Gary Vaynerchuk - 500th Episode

Rudy, myself, and our friend Jayson Johnson decided to attend Gary Vaynerchuk's 500th episode featured at CrushPad in San Francisco. Unfortunately, I had to work that same day so we arrived after the episode was filmed. It didn't help that Rudy took the long route to SF. We eventually got there after our tour of SF, we made it there for tasting session that occurred after. There were multiple tables set up throughout the facility with featured wineries. Many of the wineries were from Napa Valley, as well as other parts of CA. There were some amazing wines from New Zealand too! There were even a couple of tables of random wines that folks attending brought to share and of course some wine that Gary brought to share with the crowd too.

We met our other good friend Gregory Troyer, manager of Rubicon Estate there and he fortunately was there for the filming of the 500th episode. So he was able to clue us in with what we missed. He let us know of the several Riojas tasted during the filming of the 500th episode. We got to try them later ourselves.

Later on in the evening Gregory fell into responsibility of Gary's spicy garlic pickles, which were a gift from a woman who attended the event. He carried them around all night, even when we tried to meet for the after party at Medjool in the Mission District. Gary didn't end up going because he was tired from his Bordeaux trip (he had just got back), but it would have been extremely hilarious if he had. Gregory even took the pickles with us to a quick Mexican dinner stop we made. Gregory took the pickles home and even ate them. Crazy! If the lady who gifted them only knew.

That night we had some fun wines. What stood out most for us was the table of New Zealand wines. We tried multitudes of Sauvignon Blanc, some Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, & an amazing 50/50 blend of Merlot & Malbec. Another great table was Crooked Vine. We even got a rubber chicken out of that tasting experience. We stopped by the Duckhorn table and Rudy asked how come they weren't part of our movie. I think this triggered some questioning amongst the company and Rudy is now in the process of setting up a last minute interview. We had attempted several times for an interview at Duckhorn, but we were dismissed because of some company changes that they were going through. We've very excited to interview with them.

I have to mention that our friend "JayJohn" (Jayson Johnson) was an absolute hoot! He was on a mission that entire night to give out as many Merlove cards as he could. He was our dedicated promoter for the evening. Gregory later helped too, but when it came to JayJohn it was serious business. He scrounged up some blue tape and was taping them to people. He even put them up on walls and one guy told us he saw a card above a urinal in the bathroom. I thought his entire mission was hysterical. I saw JayJohn put cards in peoples pockets and purses, so smoothly that they didn't even notice. There were people with cards stuck on the back of their shirts or jackets. I must mention that we did not tell JayJohn to do this at all. We were okay with him being an ambassador of Merlove, but he was a bit extreme. All the same, I hope the word keeps getting out there. So, don't forget to tell all your friends, family, and co-workers about Merlove if you haven't already. We're on a mission to Merlove the world! Always try new wines and love as many as possible!

Gary was a very vivacious and articulate type of fellow. Not much taller than I (5feet 1inch). He was sweet towards me telling me he loved the glitter I had around my eyes. He was very friendly with Rudy & Jayson even though he had only met them both once before when they filmed him for Merlove at a Borders store in SF.

It was a fun night indeed! We can't wait to partake in more celebrations of wine, especially internationally.

http://tv.winelibrary.com/

http://www.crushpadwine.com/

Cheers!
Marisol Ramirez

Cheers to a Successful Merlove Premiere!

July 1, 2008

Dear Merlovers,

Thank you very much to all who attended the Merlove Premiere Friday night at Copia. It was a great time of Merlovers coming together to share their enthusiasm for such a wonderful wine as Merlot.

The Merlove team wants to especially thank all the wineries & people who donated wine and/or came to pour. These folks include Markham Vineyards, Kelham Vineyards, Steltzner Vineyards, Darioush Winery, Swanson Vineyards, & Provenance Vineyards. Much obliged to you all.

We are eagerly awaiting every one's feedback via snail mail or email. You can only help make for a better film. We are most definitely going to tighten the movie up a bit. We really want to hone in on the key messages, so they come across more easily and focused. We will also be adding some more animation throughout the documentary.

FYI = There will be another showing of Merlove at Copia, Friday September 5, 2008 at 8pm. This should be the final cut! We are told by Copia staff that tickets are already starting to sell. Don't forget to get yours before we have another sold out show. We would Merlove to see everyone there.

Please contact us with any questions or comments.

info@merlove.com

or

Rudolph N. McClain
Producer/Director
P.O. Box 713
St. Helena, CA 94574

Hope to hear from you soon & see you all in September.

_Marisol