It's all happening at the moment ... hang on, when hasn't it been all happening for the past year?!
I've been out and about in the trade for the past couple of weeks, meeting existing clients and potential new ones. The first couple of days was with Grant Dodd of Dombeya in Stellenbosch, even though Grant is an Aussie, former golf pro and now Channel 10 golf commentator! The Dombeyas have been getting a great reception, and people are very pleasantly surprised by the cost. I approached Grant about these wines originally because Kemenys wanted some. I didn't intend to source them but Grant twisted my arm (lob wedge to the back of the head). When they landed, Kemenys cancelled their order. Grrr.
Now Becasse has put the chardonnay on its list, North Sydney Cellars and Wine Culture at Roseville have taken the chardonnay, shiraz and Samara bordeaux blend, Annandale Cellars loved the chardonnay too, and Cremorne Cellars has gone the chard-shiraz double. Who'd have thought South African wine would be so popular? Must be all the new immigrants! No, the wines are genuinely good, and retail for $30-35 each. Another of Sydney's top restaurants, Aria, has asked to see the chardonnay and bordeaux blend next week too.
This week I was on the road with Wine by Brad and Mantra wines, Surveyor Thomson pinot and Alluviale wines from NZ, and a couple of rieslings. The response made me realise I should take fewer wines each time ... people wanted to buy all of them but couldn't, so they were in competition with themselves. Becasse ended up taking Schloss Lieser riesling; Fix St James went for the Brad duo of cab merlot and sem sav blanc, as well as Schloss Lieser and Willi Schaefer rieslings; the Australian Wine Centre restocked Surveyor Thomson; Cremorne Cellars went for Schloss Lieser, Alluviale Blanc, Surveyor Thomson and Dupont-Tisserandot premier cru red Burgundy; and Annandale opted for WBB, Surveyor Thomson, Willi Schaefer and Dupont's Gevrey village.
Most of these wines are sealed with screwcaps or diam corks, so I don't have any problem with faults, thankfully.
I'll be hitting the phones again on Monday and Tuesday to rustle up some more appointments, because on June 1 and 2 I hope to be packing people's pre-arrival orders, on June 3 I fly to Auckland, on June 4 I pop down to Queenstown to see the Surveyor Thomson vineyard (even though it will be under snow! What is it with snow following me everywhere?!)
Then I have a couple of days to celebrate a friend's 50th birthday, at the same time finishing off the new catalogue to reflect the 20 exclusive imported wine brands that will be available nationwide from Eurocentric Wine Imports from June 10. Scary in a way -- that's only half of it!
I'm really excited about this shipment, although it's all white wine. What's with that in the middle of winter? Oh well, in plenty of time to get on the sumer wine lists, I hope. What is going to take off? I think the Rene Geoffroy and Henri Billiot rosés, the Geoffroy Empreinte champagne, as it's just been listed as the house bubbly at French Laundry and Per Se, the bourgogne blanc sealed in screwcap from Thierry Matrot, and the bargain premier cru whites from Stephane Aladame.
I'm obviously a riesling tragic, representing 13 top producers from Germany, but these truly are some of the great whites of the wine world, and so inexpensive. Arriving down under for the first time are five-star producers Emrich-Schonleber, Schafer-Frohlich, Okonomierat Rebholz and Zilliken, and the bargain Mosel mover Andreas Schmitges.
What else is happening? The company bought me -- or is leasing at least -- a much more suitable car for sales and delivery calls. It's an SUV, so I can flip open the boot, put the seats down and load up the back with wine that can be covered and kept airconditioned, and there's not the same back-bending and scrambling as required when you load up the back seat of a Honda Accord!
The deal has been done in such a way as to take advantage of the government's tax breaks on asset investment, while the sale of the Honda will go back into the business as I battle on manfully for the three years that banks insist on before they will even consider financial support. By then I might not need it.
Right, back to work ... I'm ringing every Australian who has stayed at the wonderful house at Ployez Jacquemart in Ludes, Champagne, offering them an introductory deal and some free flutes and ice buckets if they buy enough!
Cheers!
Neville
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
What's going on? An overview
I'm way behind in blogging ... I must update regularly and more briefly! Just to bring you up to date, this has been what I've been up to and what the schedule is for the next few weeks:
March 24-28: Flew to Frankfurt via Hong Kong and London. Picked up a rental car and visited Eurocentric Wine Imports clients Van Volxem, Zilliken, Maximin Grunhaus, Schmitges, Schloss Lieser, Willi Schaefer, Reinhold Haart and Knebel, in that order.
March 29-31: Prowein trade show in Dusseldorf. Two days was enough for me. I tried the wines of about 30 riesling producers, which underlined just how good my guys were, although there were two others I really liked ... one day, if sales take off ... also tried a champagne house and ended up visiting them in Champagne but ultimately decided against them on price ... a Burgundy producer who was OK but not right for me ... and took the last day off to catch up on paperwork.
