Last week, Tara Devon O’Leary and I had the pleasure of hosting the modern world’s equivalent of wine royalty, Jancis Robinson, on Episode 4 of The Punch Down. An embed of the broadcast is below for your viewing pleasure.

Jancis was in tip-top form, sharing wine with us (a Moravian Riesling… yes, really…), fielding questions about her accomplishments in the once-stodgy old boys’ club world of wine, and not shying away from questions about her past spats with Robert Parker, her strong views on alternative wine closures, and what she thinks of emerging wine regions. She also professes love for the Finger Lakes region, and we geek out a bit about the Local Wine movement.

And yes, a week later I’m still a bit upset that no one said anything about the Millennium Falcon t-shirt I was wearing during this interview…

Anyway… Just another day at the office, when your office involves drinking wine in the middle of the afternoon while talking to some of the world’s best wine educators…!

Mentioned in this episode:

• American Wine by Jancis Robinson and Linda Murphy
• Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours
• Fass Selections and the Chateau Gaillard Clos de Mez Morgon 2009 (about $22)
• Cellars Nikiforou Moschofilero (Tara’s pick)

Enjoy…

The Punch Down Episode 4 With Jancis Robinson

Cheers!

We continue to live by the motto “Go Big Or Go Home” when it comes to guests for The Punch Down show (if you missed March’s guest – Gary Vaynerchuk, finally coming back to talk about wine – then get your butt to the video and get caught up), and it’s with great pleasure that we will host wine industry icon Jancis Robinson for Episode Four next week, April 2 at 1PM ET!

A Master of Wine since 1984, Jancis has authored over 25 books on wine, including The Oxford Companion to Wine (the hefty text that serves as the number one resource for WSET Diploma students), and the more recent (but equally weighty) tome, Wine Grapes – A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours.

Jancis has garnered nearly as many awards as there are grape varieties profiled in her latest book – she was Decanter Magazine Woman of the Year (UK) in 1999, won the Grand Award at the Society of Wine Educators in Sacramento in 2009, and in 2011 was voted third most powerful person in wine by Decanter.com.

I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Jancis a bit, and I think the best way to give you a glimpse into her personality is to recount the exchange we had when we first met (at an event in Portugal a couple of years ago; you know, in the time before Interest). It sent something like this: Jancis walked up to me and said: “Hello! I had to introduce myself, you’re ‘The Dude,’ aren’t you?” To which I replied, “Ohhhh, no, that is not how this introduction is going down. You’re awesome, and I’m just a bug!”

Jancis could probably be forgiven if she decided to put on airs and offer ivory tower pronouncements about what wines we all ought to be buying. She’s taken exactly the opposite approach, however, embracing social media full-tilt and engaging with wine lovers directly in two-way on-line dialog, as well as pouring much of her efforts into her online presence at JancisRobinson.com.

So… think we’ll have much to talk about? Follow along at www.PunchDownWineShow.com for details, and as always hit us up with questions beforehand.

See you on April 2!

Cheers!

Thanks to all of you who tuned in and/or sent questions for our The Punch Down Episode Three interview with Gary Vaynerchuk. We kicked off a tad late, but it was well worth the wait.

The replay of the live broadcast of our interview with GV is below – if you missed it, you’re in for a treat, as Gary (who connected via telephone) was in typically fine form, pulling no punches with his candid answers.

How does Gary views the wine world’s forays into social media? What does he think the next big thing will be in wine and tech? Does Gary feel as though he abandoned his popular show’s followers when it comes to vino? Who’s getting it right on-line in the wine world? Questions answered in the ensuing vid!

Special thanks to Gary, who once again shows why he’s a passionate and intellectual force with which to be reckoned, as well as one of the most candid wine personalities ever to pull cork from neck.

The Punch Down Episode Three with Gary Vaynerchuk

Cheers!

Ok… so The Punch Down wine show continues to live by the phrase “Go BIG or go home!”

Next week – on Monday, March 4th at 11AM ET – we will welcome media maven and best-selling author Gary Vaynerchuk as our guest LIVE on Episode Three of TPD!

For those of you who’ve been living under a rock for the last decade or so, Gary has authored two wildly successful business books – Crush It! and The Thank You Economy – but is best known among vino lovers for bringing an entire generation to the world of wine with his boundless enthusiasm (for an example, check out the vid we did together a couple of years ago in Napa) and quirky tasting notes, garnering nearly a million social media followers in the process.

But lately, Gary V. has been conspicuous in his absence from the wine world, after shutting the doors on The Daily Grape in the Summer of 2011. In this episode of TPD, we’ll delve right into the wine topic, and hit him Gary up with questions about his life after Wine Library TV and The Daily Grape, discuss (likely with very high energy) how wrong the wine world is getting social media that, and find out what role wine plays in his personal and professional lives now.

Will Gary ever return to wine? Does he regret leaving fans of his wine show in the lurch? We’ll find out – this is certainly an episode you won’t want to miss!

We encourage you to hit us up with questions for Gary on twitter during the event, using the hastag #thepunchdown as well as through email (thepunchdown @ gmail.com), which you can send anytime between now and the event for a chance to get your question aired live with Gary.

So join us on March 4th at 11AM ET and watch the virtual sparks fly.

Gary may only be able to join via audio due to his travel schedule, but it’ll still be more entertaining than a pack of rabid monkeys doing handstands on barrels full of Malbec!

Cheers –and hope to see you there!