On December 21st the D&E Division held a holiday party, hosted by Randy and Melanie Evans. Here are some pictures from the event.
Until next time,
Jason
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Work With
This was sent to me by a local vendor, it is well worth the read...
The wine sales industry has many strange idiosyncrasies and weird business practices. It cannot be likened to any other industry and typical business protocol does not apply.
For example, when a sales representative calls on an account, a restaurateur or retailer, to attempt to make an appointment, schedule a lunch, invite them to a special dinner with a leading vintner (gratis of course), there is absolutely no obligation for that call to be returned.
In the event that an appointment is made there is actually no real obligation to "make good" on that meeting by attending. There is no real reason that the buyer needs to be on time. During the meeting the buyer will continually be interrupted by deliveries and the like. Sometimes instead of an appointment "the cattle call" is implemented where the buyer has the representatives wait in an informal line while they deal with other business, they are seen first come first served, but sometimes breaks are taken for lunch, etc. and there is no guarantee that the rep will get their 10 minutes with the buyer at all that day.
The wine sales job takes hours of time, follow-up, driving in circles making repeat calls, stalking, spending tons of time and money eating and drinking at the establishment, whatever it takes to cultivate a copacetic working relationship, or even the mere normal decorum of any other professional business transaction.
There is another weird anomaly in the wine business called "The Work With" You may also hear it referred to as "The Drive With", or in its negative context as "The Milk Run". If you hear about "The Blitz" that signifies multiple "Work Withs." The reason for the existence of "The Work With" stems from US laws created when rescinding Prohibition, all wines must be sold from a producer to a wholesaler to an account (retail or restaurant) in what is called the Three Tier System. Generally, these wholesalers are relatively few in number, and despite consolidation the producers are more numerous. Even large producers and brands can get lost in the portfolio of a large distributor and need extra attention, so they send in their staff to enforce a focus on their brands by doing, you got it, Work Withs.
I think folks on both sides of the Work With would agree that a Ride With is one of the most awkward social interactions possible.
Imagine… a random person that you've never met and possibly have never even spoken to, arrives in their own car at your hotel in a strange city to take you around the town. Didn't your mother ever tell you never to get in cars with strangers? This is worse than a blind date. You get in and take off on the road with who knows who. It could be a spunky young woman, a sixty year old man, sales reps run the gamut of all walks of life. There are generally the obligatory comments about the state of the vehicle, "I'm just borrowing this truck from my husband who's a contractor, don't worry about the huge crack in the windshield, that happened this morning." "Don't put your stuff on the back seat, my son spilled his milk all over there last week and it is a bit gross." I am so sorry, my dog was in here and he just sheds everywhere."
Now wholesale reps, please bear with me, there are plenty of you who are absolutely normal, organized and productive, but generally you are the ones that move up to management quickly and don't need to go on Work Withs. That's why I have never ridden with you.
Generally the conversation starts with small talk, "Hi, I'm Julie, thank you so much for your time. We have a really full day." Or, "Hi, I'm Fred. I have to apologize, you see there's a winemaker in town, most buyers are super busy doing inventory and my cat was sick last week so I have been having a hell of a time finding appointments, but I figure we can pop into a few places, it should be a great day." Then they rattle off a slew of accounts that are planned visits (most of which will never actually show up or will shush you away because they don't want to taste.)
You talk about their kids, your kids, or your lack of kids, your pets, where you've lived, etc. It is excruciating. Imagine your worst blind date ever, because this is not going anywhere. Occasionally you'll find a really great match-up that you click with immediately, which can be fun. This happened to me when after three horrible Work Withs I got in the car with the rep and said, "Look, no offense to you personally, but I just cannot take one more minute of small talk, so if you don't have anything interesting to say can we just get through this day without it." She and I immediately got along and had tons to talk about. This is a rare occurrence.
You'll sit together at lunch, which is usually easier as you can talk about food, the weather, etc. Hopefully they will pull out their computer and put in some orders to take up some time. But then all too soon it's back to the car. You hop in and out with heavy bags laden with wines to show to the buyers. When you enter the door of the account you immediately become close buddies, friends even, which is hilarious.
But the best is when you get someone really dysfunctional. For example, as you're driving along you realize that you are playing the role of "driver's ed instructor", slamming your foot down at every intersection as they are gabbing on their Blackberry. Very close to reaching for the wheel as they careen towards the median while browsing through their account list (in 10 point font), stretching to find a place for you to go for your next visit. Turning to tell you their life story while staring at you.
