Jaffurs Wine Cellars

This has been a story I've been waiting to tell. Somehow, someway Craig Jaffurs and Dave Yates have been a part of my wine career almost since the beginning. As a young wine buyer, Craig explained the concept of Brix to me. I can't even tell you how many wine dinners I've been to with Craig. I do know that for each dinner, Craig's wines have brought out the best on some of my favorite Chefs, and closest friends. When I became a sales rep, one of the wines in my portfolio was Jaffurs. I know I sold a lot of their wine because I still always hear about the good ole days from these guys. When I decided to move to Ohio, Craig and Dave put me with Walt for a lunch at La Super Rica in Santa Barbara (You have no idea how great...). Walt eventually hired me, and again I was selling Jaffurs. As I was putting together the concept for ampelography, Dave and Craig were 2 of my first phone calls.
This is one of those phenomenon in this business that makes it so special. We are all members of our own mutual admiration society. And it is these types of relationships that can last a lifetime.
Oh, by the way, the wines are ridiculously good. I remember back in the day when we would speculate as to why the press hadn't wised up to these wines. Now, they are famous for the huge scores. The thing is, the style of these wines has remained the same all these years. The guys make Rhone wines in Santa Barbara. They make the best examples of nearly every single vineyard bottling they produce. I have had countless winemakers tell me that Jaffurs Roussanne is the absolute best White Rhone Wine from the U.S.! Their Syrahs all have a sense of place. Each single vineyard bottling has it's own personality, but all have that commonality of of balanced structure and minerality. These wines age as well as their Rhone counterparts. I'd rather drink Jaffurs Viognier than almost any Condrieu. I could go on, but I'll just say that we are thrilled to add Jaffurs Wines Cellars to the ampelography portfolio!

What I learned on the Central Coast last week...

I had a tremendous vist to Wine Country-South last week. I've always loved the people and wines of Santa Barbara. My opinions were further solidified. Everyone was so hospitable, and i learned a ton about each winery and personality. I also learned a few things about how to handle multiple appointments and etiquette.

1) Foxen's new winery is going to be the "Toy" that Bill always deserved. Bill Wathan has always been a great winemaker, now he will have plenty of room to maneuver in Foxen's new "green" winery that is nearing completion. Solar Panels, Low profile, native plants, Foxen has done a great job of keeping this project as environmentally friendly as spossible. Along with their Tinnaquaic and now Tinnaquaic 2 vineyards, they are expanding their organic grape growing program.

2) Dave Corey of Core is a mad scientist! Dave somehow juggles seemingly dozens of different cuvees and know intimately where everything comes from. Why so many different bottlings? Because he does them all well.Exciting things to come from Core, especially the 2007 Reds!

3) Buttonwood's indelible style comes from their micro climate and own rootstock Bordeaux varieties. We talk a lot about "House Style", it amazes me how Buttonwood has developed just that, their own house style.

4) Niner has an amazing operation coming on line in the next year. The 2 vineyards, Bootjack Ranch and Heart Hill Vineyard are going to be some of the best known vineyards in Paso within a few years. The placement of these vineyards helps to keep the breezes flow through the vineyards. No raisin flavors! It was great to spend the day with my old friend Ken Bryant.

5) Silver has a few tricks up their sleeve. Despite a few setbacks, keep an eye on Benjamin Silver, his next vintage will turn some heads. His farming and winemaking philosophies are unique, and his attention to detail and steady hand have always served him well.

6) Rebecca and Peter Work of Ampelos are some of the smartest and most resourceful winemakers I've ever met. Trading in their management consultant jobs for the familial closeness of Ampelos Vineyard and winery, they brought the most important element to the table:knowing who to ask questions of and never assuming anything.

7) The wine business has a way of keeping everyone close, and relationships separated by years and thousands of miles can continue to last a lifetime.

8) Some wineries don't want to share the stage/ It is possible to overbook your day, and it's a good way to insult some people.

