Friendly Note to Potential Wine Salespeople
Stephanie A. Richards
: All sneering aside, there *is* some content to the above request.
Roger and Paul:
I apologize for appearing to sneer. Of *course* I'm anxious for all
people who have an interest in wine to have their interest taken
seriously. The last thing wine needs is more snobism. All people
generally should treated with kindness and respect, even if one disagrees
with their opinions or their fact-finding. To the extent that I failed
in these areas, I'm sorry.
: --I'm not a big fan of white zin, but I don't sneer at people who
: like it, either. If I'm going to buy one, it'll probably be Beringer.
Nor do I sneer at people who like it. I've been known to pick up a bottle
of the de Loach now and then. I *am* sometimes tempted to sneer at those
who want wine "varietals" (I think the term should be "varieties," since
"varietal" is an adjective, not a noun, but my crusade is too little too
late, I fear) to have no more or less variety from label to label, vintage
to vintage, and vineyard to vineyard than a favorite soft drink, **and who
resent it when winos will not reinforce this desire for predictability.**
Sneering is obviously not the most productive response, however, and I am
trying to stay away from it for everyone's sake.
: Now, what profession *doesn't* have questions like this?
Of course, they all do. My post was not addressed to Paul, but, as the
header said, to potential wine salespeople. Don't we all dream of having
a career where we're deeply involved with something we care passionately
about? I simply wanted to point out the *reality* of how limited most
customers' requirements were for a wine, and Paul's post seemed to me a
perfect example. I had really wonderful relationships with some of my
wine customers (Hi, Felix!), but 95% of the time you're dealing with what
amounts to customer frustration with the fact that you can't reduce wine
to a few totally predictable branded products like Coke, Pepsi, and
Sprite. If this weren't so, wines like Sutter Home white zin and Glen
Ellen chardonnay wouldn't be the giants of the "fine" wine business that
they are.
Roger: thanks for making me see how I came across.
Your friend,
Tony
--
Tony Scilipoti and/or Stephanie Richards
Underhill, Vermont
sric...@moose.uvm.edu
billmi...@delphi.com
>I apologize for appearing to sneer. Of *course* I'm anxious for all
>people who have an interest in wine to have their interest taken
>seriously. The last thing wine needs is more snobism. All people
>generally should treated with kindness and respect, even if one disagrees
>with their opinions or their fact-finding. To the extent that I failed
>in these areas, I'm sorry.
snobism. I remember a few years back I was at a Virginia Governor's Cup
dinner. One of the women at our table commented on how much she liked
a particular White Zin. Then someone else at our table all but laughed
in her face for actually liking such a wine. It all boils down to the
basic reason that Americans don't enjoy wine more. They think they have
to know something to drink it. They don't think anything about developing
a taste for Budwiser and Miller Lite (no relation), but they all think
that you have to know something to open up a bottle of wine. And its
all because of wine snobs. Personally, about ten or so years ago, I
thought that Sutter Home White Zin was the best wine ever made. My
then girl friend (now wife) and I tasted literally dozens of White Zins
and kept tasting notes on them. Today, I wouldn't personally touch
a White Zin with a ten foot pole, but I fondly remember my own experience
anytime someone raves about a White Zin or White Grenache they had.
Steve Platt
And both tell me, "you're probably too sophisticated for this, but
there's nothing I like more than..." Face it, WZ isn't bad. But
after a while, it just isn't interesting. My response -- "If you're
in the mood for variety next time you are at the liquor store, try
picking up an inexpensive DuBoeuf white, or maybe a German Riesling
or a Kendall-Jackson Sauvignon Blanc. They're all under $10,
and interesting in their own ways."
I don't think they have yet, but they're always happy to sample, and sample,
and sample whatever I have open when they visit.
Thomas M. Troiano
wrote:
> Stephanie A. Richards <sric...@moose.uvm.edu> writes:
>
> >I apologize for appearing to sneer. Of *course* I'm anxious for all
>
>
> >people who have an interest in wine to have their interest taken
> >seriously. The last thing wine needs is more snobism. All people
> >generally should treated with kindness and respect, even if one disagrees
> >with their opinions or their fact-finding. To the extent that I failed
> >in these areas, I'm sorry.
>
> [misc. stuff deleted]
I was going to leave this thread alone but let me add my $0.02. I have a
very good friend who worked for many years at a very large wine importer
and retailer. His feeling was that white Zin is a good thing because it
introduces people to wine. (In his mind - as a businessman) If 5% of the
people who start out buying white Zin eventually move on to Chateau
Montelena Cabernet, Ridge Lytton Springs, Chateau Lynches Bages, white
Burgundy, vintage port, etc. etc. he's thrilled! So maybe white Zin is
like Miller Lite. Many people who start out drinking Miller Lite move on
to Sam Adams, etc. I myself has a decent size cellar. I became interested
in wine because I love to cook (I used to work at a decent restaurant) and
I decided that Diet Coke just didn't do it with confit of duck. I tried
white Zin (10 yrs ago) and quickly moved on because for me it wasn't food
friendly. That is, I quickly found that drier wines (e.g., chardonnay,
Bordeaux) were much better suited for food. Just my $0.02!
--
The views expressed here are my own and not necessarily endorsed by The
MITRE Corporartion
Bill Rohwer
Troiano) wrote:
I tried
> white Zin (10 yrs ago) and quickly moved on because for me it wasn't food
> friendly. That is, I quickly found that drier wines (e.g., chardonnay,
> Bordeaux) were much better suited for food. Just my $0.02!
>
I only want to say that I'm grateful that you wrote and posted what you
did. In addition to the self interest we all (probably) have, I want to
think we all want learn from each other, wherever we are in whatever
evolutionary spiral none of us has yet mapped. Anyway, thanks.
Bill