tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post1993265987091787872..comments2024-03-17T09:34:38.574-04:00Comments on The Passionate Foodie: Rant: Wine Store Owners, Mercenary or Troubador?Richard Auffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-88330257537054839092010-11-22T16:22:38.782-05:002010-11-22T16:22:38.782-05:00Hi Strappo:
Thanks for your comments too. As I m...Hi Strappo:<br /> Thanks for your comments too. As I mentioned to Rob in my previous comment, I do understand the financial realities, but don't see any reason why most wine shops cannot carry at least some niche wines. And such niche wines don't need to be expensive either. For example, there are plenty of good, inexpensive Greek wines out there.<br /><br />Obviously the smaller the wine shop, the more difficulty they would have in carrying niche wines. But there is little reason the large stores, those carrying 1000+ wines, cannot have some niche wines. <br /><br />And my praise and support mostly goes to those wine stores who have accepted the challenge of carrying niche wines. As one local example, I love the Wine Bottega in the North End of Boston, which carries almost all niche wines. And they seem to be doing pretty well. <br /><br />I certainly evaluate each wine store on its own, but whether a wine store carries some niche wines of not, does speak volumes.Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-19526043715106309812010-11-22T16:05:26.620-05:002010-11-22T16:05:26.620-05:00I'd like to weigh in, briefly, from an importe...I'd like to weigh in, briefly, from an importer's POV.<br /><br />The dichotomy that you express in terms of Mercenary vs Troubadour can be expressed in my "world" as cashflow vs investment wines. Many, too many, of the wines we've brought in have been investment wines that not only require a lot of samples and effort on our part, but a big hit on our capital without even a semi-quick return. The cashflow wines -- less profit per bottle but so MANY more bottles -- keep us afloat. They keep the retailer afloat. While a cashflow wine doesn't have to be on the quality level of Yellowtail or Charles Shaw, it DOES have to be within shouting distance of their shelf price to move in decent numbers. <br /><br />I said I'd be brief, and I haven't been. Sorry. I tend to side more with Rob Bralow than you, Richard, at least on this question. I realize what your "ranting" intent was, but I feel that, too often, the enthusiast's POV can get a little rosy in the harsh light of paying those bills that Rob mentions. <br /><br />Do we want to import lovely wines of character? Of course we do. Can we afford to take on all the wines that we'd love to import? No -- we'd lose our shirts on a lot of it (and sometimes have) if it was priced a bit too high or was too "different" from the expectations of professional buyers and/or consumers. <br /><br />Respectfully, an adverb I seldom use,<br /><br />Terence "Strappo" Hughes<br />Domenico Selections<br />NYCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-73578215598314873762010-11-22T15:47:57.778-05:002010-11-22T15:47:57.778-05:00Hi Rob:
Thanks for your comments though I thi...Hi Rob: <br /> Thanks for your comments though I think you have partially misunderstood the intent of this post. I am not saying a store must carry every type of niche wine that exists. I am not saying that most of their stock must be niche wines. But I do think a portion of their stock should be niche wines. <br /><br />I certainly understand the realities of business but such realities should also not be an excuse. I have different expectations for a store carrying 200 wines, than one carrying 1000, or even 7000. The more wines you carry, the more niche wines you likely can carry, and still make a sufficient profit. <br /><br />For example, does a store really need to carry 100 Chardonnays? Or could they carry only 60 Chards, and forty other niches wines? I doubt all of the 100 Chards are selling well.<br /><br />Though only a small portion of people may currently enjoy niche wines, there are plenty more who would enjoy them, if they were exposed to them. By not carrying niche wines, a store contributes to preventing those niche wines from getting more popular. People obviously won't drink what a store does not carry. And they won'y request it, if they know nothing about it.<br /><br />If a store has few, if any, niche wines, I do question their passion for wine. But that also leads to more questions to understand the reasons behind it. The store that inspired this post has over 1000 wines, certainly large enough to carry a portion of niche wines. And they indicated little motivation to bringing them in unless enough people requested them. That certainly is a mercenary attitude to me.<br /><br />There are successful wine stores out there with a decent selection of niche wines, so it can be done. There are stores that carry only niche wines, and some of them succeed too.<br /><br />Rob, how many wines does your store carry? How many of those would you consider to be niche wines?Richard Auffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03948647697847819742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405633513402883204.post-91771986898924826512010-11-22T12:24:33.154-05:002010-11-22T12:24:33.154-05:00As a recently hired wine buyer for a wine shop in ...As a recently hired wine buyer for a wine shop in New York, I find this post a little demeaning. This feels like saying if you do not carry the hottest wine fad in your store, you aren't worth your salt as a person.<br /><br />I am forced to admit, there are plenty of stores in the world where all they carry are name brands that have been around for decades because that is what people buy. Yellow Tail, Mondavi, Louis Jadot... we all know the names and they sell because the average wine drinker barely knows the difference between a Cabernet and a Merlot (and I think there was this movie about Pinot something, but I can't remember). <br /><br />But just because the store carries these items does not make them unworthy. Just because a store does not carry wines from the Jura, or the newest vintage from Nicolas Joly, or a Zweigelt does not mean they do not know what these wines are and their value. But there are harsh realities. The rent bill comes every month, and if you have not sold enough wine, then you can close up shop and all your stock of grower-producer Champagne and Margaret River Chardonnay is not worth a rusty penny.<br /><br />The reality is that the number of people that really know wine and are interested in those niche products equal a tiny portion of the number of people buying wine. They are great if they can be relied on to come in once a month (that's right, once a MONTH would make it worthwhile), but if they can't then the wine sits there. <br /><br />The answer of more tastings and more hand selling? There is already a huge amount of that going on with any number of wines that SHOULD be walking off the shelf without a hand sell. I'm talking about simple wines like Riesling and Vaqueyras. You start telling someone about the oxidative nature of a wine from the Jura and you've lost them long before you get to the brilliant flavor and balance.<br /><br />If I had the budget to stock $2 million worth of product, hell I would have a little bit of everything! But economics are real and limiting, as is shelf space and the number of cases that I have to buy in order to keep the prices sane for customers (because distributors do not give you a good deal when you buy one case, it usually has to be 10 - 25 cases). Storage is a problem. Operating capital is a problem.<br /><br />I am not saying there aren't mercenary wine stores in existence. I am just saying that just because a store does not carry a niche wine does not prevent them from being a troubadour for the wine industry at large.Rob Bralowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07210894629687612702noreply@blogger.com