In Their Own Words:What Wine Buyers Want Now

There is much talk about which wines consumers are buying and this is of great interest to me. But just as telling is which wines the wine trade buyers are purchasing.
Consumers are likely to being making their decisions based on what is offered to them at their local wine store or restaurant.
Rather than make any sweeping generalizations or assumptions, I decided to reach out to a few wine buyers who purchase for some highly respected venues, both restaurants and retail shops.
You will see from their thoughtful answers that there is no one secret to success for wine sales. The one unifying theme I saw was passion. All of the people quoted below are clearly wine lovers, in addition to being wine professionals.


"I like to buy wines that I would enjoy in my own home. They should have elegance, balance, finesse, authenticity, typicity and value. Value at any price level is paramount in this economy. Ego-driven, trophy wines are so passe! Our customers are looking for wines that are delicious, have good table manners and don't require a second mortgage to acquire."
Lance Storer
Corporate Fine Wine Buyer
Centennial Fine Wine and Spirits
Texas


"1.quality of the wine - personality, terroir-driven, the wine has to tell me a story, to show me a landscape, etc. - to be multidimensional (multilayered, with acidity, bitterness, balanced, little tannins, etc.), the "buvabilité" - very little additives, natural, etc.

2.the price according to the quality - I want good quality wines affordable for everybody - it is very easy to create a grand award wine list if you have the money (it is just verticals of big names), it is harder to create a short list accessible to everybody"

Pascaline Lepeltier
Sommelière Executive
Rouge Tomate Group, Paris and New York


"On a list the size of ours, each wine needs to have a reason for being because for the most part I can't bring in duplicates of varietals or regions. As to how I decide, I start with my palate and sensibility, based on what pairs well with the food on our menu. Is it something that my guests will love even if I don't? (Malbec for example.) Is it something that I need to bring on because I have a hole in the list that needs to be filled? (currently Champagne) Is it something that is worth paying a bit extra for because of the name recognition that guests will pay extra for, even though equally good products exist at a lower cost? (Caymus, Molly Dooker)
In all honesty, though, proceeding this pragmatic process, are the combined factors of relationship and convenience. There are some reps and companies that I just really like working with."
Marisa Gierlich
Street Restaurant, Los Angeles


"I'm not trying to express myself through my wine list--I feel a bit like a
traveling ethnographer reporting on the interesting things I've seen. I am
always interested in tasting new wines from everywhere wine is made. That
said, I admit to being a biased taster with strong feelings about the wines
I love and the wines that I do not love. I only pour wines that I
love--perhaps this doesn't make me such a great business person, but I need
to feel passionate about the wines that I sell. I mostly drink old
world wine and that's what you'll find in the main at my place. I am madly in love with gamay so you'll always find a really good cru Beaujolais on my list, or something from Italy's val d'aosta, or Steve Edmund's Bone Jolly gamay. You'll typically find two or more wines from the south of France, a place where there's a lot of very
exciting winegrowing going on right now.

My list is organized by tasting profile rather than country. I like to offer
two or whites or roses that have fresh acidity, zingy wines that work great
as an aperitif, and on my list I have a heading right now for "Fresh and
zingy whites,". I will change up my list based on the headings I use. When I taste a new wine that I like I try to see how it can fit into one of the categories on my list.
I'm not dogmatic about it, however: the rubrics are there just to help me
stay focused.

I taste between 40 and 300 wines a week. Tasting wine makes me happy; I am
always pleased and interested to taste new wines from anywhere wine is made
(except prison--I draw the line at pruno). Oxidative winemaking is one of those doors--once I begin to"get" these wines I started falling for a constellation of other oxidative wines, e.g., starting with Amontillado sherry -> sur voile wines from the
Jura -> Madeira -> Amphora wines from Slovenia -> oxidative solera Banyuls,
& etc."
Lou Amdur
Lou's Wine Bar, Los Angeles


"There are several factors that I consider when selecting wines for K&L.
1. Relevance; i.e. does the wine represent a particular wine region or style for the areas that I am buying for:
For instance, I try to have a well rounded and thorough selection of wines from the Languedoc. Perhaps one or two from Pic St. Loup, Corbieres, Minervois, Limoux etc. If I taste a wine and I a) like it b) and feel that it will represent the category well, I will select it.

