New Jersey Celebrates High Scoring Spanish and Bordeaux Wines in the Newest Wine Advocate! I spent today touring around New Jersey with a great salesman from our New Jersey/New York wholesaler, a salesman who has gotten our wines into the hands of top accounts across the state. The wine industry calls this sort of collaborative effort (importer and distributor visiting retailers and restaurateurs) a "Marvin." All of New Jersey was abuzz with the latest Eric Solomon Spanish wine scores in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Even though no one had seen the newest issue, an authentic Wine Advocate copy had surfaced in Great Britain, according to several prominent New Jersey retailers, and a major New York retailer had quoted the "points" awarded some of Eric's wines on their web site. Eric works very hard and has done some fabulous work in Spain and truly deserves all his critical success! Simultaneouly, all these retailers had heard (through the leaked British copy of the Wine Advocate) Mr. Parker's ratings of the 2003 Bordeaux vintage. Between the general interest in Eric Solomon and the excitement of yet another Bordeaux vintage to sell as futures for delivery in 2006 or 2007, it was tough for an unpointed fellow like myself to generate interest in my wines. But we marvined forward and saw several accounts with some modest, unpointed wines from the Cru Beaujolais, Jean-Paul Brun's Beaujolais Chardonnay, Pierre Frick's Alsace wines, André Iché's Minervois and a nice Girard Sancerre. Collectively, all these wines had 0 points. Some of the accounts I saw move huge volumes of pointed wines, I was told. Just huge. They also seemed to like my unpointed selections and even though I can't expect them to buy large quantities of wines that will never have a decent shelf talker with numerical ratings, I do believe that some of these kind and intelligent folks will buy some of our wines. Although I have to agree with them that without points they are a difficult "hand-sell." Having an "account" tell you that your wines are a "hand-sell" is usually the kiss-of-death in wine salesmanship -- you and the salesman you are travelling with may as well pack-up and go on to your next stop. The other way of saying "hand-sell" is to categorize the wine as a "food wine." It is a well-known fact in the wine industry that pointed wines go well with or without food and that, by definition, an unpointed wine (no matter how good it might be) best be accompanied by a delicious meal. While I was somewhat depressed by having all these horribly unpointed wines at a time when everyone was talking about the newly appointed top scorers, I was happy both for Eric and the salesman I was marvining with. A distributor salesman works on a commission and is trying to make a living. Selling my wines can be such a slow process, but having some hot scoring wines makes life so much easier. It was great fun and a revelation to be on the barricades as the Parker points went on the offensive. 94 point Rioja at only $200.00 wholesale, Pavie 2003 at 96 to 100 points! Run for cover! Remember that old Eddie Murphy routine where Murphy dresses up as a white man to see how white people behave when Black people were not around? I had a similar feeling today -- I was getting to see how people do business in the pointed world where hands are free to do other things than sell wine. No sampling, no small talk -- all you have to do is call up an account to let them know that you saved them 10 cases of a high-scoring beauty that they refused to buy on another occasion and you win their confidence and gratitude for the rest of your wineselling days! No wonder I love the wine industry! There was a celebratory feeling about the day for those who participate in the Parker point euphoria. A new issue was out there, wines had been tasted and rated, fortunes were to be made and lost, and it was all defined on a simple-to-understand 100 point scale. The day felt like a commemorative holiday for an important historical figure or event. In this case, wine industry holiday participants celebrating the publication of the latest Wine Advocate not only revel in knowing what to drink until the new issue is published but can also celebrate all the way to the bank if they happen to be selling some of these beauties. I have another Marvin on Thursday on the western edges of Long Island. Maybe some of our wines will have won some points by then.
this is a 96 point piece, gobs and gobs, reading it was like liquid viagra......
If i don't get the Advocate today i'll be ruined. I guess there's going to be a campaign. Where's the Rouge Gorge for my very important market?
In transit.
That, of course means that it is ready to be picked up at the winery, is on the way to the port, is waiting at the port, is being loaded as we speak, is on the water, is in port, is on the dock, is stuck in customs, is being trucked to the warehouse, is being unloaded as we speak, is being documented in the computer or is on the truck and stuck in traffic?
Guy:
"hand sell"...I'd rather buy a "hand job"...which publication provides an accurate rating system for them?
I worry that i'll miss several 'cult wine of the month window of opportunity impulse purchase'?
i didn't write that one.
Marvin schmarvin.....Synoinia...now that's a catch phrase
the sheriff's derby selections are 1. lionheart, 2. cliff's edge, 3. friend's lake.
When's the derby?
they're running it in kentucky this year sir.
Why did they switch the venue?
In Issue 113 of Tanzer's "International Wine Cellar", he reviewed several L/D Loire Valley wines. I realize that Tanzer's name only has three of the magical letters of that other fellow's name, so shelf-talker conjury will not work as well. But, in any case, he did give 89 points to the 2002 F. Girard "La Garenne".
i suppose you would like to see it run in the same place every year.
It would make sense to me. |