It's also a story of change in the book business, as publishers ransack social media to find products for hungry (or in this case, thirsty) readers. Vaynerchuk is one of a growing number of stars who became famous via the Web, then crossed over to media such as TV and print.
"Definitely, we all are watching social media and blogs," says Kate McKean, literary agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency Inc., in New York. "We're looking for strong voices, and the strong voices are on the Internet."
Vaynerchuk, 33, is calling from his father's wine shop, Wine Library in Springfield, where he's co-owner and director of operations. But such is his fame that "I get here only once a week most weeks. I live in New York, and it's not that far away, but it feels like I'm away at summer camp."
In 1996, he took to the Internet and started building what would become WineLibrary.com, about the store's offerings. Even then, he says, "People didn't understand, but I knew it was going to be the way the world works."
Vaynerchuk is voluble, verbal, and totally positive. The impression is not of egotism but happy confidence. Somehow he's most winning when speaking of his pleasure in being himself. "People who don't like me at first because of my brashness or bluntness," he says, chuckling, "eventually will like me."
He could have done pretty well with the wine shop and Web site. But then came 2005, year of the video blog, year of YouTube, year of sites such as Ze Frank and Rocketboom, where daily video bloggers built big audiences and, far from the mainstream, found world Web fame.
Vaynerchuk loved it. "I saw Ze Frank and said, 'This is big.' And then I said, 'I can do this. I can use it to make a niche - wine, maybe it's not quite ready yet, but it will be if I do it right.' " And so Wine Library TV (also known as The Thunder Show) was born: daily Web videos about wine.
