The Wine Conference, Houston’s Wine Event

Gary Vaynerchuk

Wine Library TV is changing the wine world!

What motivates this revolution, you ask? Our movement seeks to break down the barriers, stereotypes, and misperceptions that otherwise prevent people from exploring and enjoying the exciting and rewarding world of wine. Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY NER CHUK), the star of Wine Library TV, is Director of Operations at Wine Library in Springfield, NJ. With his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, Gary has attracted a cult-like following of more than 80,000 viewers a day. In the name of “expanding one’s palate”, Gary convinced Conan O’Brien to lick salted rocks and shared samples of dirt and grass with Ellen Degeneres. He routinely pans popular wines (even ones sold by Wine Library). He interrupts his webcasts with rants about his beloved New York Jets. This is not your typical wine expert.

Gary’s roots in wine tasting come honestly - his Russian immigrant parents owned a liquor store when he was growing up. Bored at the cash register, Gary began reading Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate and realized collecting wine offered an allure similar to his previous hobby of collecting baseball cards. As a teenager, tasting wine was legally impossible, so Gary set out to train his palate “backwards”. To study various flavors associated with wine, Gary tasted obscure fruits and vegetables, along with earthly influences, including grass, dirt, rocks, tobacco and wood. “I probably consumed more New Jersey grass in my teens than any lawn mower.” By familiarizing himself with the numerous tastes that contributed to a specific wine, Gary was able to detect subtleties that an ordinary palate wouldn’t recognize.

With a wealth of knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit, Gary spent every weekend of his college years at his parents’ store, rebranding the family business as Wine Library and establishing himself as a respected expert. As the store’s only wine buyer, he sampled every wine that entered the store. Customers depended on Gary for his advice and within a five year time period, Wine Library grew from a $4 million dollar business to a $45 million business.

But Gary’s career took a new turn with the advent of Wine Library TV. Gary’s key goals are twofold: “First, I want people to try different wines. How can you have a favorite if you only know a few? Second, I tell people to trust their palates. If a wine appeals to your palate, then it’s a good choice. Don’t feel pressured to like popular brands or what experts recommend. Buy what ‘brings the thunder’ for you.”

It always troubled Gary to observe the stuffiness of the industry–conceited sommeliers, snobby shopkeepers unwilling (or unable) to educate their consumers, and seemingly mystical conventions all combine to make wine seem intimidating to the uninitiated. Wine Library TV has reinvented the concept of wine tasting for a new generation. In addition to encouraging straightforward wine tasting, Gary educates viewers about the effects of regional factors (soil, sun, wind) on wine flavors, and how to buy wine. Debunking myths (red vs. white, big name brands vs. independent growers, the pitfalls of wine ratings, etc.) is another ongoing theme of the show. Specific episode topics have included decanting, how to train your palate, the impact oak aging
and barrel fermenting have on wine (Beware of the Oak Monster!), and comparisons of wines made from the same grapes grown in different regions.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Guy Stout - Master Sommelier and CWE

Guy Noel Stout MS, CWE
Corporate Director Beverage Education
Glazer’s Family of Companies

Guy is one of only 150 Master Sommelier (MS) in the world. He is also a Certified Wine Educator (CWE), and on the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators. He is a founding member and Board of Director of the Texas Sommelier Association, specializing in education for the hospitality industry in Texas. Guy has been recognized as a Houston Icon for his contribution to the Wine and Food Industry of Texas.

He is the Corporate Director of Beverage Education for The Glazer’s Family of Companies, covering 12 states.

Guy has been the guest featured “wine expert” on the PBS cooking series Cucina Amore with Damian Mandola and Johnny Carrabba, founders of the Carrabba’s Restaurant Chain. He has appeared on a number of radio and television talk shows covering wine and food.

Guy is a member of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association and owner of Stout Vineyards in the Texas Hill Country AVA, producing Syrah grapes and selling them to local wineries.

He is an active wine judge for a variety of national competitions; including the L. A. County Fair, Dallas Morning News, Jefferson Cup, Texas Open and Houston Rodeo Wine Competition.

He is also a graduate of the Wine and Spirits Management Institute at the University of Houston Hilton School for Hotel and Restaurant Management, where he is a guest lecturer. Guy is a member of the Houston Food and Beverage Managers Association, and an active spokesman for the adult beverage industry.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Shawn Dougherty, CSW

Who would have thought wine bars would be popping up like those famous coffee shops on every corner?  Has the beer gone flat?  Do distilled spirits have the same power they once did?  What is it about wine that has taken over the adult beverage industry?  Is it the way wine seduces the senses and captures your attention?  With Shawn’s infectious enthusiasm, he will help you decide and teach you to taste and compare the differences. He will capture your imagination and take you on a journey to the major wine regions of the world.  He is perhaps best known for his unbiased and laid back approach on educating wine lovers on selecting the best wines for their pallets and budgets.

