Author: Christy

Frankly Wines – The Grand Opening

Originally published on October 16, 2009.

Sure, it may seem like Frankly Wines has been open for nearly two years.  You’ve been able to come in, exchange money for wine, maybe try a sample of whatever we had open.  But we were actually in our “soft opening” phase.  Restaurants do this all the time.  They’re “open” before they’re really open.  Some of them, like the Waverly Inn, are still in their preview phase, nearly three years after (not) opening.  By that standard, having a grand opening party a mere 22 months after opening can seem a little premature.

But a few weeks ago, we installed the last bit of store décor – a gorgeous stained glass window, created just for Frankly Wines, by artist Alex Bingham. It glows above the cork wall and now that it’s in place, the store finally feels complete.

So we decided to officially declare ourselves open and throw a party….last week. Which means you probably missed it. But never fear, it went well, nothing was broken, and the tiny space somehow lends itself to surprisingly large groups of people. Well, at least 35. So we’ll be coming up with an excuse to do it again. A two-year birthday party? A holiday party? A Turducken festival?

We’ll think of something.

Strange Days Indeed Part 2: New Zealand S….yrah??

One of yesterday’s top selling wines was from New Zealand. Of all things, a New Zealand Syrah. This is strange because New Zealand Syrah is one of those wines that’s way off the grid. Regular people do not associate New Zealand with Syrah. Most wine geeks don’t even make this association. Sauvignon Blanc….of course. Pinot Noir…increasingly so. Maybe Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, or Riesling for the really hard core. But Syrah? Not so much.

Except for yesterday. For no apparent reason, customers just kept picking up the Otto’s Constant Dream Syrah (affectionately referred to in-shop as Otto’s Shrunken Head, also for no apparent reason. Alright, may the head on the label has something to do with the nickname.)

It’s a great wine. A very vibrant, fresh style of Syrah. Most of the best New Zealand wines have really racy acidity, and a bright, pure, freshness of fruit. In this particular Syrah, that raciness pairs nicely with bright red fruits and a kick of fresh black pepper. Delicious really. But it’s not like people come in asking for it by grape/region. Not like they do New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Or California Chardonnay. Or Argentine Malbec.

I guess they just liked the label on the bottle. Luckily, it’s filled with tasty wine.

Strange Days Indeed Part 1: Snow in September

Originally published on September 27, 2009.

Winter came fast this year – we had an early snow storm hit lower Tribeca today.  It was highly localized, hitting only the corner of West Broadway and Warren Street.  The weather gods must have heard that Frankly Wines has a thing for alpine wines and is looking forward to a winter full of goodies from the Jura, the Savoie, Alto Aldige and other far northern reachs of Italy.

Or maybe it was just a shoot for an AT&T commercial.

For a Really Impactful Window Display, Consider a Ferrari

Originally published on September 26, 2009.

There was a Ferrari parked in front of the store today.  And judging by the reactions of everyone that passed by, the easiest way for a wine store to get some attention in this city may be to park a Ferrari in the front window.  I may be rethinking my autumn window display.

In the half hour the car was out front, people crossed the street to get a better view.  They stopped in their tracks when the driver brought up the automated convertible top.  They craned their necks to get a better view of the back engine.  Heads practially snapped off when the engine reved and the car pulled away. 

Now I’m not a big car person, but this one was impressive.  I even moved my pile of cardboard recycling boxes because they were marring the view. Especially impressive – he didn’t even ask us if he could park there.  I guess when you drive a Ferrari, you can park anywhere.

The Winemakers are Coming! The Winemakers are Coming!

Originally published on September 25, 2009.

To be specific, it’s really an Assistant Winemaker/Owner that’s coming. Emil den Dulk, owner of De Toren Cellars, will be traveling all the way from Stellenbosch, South Africa just to pour wine and sign bottles at Frankly Wines on Thursday, October 1st.

O.K. Not really.

Emil will be in New York because Cape Classics, importer of De Toren and a host of other very good South African wines, has a portfolio tasting planned for the following week. But he’s getting in early. And since we love his wines and are always looking for an excuse to pull some corks, he’ll be standing behind the big, white tasting counter from 5.00pm – 7.00pm.

This is the first time we’ve hosted an actual owner/winemaker at the shop. Sure, plenty of them come through during the day with their handlers (a.k.a. sales reps.) They pour their wines and we chat about them, sometimes even buying them….(but never on the spot. Buying great quantities of wine for the store immediatley after drinking….um…tasting it, may be one of the quickest ways to run the business into the ground.) But this will be the first time we actually let a mythical owner/winermaker talk to the customers.

