A midlife crisis inspired Gary Vaynerchuk to start his video podcast, Wine Library TV, which is primarily about wine, but also about action figures, the New York Jets, thunder, and Vaynerchuk himself and his quirky onscreen persona.

That quirky persona and unpretentious wine expertise has propelled “Gary Vee” to popularity on the Internet and in the mainstream media, leading to television appearances on “Ellen”, “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and other shows. More recently, Gary Vee has authored a book, Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World.

Podcasting News’ Publisher, Elisabeth McLaury Lewin, sat down with Vaynerchuk this weekend for an exclusive interview, which looks at how he got into podcasting, using podcasts to establish a person brand, great wines for flood cleanup and a few secrets, along the way.