Proven and tested vs. taking a chance

When taking wine out to show to your accounts, take a moment to think about how you’ll present the wine in the context of the rest of the marketplace.

A wine that has been proven and tested can be a big brand, stacked high at all other retailers, on the top ten hot brands list, on the cover of Market Watch, and can show impressive growth numbers for the last three years. Think Apothic Red, The Prisoner, Ravenswood, Rombauer, Veuve Cliquot, brands like that.

A wine can also be proven and tested by being small but having a consistent rate of success at certain accounts. The Slovenian skin contact Pinot Grigio that has been poured by the glass at the local hot restaurant for two years running. The success of an odd but wonderfully cheap Rosso Piceno in a close by Italian restaurant. The odd little Cru Beaujolais that is killing it at small fine wine shops. All are proven and tested, just at a smaller level.

Then you have the ‘taking a chance’ wines. They have not been proven. They have not been tested. There are no examples you can bring to the table of anybody pouring it by the glass or selling more than they expected.

Some accounts are looking for the proven and tested. All the time.

Some accounts are looking for wines to take a chance with. They want to be the trailblazers, they don’t want to walk on an established path.

Your job is simple: connect the right wines with the right buyers in the right way.

But the challenge is this: tell them the truth about the wine before you pour it for them. “This is proven and tested …” or “This is a wine that you can own the bragging rights to.”