It’s a little nerve wracking really…what if no one comes? What if no one talks to him? What if no one buys the wine? What if he just sits there, at the front of the store, all sad and lonely while we stare at him from behind the counter.

But really, it’s highy unlikely that the shop will be completely empty between 5 and 7 on a Thursday. And it is a wine shop after all…where most people are inclined to talk about wine, try wine, buy wine.

And it’s very good wine: Emil will be pouring both the Merlot-let Z and the Cabernet-led Fusion V. De Toren only bottles these two wines, a level of focus that’s quite rare, especially when it comes to New World wineries, which tend to produce a little bit of everything.

So stop by and meet the man behind a Frankly Wines favorite. Talk, try, and maybe even buy.

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I’m not quite sure why it took almost two years to get a winemaker into the shop for an in-store tasting. Not quite sure what took me so long… apparently I really was worried that people wouldn’t show up. But it’s strange to read this because in the years that followed, we would have multiple winemakers pouring during a single week. Or multiple winemakers during a single day! That’s one of the things I miss about not having a high foot traffic city shop – you really didn’t have to worry about people coming to an in-store tasting. Up in the wilds of Copake, it doesn’t quite work that way – the worry is warranted!

Jura Maybe Not So Obscura Anymore – Hello New York Times!

Originally published on September 22, 2009.

Just 3 weeks ago, I was waxing on about the fabulous wines of the Jura and a 2-Pack I had put together featuring two of them. And what’s due to appear tomorrow in Eric Asimov’s New York Times wine column, “The Pour“? Why, yes! Wines of the Jura!

Ok, obviously Mr. Asimov is not copying my blog. Certain wine regions and grapes have a way of floating around in the rarefied wine-world ether until wine writers, retailers, and sommeliers of a certain bent all seem to pick up on them at the same time. A similar thing happens in the fashion world: somehow, for some odd reason, all the designers wind up showing tiger prints, or tent-like silhouettes, or lines inspired by fairy-tale tapestries.

But it is nice to be first…to feature these wines in-store before they hit the paper. And if my personal obsessions are good indicators of what you’ll see in future New York Times articles, then stay tuned for features on dry muscats, Gemischter Satz wines, very old Chianti and anything alpine. And Chateau Musar…always Chateau Musar!

Consider yourself warned. And remember….you heard it here first.

What Wine Stores Look Like When They’re Closed

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: I clearly had a fondness for extreme sepia-tinted filters back in the day!

Originally published on September 19, 2009.

Ever wonder what a wine store looks like before the doors open and the magic happens? Well, here’s an inside peak at Frankly Wines, 11.45am on a summer Sunday, fifteen minutes before showtime.

Lopez de Heredia Rosado….Again?

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: 6 cases!!! 6 cases!!! These days, ten years later, we get 6 bottles. And that’s only because I whine and cry and tell sad stories about the days when I used to be able to buy 6 cases at a time. 6 CASES!!!

Originally published on September 12, 2009.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve written about Lopez de Heredia before. Their whites, their reds, their aged wines, their younger wines, their roses. In terms of wines and wineries most mentioned on my site, it’s probably a toss up between Lopez and Chateau Musar. If I could stock the store solely with these wines…and make any sort of a profit….I would do it. If anyone has any thoughts as to how this might be possible, please do let me know.

Anyhow…back to my broken record Lopez tendencies. Today, I’m revisiting the Lopez de Heredia Tondonia Rosado…for the 3rd time on the Frankly My Dear blog. I’m excited about this wine (again) because we just brought in 6 cases of the 1998, which is the newest vintages. It’s a little bit more fruit forward than the 1997. But this doesn’t mean it’s fruity. It’s definitely not fruity – and still requires a warning label because of its distinct non-fruitiness. But compared to last year’s version, it’s a bit more tropical. It’s still a holy trinity of funkiness: Fino Sherry tang, exotic spices, and those subtle, almost ghost-like tropical fruits.

Now 6 cases may seem like a lot for a $25 bottle of non-fruity rose. But the most recent shipment from Spain was only 50 cases. Which isn’t a lot. If 20 accounts take 2 cases each (because there’s a 2 case purchases deal, which most stores will by on) than that only leaves 10 remaining cases for a second round of purchases. And without a good sense of when the next shipment will be arriving (October? November) if I took just 2 little cases, there would be a good chance I would be out of stock And this is one of those wines I HATE being out of stock on.

So I sucked up 6 cases. This decision was based on neither cash flow nor margin considerations (the two main factors driving most of my size-of-buy decisions.) It was simply based on wanting to keep this wine in stock. It’s a decision even my accountant would understand.