9) You can't make all the people happy all of the time

Syncline Wine Cellars

I hate to name drop, so I won't. Let me say this, one night, about 3 years ago, a pretty famous and cultish Oregon and Washington winemaker was out to dinner with the management team of my former employer. We asked him who was he most excited about in Washington right now. He said 1 name that we already knew and coveted (and ended up getting) and 2 more producers we'd never heard of. One of those was Syncline (otherwise this is a stupid story). So we reached out for James and Poppie Mantone to try the wines. We were all immediately smitten. Syncline crafts Rhone varietals in Columbia Valley. This is turning into one of my favorite regions for these types of wines.
Columbia Valley Syrahs have this Old-World acidity with bright fresh fruit. The wines have a feminine quality to them that is especially noticeable in the texture. Syncline is at the very top of my list of producers that exhibit this style of winemaking. Syncline is specializing in making wines that have character and finesse. I know that Poppie has a background in biodynamics, and now with an estate vineyard bearing fruit, we shoudl see even better wines from them with a great pedigree. I'm very proud to announce the addition of Syncline Wine Cellars into the ampelography portfolio.

Foxen Winery

I have been very lucky over the years to have met some amazing people in this business. Dick Dore of Foxen ranks up there near the top. Tall, charismatic and with a twinkle in his eye, he loves to tell the story of his Great-Great Grandfather, Benjamin Foxen establishing the Foxen Canyon Trail and building the church that sits on Rancho Sisquoc's property. Dick comes from Santa Maria Royalty! He and partner (and winemaker) Bill Wathen, established this winery in 1985, naming it after his ancestor. This estate winery lies on 2000 acres known as Rancho Tinaquaic. On the western ridge of the Dry Sisquoc River Bed. The vineyard,as well as some of the purchased fruit they bring in (Bien Nacido, Julia's, Vogelzang and Sea Smoke) is some of the best fruit sources in Santa Barbara County. Their diversity of wines, including Sangiovese, Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, as well as their ubiquitous Pinots, Chards and Rhone bottling represent a great breadth of lineup. Dick and Bill are always trying something new, and were certainly among the first producers to understand how to handle Chardonnay and Bordeaux varieties with restraint. A new winery construction is underway, but you can still taste through the lineup in the aluminum and wood shack they use for a tasting room at the norther edge of the scenic Foxen Canyon Trail. Foxen represents some of the best Santa Maria has to offer, and we are very excited to add them to the ampelography portfolio!

Bonny Doon Vineyard

Growing into wine in the 90's, Bonny Doon was a tremendously important producer to me as I learned about wine. Randall Graham's embrace of Rhône varietals, as well as obscure Italians, gave hope to the idea that the world of wine did not begin and end with Chardonnay and Cabernet. His quirk and wit said that you can make serious wine without being self-important. There aren't too many rock stars in the wine world, Randall is definitely one.

This is the 3rd time I've sat down to write about Bonny Doon's addition to the portfolio, each time, finding myself at a loss for words. As I have discussed my portfolio with my colleagues, their amazement at the fact that I coerced them into the fold is compounding my writers block. I always try to think of the cliche, "act like you've been there before" whenever I approach something big and new and scary. I have a couple of funny stories that I'm going to keep in my pocket for now about Bonny Doon and Randall Graham. Somehow, though, I needed to give this brand all the sincerity I could muster. Fortunately, their National Sales Manager thought it would be wise for me to taste through the current lineup. This was a brilliant idea, as I guess I haven't tasted the entire lineup in a few years, since which time, Bonny Doon has reinvented themselves.