You can attempt the tried and true tactics of faking phone calls, texting, mad emailing, even writing Thank You notes while in the car, but to no avail. You're trapped.
You will inevitably hear about their most secret indiscretions, "This is between us but…" You must understand that most salespeople lead an otherwise solitary existence, working from home, alone most of the day, dining alone, visiting accounts alone, so this is their (and your) chance to break out. Ironically most of these folks are otherwise very social people. At any rate, while you're careening toward the median they'll be discussing their recent affair with the brand manager of a certain winery and how they got married but he disappeared for a few weeks so she gave away his samples and the relationship surprisingly ended on a bad note.
The driving deteriorates once you start heading out to "hit a few accounts" after the rep has exhausted the possibility of tasting with any more buyers. You have a few cocktails at bars while she tells you about her recent bout with E. coli. He may have his dogs in the car. You may go to get an oil change, pick up dry cleaning, go to the bank or hang out in his back yard while he checks his email.
Hopefully the day will end early when she goes to pick up her kids at 4:30, you'll wait in the car with her until 5:15 and then she will drop you at your next account to take a cab to your hotel. Or even worse it may end around 11pm when after a long dinner and many wines later you enjoy the tenuous drive home.
But that's the nature of the wine sales business, so if you think you can handle it, even enjoy it, go right ahead. I can't wait to see you after your first Work With.
Until next time,
Jason
The wine sales industry has many strange idiosyncrasies and weird business practices. It cannot be likened to any other industry and typical business protocol does not apply.
For example, when a sales representative calls on an account, a restaurateur or retailer, to attempt to make an appointment, schedule a lunch, invite them to a special dinner with a leading vintner (gratis of course), there is absolutely no obligation for that call to be returned.
In the event that an appointment is made there is actually no real obligation to "make good" on that meeting by attending. There is no real reason that the buyer needs to be on time. During the meeting the buyer will continually be interrupted by deliveries and the like. Sometimes instead of an appointment "the cattle call" is implemented where the buyer has the representatives wait in an informal line while they deal with other business, they are seen first come first served, but sometimes breaks are taken for lunch, etc. and there is no guarantee that the rep will get their 10 minutes with the buyer at all that day.
The wine sales job takes hours of time, follow-up, driving in circles making repeat calls, stalking, spending tons of time and money eating and drinking at the establishment, whatever it takes to cultivate a copacetic working relationship, or even the mere normal decorum of any other professional business transaction.
There is another weird anomaly in the wine business called "The Work With" You may also hear it referred to as "The Drive With", or in its negative context as "The Milk Run". If you hear about "The Blitz" that signifies multiple "Work Withs." The reason for the existence of "The Work With" stems from US laws created when rescinding Prohibition, all wines must be sold from a producer to a wholesaler to an account (retail or restaurant) in what is called the Three Tier System. Generally, these wholesalers are relatively few in number, and despite consolidation the producers are more numerous. Even large producers and brands can get lost in the portfolio of a large distributor and need extra attention, so they send in their staff to enforce a focus on their brands by doing, you got it, Work Withs.
I think folks on both sides of the Work With would agree that a Ride With is one of the most awkward social interactions possible.
Imagine… a random person that you've never met and possibly have never even spoken to, arrives in their own car at your hotel in a strange city to take you around the town. Didn't your mother ever tell you never to get in cars with strangers? This is worse than a blind date. You get in and take off on the road with who knows who. It could be a spunky young woman, a sixty year old man, sales reps run the gamut of all walks of life. There are generally the obligatory comments about the state of the vehicle, "I'm just borrowing this truck from my husband who's a contractor, don't worry about the huge crack in the windshield, that happened this morning." "Don't put your stuff on the back seat, my son spilled his milk all over there last week and it is a bit gross." I am so sorry, my dog was in here and he just sheds everywhere."
Now wholesale reps, please bear with me, there are plenty of you who are absolutely normal, organized and productive, but generally you are the ones that move up to management quickly and don't need to go on Work Withs. That's why I have never ridden with you.
Generally the conversation starts with small talk, "Hi, I'm Julie, thank you so much for your time. We have a really full day." Or, "Hi, I'm Fred. I have to apologize, you see there's a winemaker in town, most buyers are super busy doing inventory and my cat was sick last week so I have been having a hell of a time finding appointments, but I figure we can pop into a few places, it should be a great day." Then they rattle off a slew of accounts that are planned visits (most of which will never actually show up or will shush you away because they don't want to taste.)