2. Price/quality ratio. These I consider to be workhorse wines. Although they do not need to necessarily express a tremendous sense of place or terroir, they need to represent an excellent quality price ratio. In addition, their flavor profile needs to be one that many customers will enjoy. An entry level cotes du rhone might be such a wine, or perhaps a picpoul de pinet from the Languedoc.

3. Vintage. More applicable to higher end and collectible wines. Certainly if a particular vintage is given high marks or highly praised, chances are I will go broader and deeper in my selections for that particular vintage.

4. Critics reviews. certainly help drive sales and most retailers greatly depend upon them to help drive sales.
If a particular wine receives high marks from say Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, Tanzer or the New York Times, this will highly influence my decision in purchasing the wine for the store.

5. Customers will often inquire about a particular wine and the possibility of me bringing it into the store.
Often, I will take them up on their suggestion and in fact do so, especially if it fits into criteria #1 above.
Two recent examples include: 2007 Clos Marie Jurancon Sec and the 2007 Domaine Sang de Cailloux Vacqueyras "Floureto"."

Mulan Chan-Randel AIWS
Rhone Valley & French Regional Wine Buyer
K&L Wine Merchants
638 4th Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107

Here are a few thoughts on how we decide on selections for our wine lists:
1. Menu
2. By the glass pours at various price points with both well recognized and obscure grape varietals
3. Pricing to value perception
4. The mix of product

Virginia Philip M.S.
Master Sommelier
The Breakers
One South County Road
Palm Beach, Florida

Online Wine Sales: Where's The Beef?

Amazon Wine pulling the plug has been a major disappointment for many of us in the online wine business.
There is no doubt that they would have helped 'float the boat' for all online wine sales, even direct to consumer sales from the winery website.

Wine ecommerce has yet to hit critical mass yet. I believe it will relatively soon.
But the expense of doing wine business online has made it a slow sales channel for many companies thus far. Many wineries and online wine companies have not realized the level of sales they were expecting as of yet.

We have a few challenges to overcome in the online wine industry:
1. Most pressing is the state by state regulatory issues that Tom Wark has so eloquently addressed in his Fermentation blog post here. These unnecessary and expensive hurdles make it financially unfeasible for many online wine companies.

2. As of yet,there has not been widespread consumer adoption of online wine purchasing. This is one aspect I was counting on Amazon Wine to really lead the way on. People used to scoff at the idea of consumers buying books online. Now it is considered perfectly acceptable , if not preferable, for many readers.
Amazon also created a viable path for smaller publishers to get their books to consumers, especially when the chain bookstores refused to carry their titles.
Online sales channels are creating similar outlets for smaller wineries and importers, especially when large wholesalers refuse to represent artisanal wine producers.

3. Much of the wine trade has been pulled kicking and screaming into the online world over the past few years, both from a sales and marketing perspective. Wine wholesalers have fought against opening up trade barriers for online retailers across the states. Wineries have been slow to understand and maximize online sales channels, except those sales originating from their own websites. Local retailers only started shipping wine once their consumers continually requested the service.

Wine consumer demand will be the deciding factor in revolutionizing the online wine world, as well as accelerating online sales numbers (this is the beef).

In this way, online wine sales mirror the rise of organic wines in the past few years. This growing category was not heralded by the wine trade, the consumers kept asking for and are finally getting their request met with higher quality wines made with organic and biodynamic grapes.

Until that time, we are lucky to have a host of companies that continue to fight the good fight when it comes to online wine sales. These are a few of them:
Snooth
Inertia
VinTank
Wine Searcher
American Winery

Biodynamic Wine Goes Mainstream: One Winemaker's Journey

I had the pleasure of meeting winemaker Antonio Bravo from Emiliana Winery today. There is quite a bit of online chatter about organic and biodynamic wines but I especially relish the opportunity to discuss these wines with the person who actually makes them.

