Gary Vaynerchuk as Market Maker
I just got back from a trade tasting in which I tasted the wares of a Sonoma producer (sorry folks, I’m keeping this a blind item) who I’d heard received raves from Gary Vaynerchuk a little while back. I told the Winery rep that I was guessing he hit pay-dirt after Gary’s vlogcast.
He imparted the following on me: a few months before, the winery had received accolades from Robert Parker, scoring a 91 and a 93 for two of its offerings. Subsequently, over the course of a few weeks, the winery received approximately fourteen orders that it could directly attribute to the Wine Advocate scores. Within 24 hours of the Vaynerchuk vlogcast, in which Gary scored one of their wines a 93, they received more than 400 phone calls and orders.
14 vs. 400? It’s pretty clear who the market maker is these days and it’s not Robert Parker.
There is little doubt that Gary is selling wine with his “reviews.” It’s worth noting, he’s not always selling it on behalf of the Wine Library, who I’m guessing probably only had a few cases of this item in stock. Undoubtedly, supplies dwindled at other retailers, and the winery is clearly a direct beneficiary of Gary’s dedicated following.
Interesting times.
19 Responses to “Gary Vaynerchuk as Market Maker”
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Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.
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March 11th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
I know exactly who this producer is, and while very good, I’m not sure that their Sonoma coast Pinot really justifies this level of excitement.
But still, it is not shocking given that Parker is not that big in California. If this were Bordeaux I think the situation would be different. None the less, Vaynerchuck is fast becoming a force within the industry.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
I’m really impressed by that. A lot of the time, web personalities can talk a big game and get a lot of traffic but I’m never sure how well they’re monetizing. It’s interesting to hear that Gary’s review showed that many direct interest phone calls to the winery (I can only imagine how many interested parties are pinging his store’s stock).
March 12th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Have you seen any impact from wines you carry and Gary’s reviews? If, of course, you have any stock that he’s reviewed. How about any others reviewed by wine bloggers?
March 12th, 2009 at 7:34 am
flattered and it just shows the world is changing, I am so excited to see awesome people in the wine world who are passionate make things happen! I love this site for example and told you when I saw you how impressed I am by your blog,effort and hustle
Things are always changing and I just want to work hard to be a part of it!
March 12th, 2009 at 7:34 am
PS: Tim your stuff rocks!
March 12th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing that data point. Tim guessing my blog isn’t driving as many sales as @garyvee
Though I am trying to hustle!
March 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
This is awesome information….Like Gary says the game is changing and this shows that it really is. AWESOME!!!
March 12th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
[…] Here’s an interesting blog post over at domaine547: “Gary Vaynerchuk as Market Maker.” […]
March 12th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Thanks for the comments, folks.
Ryan, though I see your point, I think that producers like SQN and Alban had their reputations sealed by high Parker scores. So I’m not completely in agreement with you that he’s not big in California…I do, however, think that his strengths are Bordeaux and the Rhone, as far as people following his ratings. Spain and Australia, less so now that Jay Miller has taken over the territory. What I find most interesting is what’s most effective these days as a call to action, and I think that the 14 to 400 statistic is startling for what it says about that.
Tim, I have only carried a few wines that have been reviewed by Gary, including a Rocca Cabernet which he scored through the roof on a blind tasting, and the Valdesil Montenovo which he also raved about. In both of those instances, I definitely saw some traffic and sales bumps from the mentions. With the Valdesil, I had no idea why I was seeing the spike until I happened upon the wine mentioned in the WLTV forums. Prior to that discovery, I had been excited that maybe I was gaining credibility with my readers and customer base, as I’d given the wine my strongest recommendation. But it turned out I was just one of a few retailers that happened to carry the wine that came recommended by Gary. Oh well!
Gary, it took you nearly 24 hours to find this post and comment on it. You’re really slacking these days, I was sure you’d get the Google Alert within hours and be right on it. Sheesh! Of course, thanks for the kind words, and for raising the profile of wine for all of us. Could you take a look at my inventory and maybe review a few more wines I have in stock so I can move some cases???!
Jason, Deano, Master Grape - thanks for stopping by and contributing to the conversation. Looking forward to checking out your sites.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I think it comes down to two qualities that Internet media (and Internet celebrities) have over any other media. Authenticity and loyalty.
When online thought leaders have something to say, and say it with style and sincerity - the way Gary does - people believe it. And then they pull out their wallets.
March 12th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Excellent post and really points to the changing wine market. The fact is most wine consumers don’t read Parkers review or have a subscription to one of the big wine mags. They are turing to the web for reviews and when they find somebody that is honest and easy to understand they follow them.
Not to mention the “big” wine publications are ignoring the wines most of America buys at their grocery store.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Very interesting info!
It’s nice to see real data on stuff like this that we may intuitively get.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:07 am
really interesting post. looks like a sea change. thanks
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:14 pm
it’s about authenticity and transparency - BRANDING at its best (I am not at all surprised)
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 am
d547: Sorry, I meant that Parker is not big in California Pinot. I wasn’t referring to Cabs and Rhone varietals, etc.
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:03 am
[…] lot of you are here for one reason, and one reason only: Gary Vaynerchuk linked to a post I wrote about him being a market […]
March 25th, 2009 at 8:46 am
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April 1st, 2009 at 2:06 pm
[…] Domaine547 heeft de verkopen vergeleken na de beoordeling van beide heren van een wijn uit Sanoma. (Helaas blijft die producent anoniem) […]
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