Gary Vaynerchuk on Today Show for Christmas

Woke up this Christmas morning to find presents under the tree, Santa had eaten all my cookies, kisses from my beautiful wife, and Gary Vaynerchuk on The Today Show.  If you don't know of Gary (known to most as Gary V), he gained fame through Wine Library TV and has become a huge presence in the internet social media space.  Gary V was offering up some affordable sparkling wine options for the holiday.  I really like how he offered them to the hosts accompanied by their flavor profile equivalents: he paired a Cava with pear slices on toast and Prosecco with apple slices and powdered sugar.

Gary also asked the hosts to "sniff" the wine.  This is one of wine's great sensory pleasures which is normally lost on audiences.  Gaining satisfaction from wine aromas can be just as pleasing as the taste!  A big thank you to Gary for trying to awaken and heighten American senses to the full extent of the pleasures of wine.

I did want to make one correction however.  When Gary was describing Prosecco, he mentioned it was "sweeter" in comparision to Cava.  This is a common misconception with wine which I addressed in my post, Sweet vs. Dry vs. Fruity.  The grape(s) used to make Prosecco (Prosecco and sometimes Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio) give off much fruitier essences than those from Cava (Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Parellada).  Either wine can be made sweet (more residual sugar) or dry.

A special thanks to Gary V for pushing out the wine love!  And Merry Christmas to all!