April 1-2: More riesling tastings in the Nahe and Pfalz: existing clients Rebholz, Emrich-Schonleber and Schafer-Frohlich, and three other potential producers that I decided against.
April 3-6: Couple of nice dinners at very good restaurants with affordable sensational wine lists, and some disappointing tastings around Alsace. One fabulous tasting at Zind Humbrecht. I ended up ordering from their Aus agent.
April 7-16: In Burgundy with Gav and Gen for 10 days. Covered a lot of domaines, up to seven in a day ... picked up a few new ones here that I had been chasing for a while or who Gav had done scouting work on. Decided against some on quality, others on price. The additions to the portfolio are Jean-Philippe Fichet (Meursault), Benoit Ente (Puligny-Montrachet), Paul Pernot (Puligny), Aurelien Verdet (Cote de Nuits mostly) and Humbert Freres (Gevrey). There were a couple I had been chasing for a year who I just didn't think cut it for the money they wanted. And there's one I haven't yet decided on. But it was great to get back to Dupont-Tisserandot and see his fabulous 07s. Also was impressed by the wines at Alex Gambal and am working on getting them to Australia for a lower price. Camille Giroud and Domaine des Croix were impressive as expected. David Clark's wines are trucking along nicely, and the 07s that will be coming to Australia are now in bottle. Thierry Matrot's 07 whites are brilliant, and I will bring some of the juicy, fresh reds as well. I'm not sure whether his late-harvest sweet Aligote would find a market, but it is sensational! I had a fun visit with the cute young Aladame couple in Montagny and toured their vineyards to get a better appreciation for their fine work.
April 17: Chablis: I think I have chosen two very good producers with quite contrasting styles. One to enjoy young and one to cellar, and both very good value: Jean-Claude Bessin and Frederic Gueguen of Domaine des Chenevieres. I'm not sure which name is easier to say!
April 18: Another pleasant tasting (but a no) in Chablis before heading to the southernmost part of Champagne for a fascinating afternoon with new client Bertrand Gautheroe of Vouette et Sorbee. These wines "out-Selosse Seloss", as Sydney sommelier Nick Hildebrandt says. They are not for the fainthearted!
April 19: A leisurely drive through the backblocks of Champagne, finishing at a small hotel chain on the outskirts of Reims.
April 20-23: Lots of champagne tasting, starting with a "soil and vine" show for boutique producers to showcase some finished champagne and to show some 08 juice. I thought EWI clients Rene Geoffroy, Chartogne-Taillet and David Leclapart performed exceptionally. Visited a large Champagne house and could import it into Australia ... if I thought I could sell 40,000 bottles of it a year. Unfortunately I didn't much like the flavour or the price of the entry level NV, which should account for 85% of sales. It made me appreciate once again the quality from EWI clients Ployez-Jacquemart, Henri Billiot and Rene Geoffroy. I also took the opportunity to see more of the vineyards, to have a long and leisurely lunch with M. Leclapart, and to get an understanding of the great work Alexandre Chartogne is doing. Another cult producer that should join the team just doesn't have any wine available at the moment but should next year.
April 24-25:Drove north to Amiens, my base for a night so I could soak up the Anzac Day atmosphere in Villers-Bretonneux and Le Hamel. A sobering sidetrack. Then a five-hour drive through Belgium to Germany again.
April 26-27: In Mainz for the 2008 riesling vintage launch. I'd tried many of the wines three times by now so I know how good the vintage is. So refreshing!
April 28-May 2: R&R in London, and some careful Burgundy research with my mentor, Dr Jenkins.
May 4: Step off the plane in Sydney and proceed to battle jetlag for a good 10 days, the worst ever. Sleeping at all sorts of crazy hours, or not sleeping as was mostly the case. Still, I had plenty of work to do, with a shipment due in on May 26. A pre-arrival offer was created and dispatched, complete with tasting notes for all 10 producers.
Coming up!
May 17-31: Tastings in and around Sydney with potential new clients.
June 1-2: Unpacking the container and sending out orders.
June 3-9: In New Zealand to see Central Otago pinot noir producer Surveyor Thomson, celebrate my good friend Doug's 50th birthday and see my grandfather, who is fast approaching his 99th!
June 13-15: Trade shows in Melbourne, including a launch of the new Eurocentric offerings
June 16-17: Ditto for Brisbane
June 18: Central Otago in Sydney.
June 22: Eurocentric launch to trade
And so on. Phew. Much to do before another trip to NZ in August and a return to Europe in Sept-Oct to finalise orders, try new vintages and to sift through another 20 potential producers.
And just like that I've written a stack again.
March 24-28: Flew to Frankfurt via Hong Kong and London. Picked up a rental car and visited Eurocentric Wine Imports clients Van Volxem, Zilliken, Maximin Grunhaus, Schmitges, Schloss Lieser, Willi Schaefer, Reinhold Haart and Knebel, in that order.
