Comments on: The Smartest Way To Sell Wine http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/ Ratings, News, and more on Wine & Spirits since August 2003 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:37:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: jatemack http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-850 jatemack Tue, 09 May 2006 17:52:57 +0000 http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-850 Gerald, Very well put. Consumers do themselves a disfavor by not going into retail shops such as yours. I've had numerous wines I normally wouldn't have thanks to a retailers recommendation. Those wines are now some of my favorites. Gerald,

Very well put. Consumers do themselves a disfavor by not going into retail shops such as yours. I’ve had numerous wines I normally wouldn’t have thanks to a retailers recommendation. Those wines are now some of my favorites.

]]> By: Gerald Weisl http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-847 Gerald Weisl Mon, 08 May 2006 20:15:20 +0000 http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-847 Wineries routinely hold the proverbial "gun" to our (retail wine merchant) head and tell us we are required to buy so much of Wine X to be able to be rewarded with Wine Y. ***** Many vintners are delighted with the notion of selling directly to consumers and by-passing wine merchants such as our little shop. Some wineries view us as "competitors" rather than as "ambassadors." This is short-sighted marketing. ***** A winery makes a lot of money if it can sell all its products directly to consumers. ***** We recently received a copy of a letter from a famous producer whose wines we have carried since their first vintages (1988 or 1989 I think) saying they will now only sell to selected "premier" restaurants and through the winery mailing list. No more wine for wine shops! ***** We have been loyal customers for many years. Many of the "top" restaurant accounts are rather new. Further, a number of restaurants listed on their web site as carrying their wines are out of business. The life span of a resataurant is often far less than the life span of a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon! ***** It's funny how most wine marketing people all want their wines in a dining establishment, where it's far less visible than in a "fine wine shop." People dining out will typically order SOMETHING from the wine list. People coming into my shop are committed to finding a particular wine. If we don't have what they want, they depart empty-handed. In a restaurant, nobody walks out after learning a particular wine is sold out or the place doesn't have an extensive selection of South African Cabernets. (The patrons still find a wine to put on the dinner table). ***** Wine drinkers don't simply fall out of bed one day and say "You know, I think I'll go spend fifty bucks on a bottle of wine!" They need to cultivate their taste for wine and a good wine merchant can be exceptionally helpful in fertilizing this field. These people might become a customer of these high-priced winemakers one day. ***** If consumers had to contact twelve different farmers to be able to build an interesting salad, probably only a few farmers would be contacted. A number would be left by the wayside. It's only the most hardcore wine drinkers who take the time to deal with individual wineries. And, as is being pointed out here, customers are often asked to buy more wine than they can drink (or afford). If you buy even one case of wine annually from a winery, that means you're soon on the hook to drink a bottle a month of the same old thing. Not everybody cares to be in this rut. ***** Our shop doesn't "need" the courtesy case of wine from a single winery to be successful. We like carrying those wines because they are of good quality and customers request them regularly, even if we don't have enough to satisfy each and every request. The same European wineries many California vintners seek to emulate are willing to put their wines into "distribution" and do not sell directly to private clients. ***** It's a shame many vintners are both disloyal and greedy. (Look not only at how much many charge for a bottle of wine, but look also at the cost of visiting a winery and tastings its wares! Tasting rooms used to be an informal method of attracting new customers and "planting seeds" for future sales. Today, many wineries view their tasting facilities as a major profit center.) ***** The world is awash in good, sensibly-priced wines. Support those vintners whose efforts are worthy of your support! Wineries routinely hold the proverbial “gun” to our (retail wine merchant) head and tell us we are required to buy so much of Wine X to be able to be rewarded with Wine Y.
*****
Many vintners are delighted with the notion of selling directly to consumers and by-passing wine merchants such as our little shop. Some wineries view us as “competitors” rather than as “ambassadors.” This is short-sighted marketing.
*****
A winery makes a lot of money if it can sell all its products directly to consumers.
*****
We recently received a copy of a letter from a famous producer whose wines we have carried since their first vintages (1988 or 1989 I think) saying they will now only sell to selected “premier” restaurants and through the winery mailing list. No more wine for wine shops!
*****
We have been loyal customers for many years. Many of the “top” restaurant accounts are rather new. Further, a number of restaurants listed on their web site as carrying their wines are out of business. The life span of a resataurant is often far less than the life span of a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon!
*****
It’s funny how most wine marketing people all want their wines in a dining establishment, where it’s far less visible than in a “fine wine shop.” People dining out will typically order SOMETHING from the wine list. People coming into my shop are committed to finding a particular wine. If we don’t have what they want, they depart empty-handed. In a restaurant, nobody walks out after learning a particular wine is sold out or the place doesn’t have an extensive selection of South African Cabernets. (The patrons still find a wine to put on the dinner table).
*****
Wine drinkers don’t simply fall out of bed one day and say “You know, I think I’ll go spend fifty bucks on a bottle of wine!” They need to cultivate their taste for wine and a good wine merchant can be exceptionally helpful in fertilizing this field. These people might become a customer of these high-priced winemakers one day.
*****
If consumers had to contact twelve different farmers to be able to build an interesting salad, probably only a few farmers would be contacted. A number would be left by the wayside. It’s only the most hardcore wine drinkers who take the time to deal with individual wineries. And, as is being pointed out here, customers are often asked to buy more wine than they can drink (or afford). If you buy even one case of wine annually from a winery, that means you’re soon on the hook to drink a bottle a month of the same old thing. Not everybody cares to be in this rut.
*****
Our shop doesn’t “need” the courtesy case of wine from a single winery to be successful. We like carrying those wines because they are of good quality and customers request them regularly, even if we don’t have enough to satisfy each and every request.

