Confessions of an Accidental Wino - Episode 2 - by Ronald Mackay
“No label?” The elegant Edinburgh wine merchant I’d walked in on unannounced, looked decidedly dubious. He turned this way and that, the dark green bottle that hid the secrets of our wine within as if to reveal its secrets. Dissatisfied, he placed it on one side.
His blatant dismissal undermined what little confidence I had as an accidental wine salesman. I needed to justify my oversight. “I want prospective buyers to taste judge the wine solely on its merits.”
“Your new to the wine industry.” His words suggested judgement rather than query.
“Our first year.” I tried to sound confident.
“Argentina?”
“The Province of Mendoza. Argentina’s finest wine region.”
“You know what sells in a wine store?” He paused. Seeing that I didn’t, he continued. “Label, legend and capsule. Yours bears none of these.” He looked sympathetically at me, the novice. “Listen!”
I listened for an hour and received my first lesson in marketing our CALEDONIA wine from a veteran.
That rainy Edinburgh morning initiated the first ‘cold call’ I ever made. I was, I reflected, a competent grape-producer, but I still had everything to learn about the essential following steps that might turn grape production into commercial wine sales.
***
Back in our vineyard after that Christmas in Scotland, Viviana and I set to work. We sketched out a front label. It announced our brand boldly: Fincas CALEDONIA: The Scottish Tradition in Argentina. An arc of Royal Stuart tartan decorated the left-hand corner. Mike, our artist friend in Edinburgh, returned our sketches vastly improved. He and I had shared assignments behind the Iron Curtain back in the day, experiences guaranteed to forge a permanent bond of trust.
Viviana created our legend for the back label.
Fincas CALEDONIA is a vineyard located on the high plateau at the foot of the Andes.
Our vines thrive in the semi-desert climate with cool nights and hot, sunny days. Since
the 19th century, generations of Scottish-Argentine families have become respected
vintners. We at Fincas CALEDONIA represent the Scottish heritage of Argentina
known for quality, reliability, innovation, and enjoyment. Our wine continues the
reputation for excellence by talented Argentine winemakers.
Our vines thrive in the semi-desert climate with cool nights and hot, sunny days. Since
the 19th century, generations of Scottish-Argentine families have become respected
vintners. We at Fincas CALEDONIA represent the Scottish heritage of Argentina
known for quality, reliability, innovation, and enjoyment. Our wine continues the
reputation for excellence by talented Argentine winemakers.
Together, we chose a purple capsule, the colour of the Scottish thistle, to cover the cork and the neck of the bottle.
We were on our way to becoming winos, ready to conquer the world.
***
A case of twelve beautifully labelled bottles, each wrapped in fine white tissue paper accompanied us on our next trip to Edinburgh. To our dismay, the elegant wine store on Dundas Street had been converted into a vast restaurant offering free high-speed wi-fi to yuppies enjoying quinoa salad and drinking orange juice.
“Try Henderson’s”, suggested Mike, our label designer and my co-conspirator from that previous life in a part of Europe that lay forsaken behind the Iron Curtain. “It commands a busy corner. David Henderson, the owner, is knowledgeable and looking to expand his offerings. Those who live around that part of Morningside are well-heeled.”
***
“I’d like to speak to David Henderson, please.” I tried to sound confident.
“My father’s on vacation. May I help?”
“I’d like to leave him this wine to taste.” From its pristine white tissue wrapper, I withdrew a beautiful dark bottle bearing our CALEDONIA label and our legend on the back. He accepted it, impressed with all, including the purple capsule.
“I’ll see he gets it.”
Viviana and I repeated that act for wine merchants in Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, and Glasgow.
***
Back home in Argentina, we waited on tenterhooks for one of these wine merchants to contact us. None did. I plucked up enough courage to call David Henderson in Edinburgh. International calls were expensive but we couldn’t wait any longer.
“David Henderson here.”
I introduced myself and then: “I left a bottle of our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon with your son last month. What do you think of it?”
“Your bottle is sitting right here on my desk, Mr Mackay. Unopened.”
“Unopened?” Viviana and I looked at one another aghast.
“The presentation is excellent. Your label with the thistle, the purple capsule and the elegant sliver of Royal Stuart tartan are eye-catching. Your legend is perfect for my clientele.”
Twelve thousand kilometres away from David’s Scottish clientele, Viviana and I were ecstatic.
“But I still have to taste it. I’ll open it for dinner on Sunday and email you first thing on Monday.”
***
The days dragged. Monday arrived and so did David Henderson’s email. Viviana and I read it together.
