“We have an infinite amount of work to do & a limited amount of time to do it in.”

Kill me. At the time, I remember Anuj laughing and going to start in on the work; I, on the other hand, was fresh meat, and terrified by the thought. Nowadays, I have an infinite amount of work which excites me and the prospects keep me driven and reassured that we have indeed created a business model that works at Cork’d. But there I go again ranting about something unrelated to wine…

The point of the story above is this: Anuj and I were enjoying a bottle of wine while talking & laughing over dinner. He always defers to me when choosing wine which I love which means I get to order something I haven’t tried before. We depleted a 2007 Muscadet Sevre et Maine “Sur Lie” Domaine de la Tourmaline made with the Melon de Bourgogne varietal.  I use this wine for illustrative purposes, to expatiate upon tasting, reviewing and scoring wines…and what might happen with the subjectivity of ratings.

Scenario UNO – You drink this wine alone on your couch. Yeah, I said it. And I do it. SO? Here’s the thing. You have no one to discuss the wine with, you’re likely not deep in conversation (except in your own MIND). Similar to seeing a thought provoking movie, you want someone to discuss with afterward, otherwise it’s not as fulfilling. This wine is fine, but that is all…it is wine, it’s in a glass. Perhaps you have it with a salad, do some work while you eat. You think about it, review it on Cork’d, but of course. You may rate it 86 points.

Scenario DOS – You imbibe this baby with a dear friend over dinner (my experience over the weekend). Mesmeric conversation not only about the wine but also about life, politics and relationships ensue giving this wine new life. You are feeling good about life, about yourself and having a remarkable time as you sip. You feel satisfied as you both agree on the backbone of this wine and debate about particular flavors. You score this sucker 88 points – see my review here.

Scenario TRES – You drink the wine with the winemaker at a restaurant. He visually brings you to the vineyard, telling you the history of the terroir, the vines, the labor that goes into the very bottle you are consuming. You hear his story, learn about his family and his passion for wine. You taste his sweat in the glass. After this encounter, you dig this wine, give it a 90.

Scenario QUATRO – Now… for the kicker! You go to Loire Valley, sojourn on the vineyard, see the vines, tour the cave with the winemaker. Feasting on an incredible meal with the most interesting people who live life the way it should be, you taste the wine again. Conversation is flowing and ever engaging. You are the life of the party and have never felt so good. You are influenced by how much everyone loves the wine. You give this baby a 92.

In my world, I often meet with the producers or folks in the industry and taste the fruits of their labor. I’m not naïve to think that knowing the winemaker and drinking his or her wine has no effect on scoring the wine. However, can I do it objectively? I’d like to think so…but relationships are powerful. The human connection is moving… and sometimes has subconscious implications.  Moreover, when it comes to wine “objective” doesn’t exist. However, I often rate wines on Cork’d right in front of winemakers and have no problem scoring a wine sub-90 points with my honest thoughts. Nothing against the person or the wine. My palate simply doesn’t LOVE the wine…doesn’t mean you won’t.

Just food for thought… or wine for reflection, as I like to say. Score a wine how you will. Just be AWARE of the surrounding situation and embrace it. Better yet, note it (in your review or tasting notes if you take them) so others know how to interpret your score.

MUCH LOVE to you all because human interactions and connections influence our thoughts and almost everything we do.

Cork’d.

Tomorrow, maybe I’ll come up for air. Because lately all it’s been is wine. And frankly a girl has got to breath. Maybe sleep and eat too. But one cannot sustain on wine alone, unless those health resveratrol rumors are true then heck, I’ve found the fountain of youth and I’ll live until the end of time with the way I’m sipping.

So here’s the thing, I made a promise in my last post and by golly I will hold true to that and tell you about my resto-sommelier binge in the city that never sleeps. I certainly didn’t. While my next post will be dated and I’ll have some catch up to do, I’ll at least be satisfying one person out there by following up from the last one. Umm… me. Duh. We’re all selfish son of a guns and I’d feel guilty as heck if I left it lingering. Not to mention the copious notes/reviews I took on the wines I tried (71 Petrus anyone? Not like that ever happens to me). So YOU will hear about it.

But in the mean time (by which I mean the next 24 hours), I live, breath and drink Cork’d. So go there, tell me what you think. http://corkd.com/

Your Drinking Buddy,
Ronga

As Corkd does not (yet) have a mobile app, plan on me taking note of each wine I taste and reviewing them later on Cork’d. This is a PROMISE.

However, I must admit…I’m a little scared. Not about wine being intimidating and interacting with folks more knowledgeable than me. I’m the first to admit when I don’t know something. Here’s the thing: we start at 4pm, before the somms are busy. We’ll hit five or so places….wait til after the rush is over, then hit five or so more places. Have you done the math? That is a lot of wine!

The key is not to drink a full glass (at least in my world… and my body size , just a taste (2+ oz) so you can fully appreciate everything the next wine has to offer. . Enrique may by on a different playing field, however.

I will write about this NYC restaurant tour, of course, in my next post and tell you all about my experience and if I… eh.. I mean “it” lived up to all I had hoped.  Two hours til GO TIME.

