Page 58 - Wine Spectator (January 2020)

HOW TO BUY WINE
online-only purchase.
Dave Derby, senior vice
president of marketing for
California-based Trinchero
Family Estates (TFE), a
20-million-case group of
brands whose business is
overwhelmingly rooted in
retail, notes that all the sin-
gle-vineyard bottlings from
luxury brand Trinchero
Napa Valley are available
exclusively via the website
and in the tasting room.
With a few notable ex-
ceptions, you’ll pay full re-
tail when buying directly.
However, part of what
you’re paying for is peace
of mind: You’ll know the
provenance of your wines
is immaculate. And direct
relationships with the
minds behind the wines can be a reward unto themselves. Jack
Miller, a San Diego–based wine lover, buys 18 to 20 cases a year via
the mailing lists of top California producers including Marcassin,
Aubert, Kistler and Sine Qua Non. “We have a dialogue now with
[estate director] Philip Gift at Aubert,” he says. “Occasionally, I’ll
call someone at Kistler and have a question about a particular age-
worthiness of a wine, or what’s that vintage like.”
Direct purchase has its quirks, but it overdelivers in consistency,
quality and relationship-building capacity. What often begins with
a casual tasting-room visit can lead to personal relationships with
vintners and a cellar full of wines you love. Read on for our primer
on the top forms of access.
Tasting rooms
Foot traffic can be a critical first step in the producer-customer re-
lationship, and vintners are investing accordingly. “It’s kind of an
arms race right now,” says Derby of TFE. He points out that the
standing-room-only tasting rooms of yore have been upgraded in
recent years due to changing demands. “People like to hang out,”
he says. “They want the whole experience.” Five of TFE’s brands—
Sutter Home, Neyers, Terra d’Oro, Napa Cellars and Trinchero Napa
Valley—offer tasting rooms, all with comfy seating, views, snacks
and a soundtrack. You can taste the wines “without a lot of pressure
of somebody trying to sell you wine.” And yet, according to a report
by industry group WineDirect, in 2018, 33% or more of direct sales
in the U.S. came through tasting room visits and events.
Websites and digital tools
Loads of producers today offer online sales portals. Carver says that
of all the direct channels available to her—phone, on-site sales,
email and other digital tools—she sells the most wine via Big Table’s
website. She’s also perfectly happy to do business on unconventional
platforms, such as text message and Instagram’s direct-messaging app.
“People want to be able to get wine in the most convenient way,”
54 WINE SPECTATOR • JAN. 31 – FEB. 29, 2020
she says. “Sometimes, you just want to send a quick text
or a DM. I do try to meet my customers where they are.”
Mailing lists
Many elite producers sell their wares almost entirely via
coveted spots on a private mailing list, ensuring that
members receive regular shipments of A-list wines of
trustworthy provenance. It began in the 1990s with the
boom of California cult wines such as Sine Qua Non,
Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estate. Don Weaver, estate
director at Harlan, recalls the “frenzied interest” of 1996,
the year Harlan offered its inaugural 1990 vintage. “I had
to remember to check the fax paper supply,” he recalls.
“These things just came in at an alarming rate. There
would be a roll several dozens of yards long when I came
back from my lunch break.”
That year, Harlan’s mailing list totaled a few thousand
subscribers for 300 cases of wine. Today, the estate sells
55% to 60% of its 2,000 to 2,400 cases via the list. Each
member is offered between three and 12 bottles of wine
once a year, though they have to get off the waitlist first,
which can take up to three years, by Weaver’s estimate.
“Some [waitlists] are quicker than you might expect,”
Miller says. “I thought the Marcassin list was going to be a long
wait, but it was less than a year.”
Once you make it onto a mailing list, expect offerings between
one and three times a year. The number and quality of wines of-
fered are usually based on a couple different levers. “There may be
a little more art than science to it,” Weaver says. “We try to reward
loyalty and consistency.”
Figuring out how many bottles to order can be a matter of trial
and error; Miller recommends being particularly mindful about
white wines. “Unless you like an older-style Chardonnay, you need
to be careful that you don’t end up with a couple cases or more of
stuff that you don’t really like.”
Once you’re in the allocation game, you’re generally expected
to buy wine with every offering or risk losing your hard-won
spot—a habit that can quickly become expensive. The 2017 Har-
lan Estate went for $900 a bottle on allocation (a significant
discount compared with the $1,500 it will command at general
release). Weaver notes that he tries to be understanding, but if
you miss more than one order window, “Typically, we’re going to
offer that allocation to somebody else.”
Wine clubs
Similar to allocation lists, wine clubs offer a way to ensure a con-
sistent stream of wine deliveries. There’s generally no waitlist, prices
tend to be accessible, and shipments are often scheduled automati-
cally. Derby explains that the TFE brands with tasting rooms all
offer wine club subscriptions. Depending on the brand, members
receive between four and 12 bottles of wine three to four times a
year, in addition to benefits like access to private events in the
tasting room and free or discounted on-site tastings. And at bench-
mark California producer Ridge, members of the winery’s Advance
Tasting Program enjoy perks including exclusive access to limited-
run single-vineyard wines, as well as complimentary tastings at the
estate’s Santa Cruz Mountains and Sonoma County properties.