March 29-31: Prowein trade show in Dusseldorf. Two days was enough for me. I tried the wines of about 30 riesling producers, which underlined just how good my guys were, although there were two others I really liked ... one day, if sales take off ... also tried a champagne house and ended up visiting them in Champagne but ultimately decided against them on price ... a Burgundy producer who was OK but not right for me ... and took the last day off to catch up on paperwork.
April 1-2: More riesling tastings in the Nahe and Pfalz: existing clients Rebholz, Emrich-Schonleber and Schafer-Frohlich, and three other potential producers that I decided against.
April 3-6: Couple of nice dinners at very good restaurants with affordable sensational wine lists, and some disappointing tastings around Alsace. One fabulous tasting at Zind Humbrecht. I ended up ordering from their Aus agent.
April 7-16: In Burgundy with Gav and Gen for 10 days. Covered a lot of domaines, up to seven in a day ... picked up a few new ones here that I had been chasing for a while or who Gav had done scouting work on. Decided against some on quality, others on price. The additions to the portfolio are Jean-Philippe Fichet (Meursault), Benoit Ente (Puligny-Montrachet), Paul Pernot (Puligny), Aurelien Verdet (Cote de Nuits mostly) and Humbert Freres (Gevrey). There were a couple I had been chasing for a year who I just didn't think cut it for the money they wanted. And there's one I haven't yet decided on. But it was great to get back to Dupont-Tisserandot and see his fabulous 07s. Also was impressed by the wines at Alex Gambal and am working on getting them to Australia for a lower price. Camille Giroud and Domaine des Croix were impressive as expected. David Clark's wines are trucking along nicely, and the 07s that will be coming to Australia are now in bottle. Thierry Matrot's 07 whites are brilliant, and I will bring some of the juicy, fresh reds as well. I'm not sure whether his late-harvest sweet Aligote would find a market, but it is sensational! I had a fun visit with the cute young Aladame couple in Montagny and toured their vineyards to get a better appreciation for their fine work.
April 17: Chablis: I think I have chosen two very good producers with quite contrasting styles. One to enjoy young and one to cellar, and both very good value: Jean-Claude Bessin and Frederic Gueguen of Domaine des Chenevieres. I'm not sure which name is easier to say!
April 18: Another pleasant tasting (but a no) in Chablis before heading to the southernmost part of Champagne for a fascinating afternoon with new client Bertrand Gautheroe of Vouette et Sorbee. These wines "out-Selosse Seloss", as Sydney sommelier Nick Hildebrandt says. They are not for the fainthearted!
April 19: A leisurely drive through the backblocks of Champagne, finishing at a small hotel chain on the outskirts of Reims.
April 20-23: Lots of champagne tasting, starting with a "soil and vine" show for boutique producers to showcase some finished champagne and to show some 08 juice. I thought EWI clients Rene Geoffroy, Chartogne-Taillet and David Leclapart performed exceptionally. Visited a large Champagne house and could import it into Australia ... if I thought I could sell 40,000 bottles of it a year. Unfortunately I didn't much like the flavour or the price of the entry level NV, which should account for 85% of sales. It made me appreciate once again the quality from EWI clients Ployez-Jacquemart, Henri Billiot and Rene Geoffroy. I also took the opportunity to see more of the vineyards, to have a long and leisurely lunch with M. Leclapart, and to get an understanding of the great work Alexandre Chartogne is doing. Another cult producer that should join the team just doesn't have any wine available at the moment but should next year.
April 24-25:Drove north to Amiens, my base for a night so I could soak up the Anzac Day atmosphere in Villers-Bretonneux and Le Hamel. A sobering sidetrack. Then a five-hour drive through Belgium to Germany again.
April 26-27: In Mainz for the 2008 riesling vintage launch. I'd tried many of the wines three times by now so I know how good the vintage is. So refreshing!
April 28-May 2: R&R in London, and some careful Burgundy research with my mentor, Dr Jenkins.
May 4: Step off the plane in Sydney and proceed to battle jetlag for a good 10 days, the worst ever. Sleeping at all sorts of crazy hours, or not sleeping as was mostly the case. Still, I had plenty of work to do, with a shipment due in on May 26. A pre-arrival offer was created and dispatched, complete with tasting notes for all 10 producers.
Coming up!
May 17-31: Tastings in and around Sydney with potential new clients.
June 1-2: Unpacking the container and sending out orders.
June 3-9: In New Zealand to see Central Otago pinot noir producer Surveyor Thomson, celebrate my good friend Doug's 50th birthday and see my grandfather, who is fast approaching his 99th!
June 13-15: Trade shows in Melbourne, including a launch of the new Eurocentric offerings
June 16-17: Ditto for Brisbane
June 18: Central Otago in Sydney.
June 22: Eurocentric launch to trade
And so on. Phew. Much to do before another trip to NZ in August and a return to Europe in Sept-Oct to finalise orders, try new vintages and to sift through another 20 potential producers.
And just like that I've written a stack again.
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