Episode #40 – Behind The Grape with Andrea Robinson
In the first of the Daily Grape "Behind The Grape" interview series, Gary Vaynerchuk goes one-on-one with Master Sommelier, media personality, and wine entrepreneur, Andrea Robinson. They discuss The One line of glassware, how she got into the wine business, being a woman in the male-dominate wine industry, why people need to drink more Champagne, the stylistic dichotomy of Rioja wines, the culture of wine scoring, among other topics.
Links mentioned: AndreaWine, Andrea Robinson on Twitter, Andrea Robinson on Facebook
Wines tasted
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35 bones -
22 bones
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Wine Surfer
This was a great episode. I watched Andrea's 'Simply Wine' show a lot while I was first learning about wine. She is obviously very knowledgeable and is certainly a seasoned pro in front of the camera.
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Brian Johnson
Great episode, but would have liked to see the wines rated and have it be a little shorter. My wife and I are members at Schramsberg so we enjoy the sparkling wine and champagne from France. Would love to see restaurants go cheaper on wines. I recently ate at Bern's in Tampa and was able to tr a wine older than me for $15 a glass. If I lived in Tampa, I'd go there weekly to try a lot more older wines at an affordable price. They even had whole bottles of '84 Ordeaux for $18. Insane!
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Ned
Great show! I would have loved to have you two rate both wines! As far as sparkling wines and champagne go I'm with you Andrea I drink them very often. I think they are very food friendly and really just a great way to start off a meal and get your palate going. There is just something about the bubbles that is just so fun! As far as price limits on wine if it is stellar quality I will spend more money on it. My feelings on restaurant pricing are that they are gouging the consumer. I buy wine very often and shop at a few wine stores so I really know the retail prices for wines. So I have a hard time with restaurants that mark-up their wines 3 or 4 times or more then what their cost is. I mean I understand you have the cost associated with storage and stemware etc., but think people would buy alot more wine if cost were reasonable. In the end the restaurant would sell way more wine and make it up in volume and repeat business.
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plcb
I'm very far behind but I finally watched and I enjoyed the heck out of this show.
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Dima Ruban
Great episode! Andrea, your book was the first one I ever read on wine, and it totally sparked my interest to read and learn more. Your approach to learn wine by tasting different wines side by side is fantastic - my wife and I still go back and do the tastings from your book. Great pick on the wines too - we got a bottle of Muga as a present from a friend when we were in Spain, and it got us drinking a lot of Rioja :)
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Terroir Terrier
Great episode I really enjoyed the format I would go for the 2+2 sets and probably but at least 2 the multipurpose glass could be useful for casual entertaining. I am more sensitive for white prices than red - white I hesitate once the price is over $25 - red it's probably 3-4 times that. I would drink more at restaurant if their mark ups weren't so outrageous it’s not the prices it’s the difference between what I (a regular consumer) can source for and what they probably do and then the price they actually charge for it. Hope there a few more like this!
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FaceTheMusic
Great! Yes on the 2+2 sets.
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Andrea
Hey there! Thanks for that feedback. May be awhile before I can execute but stay tuned on 2+2s. And thanks for watching!
almost 2 years ago
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JayZee
Rocking great episode. Andres Immer Robinson is one of my all-time favorite wine personalities. She is so REAL. Thanks for the great interview show, Gary. My only complaint was that the two of you never tasted and gave your opinions on the wines.
Questions: Okay, so "The One" is an interesting concept and I like it. I've got three different Riedel red glasses and one white plus Champagne flutes and Port glasses. Then, I pull out a Tempranillo and go, "Hmmm. Is this closer to a Syrah, a Cab or a Pinot as far as glasses go?" Anyway, as far as the 2 red/2 white packs go, I think that would be great to offer that option since couples, especially those starting out, could collect them in pairs. It just makes sense.
Why not sparklers? I really don't have a good answer. I love sparkling wines and I certainly agree that they go great with spicy food amongst many others. And yet, I don't have many cellared and I don't buy them very often. I don't know why.
What is the sticking point on price? Well, that depends. In a restaurant, I try and keep it under $80 a bottle and I won't go much over $100 no matter what. At home, it depends. I can afford fairly expensive wines from time to time, so I have some "name" wines that cost about $150 and I even have a few bottles of Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet that were over $200 a bottle, but I would say my norm is somewhere around $25-35 per bottle.
Restaurant wine pricing? Yeah, it sucks. Especially when you are at a high class restaurant where the bill for 2 persons for food alone is $150 or so. Do they really need to double the retail price for the wine? I know that you have to pay for them to store the wine, for the sommelier's expertise, for the glassware, etc., but I don't think that should be that high of a mark-up. I am thinking a mark-up that was something like restaurant cost plus a mark-up to cover the cost of all of the wine "things" plus a 10% profit margin should be adequate and there is NO WAY that would be 150-200% of retail. Would I go to a restaurant more often that offered good food and more reasonable wine prices? YES!!!!! Would I buy more wine? Not more, but I could afford to try more interesting wines with better pedigrees if the mark-up were more reasonable. I fine dining establishment near where I live offers 50% off on bottles of wine on Wednesday nights. That's a start, but it means that they are probably still making money with that price.
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Andrea
Great feedback, more votes for the 2+2s! Sounds like you have a great little wine collection, too.