The lineup now includes the Ca' del Solo wines as well as the Cigare Volant wines, some dessert wines,and the Le Posseur Syrah. Gone are the larger production wines that you may have associated with BD over the years. Randall has always loved the old world analogues to his varieties, but without the overwhelming desire to replicate. This thought was crystallized in tasting through the wines. The Cigare wines are dead ringers for Rhône wines. great structure from the grenache made the red drink just like a great CDP. The white, with a healthy backbone of Grenache Blanc is one of my favorites white wines of this year. Rose, always rocks. Then we got to the Ca' del Solo lineup. My first thought was " this is the first Albarino from California that tasted like it came from Rias Baixas. Great minerality (California, really?),and that signature under ripe mandarin orange character.Then came the Nebbiolo and Dolcetto. Again, dead ringers for their Italian counterparts. Nebbiolo from California NEVER has this kind of Tannin and earthiness!

So with a few wines left to go through yet, I felt like i had a firm grasp on what is going on inside the bottle. These are all wines that make you reconsider whatever you feel or felt about Bonny Doon. They remind you why Randall Graham got to be so famous in the first place, by making great, interesting, challenging wines.

The Bonny Doon story can't really be told without discussing the other exciting concepts Randall has championed over the years. Remember his burial of corks? How about his take on Dante's Inferno? The story of the alien spacecraft? So what is he up to these days? First, all wines are now from either sustainably farmed vineyards, organic or biodynamic. How about Bonny Doon is now including all ingredients on their labels? And then there's sensitive crystallization. I can't think of the last time a concept in wine was so complex that it required hours of reading to just begin to understand what it means. The Ca' del Solo wines all have an image on the front of the sensitive crystallization of that particular wine. Sensitive crystallization is basically taking the wine (or grapes or plant material) combining them with cooper chloride in a petri dish and letting the liquid evaporate. What is left are these images of crystals that apparently tell one (that knows what to look for) all about the wine. They should show life force, balance, health in the wine. This is a concept that goes hand in hand with biodynamics. This is all an attempt from Randall to peer a little closer into the grape, the vineyard, the terroir, analyze what it gives back and frame this in a visual representation. Pretty heady stuff indeed.

Perhaps the thing that's makes Bonny Doon such a special producer is their spirit. Embracing something new and exciting not just for changes sake but for the progression of quality, discourse and responsibility. Bonny Doon takes risks everyday in the noble pursuit of enhancing your wine drinking experience. All I needed to do to understand this was drink some of their wine.

Drawing Inspiration

I am a failed film student. I've always had an eye for "that thing" the power of the word, or the music, or the action, or even the choreography to inspire, and give emotion. I've never been able to create it though.

In deciding to begin this upstart luxury business, I was often struggling to justify the why. I felt like I was standing at the end of the diving board saying: "This is Crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy" (a la Clark Griswold). I was in need of inspiration and courage. I felt like I had the concept down cold, but it can be difficult to make that leap.I remember feeling sorry for myself, when I came across this:




Most of you have already seen this, I was late to the game. But it blew me away. It was perfect. I tend to get obsessive,and I became obsessed with this. I looked up Matt, and on his site I discovered "TED".

TED is Technology, Entertainment and Design conference, made up of 20 minute speeches by extraordinary individuals.

It was here that I began to watch these inspiring videos about people thinking differently, solving problems everyone says are unsolvable, and generally succeeding in the face of naysayers. People I already respected, like Malcolm Gladwell, and Tim Ferris, Nate Silver, and even Bill Gates, along with physicists, biologists, atheists, athletes, activists & authors. The theme was the same, we, as a society have a very myopic view of reality, and society tends to want to keep individuals at the baseline of success.

I also long ago discovered Vaynerchuk, and I'll mention him again here. His business blog, not his wine blog (although I subscribe to this one too), is the one that draws me in. He's not revolutionary, but he has vision, and he's sharp and adaptive. His comments are inspiring on a daily basis for me as well.

All of these factors made me want to put together a video that inspired wineries to take action to make their voices heard. My first few versions were enough to get my brother Brad involved (although, the correct term is probably intervened). Brad works for an amazing company called Bridge Worldwide. He is a project leader for teams that develop really amazing web content for a diverse array of companies. He took my crappy 20 min Powerpoint, interviewed me, helped me distill down my ideas, and publish a kick ass site and video. This in turn was my presentation to recruit each of the wineries I now represent (18 and counting).




