Gary Vaynerchuk tastes with Michael Malanga, who used the examples of Crush It to get on WLTV. Michael wants to spread the word about the Mario Batali Foundation that raises money for children. They taste two esoteric Italian wines, one from Umbria and another from Lombardy.

11 Comments
I like it when you have guests. I like it when they bring a wine Gary doesn't like and watching him try to be nice when he bashes it.
Dude, the correct way to cut the capsule foil is BELOW the lip. When cut above the lip, the wine stands a greater chance of touching the foil before hitting the glass. Can potentially fuck with the flavor. A minor point, but really, still objectively wrong. Check your sommelier guide.
Those sangio based wines almost always have firm tannins and spiciness. Often nice when a little aged once the tannins mellow, especially for sipping without food.
I get the impression that the guy on the phone doesn't know that barolo is made from neb…
People often go with this kind of progression, sangio to neb, but I feel like perhaps the right way is to go the opposite direction. I get a little annoyed when people talk about 'sweetness' in wine… the two wines are probably comparably 'dry' in an objective sense. Important to distinguish between objective vs. perceived sweetness.
Also, when you're talking about nebs, it should be mentioned what kinda oak is used, slovenian vs. french, barrique vs. barrel. Or failing that, whether the style is more modern or more traditional, which is really what the previous information helps to reveal. When talking neb, this single factor is the greatest indicator of enjoyability in view of personal preference, imho.
asuki beans?
The dessert is basically red bean paste that can be eaten in many forms. Sometimes, it's in a bread of some sort or even in a mochi-type batter too.
A bit too annoying and loud for my taste.
Nice guy, kudos!
Way to hustle to get on the show!
THANK YOU