Wine Trade Tastings: Why Do We Go?

I have been doing some thinking about wine trade tastings, especially since the spring season is packed full of them. I have attended countless wine trade tastings as a buyer (both as a distributor and, in the past, as an on-premise buyer). But I have also orchestrated tastings for the trade. Both attendees and hosts have their own challenges.

When attending as a buyer, I like to arrive early and blast through the wines I have singled out ahead of time as interesting, taking brief notes as I go. Afterward, if time permits, I will do some networking with colleagues and friends in the trade.

When playing the host of a trade tasting, I have another focus entirely. Will the serious account buyers show up? Or will there be 2:1 entry-level staff who do not make the buying decisions? And will those staff bring their girlfriend who has never attended a tasting, does not use spit-buckets and is red-faced and too chatty just 30 minutes into the show? Will I be held hostage by the ever-present cheese and cracker spitter, who insists on talking to me even with his mouth full? (strangely there is one of these at every tasting).
And of course, what will be the return on my investment and cost for the show? Will I actually make sales that day or is it just an exercise in marketing? In my experience it is usually more the latter but there are exceptions, especially if a wine is limited and buyers are encouraged via a discount to place orders that day.

I am interested in differing perspectives/stories on trade tastings so I reached out to some other wine professionals for their feedback. I asked them what they dreaded or enjoyed about trade tastings, as well as whether they made purchasing decisions at tastings. Here is what they had to say:

"Of course, you are never 100% happy, you always want to do something different next time. Tastings do not lead to immediate sales but you hope the buyer remembers you later."
Luis Moya
Owner, VinosUnicos Importer & Distributor

"- I dislike being surrounded by droves of people who tend to set up camp in front of a table and make it extremely frustrating for others to get in, taste and then out.
- The best trade tasting I ever attended was the Vie Vinum in Vienna, Austria. By far the most well organized tasting I've been to.
- I typically walk away from a trade tasting with a rough idea of a future game plan or strategy. I have, of course, found some "must have" wines that I found there way into our inventory."
Eric A. Story
Buyer: Alsace|Austria|
Croatia|Georgia|Germany|
Greece|Hungary|Loire Valley
K&L Wine Merchants

"While I wouldn't qualify the emotion as "dread", I'll say that I don't enjoy when there are 200 wines I've got to taste in 2 hours, nor missing work to do so. Man - And I don't always like running into some of the folks I exclusively see at trade tastings. It can be kind of a shit show of insecure wine buyers, trying desperately to understand what is in front of them & make a good impression on their peers. To me, I just want to taste a bunch of wines, not take super detailed notes, figure out what I really want, high-five a little with my friends, eat a little cheese, then get back to work.....
Yeah, I use trade tastings to know what to purchase. It's super helpful to have that kind of access. And when you get to taste comparatively, it's radical."
Collin Casey
GM/Wine Director
Baker & Banker restaurant

"trade tastings... I really don't think they are the best ways / conditions to taste wines (too many wines, too many people, most of the time with bad glassware, in a warm room, noisy...) And for most of them, they can easily be more a "network/connection" party than a wine tasting....
but i think they are necessary, because of they can allow you to compare in a very short amount of time many different wines you usually taste individually, and specifically for me, they allow me to discover or to have a kind of an intuition for a wine i will taste later in better condition"
Pascaline Lepeltier
Sommelier, Rouge Tomate NYC

Brief Recap of Natural Wine Week Los Angeles

Well, we learned a few things during the first annual Natural Wine Week in Los Angeles. One is that Lou Amdur (owner of Lou on Vine wine bar) knows how to herd the cats. Kudos to Lou for being the driving force behind last week's celebration of natural wines throughout Los Angeles.

Those of us who work in the wine trade also found out that there is a growing passion and interest from L.A. wine consumers about non-conventional wines. There were many wine lovers who showed up consistently at several events across the city.

There was a wonderful sense of balance to the week, as both imported and domestic wines were showcased. Of course, there was an ongoing conversation about what is the exact definition of natural wine as well. Seems that the expectations are at least to avoid petro-chemical farming, to use native yeasts and have minimal intervention/additives in the cellar.

