Superbowl Sunday and the Wine Biz

Originally published on February 3, 2008.

Sure I made these cute little Superbowl 3-packs featuring New York States wines, but that was mainly to have something fun to talk about in my first newsletter. But I’m under no illusions that the Superbowl is really about BEER – which I don’t, can’t, probably wouldn’t-even-if-I-could sell. I’m going to start counting how many tourists walk in asking where they can buy beer around here. Probably not many – why would someone with intentions of watching the Superbowl allow themselves to be stuck in a New York City hotel room on the big weekend? But we’ll see – tally will be posted throughout the day.

Update – I think I’ll just keep track of all the tourist requests as they come through, not just the beer requests. Just in case you think I’m being snarky, I’m not – I love the tourists that come into the shop. The American’s always seem up to try something new because they’re on holiday. And everyone else thinks they’ve struck gold because of the ridiculousness that is the dollar exchange rate. I love them! (Although the many requests for directions to Ground Zero, World Trade Center, and Century 21 do get a little old, but not as old as the people who expect me to have in-depth knowledge of the parking rules for the spots outside my door.)

So here’s the update

1 – 1.05pm – Pack of British ladies asking for Gavi (don’t have it, but the British seem to ask for it, so if they keep coming, eventually I’ll get one). They also comment on the Bolly (aka Bollinger) -that it’s cheaper in the UK, which I know it’s not. Guess they don’t have their exchange rate calculations sorted properly.

2 – 1.34pm – French family searching for Gewurztraminer. Which I have. Chilled even!

The Tiniest Bathroom in the Wine Retail Biz

Originally published on January 31, 2008.

So, I should be stocking wines, but since I haven’t written in several days, I’ve decided to do that instead. And what am I writing about – my store’s toilet. Frankly Wines probably has the tiniest toilet in the entire US retail wine business. And I should know – after who knows how many account calls in my life as a wine business manager (including time as a pregnant-go-to-the-loo-every-5-minutes-business manager), I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. Mostly the ugly.

My store’s bathroom is neither bad nor ugly, but it is tiny. It’s basically a toilet with a 3×3 foot closet built around it. Very tall ceilings and a genius nook built under the counter (thank you genius-architect Carlos) make it seem almost spacious. Unless you’re a man – if you’re a man, you pretty much have no choice except to sit and do your business as there’s just no room to do otherwise and still remain behind closed doors.

But the coolest thing about the bathroom is the sink. It’s this crazy thing called “Sink Positive” and it sits on the tank in place of the tank lid. When you flush, instead of the water just filling the tank, it runs through a little faucet, into a sink basin, and then into the tank. Unless you know how a toilet actually works, this seems, well, disgusting. But apparently, the water used to fill the tank comes from the same water lines as the good old New York City tap water. So if it’s good enough to drink, it’s certainly good enough to wash your hands with. And it’s incredibly space saving – and ecologically correct as well! Really, the only drawback is that if I want to wash out tasting glasses, I have to flush the toilet to do it. This doesn’t bother me, but it does sound a little odd to those distributor reps who hear the toilet flush and see me come out of the water closet with clean glassware.

Oh well, I’m sure this isn’t the oddest thing they’ve every come across in a wine shop.

Buying Off the (Wine) Grid

Originally published on January 27, 2008.

So, I have this grid that keeps me on the straight and narrow when I’m buying wine for the store. I’ve roughly laid out which regions, which grape varieties, and which price points I want to have on the shelves. With room for only 150 – 175 wines in the shop, I have to be pretty rigorous about which wines to carry. Not that I don’t break the grid all the time – what’s the fun of owning a wine shop if you can’t be prone to flights of fancy and decide, against all logic, to buy deep on Moroccan Syrah, Hungarian Gewurztraminer, or a funky white blend from Uruguay.

I’ve been pretty good at controlling these fits of buying off the grid, except when it comes to my apparent weakness for red blends from the South of France. I have just a few more than I probably should. And since no one ever comes asking for a Merlot-Cinsault-Carignan-Cab blend from the VdP d’Herault appellation, I need to remind myself these little gems are there and find a way to help them shine. Maybe it’s time for a wacky blend 3-pack? Next week – right after the Superbowl 3-pack has its time at center court. Stay tuned.

Frankly Wines – The History

Originally published on January 26, 2008.

Well, more like my history, since the store opened just over a month ago and doesn’t have much of a history beyond my own….

Prior to opening this little shop (and it is tiny), I spent about 7 years working for a wine and spirits company which at various points during that time was known as Schieffelin & Somerset (a joint venture between Diageo and Moet Hennessy), then Schiefflin (just the MH part of the joint venture), then finally, Moet Hennessy USA (the grand union of the Schieffelin, Veuve Clicquot, and Millenium — all owned by LVMH.) Sometimes you needed a score card just to keep track of the brands the company sold. At certain points, business cards changed on almost a monthly basis. Brands included Moet, Hennessy, Clicquot, Belvedere, Chopin, Dom Perignon, Ruinart, Krug, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, 10 Cane Rum and a small portfoio of wines. Tres impressive, non?