This is why I was so partial towards the learning model at Harvard Business School. With the case method, there were no lecturers telling you how to do things or what is right and what is wrong. Remember, life is not black and white. We learned via discussion. Ninety of us would peruse a case on Jack Welch, for example, and his management style, then take it into the classroom and have a heated debate and a truly riveting conversation about different approaches one might take in his situation. Go figure, all 90 of us don’t agree on how to handle a situation: whether it’s a software implementation, running a country, or raising VC money. Even more interesting, we all come at it from a different angle and none of us is “right.” Each ONE of us has a different background –ethnicity aside, we were all raised by someone (or not) who had extreme influence in the way we turned out as individuals. I believe our values, ideals, and perceptions were very much set before adulthood. Now, I believe these can be changed…but keep in mind someone else had loose control for almost 1.5 decades. It takes times to undo that programming.

Now, onto wine. And more specifically the palate. What is so awesome about the palate is that we are all blessed with different ones. Thank GOD. Can you imagine if we all tasted the same thing and all liked the same things? B-O-R-I-N-G. What I see, smell and taste in a wine, I hope, is different than what you will get from that same wine. Why? Well it fosters conversation for starters.

Just the other night I threw a little wine shindig for my Corkd and Vaynermedia colleagues. While I was sniffing the wine trying to pinpoint an unidentifiable scent (frustrating as heck!), Vaynermedia’s Sam (who, I think, found his calling a wine sommelier) picked up on pineapple. Which led me to what I couldn’t pick up on – pina colada. The wine, Graffigna Centenario Pinot Grigio, was just ok. But it did take me to a tropical island where I envisioned myself lying on a beach with a fruity cocktail in hand (oh & cocktail accessorized with pineapple pink umbrella).

Drinking wine with others is great for this reason – because you can pick up on things you may not have otherwise. On the contrary, I often like to see/smell/taste the wine before anyone says anything so I don’t have any preconceived notions in my head. I don’t want to force myself to smell or taste something. Like in life, go with your gut, trust your own instincts. Don’t just take someone else’s opinion and make it your own.  This can be difficult when you don’t feel well-versed on a subject such as wine. But you can always listen to others, discuss, ask questions, then decide for yourself. You can do this with life, worldly issues (spanning from politics to philosophy), AND with wine. Be open-minded and in the end, just be you. And have faith in YOU.

OK, it’s time. It’s past time. So… what’s up with the lag time in my blog? Was it writer’s block? Laziness? Was I out traveling the vineyards of France? Nope.

More exciting, in fact. I’ve been running Cork’d – a place where wine meets online media and winelovers, both expert and noobs, come together. Gary Vaynerchuk and I are working on BIG things here and working towards the big Cork’d relaunch. Admittedly Cork’d has been through its ups and downs, and well, I’m ready for it to just get high if you know what I mean.

This past month has been absolutely amazing. And I know you hear people say that. But really, it’s my dream job. I’m coming from a world of private equity and investment banking working for some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. They have been my mentors, my sounding boards, my family away from home.

Now I have a new family – I am still getting to know some of them, but what I love is that they keep me young. Cork’d shares its offices with Vaynermedia, a company founded by Gary and his brother, AJ Vaynerchuk. The VM crew is a bunch of fresh, creative, young thinkers who have a unique perspective on the social media space. Since Cork’d is where new world meets old world, it is helpful to immerse myself in this environment.

Did I mention I have also hired four Cork’d interns who are all rockstars in their own respects? First we have a highschool student, who during the interview mentioned he’s into astronomy and black holes. When I told him I like Stephen W. Hawkings, he told me Hawkings was “old school” and proceeded to drop some knowledge on me about who to follow online for “up to date” info. Next, is a beautiful personal – inside and out – from Alaska. She at one point during high school pushed around a food cart selling salmon, etc on the street in Alaska. She has taken her first level Sommelier test and flew out from San Francisco for the interview. Her personality is rocking. We have our resident actor/singer who keeps it real by singing in the office. He makes everyone laugh which is super important in any culture. Although he was more into the social media side of things, his reviews of wine, which we taste in the office (yeah, I said it!), are off the charts and on spot. Last, is a guy that is probably be more qualified than me … a Darden MBA spending his summer here at Cork’d. Aside from being an all around awesome human being, he knows Rails, social media, and now wine. He has gone out of his way to help me understand the Rails world (riveting…). People like that are QUALITY. I’ll say it again; you don’t find people like this in just any economy. AND, finally – our kick ass RAILS CTO Kyle should probably get an entire post entirely to himself (which is why I struggle to find words write just a couple lines). His talent is sick as I’ve mentioned many times on Twitter and he’s not just another developer. He’s the real deal. We have lucked out completely here at Cork’d and I couldn’t be more appreciative, more grateful. The A-team, indeed.

My days are anything but predictable. Last night I had a glass of wine with a Cork’d user, who I was honored to meet. Getting feedback in person from a company you run is something that all CEOs should do. I truly value feedback from users. Other days I spend meeting with guys in the social media, tech or wine world. They help me get a better handle on what’s going on out there. All in all, here’s what I DO know: I don’t know it all. If I did, life and my job wouldn’t be fun. I love learning. My job is challenging and it’s because I’m always on my toes. When I stop learning, I’m not sure it will be fun anymore. So for now, I’m a sponge…and I’ve surrounded myself with people who are kind enough to coach me, mentor me and be my family again.

However, I’d like to end by mentioning the two people who have been truly there for me: mom & dad. You guys know more about business than I ever will. Mostly because you are wise and know about life… And, I’ve learned that the two go hand in hand. Thank you for your advice, love and support. It means the world to me.

Next post: I’ll be back to writing about wine