That Customer #2: Some Refinements

Originally published on September 10, 2009.

A lot of retailers seemed to really enjoy the last installment of That Customer that featured the (perhaps willfully) clueless customer who walks into a dark store without noticing that it’s, well, dark. And possibly closed. Or just about to be.

I thought it would be a good idea, or at least some fun, to set out the etiquette in such a situation. Emily Post doesn’t cover this stuff, so I might as well.

Retailer After-Hours Etiquette:
If you’re going to let someone in during closing, you have to give them the same attention and consideration you give any other customer. You can’t give them the evil eye while drumming your fingers on the counter. If you don’t want to help them, don’t let them in.

Yes, it is true that if they can see you from the street, they’ll be pissed if you don’t let them in. I recommend hiding as the most effective strategy against this form of perceived rudeness. Most cash registers are on top of a counter. Most counters can be hidden behind. I suggest you do this if you really want to get out of the store quickly.

Customer After-Hours Etiquette:
If you walk into a store and it looks like they’re in the middle of closing (dark lights, pulled blinds, frantic shelf stocking, cash counting) then they probably are indeed in the middle of closing.

Ask if this is the case. If the answer is yes, then this is not the time to leisurely peruse every single bottle on the shelf. This is not the time to have a 15 minutes phone conversation with your roommate about what she’s thinking of making for dinner. This is the time to tell the staff what you’re looking for so they can quickly point out some good choices and go about their closing chores while you make your decision. You shouldn’t feel pressured, but you shouldn’t feel entitled to lollygag.

And there you have it. My view of after-hours (or nearly after-hours) etiquette. It’s all about mutual respect and understanding.

And being more aware of your surroundings than your mobile phone conversation….but that’s probably the subject of anther post.

Shine a Light on Frankly Wines

Originally published on September 10, 2009.

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: A remember this program very clearly. I spent more time than I should have filling out the application, writing a newsletter, posting about it on Facebook. But as I was doing it, I had this nagging feeling that it was a waste of time. A brilliant program that gave AMEX access to all sorts of small business data, sure, but from the perspective of the small business, generally a waste of time. I can’t prove it, and I haven’t done the research to prove it, but my sense at the time was that the winner had already been selected, or at least a decent pool of potential winners had already been identified before the program already kicked off. And that there was b-roll already in developemnt, photos and headshots and videos and all sorts of marketing materials in the can for these potential winners. I couldn’t shake the sense that my time would have been better spent pitching myself and by business directly to the marketing teams in the AMEX building that was only a few blocks away.

I love a good integrated program. Reminds me of my corporate days when we would develop national event programs that tied into a national print advertising campaign with local radio and out-of-home executions. There would be in-store thematic displays and contests, smaller on-premise events, charity tie-ins. These days, there would also be a social media component with a blog, Facebook pages and frequent tweets on twitter.

American Express is in the midst of a major integrated program aimed at small businesses and I am eating it right up. First, there’s the TV commercial that sings the praises of small businesses and their ability to pull the economy forward. The music swells and the pacing of the images increases as the voiceover goes on about “a light beginning to shine again” and the ‘beginning of the reinvention of business.” It’s quite dramatic and ends with Mr. Amex Voiceover Man stating “we want to help.”

And help is on offer, especially in the form of the “Shine A Light” portion of the program which promises $100K in grant money and marketing support to a small business owner. There’s a nomination and endorsement process, celebrity judges selecting finalists, a voting period, more TV commercials with celebrities shining their own lights on their favorites business….and of course tweets…must have tweets.

As I mentioned above, I am eating the program right up. I managed to get nominated (without writing the nomination myself!) Of course I did this with just under 5 days left to generate nominations, so now I’m a mad rush to get as many endorsements as possible. It’s sort of like the high school election process but with Facebook pages and email blasts instead of paper signs and pep rallies.

50 endorsements are required to get to the judging phase. I managed that the same day the nomination was posted and then nearly 50 more yesterday. Finalists aren’t selected based on who has the most votes, but more is always better than less.

So feel free to give Frankly Wines yet another endorsement. The more the merrier – and if I do win $100K, I will be able to afford some sort of festive thank you!

How to endorse Frankly Wines:

  1. Click on any of the banners above to go to my profile.
  2. Register. (Yes, you have to register. They say they won’t try to sell you anything.) Click here to go directly to the registration page.
  3. Search the nominees for “Frankly Wines”
  4. Click on the “Shine a Light” icon to register your endorsement. It’s the small rectangular icon at the upper left – not the big, fancy one further down.
  5. Cross your fingers and hope I make the finals.