“I very much enjoyed your Fincas CALEDONIA Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. It has the characteristics of a good claret. I want to stock your wine. Please let me have ten cases to start with.”
Viviana and I hugged. ‘Claret’ is the term the British use for a dry, well-bodied, deep-red Bordeaux. The fortunate comparison would raise the status of our wine in the British market.
***
Anticipating a great future for our wine resulting from our visits and cold calls to wine merchants in the UK, like David Henderson of Morningside, we shipped a pallet of 70 cases of twelve to a distributing warehouse in England. Whenever we received an order from anywhere in the UK, we could give instructions to the warehouse to ship it on our behalf. They shipped our first order of ten cases to David Henderson.
To celebrate our first sale, we our winemaker to a barbecue along with the many others who’d had a hand in our initial success. There’s nothing the typical Argentine enjoys more than a lively barbecue -- in their word, an ‘asado’ -- when they can be confident that the wine will flow freely to accompany the liver, kidneys, sweetbreads and the many cuts of meat that will follow one after the other, served freshly seared from the embers.
***
Before the evening of our barbecue David Henderson sent another email.
“Read it aloud!” Viviana’s enthusiasm showed.
‘Ten cases of your 2005 cabernet sauvignon sold out. How soon can you let me have another twenty?’
“Whoopee!”
“There’s more! ‘Please let me know the other wines you have available. I’m especially interested in a white.’”
We looked at each other in consternation. All we had in our vineyard were fine cabernet sauvignon vines.
“How will we answer?” We were puzzled.
But that evening at the ‘asado’, as we noisily celebrated our first success, the dilemma was resolved.
“Now that you’ve exported a red, you’re going to be asked for a white!” Edgardo Ibarra, our oenologist, announced this as an inevitability.
“We’ve already been asked! What do we do?”
Our friend Damian Vinci part of the conversation, chimed in. “I can introduce you to reliable friends who own the winery ‘Bodega Familia Giaquinta’ in Tupungato. They produce half-a-dozen reds and several whites. They market it under the Familia Giaquinta label.”
“How does that help us?”
“Some years, they overproduce. They’ll sell you whatever wines in whatever quantities you need from their surplus.”
“You mean we can taste their white wines, choose the one we want, buy it in bulk and then bottle it under Fincas CALEDONIA?” The idea had never occurred to novices Viviana or me.
“You buy your milk under a brand name, don’t you?” Damian asked. I nodded. “Your milk supplier doesn’t own a single cow.” Once Damian mentioned it, this made sense.
“The same is done in the wine industry? Wine is bought from separate wineries and then bottled under the brand name of the buyer?”
“It’s standard. Exactly how it’s done. You must ensure that the characteristics of the wine you buy are those that you want to represent your brand. And your supplier must guarantee these same characteristics year after year. That’s where reliability and trust come in.”
“When can we visit Bodega Familia Giaquinta, Damian?” Viviana was keen to get started.
“How about this weekend? Elba and I will take you in our car. I’ll call the Giaquinta brothers. I’ll tell them what you’re after and they’ll give us a tour their vineyards and winery. We’ll taste all the wines they can offer you and then we’ll all have lunch together.”
***
After the celebratory ‘asado’ was over and after the last guest had gone home at the exhaustingly late hour Argentines favoured, Viviana and I looked at each other.
“We’re on the road to success!”
However, life is seldom quite that simple.
We were on our way to becoming winos, ready to conquer the world.
***
A case of twelve beautifully labelled bottles, each wrapped in fine white tissue paper accompanied us on our next trip to Edinburgh. To our dismay, the elegant wine store on Dundas Street had been converted into a vast restaurant offering free high-speed wi-fi to yuppies enjoying quinoa salad and drinking orange juice.
“Try Henderson’s”, suggested Mike, our label designer and my co-conspirator from that previous life in a part of Europe that lay forsaken behind the Iron Curtain. “It commands a busy corner. David Henderson, the owner, is knowledgeable and looking to expand his offerings. Those who live around that part of Morningside are well-heeled.”
***
“I’d like to speak to David Henderson, please.” I tried to sound confident.
“My father’s on vacation. May I help?”
“I’d like to leave him this wine to taste.” From its pristine white tissue wrapper, I withdrew a beautiful dark bottle bearing our CALEDONIA label and our legend on the back. He accepted it, impressed with all, including the purple capsule.
“I’ll see he gets it.”
Viviana and I repeated that act for wine merchants in Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, and Glasgow.