Restaurant wine pricing is fascinating. I have NEVER been able to get a restaurant that I worked for to try more customer-friendly wine pricing. I am thinking retail-plus a little (like a mini-corkage), so for example the $22 retail Rioja Reserva would be would be say $32, so there is margin plus a form of "corkage" for the storage and glassware. The theory would be that guests would find the wine pricing so friendly, more tables would order bottles, rather than a couple of beers. So, instead of one in 4 tables ordering a bottle or more, 3 out of 4 would do so. This would rough-up your Gross Margin but most likely increase the dollars banked per guest which is of course the real point. I know of only one taker, and it's a shining example: Marc Murphy's (Chopped) Landmarc in NYC. He started out with the little Tribeca spot and it was so successful he continued in the huge and hugely busy one at TimeWarner Center. Vote with your wallet and check 'em out! All the best
almost 2 years ago
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Greek Noble Rot
I think that's a solid concept, makes sense and I really hope it takes hold and succeeds, for you and for others. Your a pleasure to listen to, thank you.
almost 2 years ago
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Kurt Hornick
Awesome episode! I have been so sick of getting screwed in restaurants just because it is the norm to charge a 100-150% markup on lower tier wines and I simply don't buy wine all that much in restaurants because of that reason. I have been dreaming as well of opening a 'wine friendly' restaurant that only charges a marginal markup over retail price. I think it would totally kill in the right atmosphere.
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Andrea
Agree! Check out my reply to JayZee
almost 2 years ago
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mickey
PISSED OFF!! 1st of all G.V. these are supposed to be SHORTER shows the WLTV. 2nd I am here to see you rate wines and introduce me to varietals and regions that i may have not noticed. QOTD; i think the glassware thing is a bunch of hoopla and if you are spending more money on the glassware then the wine your nuts. Stolzle makes great glassware at a quarter of the price (resturantsource.com). Please just taste and inlighten us G.V. thats what I am here for
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Jon Troutman
@Chocolate&Vines; I'm so sorry you feel that way. These Behind The Grape episodes will be few and far between, with only a periodic interview with wine industry all-stars. Far majority will remain ~5-10 minutes long. Our goal is always to introduce people to new regions, but we also want to educate and encourage people to revisit the classics. Seriously, your input does mean a lot though! We are still testing waters and experimenting to find the right balance :)
almost 2 years ago
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Andrea
Totally get you when it's something different from what you were expecting and desiring. I know the team at DG will be sure to deliver.
Totally agree re Stolzle, too. They manufacture my stems - great product. And re glassware I too think that the notion of where the wine hits on your tongue is hoopla - it's the sense of smell that allows you to experience flavors. That's why I worked so long on getting that right with The One. And I agree: you shouldn't need a wing on your house to store your stems, and a glassware budget that exceeds your wine budget. Re varietals and regions you might not have tried, Greece is putting out some great stuff these days - Assyrtiko (ah-SEER-tee-coh) whites and Agiorgitiko (Eye-yore-YEE-tee-coh) reds. Cheers!
almost 2 years ago
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Jon Troutman
Agree with Andrea, Greece is coming on strong! Nothing like some whole fish, a lemon wedge, and a nice Assyrtiko to put together the ultimate Mediterranean feast ;)
almost 2 years ago
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Atreyu
Great show! I love these episodes where you give more info about wine and wine world, beyond just tasting 2 bottles. Keep it coming! Kudos!
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Kurt Hornick
I love Atreyu, though now I must hate you because I have the neverending story song stuck in my head...
almost 2 years ago
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Greek Noble Rot
GREAT!!
Ms. Robinson: I love bubbles on a regular basis, out for a bite or in for a movie.... don't always need a celebration buuuut to me in life, there's always something to toast to! :)
Daily drinking wines, $10-$18/bottle. I'm always looking for great values and as long a bottle delivers that value, the price ceiling is pretty high!
I really like/appreciate the "FAVE" scale. Thank you to both of you for a great episode!-
Andrea
Awesome, thanks. Just had a great GREEK bubbly by the way, Tselepos, made of Moschofilero. I also just got samples of the Woodbridge bubblies, but haven't tried them yet. Fingers crossed!
almost 2 years ago
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Greek Noble Rot
Don't thank me, I'm just providing feed back, thank you for your time and efforts as well as industry insight! Your response to Chocolate & Vines makes was worth the frustration of reading their comment haha but thanks for the Greek Wine Shout Out!!
I just looked up that bottle, the Tselepos "Amalia Brut", Methode Champenois, glad to hear it was "Great"! :) I am in the process of planning a personal wine tour in Greece, maybe even an internship, for late summer/fall and anyone producing "great bubbles" is worth seeking out so thank you. I hope the Woodbridge comes through for you as well! Thanks again!
almost 2 years ago
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pawncop
What a wonderful episode. Ms. Robinson's book helps me so much in my quest to learn more of the wine world. I would love to see wines at more value in the restaurants, it does dampen my drinking out when I pay for a glass that is quite frankly outrageous.
My personal limit for everyday consumption is around 15 to 18 USD (bones) and am always looking for the valued driven wine.
Thank you both for your energy and knowledge. I will utilize it in my quest.
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Andrea
Thank you thank you! Other cool thing if restaurants charged closer to retail, then many of us in this price range would have AMAZING by the glass experiences, i.e., you could spend say $20 bucks and get a glass of something that was around $90 retail - I'd come back often!
almost 2 years ago
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