This journey thus far has been amazing! I have already accomplished so many of the early critical factors for success that I drew up that I've needed to adopt a new strategy that uses my time in markets a little more efficiently. Building this portfolio has been far easier than I thought it would be. I need to give all the credit to my chain of inspiration. If you would have asked me 6 months ago what the road map would be, i didn't know. But I knew I wanted the outcome to look like this. At some point, all of these inspiring personalities, putting it out there on the net for free, got me to jump off the diving board. Thanks!

Robert M Parker-Socialist? In the best possible way...

Robert Parker is an easy, slow moving target. We in the wine industry like to dismiss his motivation, power and palate. I'm here to defend him. When Parker started, about 30 years ago, when ratings didn't really matter much. He didn't envision a world where his scores would fill the void. His intention was to bring a little organization and reason to the vast, confusing world of wine. Labeling was different back then.The consumer was easily confused. Wine also was much cheaper than it is today, so ratings were taken a little less seriously.
In the years since, Parker has remained consistent in his Independence and palate.I know what he's going to like just as I know what my wife will like. We sit around and talk about "Parker wines". He likes concentrated jammy, almost sweet wines. This doesn't make him less of a person, even though he and I like different wines. This doesn't mean he has less of a palate than anyone else. His writing is astute and descriptive. His editorial comments are always right on. I've heard he doesn't write tasting notes while at the wineries, but remembers everything.
He has also remained independent. When is the last time you though he was giving a higher score to Columbia Crest than they deserved and suspected that they may be in his pocket? With all the "controversy" surrounding the little travelgate thing happening right now, it's really a testament to how clean he has always been.
Here is why Parker is great: He has given voice to the small wineries. By treating every producer the same regardless of marketing budget, distribution, etc, he has leveled the playing field. Thus, allowing small producers to emerge in this wine-saturated landscape. Because he cares only about the highest quality wines, he searches far and wide to taste everything possible. Think about how many tiny, mailing list only wineries have thrived because of what Parker said about them. You may not agree with his ratings, but at least you don't need to put your arm around Marvin Shanken to get them...

Herding Cats

I am truly lucky. I was able to put together a "dream list" of wineries to represent quite a bit easier than I expected. I represent many producers that I have tremendous respect for. They took a leap of faith with me, and rightfully so, that leap only will last so far on goodwill alone.
My primary goal is to find homes (distributors) in each of my primary markets for 17 wineries plus 1 importer. Last week was a big week, I found 5 new homes over 3 states. Progress is expectantly slow, but with solid wines and presentations and good market intel, I'm confident I can find the right long-term fit for everyone.
I was (naively) expecting that each of these small wineries would eventually take on a collective conscience. A diverse, but unified voice. What I am instead seeing at this stage of the game is that each of these wineries likes things done a little bit differently. At some point in the future, I will have a strong track record I can point to, and I will be able to take a different tact when dealing with these differing philosophies.I love that each day, and each interaction presents a chance to learn a lesson and develop my approach.

Lesson #1-"Trust Me" is not reassuring. That leap of faith is not solidified by that famously laughable Indiana Jones quote, but in the back of my mind I wish it were.

Lesson #2-Any concern is a real concern. The collective white noise of communication can easily drown out subtle concerns about details. It's important to recognize each concern and give it the respect and credibility it deserves.

Lesson #3-I should always be available and accountable- I know I'm busy, but that doesn't matter to the client. What matters is how well I am representing them and their vision. From afar, it may be tough for them to see until I can produce results. For many producers, this hasn't happened yet.Sensitive to this, I need to be available and have a strong vision and strategy for each producer.

Lesson #4-My brand and the other winery's brands within ampelography are irrelevant to the winery I am dealing with at that moment. The winery wants to know I am focused on them. Talking about other wineries makes it sound like I'm focused on someone else.

