbook, Simply Delicioso: A Collection of Everyday Recipes with a Latin...
, Timothy Ferriss
Timothy Ferriss
Timothy Ferriss is an American author, entrepreneur, and public speaker. In 2007, he published The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, which was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. In 2010, he followed up with The 4-Hour Body...
, Jim Cramer of CNBC's Mad Money
Mad Money
Mad Money is an American finance television program hosted by Jim Cramer that began airing on CNBC on March 14, 2005. Its main focus is investment and speculation, particularly in publicly traded stocks...
, Kermit Lynch
Kermit Lynch
Kermit Lynch is an American wine importer, author, and winemaker based in Berkeley, California. He is the author of Adventures on the Wine Route which won the Veuve Clicquot Wine Book of the Year award...
, Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
, and Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...
.
Vaynerchuk has also announced a partnership with Eatdrinkordie.com, where he has released videos about wine, sometimes working with celebrities like Anna Faris
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris is an American actress, singer and comedienne. She is known for her starring role in the Scary Movie film series, as well as roles in The Hot Chick , Lost in Translation , Just Friends , My Super Ex-Girlfriend , Smiley Face , and The House Bunny...
.
In March 2009, Wine Library TV was nominated in the Streamy Awards
Streamy Awards
The Streamy Awards, popularly known as the Streamys, are presented annually by the International Academy of Web Television to recognize excellence in the arts and science of web television production, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The formal ceremony at which the awards are...
.
August 23rd, 2011 he announced on Daily Grape that he is retiring from wine video blogging.
Crush It
In March 2009, Vaynerchuk signed a 10-book deal with HarperStudio for over $1,000,000 and released the first book, Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on your Passion, in October 2009. The deal is groundbreaking in the publishingPublishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
world as one of the first attempts to successfully use a low-advance/high royalty business model
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
.
In the first weeks of its release Crush It climbed to #1 on the Amazon Best Seller list for Web Marketing books. It also opened at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and #7 on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller List.
The book encourages people to determine what truly makes them happy and pursue monetizing around it on the internet. It argues that because of recent social and technological trends the cost of producing content has been driven low enough that passion, knowledge, and effort, which the book calls "sweat equity", are now all one needs to build a brand and business.
Crush It was also among the first books released on the Vook
Vook
Vook is a New York-based company that publishes digital books that combine text, video, links to the internet and social media into singular applications available both online and as mobile applications...
platform.
Vaynerchuk appeared in an episode of the CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by InterActiveCorp and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's...
web series Jake and Amir
CollegeHumor
CollegeHumor is a comedy website owned by InterActiveCorp and based in New York City. The site features daily original comedy videos and articles created by its in-house writing and production team, in addition to user-submitted videos, pictures, articles and links. In early 2009, CollegeHumor's...
in 2009, and parodied the slightly nonsensical aspect of Crush It.
Awards and honors
- 2003: Market Watch magazine Business Award: "Market Watch Leader" (youngest recipient ever)
- 2006: People's Choice Vloggie in the categories of "Cooking" and "Instructional/Educational"
- 2007: American Wine Blog Awards, Best Wine Podcast or Videoblog
- 2007: The Morning NewsThe Morning News (online magazine)The Morning News is a U.S.-based daily online magazine founded in 1999 by Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack. It began as an email newsletter and in the fall of 2000 evolved into a news-oriented weblog with a New York focus...
's "Favorite Web Phenomenon, Soon-to-Be Culinary Celebrity, Web Bucket-Spitter" - 2008: Bravo A-List Awards, 2008 Nominee for A-List Celebrity
- 2011: The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
Twitter's Small Business Big Shots