Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Sales 101


I used this image in place of the descriptors on a presentation sheet for a very important tasting tomorrow (well, at this point, today):


I'm pretty confident it will pay dividends.  While I don't necessarily always like to "dumb down" wines that deserve some respect, I really think the people tasting know what they're doing, and there's no benefit to saying that the wine has, "whispers of ripe-to-underripe Israeli persimmon, with masculine undertones of femininity carrying through the tart lychee-blossomed finish."

Of course, that's exactly what I smelled and tasted on the wine, and then visions of this creature materialized.  So, it's pretty much a slam dunk.

That's how you do it.  That's how you sell wine.


Sunday, January 6, 2013

Stuff I Missed...



'Twasn't the most verbose year in Suburban Wino history.  Those who know what I've been up to the past year understand why I wasn't left with gobs of time to sit in front of the computer and painstakingly craft (mostly) coherent posts.  However, that doesn't mean that this year was devoid of exciting and interesting happenings in the world of wine.  More accurately, in MY world of wine.  Sure, it's less relevant to the general wine-drinking public, but I've got an ego that needs to be stroked, so we're gonna talk about me.  Okay, we're not gonna talk about me, per se, but about stuff that I experienced in 2012.  Not sure what else to write about.  I don't care about what James Suckling or Emilio Estevez experienced, and you shouldn't either.  Maybe there's something relevant here after all:

The Wine Business is...

...not at all less glamorous than I expected.  I'm not surprised it's tough, because I know the climate and have known the people in it for a while.  Now, a grizzled veteran at one year's experience, I have to say that it is (if I may paraphrase Denny Green) "what I thought it was":  work.  Not a lot of sitting around, drinking wine, visiting exciting locales around the world.  More accurately, the wine business is- at least initially- hard, HARD work for very little pay, involving long hours, intense competition, aggression, a parade of disinterested and jaded buyers, and even further disinterested consumers who buy on scores, cute labels, and low prices (the latter, I suspect, perpetuated by the laziness of retailers, distributors, and the consumers themselves).  Brushing with a broad stroke here, of course, but wine is held in a much lower regard by so many than one gets swept into believing when dug into the blogging world.  In fact, I've had two rather sobering realizations during my short time in the trenches:
  1. 90% of the wine-consuming public DOES NOT GIVE A DAMN about wine as anything more than a means to get drunk.
  2. Fear of the unknown and unfamiliar is extraordinarily prevalent in the consumer world of wine-buying, and the comfort of a consistent experience drives buying behavior heavily.
When we are so passionate about something, we tend to not understand why others don't share that passion.  We so badly want others to have the epiphany we once did; that "aha" moment when we took a sip of the wine that changed our view of the world forever.  But many (most) will never experience that, because they don't have enough desire to allow the experience to occur.  Rather than lament those who will never have interest, I've enjoyed the zeal of the other 10%.  Those who love wine the way I do, eager novices, seasoned collectors, evangelical buyers, beverage managers, and total nerds... teaching them, learning from them, sharing incredible bottles with them... all of that has been completely satisfying.  I can't say I'd have been able to meet those precious few without taking the leap into this endeavor.

I think I could live in Oregon...

...based on summertime visits, at least.  They say it's a cold, rainy, miserable place, but I've only experienced Portland and the Willamette Valley twice:  June of 2010 and August of 2012.  Beautiful, warm, and gloriously unspoiled (the suburbs of Portland don't just seem to bleed and bleed into the country like they do in the massive sprawl of Atlanta).  Okay, the beach was cold, but I'm super-pale by nature anyway, and terrified of sharks, so I don't need a hot beach.  There is good wine, great beer, lots of fresh produce, seafood, meats, and cheeses.  Houses in wine country are cheap.  The restaurant options in Portlandia are magical.  I got a fried pie filled with macaroni & cheese and bacon from a food truck.

There's and ideal vibe:  city living, but small-city living, with wine country and plenty of access to wholesome ingredients for cooking.  It just seems right.

Downsides:  no NFL team.  But I could watch the Falcons at 10 AM and consistent get out of going to church.  Perhaps the schools are crappy.  Taxes might be bad.  Oh, and my wife grew up in Phoenix.  That'll be a tough sell...

Former (and current) Atlantans make some wine...

Great to see pals Hardy (former Atlantan) and Matt (aka "Rowdy", current Atlantan) release their first wines.  Good stuff will silly labels, and I wish them much success.  These two have showered extraordinary generosity upon me in many ways over the past few years, so I am eternally in their corner as they grow a business that is damn stinkin' hard to make thrive.

Also excited for buddy Ed Thralls (former Atlantan) to release his first Pinot Noir from his new label, Thralls Family Cellars.  I tasted an early bottling (admittedly, while my palate was not its sharpest), and I expect big things.  Likewise, the Thralls have been wonderful and generous to me.

Not necessarily making wine (that I know of), but proud to see another friend- Matt Mauldin (former Atlantan)- working with Joe Davis over at Arcadian in Santa Barbara County.  Maybe the seemingly even-keeled Matt can keep Joe in line a bit, but it could be tough.

Happiest Place on Earth?


The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival took the proud tradition of the World Showcase Pub Crawl to new levels.  Kiosks are set up in the park, featuring food and drink from not only the 13 countries with permanent outposts, but probably 30 others interspersed.  I expected clichéd dishes like "shrimp on the barbie" from the Australian kiosk, but was pleasantly surprised with EPCOT going out on a limb a bit:  France, for example, was serving escargots.  Can't beat snails-to-go.

Beer was represented heavily, and the wine flowed freely (but not "free" as in the sense that it didn't cost a pretty penny).  Many of the wines were the widely-distributed, usual suspects, but gems could be found (Selbach-Oster Spätlese Riesling found deep behind German lines).

The festival runs every November.  If you need to erase the haunting jingle of "It's a Small World" from your mind, $200 and 40 drinks can do so quickly.  Bring in-laws as a quick fix for babysitting the little one(s).

What about 2013?

No idea what to expect.  But I feel the path down which life is taking me is starting to clear, and I think- for the first time in a while- I'm getting my feet beneath me.  No matter what happens, to all those who have supported and encouraged me to take an easily ill-advised leap of faith, I sincerely thank you.

Now excuse me while I go stalk Emilio Estevez on Twitter.