So what am I doing wrong? Nothing. I am just learning how to communicate better (not necessarily more).When I set meetings, present wine, or decide to not set meetings, I need to be accountable in each instance. I need to be able to say what is going on with the strategy, and ideally head off concerns at the pass before they feel they need to approach me with them. Keeping the client happy is not about appeasement, but about helping them to eventually "trust me". I can't possibly expect them to do this out of the gate. I've already asked them to trust me more than any sane man would. I need to prove to them that my methods and strategy are sound. I need to let them see how the proverbial sausage is made. Many of these wineries are run by winemakers and all are family owned. Something that should not be taken lightly. I will need to make sure I do everything I can to earn their trust. I need to be a sincere advocate for their business and the health of their growth. I will also need to make sure I am sensitive to their concerns and make sure I put them at ease with each concern.

Ampelos Cellars

I have known about Ampelos Cellars for a while now. My good friends Dave and Craig at Jaffurs Wine Cellars turned me on to their vineyard with what Jaffurs claims to be his best bottling of Syrah. Then I heard about their embrace of Biodynamics. Eventually, they showed up on Vaynerchuk for a 2 parter about blending (see both videos below). This time, it stuck. I reached out for Peter and Rebecca on the same day they reached out for me (they heard about me from the guys at Jaffurs!). We hooked up and discussed opportunities. Once we all decided that it might be a good fit, they sent me some samples. This is often one of the great perks of my job! We tasted through the wines last week. The Syrache, The Gamma Syrah and the Lambda Pinot Noir. Each had tons of personality and concentration. I called a few friends out that way, and the feeling was as I suspected, Ampelos is one of the hot rising stars of Santa Barbara. I am thrilled to announce the addition of Ampelos Cellars to the ampelography portfolio.

Part 1


Part 2

Longoria

One of the most crucially important figures in the evolution of Santa Barbara Wines was in the background for much of the region's development. Schooled under Andre Tchelistcheff at Buena Vista, Rick Longoria was greatly influenced by this master of the craft. Beginning with Firestone, then J Carey and eventually with Gainey. Rick helped to establish a European style with the fledgling SB County vines. Longoria started his own winery in 1982, but continued to work for other wineries until 1997. He eventually saw his dreams come to fruition with opening his own tasting room in Los Olivos and most importantly, he planted his estate Fe Ciega Vineyard in Sta Rita Hills.The centerpiece of his production, Fe Ciega yields some of the most dramatic and refined Pinot Noirs in the region. Rick also has a thing for Spanish Varietals (as do I)and produces an Albarino and Tempranillo. One of Longoria's most famous wines is the Blues Cuvée, a proprietary Red Blend largely based on Cab Franc. The wine always carries a different artists interpretation of Rick's musical passion-The Blues.Additionally, Longoria is making great Syrahs and Chardonnays as well a a bevvy of non-estate Pinot Noir. ampelography is thrilled to represent this true pioneer and visionary!

Vaynerchuk on CNN

Gary Vaynerchuk is quickly becoming ubiquitous in this industry. It's very important to listen to him and imagine for a second what his audience looks like. He has 350k followers on twitter. He is younger than us, and is audience is much younger. This is where the opportunity lies. If you/ we can connect to these people or using these methods, we will drive our own business.

The Greenhouse Tavern

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to visit The Greenhouse Tavern just before they opened. This is one of the most exciting new restaurants in the midwest if not the country.