The same European wineries many California vintners seek to emulate are willing to put their wines into “distribution” and do not sell directly to private clients.
*****
It’s a shame many vintners are both disloyal and greedy. (Look not only at how much many charge for a bottle of wine, but look also at the cost of visiting a winery and tastings its wares! Tasting rooms used to be an informal method of attracting new customers and “planting seeds” for future sales. Today, many wineries view their tasting facilities as a major profit center.)
*****
The world is awash in good, sensibly-priced wines. Support those vintners whose efforts are worthy of your support!

]]> By: jatemack http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-846 jatemack Mon, 08 May 2006 16:57:39 +0000 http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-846 Corey, You're right, I have seen this scenario before as well. Why should anyone be forced into buying wine they have no interest in? Of course, Chardonnay is what Kistler is known for. Were you uninterested in the Chardonnay they offered you because it didn't have a high score attached to it? Corey,

You’re right, I have seen this scenario before as well. Why should anyone be forced into buying wine they have no interest in? Of course, Chardonnay is what Kistler is known for. Were you uninterested in the Chardonnay they offered you because it didn’t have a high score attached to it?

]]> By: Corey http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-845 Corey Mon, 08 May 2006 04:42:27 +0000 http://winexpression.com/2006/05/03/the-smartest-way-to-sell-wine/#comment-845 Another scenario that I have encountered, and which happens to be on a mailing list you mentioned as being worthwhile (Kistler), is: you sign up and are immediately (i.e. on the next release) admitted, but with a relatively large minimum order and an allotment skewed towards their least desireable wines. I don’t remember exactly, but I had to order something like 9 bottles of $50-70 Kistler Chard which I had no interest in to get 3 bottles of the least desirable Kistler Pinot that they allotted me (to make the 12 bottle minimum), just to stay on the list in hopes of my Pinot allotment going up. I passed. Another scenario that I have encountered, and which happens to be on a mailing list you mentioned as being worthwhile (Kistler), is: you sign up and are immediately (i.e. on the next release) admitted, but with a relatively large minimum order and an allotment skewed towards their least desireable wines. I don’t remember exactly, but I had to order something like 9 bottles of $50-70 Kistler Chard which I had no interest in to get 3 bottles of the least desirable Kistler Pinot that they allotted me (to make the 12 bottle minimum), just to stay on the list in hopes of my Pinot allotment going up. I passed.

]]>