Antonio made vast amounts of conventional wines for huge wine companies like Kendall Jackson in the past.Now he makes smaller quantities of certified organic and biodynamic wines for Emiliana. He started out with some healthy skepticism for biodynamic wine making but became a believer when he saw the grape quality. Not to mention the health of the vineyard workers and the vitality of the vineyards themselves.

But as a friend of Antonio's said,"Belief is for the priests". Antonio made it clear that his priority is to produce high quality wines in a responsible manner. And hopefully wines that are specific to Chile, wines that could not be mistaken for a Napa cabernet or an Australian shiraz. This is another reason that Antonio uses natural yeasts as much as possible.

These are wines I encourage you to seek out. Bright acidity, fresh fruit flavors and lovely spice (especially the carmeneres).



Emiliana produces four brands:

G is a red blend of carmenere, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.Certified biodynamic and made with natural yeasts. $90

Coyam is another red blend of syrah, merlot, carmenere, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and mourvedre. Certified biodynamic and made with natural yeasts. $30

Novas has several white wine and red wine blends. Made with certified organic grapes and a blend of natural and cultivated yeasts. $17

Natura is the entry level wine and has several varietal wines: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, carmenere and syrah. Made with certified organic grapes. $11

Behind the Wine series: Interview with wine importer, Jenny Lefcourt (Jenny & Francois Selections)

Jenny & Francois Selections have a well-deserved cult following amongst astute wine lovers and wine trade alike. Jenny Lefcourt and Francois Ecot began importing wines from France in 2000. Their import portfolio focus is terroir driven wines that are grown organically and have minimal intervention in the cellar.


1. What were you doing before you founded Jenny & Francois Selections?

I was an academic. I did a PhD at Harvard in the French department and
taught literature, film and language in France and at Harvard as a
graduate student. I wrote my dissertation on 1920s and 1930s French
film. I spent a lot of time in the Paris archives doing research.
François was a jazz musician and tuned and restored accordions for a
living before going back to school for wine making in Beaune. And lots
of wine tastings for pleasure!

2. When did you become a wine importer and why?

We started our import company in 2000, so we will soon celebrate 10
years as importers! François and I were always going to wine
tastings, vineyards, wine shops, and it
occurred to us that maybe our love of natural wine could turn into our
jobs since we were both ready to move away from our
careers of the time. We see what we do as a political choice: when we
came to NY in the late 1990s, we didn't see any of the natural wines
we were drinking in France. We thought it would be great to introduce
Americans to the beautifully pure wines that we had grown to love and
that are a true expression of the multitude of terroirs, disappearing
varietals and traditions of France. We wanted to defend natural wines
in the world, against big industrial wines with no life, no
personality, no expression of "difference." We wanted to bring the
taste of the varied terroirs of France to the US in the form of these
pure, real, and revolutionary wines.
Francois did apprenticeships in many vineyards (with Hervé Souhaut, Thierry
Puzelat, and Thierry Allemand) to learn literally from the ground up
what wine and wine making is all about. There are very few importers
who have done the work to really understand what goes in to making
great wine.

3. What do enjoy most and least about being a wine importer?

I enjoy sharing wine with wonderful people. I have met so many great
people in the wine world and it is lovely to share great wine and food
and discussion, both in France and in the US. Putting my nose to a
wine and feeling that thrill of being overwhelmed by something pretty.
Least? Its no fun when a restaurant is doing badly to have to ask for money!

4. How do you and Francois decide which wines you will import?

Luckily we almost always agree! Mostly it is pretty instinctual. If we
find a beautiful wine that speaks to us, we
usually have a moment of "yes! this is it!

5. Please share one of your favorite food and wine pairings.

What is amazing is to be surprised that something works that you
wouldn't imagine could. We did a wine dinner at ICI restaurant in
Brooklyn a few years back with Domaine l'Anglore. They paired his
floral, magical Tavel with a tomato "tatin". When I looked at the menu
I couldn't imagine what that would be like, and it was one of those
pairings that made everything spectacularly pleasurable. It is always a pleasure
to work with great chefs who know wine well: The Farm on Adderley,
Roebling Tea Room, and In Vino have invented lovely pairings recently for wine dinners.