Mediocrity and the Art of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I read the papers just like you. I watch the news, I catch the scroll at the bottom of the 24hr news networks while sitting in my accounts. Despite the popular opinion, the media isn't driving us into a recession, it's likely inevitable. I can make a pretty compelling case that the people in the wine industry most affected by the economic state, are making it worse for themselves.
Distributors and Retailers are in full on panic mode. I keep hearing the line "in order to sell more wine and remain more competitive, retailers need to sell $10 and under wines". I keep hearing from distributors that they can't sell mid-priced wines and higher anymore, and that the market doesn't have room for these wines anymore. I believe these are dangerous approaches. Wine sales are slumping a bit, but they are above this point last year. And they are about flat with 2007, which is much higher than 2005 or 2001. We have been spoiled by a seemingly endless growth cycle in wine sales. The growth will be much slower from here on, at least for a little while, but it's still growth. Consumers that I've spoken with haven't really changed their habits much either. I'm sure that there are consumers that previously bought $20 bottles on a regular basis, but are now buying $12 instead, but I haven't come across any.
So, retailers, thinking they are ahead of the curve, have bought big on cheap wines and promoted them heavily. They have in effect sold their customers down. This is a bad plan. Rather than focusing on getting customers excited about new and exciting wines and great vintages in Europe and California, they are looking for the next yellowtail (which single-handedly created a depression in sales for quality Aussie Wines).
Distributors have panicked even worse! Since every retailer overbought during the holiday season, they had plenty of remaining inventory during the already slow months of Jan-March. The sales numbers were down percentages that make managers fear for their jobs. But they were down these percentages in the smallest months of the year, so the real dollars down was not as bad as the percentage said. As a reaction, the managers started dumping quality mid-priced brands in favor of finding the next yellowtail. In essence validating the retailers stance.
I have no less than 4 shirts in my closet that have an argyle pattern on them. I didn't go out and buy 4 at once. Argyle was a pattern of choice for the last few seasons in many of the clothing stores I frequent. Subliminally, they sold me on the latest trend. And when all was said and done, I had at least 3 more pieces of Argyle patterned clothing than any self respecting man should have. I like argyle, but I didn't need it. The clothing industry embraced it, and I bought it. The wine business is doing the same thing right now, except this years "fashion" carries a lower price tag and lower profitability. The people that already sell the cheaper wines are rejoicing, for them, these are the salad days. "Of course consumers are looking for value comfort wines".
So now, sales and profits will go into the tank. Guess what else? Consumers that were shopping independent retailers because their wines were better than the grocery stores now have no reason to go to these shops. When independent retailers try to go toe to toe with grocers, they have no chance, and that is the path they are leading their customers down.

The Brand Gap

This is a great presentation about Brands vs. Logos, etc. Wineries seem to need a little help with the whole branding thing. This is a pretty good calibration tool to make sure you're pointing in the right direction.


The Brand Gap

View more presentations from coolstuff.

Raptor Ridge

What is Pinot Noir supposed to be? This is the question that Oregon Pinot producers often ask themselves and each other. I was fortunate enough to attend the famous Oregon Pinot Camp in 2004. It was here I met Annie and Scott Shull, owners of Raptor Ridge Winery. During our several days in camp, Scott hosted a seminar about Oregon style and how the Pinots in Oregon live in a 3-dimensional spectrum of styles defined as opulent, elegant and age worthy, with each sharing a common space. After tasting through many wines that demonstrated the diversity of style, I really began to classify all Pinot in this spectrum. The fact I kept coming back to over and over, is that there are many excellent examples of opulent new world Pinots, and opulent and age worthy wines.For some reason, the intersection of elegant and age-worthy seemed inconsistent at best. Many producers that try to occupy this space fall short and are very vintage dependent. I felt at the time, that Raptor Ridge was one of the few producers that was really hitting this balance well.
I have been chasing Raptor Ridge for almost 5 years, ever since Pinot Camp. As I built an Oregon portfolio with my last distributor, I kept harassing Annie. Finally, through a series of fortunate coincidences and timing, we finally hooked up, and now I am proud to announce the inclusion of Raptor Ridge in the ampelography portfolio.
These Pinot Noirs are outstanding! The alcohols ride in the mid 13% range, and the wines have both fresh acidity and nice tannin backbone. Beautifully aromatic, I imagine these wines will really develop in the 3-5 years from vintage range. Located on the side of Chehalem Mountain, and with fruit contacts from Shea Vineyard and Meredith Mitchell, Raptor Ridge Scott knows how important vineyard work is, and spends most of his time during harvest in the vineyards. The winery is named after the birds of prey (Red-tailed Hawks, Kestrels, Sharp-Shinned Hawks and Owls) that make Raptor Ridge their home.