Shawn Dougherty is a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), Certified Spanish Wine Educator (CSWE) through The Wine Academy of Spain, and Sommelier.  He began his studies of food and wine at the French Culinary Institute in New York City and is working toward his goal of becoming a Master of Wine.  Shawn has spent time in Napa Valley, Sonoma, and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. He has walked the vineyards and sampled wine from the barrel with acclaimed winemakers from California and Texas, and has learned from viticulturists who have worked in vineyards around the world. He has toured the Champagne region of France and has met many experts of the finest wine producers of France, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Chile, and Argentina.  Shawn is an active member of The Society of Wine Educators and the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association. His love for wine is unprecedented and his passion for teaching about wine is a true experience for all who attend his classes. He has facilitated many wine pairing events for both corporate and individuals, public and private.  Old world and new world comparisons are his forte. Shawn invites you to sit back, relax and enjoy the fundamentals of tasting wine, wine pairings, and entertaining with ease.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Richard Shaffer

Imagine sipping a glass of wine from the birthplace of both wine and, in fact, our entire civilization. Israel is no stranger to the grape. References to wine are sprinkled throughout the Bible: the first thing Noah did when the flood abated was to plant a vineyard. Today, Richard Shaffer is taking that ancient tradition and putting a modern spin on it. With Israeli Wine Direct, the company he founded in 2007, the Chicago entrepreneur passionately shares Israeli wine - what he calls “the future of wine history” - all across America. Israeli Wine Direct brings the finest artisan wines from Israel to American wine lovers — who are consistently and pleasantly surprised to discover that the region’s best wines are comparable to Napa’s finest. Even venerable wine critic Robert Parker has taken notice, highly rating some of the wines that IWD imports to the US. “Israeli wines now have a seat at the international wine table,” says Shaffer. “Wine brings people together across cultures and countries. And Israeli wine is an entry for people into what the real Israel is all about.”

IWD imports to America the best wines from five of the leading boutique wineries in Israel — Flam, Pelter, Margalit, Tulip, Tzora, as well as the occasional “truly backyard boutique winery.” Shaffer marvels how such a small nation as Israel contains within it such varied climates and terroir. The Judean Hills were recently called by a leading wine critic on Parker’s team “one of the most underrated wine regions in the world.” The Golan heights are situated on the ashy remains of an ancient volcano, and more than half the country is a desert. You can taste, says Shaffer, the region’s rich and unique history in every bottle. “Take Cabernet, for instance, and plant it in the Judean hills and it tastes different than it would anywhere else in the world. There’s some Mediterranean spice and a sort of sunshine in these wines.”

But what most impressed Shaffer about his travels through Israel was that, while touring these modern vineyards, he’d literally trip over ancient wine presses, carved out of stone outcroppings back in the biblical age. Indeed, Israelis were making wine two to three thousand years before their European counterparts. Of course, the wine of that era bears little resemblance to today’s sophisticated Israeli wines from places like the valley where David conquered Goliath!

Winemaking underwent a renaissance in Israel in the 1980s when modern techniques began being seriously applied. Twenty years ago there were about 20 wineries in all of Israel, says Shaffer. Today there are 200. Israeli Wine Direct has enjoyed an even greater exponential growth: in 2008 Shaffer imported 1000 cases of wine — for 2009 he is on target to double that.  And with the U.S. poised to become the world’s largest wine-consuming market in 2012, there are plenty of Americans eager to imbibe. Shaffer, who can be found online at all hours blogging about his passions, has even teamed up with the Israeli consulate in the U.S. to host parties for visiting dignitaries and sophisticates. “People are naturally curious about Israel,” says Shaffer. Now, thanks to Israeli Wine Direct, they can quench that thirst through wines they will be proud to pour and proud to share.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Denman Moody

Denman Moody started Moody’s Wine Review in 1978. In the early ‘80s, The Washington Post said it was “…the best newsletter in this country for tracking the state of rare and exotic wines.” At about the same time, Food and Wine magazine said that Moody was one of their three favorite wine writers along with Robert Finigan and Robert Parker. In 1984, Moody discontinued publication of Moody’s and became the contributing editor on rare wines for the International Wine Review in New York until it sold to Wine and Spirits in 1990.

Moody’s wine articles also have been published internationally in Revue du Vin de France, Paris, The International Wine and Food Society Journal, London, and locally in Houston Home and Garden, DBA Houston, French-American Chamber of Commerce News, Houston CLU Journal, and Texas Monthly. He is wine editor for four cookbooks: Houston Is Cooking, 1994; Houston Is Cooking at Home, 1996; Houston Is Cooking the Best, 1998; and Houston Is Cooking 2000.

Moody has written a monthly wine column since 2000 for Houston Lifestyles and Homes, a popular magazine that is delivered monthly to the top 250,000 homes in Houston. In addition to this, in 2005 and 2006, he edited and published Moody’s Weekly Wine Review, an Internet wine newsletter. He is also a restaurant wine consultant, working with restaurants nationally and internationally, including Café Annie in Houston, Garden of the Gods Club in Colorado Springs, Toscana Country Club in Palm Desert and the Banff Springs Hotel (now the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel) in Canada. He has planned the perfect wines and wine/food pairings for weddings, wine tastings, parties and gourmet wine dinners for over 20 years, and is currently wine consultant for many other food and wine events.

Popularity: 40% [?]