6. What makes you feel happy?

Harvest under the sun, and taking a break to sip something that smells
as good as the Autumn air.

Selling Wine: The Story vs The Score

There is ongoing discussion and disagreement over wine critics scores and the subsequent effect on wine sales.
Most of us who work in the wine industry have varying levels of frustration about the score wars.

This frustration stems from the fact that we have so many amazing wines to sell that either haven't been scored or have received low scores from critics. Some of us passionately believe that these wines are in some cases superior to the 95 point wines.

We believe this because, like the wine critics, we taste many wines throughout our work week.Wine retailers, distributors and importers are constantly tasting and evaluating wines.

As Steve Heimoff, a wine writer/critic from Wine Enthusiast magazine, pointed out in a recent post on his blog , the higher the score, the more fruity and oaky the wine.

Steve Heimoff said,"Wines that score in the 90s tend to be bigger, riper and probably oakier than those in the 80s. That’s the way the system works."

I am pleased to hear such transparency from a wine critic. This same problem has been discussed within wine competition circles as well.
Fact is that when you taste dozens, often hundreds, of wine in one single sitting, your palate becomes fatigued. As a result, only big oak and fruit shine through.

But does that mean that if your wine is not big, ripe and oaky, you may as well not bother submitting it for review?

Thankfully, there has been a movement towards lighter, elegant, food-friendly wines in the past few years. Certainly the sommeliers and
independent wine shops that hand sell wines have helped grow the sales of these wines. Countless wine distributor reps, the often unfairly maligned workhorses of the wine trade, have told the stories of these wines and secured a place on the wine list or retail shelf as a result.

These are wines with a story. A story about the people who made the wine and why they made it, as well as about the place the wine was made.

Yes, there are certainly the retail accounts as well as wine consumers that base their buying decisions on critic scores alone.

But fortunately, I have found an equal number of trade buyers and consumers who are more interested in the wine's story and what food would pair well with it.

Austrian Wines: What To Drink Now

Austrian wines have a well-deserved reputation amongst wine lovers for their food friendly attributes. They have great acidity, relatively low alcohol and are refreshing to drink during meals.

Restaurant sommeliers have been championing Austria's famous white wine, Gruner Veltliner, for many years. A few of Austria's lighter style red wines have gained attention as well, such as St. Laurent, Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch.

Paul Darcy and Carlo Huber, of darcy and huber selections, both grew up in Vienna. Although, they have been happy to see an increase in Austrian wines over the past few years, they still missed the wines their families drank in Vienna.

To sate their own longings, they decided to start importing wines themselves. This is a relatively new venture for them both and the wines are primarily available in New York at the moment. Although consumers can get their darcy and huber fix online here.

darcy and huber imports many wines but they have really hung their hat on Gemischter Satz, a traditional white wine blend from Vienna.


Not all of the wineries they import are certified organic or biodynamic, but most farm naturally and all are growing indigenous grape varietals.
Jutta Ambrositsch is a young female winemaker that Alice Feiring wrote about earlier this year. Her wine is reviewed below.

Rotes Haus Gemischter Satz 2008 $19.99
Beautiful light golden color. Slightly effervescent. Enticing peach and citrus flavors. Bright acids keep it light on its feet. Delicious. Great aperitif or match it with lemon roasted chicken.

Edlmoser Gemischter Satz 2008 $22
Clear golden color. Honeydew melon and lime flavors. Floral nose. Slight fizz.
Another winner. With all that melon flavor and nice refreshing acids, would be a great match for prosciutto wrapped melon slices.

Ambrositsch Gemischter Satz Sommeregg 2008 $29.99
Wow. Very bright tangerine and lime flavors but with a strong mineral backbone for balance. Assertive acids make it a great match for creamy pasta dishes.