What's the best pairing for a web presence? Physical presence and flat out hustle.

As more people and are becoming more connected, there is a notion that working smarter can replace working harder. This is FALSE! A web presence is vital in today's tough market. This economy is taking it's toll. It may be cliche, but those that hustle will sell more wine. Consider part of the hustle to be your web presence. Blog, post, tweet as much as you can (as long as the content is good). Hustle in front of the computer, or on your laptop, or phone. Use your downtime to get the words out there. Putting the hours and sincere effort in right now is irreplaceable.
What else is irreplaceable? Time in front of actual people pouring and talking about the wines. You need to have a presence in the public as much as you have a web-presence. Be in accounts and schedule events. Physically being there is not enough either though, you need to be a presence. Have a personality, an energy, a confidence. Engage the people tasting your wine. Your enthusiasm will make the wine taste even better.
The more presence you have in a tasting, the more it will parlay into web presence. Embrace cross promotion! Get people to come out to your tastings with your web presence. Make the tastings so great that people will spread the word through multiple medium. Make sure they know how to find you on the web. Making your efforts pay off is the best way to work smarter today.

Winemakers:plugged in

When we talk about Web 2.0, or Wine 2.0, we are often discussing connectivity. How often and how quickly do you communicate? Has the 2.0 world added benefits to your world. Are you able to do things now that you weren't before? Sometimes the answers are mixed, but there is a palpable sensation that everything is about to break wide open.
All at once, progressive minded individuals in the world of wine seem to to coming up with the same ideas at once. One such idea, is remote winemaker tastings.
Winemakers know their wine better than anyone, but their job lies in the cellar. This is what they are meant to do. The time on the streets, that's better left to salespeople. Winemakers have a bit of justified disdain for the whole dog and pony show. But their insights are invaluable. When winemakers discuss the wines they made, the result is a different level of understanding. Unfortunately, this usually meant either you going to see them, or them going to see you. For Ohioans, this isn't necessarily practical. So City Cellars in Downtown Cincinnati is teaming up with Niner Wine Estates in Paso Robles to offer a live feed wine tasting on Tuesday. Winemaker Amanda Cramer has an impressive resume, and this should be a fascinating interactive talk. They will be using Skype for the 2 way conversation. Currently, I am working with Niner to help develop new formats for such tastings that employ a more powerful and syndicate-able program. We are also working on a way to do live tastings, viewable by anyone over the Internet with the ability to do live chat during the event. This may not be totally revolutionary, but this application of the technology seems unprecedented. This could open a Pandora's box of amazing event opportunities. Can you imagine connecting with Winemakers a world away? Live feeds from vineyards? The possibilities are exciting!

Link in without being a lurker

Do you still read the morning paper every day? Me too. Guess what? I rarely find 1st section news that is still news to me. I have become so connected that I already know most of the big stories before I read them. My daily ritual includes silence, coffee and the paper, so I don't expect this to change anytime soon. My newer rituals include checking the news feed before bed. I know what people tell you about getting on the computer before bed, but this helps me sleep better.
I have also done a pretty good job of being early in the curve for information within my industry. In fact, I really read every link on the right, and will always read every link on the right. This will always be the site I will use rather than an RSS feeder (which is still incredibly useful). Not once, but twice in the last 2 weeks, I have unearthed business opportunities on that feed on the right. I read email constantly. I have a blackberry. I don't spend ridiculous hours in front of the computer, but I definitely make good use of my time staying on top of what is going on. I don't understand professionals that don't reply to within 24 hours 90%+ of the time. This is a huge pet peeve. This is also a new acceptable form of unprofessional ism. This is wrong. The only thing worse is when people don't return phone calls promptly.
So here's my story from today. As I was reading my blogs and news of the day, I came across a piece about a winery that I covet and am trying to add to my portfolio. I read it, and forwarded the link of to the person that I've been going back and forth with. As it turns out, I was the first person to tell him about it. I was lucky, but I made my own luck, I wasn't online when it was posted, I was out selling wine. Instead, during my routine, I caught this items, more than 2 hours after it posted. Now here comes the what if. What if this is the "make or break" moment? In my eyes, this is such an important and coveted piece of my puzzle, that if I were to somehow put this together, years from now, this could be one of those moments. There was no way for me to know this was going to happen. It may never lead to anything. That said, it's worth recognizing that I put myself in this position. Staying in touch is crucial. Making technology and your time work together is crucial today. Everyone will experience a certain amount of failure in life, but you can't hit 500 home runs if you don't get the at bats. Today, I gave myself 1 more at-bat.

