Wine Library - the long promised post

I went to visit friends in Bloomfield, NJ over the 4th of July weekend. I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to make what is kind of a pilgrimage to Wine Library. Over the past year, I have become familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee on Twitter), Director of Operations at Wine Library, who has become one of the best tools that I have to motivate myself and others. Gary's seemingly nonstop dedication to his family, business, and life ventures helps me try to set similar examples. From following Gary on Twitter and watching every episode of WineLibraryTV (albeit about a month and a half behind), I get the sense that he is a great guy who isn't just going on stage to sell wine. This being said, I figured that it only made sense to make my pilgrimage to the place where it all happens and see if it was different than any other knowledgeable wine store. I was not disappointed

As the weekend approached, I posted on Twitter a few times that I was anticipating visiting Wine Library, because it made me very happy to tell people that don't know what or where it is, but listen to me talk about Gary all the time, that I was finally going to have a first hand account. Much to my surprise, Matt Sitomer (@mattsito) replied to one of my tweets, asking when I was planning on being there and offering to show me around (OH, the POWER of Twitter). To put it mildly, I was thrilled. I think that I felt that I might get that much more of a clear picture about what Gary, his business, and his staff were all about. I had no idea what the size of the store was, but figured that at the very least, I was able to get some expert wine recommendations from Matt after meeting him. I told him that I would let him know, as I had to consult my friend, Tricia, who was also going to be my transportation. After such consultation, we decided to go late Friday morning. I let Matt know via Twitter what the plan was and he still offered to give me a quick guide around the place, even thought he had a tight time schedule. Tricia, Cara (her daughter), and I left for the short drive to Springfield, and unfortunately, as toddlers sometimes do, Cara got sick on the way and we had to turn around. As I only have the mighty iPod Touch, I was not able to inform Matt that I wouldn't be able to make it until we got back home. I felt terrible about the situation and really hope that Matt understands and forgives me. Even though I was never able to meet him, I was incredibly impressed by Matt's apparent generosity, which influenced my raving about Wine Library for most of the weekend. We looked forward to making the trip on Saturday together with Kevin (friend, husband, and father), regardless of my missed chance to get shown around.

Upon arrival, we entered the store and were immediately greeted by one of the staff. This made for a very good first impression. We grabbed a cart and perused the deli (thanks for the cheese samples), which was unknown to me, but really added to the store. From there, we started searching for wine. I went down aisle after aisle, looking for wines that I remembered from WineLibraryTV (I now have a new iPod app called Drync Wine where I can make notes). I found a few and also selected some of the bargain plays from the Top Ten that were being displayed. It was not wine however, that so impressed me with the facility. It was the staff. These employees looked and sounded like they were on a mission, not only to be full of energy and enthusiasm in their work, but also to make a point to ask us if we needed any help. I repeatedly told each person that I was good and they politely left me alone (thank you). One of these great staff members was Kristen Murphy (@kmurph), whose smile and politeness was memorable amongst her hustle (thanks to Gary for putting that word in my daily vocabulary) to do whatever she was doing. This is something that I don't get from every shopping experience that I have and it was very much appreciated. An additional test though would come when I actually did desire help. I was told by Tricia that we needed a Cabernet for dinner. Since I'm not a big Cabernet drinker, I wanted to ask the staff for a recommendation. The staff searched for someone who could make me a recommendation and I was pointed to two choices, including the 2007 Clone 5 from California. I seemed to remember this one from WineLibraryTV so I insisted to Tricia that we try that for dinner. I had been making very successful pairings in the months prior to this, so I was hoping that the trend would continue. At dinner, this wine went very well, and I'm happy to say that it is probably my favorite Cabernet that I have had, in my slim Cabernet history. Getting back to the store now, we filled our cart with wine, went upstairs, filled the cart with some merchandise for me, and then checked out. As we loaded up the car, the general consensus was that it was well worth making the trip and that Kevin and Tricia would return in the future to stock up again. I was thrilled that Wine Library did not disappoint me or anyone that was with me, which further adds to my admiration of Gary.

It's hard to explain in words how much I appreciated the staff at Wine Library. Obviously, Gary was most visible to me going in, due to his Twitter posts, and internet videos. I learned over the course of a few days that he employs seemingly awesome and great people including Matt and Kristen, which set Wine Library apart from other wine stores. Yes, there is great marketing in Gary's brand and how he puts himself out there for all to see. I would be ignorant to say that this might not influence my opinion, but I really think that the total experience from my weekend was real and good, and not just an infatuation. Thanks to Gary, Matt, and Kristen for doing what they do and for their assistance. Just to get the offer to meet Matt, regardless of what he could have shown me, set the tone for my weekend and should be a testament to the culture of the business and the quality of Gary and his staff. Thank you. :)