From age 16, I lived and breathed wine. I read every magazine and book about wine.

The line encapsulates Vaynerchuk’s recurring theme of obsessive apprenticeship: before becoming a prominent entrepreneur and media figure, he frames his early success as the product of immersion and self-directed study. By emphasizing “lived and breathed” and the exhaustive reading of wine publications, he presents expertise as something earned through sustained curiosity and repetition rather than credentials. In the broader arc of his public persona, the quote functions as a case study for his advice about outworking others, developing domain knowledge, and turning a niche passion into a platform—first in wine retail/media and later in digital marketing and branding.