“I’m going to hit you hard!” Those were the exact words a sales rep said to me the other day. Why did he say that you ask? Recently the company he works for lost a ton of wine from their portfolio. In the wine business that happens quite a bit. He gave me a few samples to try in an attempt to get some placements in my department or stacks of wine on the sales floor. I get it. His salary is based on commission. Losing brands, especially good brands means his paycheck could suffer. I of course would love to help him out, but only if what he presents to me is worthy of being in the wine department. Using the term…” I’m going to hit you hard” is a poor approach to indicate he is going to aggressively try to get me to buy more wine from him. When he said that, I immediately put my guard up. I rarely put up with someone who is aggressive in their sales approach. My customer is my biggest concern. I buy wine for them, and if what is presented to me doesn’t fit my customer base, I won’t go there. A quick note to all sales reps who visit me…Don’t be pushy, it will get you nowhere.
Susie and I took a trip to The Gorge appellation in Washington State recently. The main two towns in this area are Carson and Lyle. When I say main, I don’t mean large. They are both small towns that sort of bookend the appellation. Talk about an awesome area for growing grapes. Most of the vineyards are in the hills and face southwest. The mighty Columbia River is the backbone of the Gorge and almost everywhere you go, Mount Hood looms in the background. The area is both rugged and beautiful. You certainly have to be adventurous to consider putting a winery in this area of Washington State. We paid a visit to three wineries while down there. Susie and I stopped at Syncline Cellars, Cor Cellars (which are right next to each other) and Savage Grace Winery in Underwood. I will give a more detailed write-up on the experience in a later article. What is hard for me to believe is that this was the first trip I’ve made to this part of Washington State. One would think that as deeply as I’m immersed in the world of wine, that I would have been down to some of these wineries long ago. Needles to say, I will be making another trek down that way in the near future.
“One is better than zero.” Someone said that a long time ago and it struck me as so true. I can’t remember the first subscriber to my YouTube channel (although I think it was a good friend of mine), but I do remember how good it felt to have one person that felt a need to view my content. I now have over 400 subscribers and the idea that there are so many people that want to watch me blather on about wine is humbling. I love talking and teaching about the subject of wine. I also like to lead people to a good value. I don’t adhere to simply reviewing inexpensive wine. I go all over the board and in doing so, I hope to educate and entertain my audience. My current upload is comparing Syrah and Petite Sirah. I want to take a moment and thank all of you who support my channel, and I hope that you have found some value in what I am putting out there.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