Pay it forward

The "old boy" culture of the wine industry is dying a pretty quick death. Deeply and long held beliefs about how to buy loyalty are becoming passe. The old way of bribery with court side seats, or free wine is being replaced, at least in some circles. Want to know how to get loyalty? Help your customers improve their business. This should be at the heart of why every person sells wine. Healthy customers makes your business healthy. The lack of this understanding is at the very stench of corporate insincerity. Old tired lines like "in these tough times, people are looking for a brand they are comfortable with" is absolute selfish BS. It shows immediate disdain for each customer by over simplifying the complex economic effects on the wine industry.

I don't believe in dealing, I do believe in being a valuable resource for my clients. I rarely say no to an event. Many of my competitor scoff at this idea, but now, they can't wait to get me off the streets. I volunteer to present staff training with wines that aren't mine. Why? 2 reasons, increased exposure to competitors wines make me more relevant. And, irreplaceable expertise. When the competitors can't speak as eloquently about my wines as I can about theirs, it puts them at an immediate disadvantage. Engaging your account's staff is a sure-fire way to build your business. Sommeliers don't come from the roofing industry, they work their way up. They all worked as a busboy or hostess. somewhere. Don't you wish you would have caught them on the way up? If you treat every support staff as part of the equation, you will be rewarded as their careers blossom. even if it is a relatively low rate of return. If you invest yourself in education, and having the patience to know all of the servers at your best account

The most important part of being involved though, is the value of "co-ownership" of your account's wine program. A genuine and sincere interests in the very best wine selection or list, will come back around. Invest your time and candid opinions. Help your accounts to be as competitive as possible. A big chunk of my wine education came from my reps when I was a buyer. If you help your accounts, and represent great wines, the placements will come naturally and every will feel better for it. If your trying to manipulate rather than educate, you will have no loyalty or credibility. 2 qualities you just can't buy.

Why wine blogging is important

Blogging is often considered the current accepted form of narcissism. While I don't totally disagree with this estimation, blogging has become a vital part of our niche culture. As we become more niche and specialized, blogging carries more of a voice. In the world of wine, blogging has certainly taken hold. In fact, you're reading a wine blog right now. For me, it's good to have a creative release, even if no one reads it. Opinions are important in my business, and this helps me to flesh out my thoughts on complex and what I think are interesting perspectives.
More important for me to write, is for me to read. I try to keep up with some of the more important wine (and food and marketing) blogs on a regular basis. This keeps me abreast of developments within my industry. The more I read and listen, the quicker I can recognize emerging regions, techniques, and trends. This is crucial for what I do. It allows me to remain competitive from a seemingly non-vital part of the country (NW Ohio).
This week, I came across a winery that I had never before heard of, while reading a blog. I was fascinated by their approach to filling a big need in the market, as well as their attention to quality. I googled them, contacted them via their website, and have received comments back from 2 of the owners. I will speak with them next week about ampelography, and what they are doing, and whether it is a good fit. Blogging is helping me to do business. It doesn't replace many of the aspects of the traditional way of doing wine business, but it certainly complements it. Recognizing this is a crucial aspect to Wine Web 2.0, accessing and reacting to information faster than was previously possible.