The Search for the Perfect Bottle of Wine

Whether your a consumer, restauranteur or wine retailer you're always on the search for the perfect bottle of wine, well I'm here to tell you like Santa Claus & the Easter Bunny, it doesn't exist. Whether I was selling wine to consumers or wine buyers I've come across many who spend way to much time looking, tasting & researching for that perfect bottle. What I find interesting is many are those who are looking in the under $10 price point. With wine being subjective, everybody has their opinion on what a wine should be and what perfection is. I remember working with one restauranteur who was looking for a Pinot Noir for his by the glass list for months and tasted him on almost every one in my portfolio, and after he tasted with me and other sales people he finally made a decision. Fortunately for me it was one I showed him. Another was still considering a $6.50 bottle of red for over 6 weeks, that they had already mentioned they liked. Searching for the perfect wine is the motivation for many consumers & buyers.

Nowadays there are is an ocean wine on the market from all over the globe, and more on the way, so it's no wonder that people think that perfection is somewhere out there a drift. So for those of you that are on the search, just keep in mind it's not the destination but the journey.

The Narrow Minded Wine Buyer

As I have chosen a career in the wine industry I've been on both sides of the equation, buying & selling. Buying for retailers and selling both wholesale & retail, I've come across many narrowed minded people.. retailers, restaurateurs and consumers who choose not embrace the ever evolving world of wine. Even after 18 years in the industry I am always learning about new varietals, wine regions, etc. that become available. I only wish more people would not take wine so seriously to the point where they won't try something new and tend to play it safe w/ predictable purchases. I understand that there is only so much shelve space in a retail shop or so much room on a restaurant's wine list, but to hear some of the excuses is somewhat sad. Most of the excuses come from people who started a career doing something else & liked wine or cashed in some stock options and opened a wine bar/retailer. It's usually these people who feel that actually "selling" wine becomes a burden. Some will say "I don't have demand for ...", so do you create the demand using passion & enthusiasm, not to mention there are many opportunities nowadays to taste consumers. I look at like which comes first, the chicken or the egg.

Wine is meant to be fun and enjoyable and part of the fun is being open to new varietals such as Malvasia, Tannat, Gamay, etc. Having spoken to other wine industry people and even tasted wine w/ them we've wondered why more people don't embrace lesser known varietals. After all grapes are grapes like apples are apples with similar textures but different uses and taste profiles and their is not something so off the charts in there taste. The best advice I can give to people about wine is to keep an opened mind. Another post I did which may be the precursor to this one. http://pullingcorksandforks.blogspot.com/2010/07/youre-not-into-wine-if.html