When buyers are just starting on their wine journey (“Hey server manager! You’re now the bar manager and the wine buyer! Good luck!”) they need to learn the basics. A sales rep in tune with this will welcome the opportunity to help them learn to taste. Then at the next sales call you might have Read More…
Month: July 2018
The irony of competition
There is a grand irony in the wine business. First, the more wholesalers there are, the better it is for retailers and restaurants. It makes for competition, it makes for more choice, it makes for opportunity to buy wines that nobody else has, it allows for a retailer or restaurant to stand out easier. Second, Read More…
Looking backward …
… rarely helps. Yes, you can learn from the past. But you can also think too hard about it, too often. Try this: think about the past and the mistakes you or your company made (“We hired that lazy good for nothing that derailed the team and sucked down morale”). Make a full list. It’s Read More…
Don’t forget the boss
Most wine buyers, both on the restaurant side and retail side (but it seems more so on the restaurant side) have one thing in common: they don’t own the store. And when the buyer is not the owner, then you have a worker. And when you have a worker, they have a boss. And a Read More…
Seeing things with true clarity …
… is almost impossible. But doubly impossible when you’re starting from behind to begin with. How do you start from behind? Lack of sleep Lack of exercise Drinking too much wine and feeling the compounded impact on your brain and body Anxiety (fear of what might happen) Disorganization Poor diet Letting others usurp your time Being digitally Read More…
On luxury wine
A luxury wine (as opposed to a great but expensive wine) exists based on scarcity and social proof. It has to be scarce, because the rules of supply and demand not only keep the proposed value sky high, but actually increases the eventual cost of holding a bottle of your own. A luxury wine cannot Read More…
Being relevant
To be relevant in an industry is the simple goal for most workers and most businesses. To be a restaurant that gets mentioned in the “top 10” lists. To be a wine that retailers are asking for, not being loaded upon. To be an employee asked for an opinion on an internal matter. To be somebody Read More…