You talk about their kids, your kids, or your lack of kids, your pets, where you've lived, etc. It is excruciating. Imagine your worst blind date ever, because this is not going anywhere. Occasionally you'll find a really great match-up that you click with immediately, which can be fun. This happened to me when after three horrible Work Withs I got in the car with the rep and said, "Look, no offense to you personally, but I just cannot take one more minute of small talk, so if you don't have anything interesting to say can we just get through this day without it." She and I immediately got along and had tons to talk about. This is a rare occurrence.
You'll sit together at lunch, which is usually easier as you can talk about food, the weather, etc. Hopefully they will pull out their computer and put in some orders to take up some time. But then all too soon it's back to the car. You hop in and out with heavy bags laden with wines to show to the buyers. When you enter the door of the account you immediately become close buddies, friends even, which is hilarious.
But the best is when you get someone really dysfunctional. For example, as you're driving along you realize that you are playing the role of "driver's ed instructor", slamming your foot down at every intersection as they are gabbing on their Blackberry. Very close to reaching for the wheel as they careen towards the median while browsing through their account list (in 10 point font), stretching to find a place for you to go for your next visit. Turning to tell you their life story while staring at you.
You can attempt the tried and true tactics of faking phone calls, texting, mad emailing, even writing Thank You notes while in the car, but to no avail. You're trapped.
You will inevitably hear about their most secret indiscretions, "This is between us but…" You must understand that most salespeople lead an otherwise solitary existence, working from home, alone most of the day, dining alone, visiting accounts alone, so this is their (and your) chance to break out. Ironically most of these folks are otherwise very social people. At any rate, while you're careening toward the median they'll be discussing their recent affair with the brand manager of a certain winery and how they got married but he disappeared for a few weeks so she gave away his samples and the relationship surprisingly ended on a bad note.
The driving deteriorates once you start heading out to "hit a few accounts" after the rep has exhausted the possibility of tasting with any more buyers. You have a few cocktails at bars while she tells you about her recent bout with E. coli. He may have his dogs in the car. You may go to get an oil change, pick up dry cleaning, go to the bank or hang out in his back yard while he checks his email.
Hopefully the day will end early when she goes to pick up her kids at 4:30, you'll wait in the car with her until 5:15 and then she will drop you at your next account to take a cab to your hotel. Or even worse it may end around 11pm when after a long dinner and many wines later you enjoy the tenuous drive home.
But that's the nature of the wine sales business, so if you think you can handle it, even enjoy it, go right ahead. I can't wait to see you after your first Work With.
Until next time,
Jason
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Recent Chronicle Wine Article
Please click this link to read about several wines we have in stock...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/food/wine/6153600.html
Highlights --
11744-17 Talbott Chard Diamond T 2005
Case list $324
Discount $204 (2k on premise, 3k off premise)
Net Bottle $54
Discount Bottle $20
25 cases in stock
26983-15 Patz & Hall Chard Zio Tony 2006
Case list $522
Discount None available
Net Bottle $43.50
Just 7 bottles in Houston currently
28276-17 NxNW Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Case list $155.40
Discount None available
Net Bottle $25.90
7 cases in stock
Also in this article, a reminder of an event that Chuck has setup with Dominique...
EVENT OF THE WEEK
• What: Reserve champagne tasting
• Where: Vino 100 Royal Oaks, 11693 Westheimer
• When: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11
• Info: Dominique Moran from Maisons Marques & Domaines will present five Louis Roederer wines, including the highly allocated 2002 blanc de blancs and the just-released 2003 Brut Rosé. Also offered will be a demonstration of sabrage, or opening a bottle of champagne with a saber. The Roederer house was founded in France in 1776 and has had a large presence in California’s Anderson Valley since 1981.
• Cost: $40
• Reservations: 281-759-4100
Until next time, Jason.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/food/wine/6153600.html
Highlights --
11744-17 Talbott Chard Diamond T 2005
Case list $324
Discount $204 (2k on premise, 3k off premise)
Net Bottle $54
Discount Bottle $20
25 cases in stock
26983-15 Patz & Hall Chard Zio Tony 2006
Case list $522
Discount None available
Net Bottle $43.50
Just 7 bottles in Houston currently
28276-17 NxNW Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Case list $155.40
Discount None available
Net Bottle $25.90
7 cases in stock
Also in this article, a reminder of an event that Chuck has setup with Dominique...