The panel on Sunday, May 16th was made up of Jonathan Gold (Pulitzer winning food writer) , Alice Feiring (wine writer for multiple publications/book author), Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon winemaker and writer), Abe Schoener (Scholium Project), Jared Brandt (Donkey & Goat) , and Hank Beckmeyer (La Clarine Farm), and gracefully moderated by Lou Amdur.



This made for interesting discussion since they all have diverse perspectives on winemaking. Indeed the panel discussion was rather geeky, and did center around very specific questions about use of irrigation, vineyard management, adding sulfites, etc

Abe Schoener emphasized that although he does add sulfites to some of his wines, in varying degrees, that a winemaker should have respect for the toxic quality of this chemical when handling it and especially when deciding how much to add to the wine.

Alice Feiring was asked why we should care about natural wine and answered that it came down to supporting these small producers. Alice, Abe and Jared also addressed the question of vineyard ownership and management in California. Land is expensive in California and not many people inherit a vineyard, so leasing vineyards and/or purchasing grapes from a closely managed vineyard source is the norm. This led to discussion of how much control you can have over a vineyard that you do not own.

In contrast, the rest of the week was more celebratory and hedonistic.
There were various tastings and dinners at LA restaurants and wineshops like Lou on Vine, DomaineLA, Pourtal Wine Bar, El Vino, Grace, Silverlake Wine and Palate Food & Wine.

The Glamourous Life of a Wine Slinger

Monday:
Wake up at 6 am , drink tea and answer emails/do paperwork for 2 hours. Rush off to Burbank airport to catch a 9:30 flight to Oakland. Quickly pop into my favorite tea shop to buy some loose leaf Assam tea, because my mornings are sad without it.
Meet up with Carlo Huber and Paul Darcy at the Austria Uncorked wine show at Fort Mason. I represent Darcy & Huber Selections in California.
Lets be honest, Austrian wines rock for the most part.High acid, lower in alcohol, really food friendly wines. Talk with some wine trade buyers and share stories with some wine colleagues, chat with visiting Austrian winemakers, especially Rainer Christ of Weingut Christ and Alex Skoff from Weingut Zahel.
Both are very passionate winemakers who believe in organic grape farming and mostly use native yeasts as well. Their wines are stellar and reflect their good energies. This is the reason I started Amy Atwood Selections, to sell wines I love, made by people I respect.
Hop on a 6 pm flight back to Los Angeles, get home after 8 pm, send and answer more emails, make omelet and salad, take bath, sleep.

Tuesday:
Wake up a bit before 7 am, drink tea, do emails, print pricing sheets, find out my 2 pm appointment has canceled due to flu (dang, there goes my perfectly scheduled day). Race off to Burbank airport to pick up two Austrian winemakers and Carlo Huber. Full day of wine tasting appointments with the wine trade in Los Angeles. Along the way we meet up with winemaker Rainer Christ who flew into LAX instead of Burbank and later still we pick up Gerhard Lobner from Weingut Rotes Haus.
Last stop of the day is at Palate Food & Wine , where we finally slow down and pour some wines for a few wine lovers on the sunny back patio. A woman there tells me my life must be glamorous. Get home at 9 pm , eat cherries, answer emails, take bath, sleep.

Wednesday:
Wake up at 7 am , drink tea, answer emails, run and walk the hills of my neighborhood for an hour.
Put together new wine purchase orders for Savio Soares Selections and Darcy & Huber Selections. Calculate and add some new pricing to my Quickbooks and to my pricing portfolio for the wine trade. Email/call a few late paying restaurant/wine shop accounts about past due invoices (absolute least favorite part of my job, such a total drag). Go to bank and deposit checks from accounts that have paid (which is majority, yay!). Write checks for some wine producers and my delivery company. Call/email with Donkey & Goat Winery, La Clarine Farm, DomaineLA wine shop, Pourtal Wine Bar, Palate and Lou on Vine, all of whom are participating in the upcoming Natural Wine Week Los Angeles. Race across Los Angeles in peak after work traffic to celebrate a good friend's birthday. Another perk of the job, I can always bring delicious bottles of wine to every gathering.
Not sure about it being a glamorous life, but happy, yes.