***
Back home in Argentina, we waited on tenterhooks for one of these wine merchants to contact us. None did. I plucked up enough courage to call David Henderson in Edinburgh. International calls were expensive but we couldn’t wait any longer.
“David Henderson here.”
I introduced myself and then: “I left a bottle of our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon with your son last month. What do you think of it?”
“Your bottle is sitting right here on my desk, Mr Mackay. Unopened.”
“Unopened?” Viviana and I looked at one another aghast.
“The presentation is excellent. Your label with the thistle, the purple capsule and the elegant sliver of Royal Stuart tartan are eye-catching. Your legend is perfect for my clientele.”
Twelve thousand kilometres away from David’s Scottish clientele, Viviana and I were ecstatic.
“But I still have to taste it. I’ll open it for dinner on Sunday and email you first thing on Monday.”
***
The days dragged. Monday arrived and so did David Henderson’s email. Viviana and I read it together.
“I very much enjoyed your Fincas CALEDONIA Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. It has the characteristics of a good claret. I want to stock your wine. Please let me have ten cases to start with.”
Viviana and I hugged. ‘Claret’ is the term the British use for a dry, well-bodied, deep-red Bordeaux. The fortunate comparison would raise the status of our wine in the British market.
***
Anticipating a great future for our wine resulting from our visits and cold calls to wine merchants in the UK, like David Henderson of Morningside, we shipped a pallet of 70 cases of twelve to a distributing warehouse in England. Whenever we received an order from anywhere in the UK, we could give instructions to the warehouse to ship it on our behalf. They shipped our first order of ten cases to David Henderson.
To celebrate our first sale, we our winemaker to a barbecue along with the many others who’d had a hand in our initial success. There’s nothing the typical Argentine enjoys more than a lively barbecue -- in their word, an ‘asado’ -- when they can be confident that the wine will flow freely to accompany the liver, kidneys, sweetbreads and the many cuts of meat that will follow one after the other, served freshly seared from the embers.
***
Before the evening of our barbecue David Henderson sent another email.
“Read it aloud!” Viviana’s enthusiasm showed.
‘Ten cases of your 2005 cabernet sauvignon sold out. How soon can you let me have another twenty?’
“Whoopee!”
“There’s more! ‘Please let me know the other wines you have available. I’m especially interested in a white.’”
We looked at each other in consternation. All we had in our vineyard were fine cabernet sauvignon vines.
“How will we answer?” We were puzzled.
But that evening at the ‘asado’, as we noisily celebrated our first success, the dilemma was resolved.
“Now that you’ve exported a red, you’re going to be asked for a white!” Edgardo Ibarra, our oenologist, announced this as an inevitability.
“We’ve already been asked! What do we do?”
Our friend Damian Vinci part of the conversation, chimed in. “I can introduce you to reliable friends who own the winery ‘Bodega Familia Giaquinta’ in Tupungato. They produce half-a-dozen reds and several whites. They market it under the Familia Giaquinta label.”
“How does that help us?”
“Some years, they overproduce. They’ll sell you whatever wines in whatever quantities you need from their surplus.”
“You mean we can taste their white wines, choose the one we want, buy it in bulk and then bottle it under Fincas CALEDONIA?” The idea had never occurred to novices Viviana or me.
“You buy your milk under a brand name, don’t you?” Damian asked. I nodded. “Your milk supplier doesn’t own a single cow.” Once Damian mentioned it, this made sense.
“The same is done in the wine industry? Wine is bought from separate wineries and then bottled under the brand name of the buyer?”
“It’s standard. Exactly how it’s done. You must ensure that the characteristics of the wine you buy are those that you want to represent your brand. And your supplier must guarantee these same characteristics year after year. That’s where reliability and trust come in.”
“When can we visit Bodega Familia Giaquinta, Damian?” Viviana was keen to get started.
“How about this weekend? Elba and I will take you in our car. I’ll call the Giaquinta brothers. I’ll tell them what you’re after and they’ll give us a tour their vineyards and winery. We’ll taste all the wines they can offer you and then we’ll all have lunch together.”
***
After the celebratory ‘asado’ was over and after the last guest had gone home at the exhaustingly late hour Argentines favoured, Viviana and I looked at each other.
“We’re on the road to success!”
However, life is seldom quite that simple.
Our Fincas CALEDONIA Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
|
Our partner, Familia Giaquinta of Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina
|
The legend we crafted for our enterprise Fincas CALEDONIA
|
Viviana and Ron, founders of Fincas CALEDONIA in 2005
|
Viviana with Edgardo Ibarra, our winemaker, in 2005
|