EVENT OF THE WEEK
• What: Reserve champagne tasting
• Where: Vino 100 Royal Oaks, 11693 Westheimer
• When: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 11
• Info: Dominique Moran from Maisons Marques & Domaines will present five Louis Roederer wines, including the highly allocated 2002 blanc de blancs and the just-released 2003 Brut Rosé. Also offered will be a demonstration of sabrage, or opening a bottle of champagne with a saber. The Roederer house was founded in France in 1776 and has had a large presence in California’s Anderson Valley since 1981.
• Cost: $40
• Reservations: 281-759-4100
Until next time, Jason.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Great Rendition of a Classic Song
My Dad sent this to me,
Last night on the PBS program, Bill Moyers Journal, I watched Moyer’s interview with Mark Johnson. This young man has produced a film that puts music together from players all over the world.
You can watch the segment at
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10242008/profile2.html
His rendition of "Stand By Me" is wonderful and I thought you all would enjoy watching and listening to it.
Until next time, Jason.
Last night on the PBS program, Bill Moyers Journal, I watched Moyer’s interview with Mark Johnson. This young man has produced a film that puts music together from players all over the world.
You can watch the segment at
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/10242008/profile2.html
His rendition of "Stand By Me" is wonderful and I thought you all would enjoy watching and listening to it.
Until next time, Jason.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Catalan Tasting Menu Benefits Brennan's
Restaurant: Catalan Tasting Menu Benefits Brennan’s
Everyone in the Houston restaurant community has been terribly saddened by the fire that destroyed Brennan’s of Houston restaurant the night that Hurricane Ike hit Houston. Tragically, Brennan’s “wine guy” James Koonce and his four-year-old daughter were badly burned in the fire and remain in critical condition.
A number of restaurants have already held fundraisers for the Koonce family, and word is that the Brennan’s family has something in the works as well.
In the meantime, Catalan Food & Wine, located at 5555 Washington Avenue in Houston, and Chef Chris Shepherd (formerly of Brennan’s of Houston) has created a special tasting menu to honor Brennan’s and to raise funds for the James Koonce family relief fund.
The special tasting menu is $60 per person, $10 of which will be donated to the Koonce family fund. The menu will run on the Catalan menu indefinitely. For information or reservations, call Catalan at 713-426-4260.
Tasting Menu:
Crab & Corn Bisque Classic
Gulf Shrimp Remoulade Blackened Redfish over St. Arnold’s Local Shrimp Boil with “All the Goods”
New Orleans Style Bread Pudding topped with Whiskey Sauce
For those wishing to make direct contributions to the family, here is some information on the relief fund:
Bank: Amegy Bank of Texas
How to Donate: Visit any branch and tell the teller that you’d like to make a deposit to a Benefit Account
Account Name: ”Denise Koonce in Trust for James and Katharine Koonce”
Everyone in the Houston restaurant community has been terribly saddened by the fire that destroyed Brennan’s of Houston restaurant the night that Hurricane Ike hit Houston. Tragically, Brennan’s “wine guy” James Koonce and his four-year-old daughter were badly burned in the fire and remain in critical condition.
A number of restaurants have already held fundraisers for the Koonce family, and word is that the Brennan’s family has something in the works as well.
In the meantime, Catalan Food & Wine, located at 5555 Washington Avenue in Houston, and Chef Chris Shepherd (formerly of Brennan’s of Houston) has created a special tasting menu to honor Brennan’s and to raise funds for the James Koonce family relief fund.
The special tasting menu is $60 per person, $10 of which will be donated to the Koonce family fund. The menu will run on the Catalan menu indefinitely. For information or reservations, call Catalan at 713-426-4260.
Tasting Menu:
Crab & Corn Bisque Classic
Gulf Shrimp Remoulade Blackened Redfish over St. Arnold’s Local Shrimp Boil with “All the Goods”
New Orleans Style Bread Pudding topped with Whiskey Sauce
For those wishing to make direct contributions to the family, here is some information on the relief fund:
Bank: Amegy Bank of Texas
How to Donate: Visit any branch and tell the teller that you’d like to make a deposit to a Benefit Account
Account Name: ”Denise Koonce in Trust for James and Katharine Koonce”
Friday, August 8, 2008
Stevens 424 2005 has arrived
The Story
Founded in 2002 by Tim and Paige Stevens the Winery’s located in “The Warehouse District” of Woodinville, Washington. We find it hard to believe how fast time flies and that we’re rolling into our 6th year and just celebrated the release of our 19th commercial wine, the 2005 Stevens424, our flagship Red Blend. Our passion is to produce wines that show a distinctive character, specifically focused on the Yakima Valley. We owe much of our success to our growing partners at Dineen, DuBrul, Meek and Sheridan Vineyards. At this time the Winery produces 4 reds and 2 white wines. Our 1st year we produced a miniscule 100 cases of Cabernet Franc and now with the ’07 Crush behind us we should be pushing close to 2500 cases. Scary. With each year, we not only grow, but continue to broaden our knowledge as the vineyards mature and we work with the fruit. We’re excited to be a part of the Washington Wine Industry as it continues to grow and look forward to many more incredible vintages.