During my time there, I worked on a major distributor realignment project, ran the US business for some small single malt Scotch brands, ran part of the massive Hennessy Cognac business, led development of the US launch plan for 10 Cane Rum, and then managed the business for the company’s Down Under wine portfolio (Cloudy Bay, Green Point, Cape Mentelle). Lots of fabulous meals, big nights out, great wines on the table all time time – very glamorous. Traveled to Scotland, France, Australia, New Zealand, and across the United States and into more wine retail accounts and restaurants than I care to count. And somewhere in there, I had 2 babies. Got to the point where I couldn’t stand the thought of doing another 5-year forecast, developing an annual brand plan, or boarding another airplane (even if I did get to sit in business class most of the time – go frequent flier miles!!)

So I decided to do what any reasonably insane person would do – escape the glories of corporate life by opening a wine store. Took a lease on a tiny little space around the corner from home, started the licencing process, worked at a similarly-sized shop in Brooklyn over the summer to 1) fine tune my retail skills and 2) make sure I really wanted to do this and wouldn’t be better off begging for my old job back, and less than 6 months later, I’m now the owner of an actual store with actual wine on the shelves (and an actual credit card machine, cash registers, garbage removal service, security gate, and alarm system.)

And that’s it for today’s history lesson.

Wine Spectator: All Men, All the Time

Originally published on January 24, 2008.

I was just flipping through the latest Wine Spectator, which always seems to find me even though I haven’t subscribed personally ever. Just noticed the tasters are all men, every one of them. I guess I’m not surprised – would probably be the same if I checked out Wine Enthusiast, Wine Advocate, probably even Tanzer – I guess I just never paid attention to it. It does make me wonder, would the ratings, or the language of all these commercial wine publications be at all different if more women were actually tasters (and not just tasting coordinators – very different gig.) Would wine be less, mysterious, less intimidating? Things that make you go hmmmm.

Hello Bordeaux

Originally published on January 23, 2008.

Left the store for a few hours today to attend today’s Big Bordeaux tasting at the Waldorf. Got there on the late side, around 4pm, so it was just mildly insane. Quite a few of the big names had already poured off, but there was still quite a lot to try. Speed tasted until I had a major sneezing fit and had to take a little break – not so attractive when your nose is running into your wine glass. Swung by Sauternes table – some nice stuff – especially liked the Doisy Daene which was just so yummy – elegant, rich, but with really good acidity that gave it a lightness I didn’t taste in any of the other Sauternes there. Maybe will blow a good week’s worth of my open to buy and bring in a bit, maybe half bottles. I don’t think it will be quite what people want when they ask if I have half bottles, but have to start somewhere!

Syrocco – Syrah du Morocco

Originally published on January 22, 2008.

I brought 5 cases of Moroccan Syrah into the store last week. That’s 60 bottles – my biggest buy to date. Could be considered madness that I’m going big on Moroccan Syrah, but it’s good.

It was a big hit at the tasting last week – one of those freak wines that you hear people murmuring about throughout the room. Nice red fruits, Rhone-like herbs, and a nice meaty, savoury finish. Sort of Old World in that it’s earthy, a little rustic, not over-polished, but with good fruit and something different for $14.99. And it’s one of those items that when it’s gone, it’s gone. So I figured I might as well throw caution to the wind and buy a 5 case deal, write a little tasting note, and display it front and center. Winemaking is overseen by Alain Graillot, big producer in the Northern Rhone in France) so he knows his Syrah. The story goes that he spotted some vineyards while bicycling in the Zenata region of Morocco, began a friendship with the owners, and the next thing you know, I have 60 bottles of Syrah du Morocco sitting in my shop.

What I Didn’t Get Done Today

Originally published on January 21, 2008.

So today I wanted to map out my monthly features, initial 3-bottle sample packs and the tasting program for the next month or so. And maybe even draft the first edition of the store newsletter. And write a bit about the store concept, why it’s here and so on. Didn’t quite happen that way.

But I did place orders. Lots and lots of orders. Two of the bigger distributors in the state (importers sell wine to distributors, who then sell to stores and restaurants, who then sell to you) come off of a week-long shut down tomorrow. Which means I haven’t been able to get deliveries from them since January 11th. And a number of the other guys were on holiday today, so no deliveries since last Friday. So all of the wine sold between then and now needs to be replaced. And since my forecasting isn’t all that great 1 month into the game, I’m in need of much wine.

So I didn’t get much done – at least there will be wine on the shelves!

A New Wine Shop Opens Downtown – And It’s All Mine!

Originally published on January 19, 2008

Finally – I’ve opened my wine store and officially entered the world of wine retail. Actually, I opened about a month ago – just in time for holiday business – and it’s been busy enough that I only just managing to get the “I’m open” email out to 450 of my closest friends.

Opening hours are Monday – Saturday 11am – 8pm, and Sunday 12 noon – 6pm. I’m pretty much always here, so stop in and say hi – and send over any friends who live in the neighborhood.

The shop is located in Lower Manhattan at 66 West Broadway, between Warren and Murray Streets. It’s called Frankly Wines, because my last name is Frank and I like the ring of it. My cousin actually came up with the name, so there’s a 6-pack of Dom Perignon with his name on it, waiting for him to turn 21 in about 5 years.

Wine selection here skews towards the Southern Hemisphere, but there’s also a well-edited assortment of wines from most major (and some minor) regions of the world. I’ll also be putting together a rotating selection of 3-bottle sampler packs complete with tasting notes. Each month will feature a different region, grape variety, or wine style – so there will always be something new and fun to try.

The shop is still in the “soft opening” phase. Working on finishing this fabulous wine-cork wall – and when it’s done I’ll have announce the Grand Opening. If restaurants can hang around in soft opening state for months, so can wine store!