Between The Wines December 2023

Between The Wines December 2023

Hidden Treasures

hidden Treasures Thoughts & observations

Tuscany is notoriously beautiful. It may be at its most beautiful along parts of its eastern border with Umbria. Of course, this would imply that Umbria is beautiful as well. And for any one lucky enough to visit Castello della Sala, that point is obvious.

Built in 1350 (really) and long used as a hunting lodge, the Antinori Family purchased this stunning castle in 1940 with an eye—even then—to produce white wine at this unique site. Many years of restoration concluded with the installation of an epic, state of the art winemaking facility.

Then new (and now famous) oenologist Renzo Cotarella experimented and eventually

found an ideal ‘recipe’ of Chardonnay & the local Grechetto What's New grape, and in 1985 Cervaro della Sala was born.

Produced very much like a white burgundy: low yields, barrelfermented in French oak, and quotation of putting the wine thru malolactic the Month: fermentation, also in barrel. The wine is as luscious & complex— "Wine improves and as age-worthy—as great with age. The white burgundy, yet with its own older I get, the unique personality.

Not an better I like it." inexpensive wine—great wines never are—but its worth every - Anonymous penny, and compared to white burgundy today, it’s a steal. And note that if we are on a budget, no worries: the ‘little sister’ to Cervaro is Bramito della Sala---a super value Umbrian Chardonnay.

Turn on your customers to a unique, authentic, cool wine!

Thoughts & Observations The Ever-Shrinking Wine List As restaurants came out of the Covid Blues, one practice we noticed was smaller, more focused wine lists. Initially, restaurants had limited hours/limited seating, so if your business was selling $30,000 a month of adult beverages pre-Covid, it was not uncommon to be selling $20,000 a month post-Covid. Of course, adjusting your inventory dollars to be commensurate with sales makes sense. But now that Covid is in the rear-view mirror, we’ve noticed that those that cut aren’t necessarily building their lists up to their former size. And more interesting, newly opened restaurants are following the less is more mantra. Smart operators have realized that a carefully chosen list of 40 wines will generate as much sales as an 80 bottle list.

But while it might make more sense mathwise, there can be downsides to tightening you wine program too much.

First, guests like choice. We would hazard a guess that 75% of the sales of premium vodka is done by two brands, but we cannot imagine only offering those two vodkas. If a restaurateur tries to skinny their list down to say, 25 offerings, there will be complete categories they will have to skip. While a restaurant can’t be everything to everybody, offering only one Cabernet will not create a loyal, wine-drinking crowd. Also, if a restaurant has a focus on small, artisanal type of producers, by their very nature these wines have limited availability,

Between The Wines December 2023

which means one would need to update/change their list frequently.

While this might be fun for the restaurant’s wine buyer, not so much for the person that has to update/train the staff. Nor the person administering the POS system with all those changes. Not to mention the guests: they visit in October and have a nice meal and wonderful wine then return in November only to find the restaurant no longer carries that wine. This is part and parcel of offering such wines of course, but it’s smart to have some ‘comfort wines’ on a list as well: recognizable names with pretty steady availability.

Of course, we are here to help you navigate this part of your business: we can help make sure your inventory dollars are properly allocated, make sure you are stocked, and train your staff to sell what you have. Think of us as the Eco-Lab of wine: we’ll take care of everything!

quotation of the Month: "Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it."

- Anonymous

Between The Wines

What's New Zing Zang Though we typically (obviously) focus on our new wine brands here, we’d be remiss not to mention—and celebrate--this recently added, iconic brand. Zing Zang is America’s #1 Bloody Mary mix and with good reason.

The Bloody Mary mix business is somewhat fragmented: the largest brands (Zing Zang, Finest Call, Mr & Mrs T’s, Major Peter’s) likely make up 80% of the overall volume, but then there are countless other brands that are very regional, very highend, or both. Think our local favorite McClure’s. Many of the niche brands are also idiosyncratic, i.e., heavy on spice or smoke or bacon flavor or something.

We’ve received calls over the years from small producers in at least a dozen states seeking distribution for their ‘best in the country’ Bloody Mary mix. We can’t sell everything of course, but we do have a few of these niche brands available.

Back to Zing Zang, its success is that it is widely available, and very fairly priced. Add to that its wide appeal--it’s like Goldilocks Bloody Mary mix: not too spicy, not too sweet, no ‘funny’ flavors (i.e., nothing dominates). It’s just delicious, balanced, and consistent. What else would a consumer be looking for?

December 2023

We are now the statewide distributor for all of their wonderful products (the Margarita Mix is great too).

Please ask your Sales Rep for samples!