2005 STEVENS 424
Everyone’s been asking about the release date for the much anticipated 2005 Stevens424, Yakima Valley Red Wine. Well, it’s available now and can be ordered through your Glazer's Sales Representative at this time.
Here is what they have to say about the wine,
The 3rd 424 release is sure to charm you once again. To our delight, the ‘05 vintage keeps pushing the Cabernet Franc envelope. It’s loaded with 45% Franc, which we love, then layered with 45% Cab Sauv and rounded out with 10% Merlot.This wine represents our passion and focus to create a wine that showcases the wonderful world of Washington Cabernet Franc with its beautiful floral nose and flinty blueberry character. The other half of our mission is, as always, to make the wine balanced from start to finish by adding varietal components to help add depth and dimension. This was accomplished with many thanks to our growing partners at Dineen, DuBrul and Sheridan Vineyards from which we sourced our fruit. The wine was aged 20 months in 50% new and 50% once used French oak from Tonnellerie Demptos, Sylvain and Taransaud. 275 cases produced.
Wholesale $306.00 / $25.50
Founded in 2002 by Tim and Paige Stevens the Winery’s located in “The Warehouse District” of Woodinville, Washington. We find it hard to believe how fast time flies and that we’re rolling into our 6th year and just celebrated the release of our 19th commercial wine, the 2005 Stevens424, our flagship Red Blend. Our passion is to produce wines that show a distinctive character, specifically focused on the Yakima Valley. We owe much of our success to our growing partners at Dineen, DuBrul, Meek and Sheridan Vineyards. At this time the Winery produces 4 reds and 2 white wines. Our 1st year we produced a miniscule 100 cases of Cabernet Franc and now with the ’07 Crush behind us we should be pushing close to 2500 cases. Scary. With each year, we not only grow, but continue to broaden our knowledge as the vineyards mature and we work with the fruit. We’re excited to be a part of the Washington Wine Industry as it continues to grow and look forward to many more incredible vintages.
2005 STEVENS 424
Everyone’s been asking about the release date for the much anticipated 2005 Stevens424, Yakima Valley Red Wine. Well, it’s available now and can be ordered through your Glazer's Sales Representative at this time.
Here is what they have to say about the wine,
The 3rd 424 release is sure to charm you once again. To our delight, the ‘05 vintage keeps pushing the Cabernet Franc envelope. It’s loaded with 45% Franc, which we love, then layered with 45% Cab Sauv and rounded out with 10% Merlot.This wine represents our passion and focus to create a wine that showcases the wonderful world of Washington Cabernet Franc with its beautiful floral nose and flinty blueberry character. The other half of our mission is, as always, to make the wine balanced from start to finish by adding varietal components to help add depth and dimension. This was accomplished with many thanks to our growing partners at Dineen, DuBrul and Sheridan Vineyards from which we sourced our fruit. The wine was aged 20 months in 50% new and 50% once used French oak from Tonnellerie Demptos, Sylvain and Taransaud. 275 cases produced.
Wholesale $306.00 / $25.50
Upcoming King Estate Wine Dinner at Masraff's
King Estate Wine DinnerWednesday, August 27, 2008
7:00 pm
Hors d’Oeuvres
King Estate Pinot Gris 2006
King Estate Pinot Gris 2006
4-Course Dinner
King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris 2006
King Estate Pinot Noir 2006
KXNW Cabernet Columbia Valley 2005
King Estate Vin Glace Pinot Gris Icewein 2004
King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris 2006
King Estate Pinot Noir 2006
KXNW Cabernet Columbia Valley 2005
King Estate Vin Glace Pinot Gris Icewein 2004
$85 per person
Tax and Gratuity Additional
Tax and Gratuity Additional
RSVP 713-355-1975
Space Limited
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