WL’s Gary Vaynerchuk Thrills at Fort Mason Event
Ξ December 8th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, Wine News, Wineries |
On Saturday, Dec 7th, the 2nd Annual Fort Mason Tasting Event with Gary Vaynerchuk was finally realized. Two writers for this blog had worked on it for some months. As we had the 1st Annual. Like herding cats. But we could not have been prepared for what was to come.
Last year we had well over 100 souls hold up in the Firehouse, a more modest and perhaps more charming venue than this year’s Golden Gate Room. Nevertheless, with around 90 folks Saturday we had room to breath and the better acoustics allowed us to hear one another when in small groups.
Thank global climate change for the temperate, cloudless evening. As night fell the Golden Gate Bridge became the furthest ornament of the many decorated houses and bright Christmas rigging of sailboats along the Marina and its boulevard. Gary Vaynerchuk arrived early while the crowd was still gathering. As is his way he immediately plunged into the middle of things, offering his hand and ear to all who approached.
You can’t have a tasting without food. We pushed hard the idea that everyone bring good eats to share, a no-brainer when our event was to commence at the dinner hour. Brandon and I are just two private citizens. We simply haven’t the resources or the muscle to enforce conviviality. Fortunately, we’ve never had a single incident due largely to the excellent food most guests bring to share. We had over 20 different cheeses, parma ham, copa, salami, bruschetta, quiche, pate, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, plenty of bread, chocolates, truffles, the list goes on. It may seem trivial but when you put on an all-donation event to end up with a fine spread is no small miracle.
Wines began arriving. Again, all for sharing. We secured a formal contribution of wines from Pelican Ranch, Stefania Wine and Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and Twisted Oak. I thank them here. The great pleasure of our events is the complete unpredictability of what wines end up on the grape leaf-strewn tables. A ‘75 Mondavi Pinot, a ‘95 Barbaresco magnum, Kosta Brown, a young Côte-Rôtie, an ‘82 Riesling, a ‘90 Barolo, a Pina cab, a few of the dozens of offerings. All of these were in addition to a special collective tasting Mr. Vaynerchuk himself was to put on later in the evening featuring wines he brought.
Now, all was going according to plan. Brandon and I were justly pleased with the evening’s progress. Everybody happy, nobody hungry.
Then began the raffle. Brandon had secured a few items to give away, a six pack of a Don Melchior, a new copy of The Oxford Companion to Wine, and bottles of two other fine wines. Every penny paid by participants is put back into the event. We don’t even make gas money! In any event, the raffle began with Gary Vaynerchuk pulling the numbers. With our gifts given away Gary decided to give away something, a $250 gift certificate to Wine Library. Then another for $100. He pulled another number, a $400 gift certificate this time, then another denomination, and another, and another…. Along came two $500 gift certificates. Then he gave away a trip to New York for the winner to film an episode of Wine Library TV with him. Then he gave away another prize, that he would come to the winner’s house, fine wines in tow, to film another episode of WLTV with eight of the winner’s friends. The crowd was now at a roar! 
Still Gary was not done! $100 WL cheese gift certificate, a year’s subscription to their finest wine club, passage for two on his innovative Thunder Cruise through the Caribbean, a trip to Tampa Bay for dinner at the acclaimed Bern’s Restaurant and his Super Bowl tailgate party. I’m certain I’ve forgotten a few prizes!
I am telling you, I have never seen such a spontaneous burst of generosity. We were all a little bit stunned, I’ll be honest. It was a thrilling 45 minute bravura performance! No way around it.
Gary did manage a fleeting expression of corporate responsibility, saying that all the gifts were predicated on his beloved, play-off bound Jets beating the marginal 49ers on Sunday, a ’slam-dunk’ among the Vegas odds makers. Didn’t work out that way. No worries. Gary will do the right thing!
He left the tasting at around 11 p.m still alert and bright. The exhausted crowd thinned. A few folks stayed until the Fort Mason cleaning crew chased us away. Gary has already agreed there will be a 3rd Annual Fort Mason Event. Brandon and I are on it!
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Special thanks to Joel Galang for the pics, and a shout out to the staff of Fort Mason. Many thanks to the volunteers who arrived early to help with the prep.
