I confess I never thought of door-to-door as an effective way to sell wine.
So when I opened the door to a sad-eyed fellow, rain streaming off his
rumpled trench coat and thin white hair, I expected a pitch for insulation
or perhaps some gadget.

I should mention that the farm here is more than isolated. On a dead end
miles from the village, we see more hikers discovering the park than sales
people. Basically you come here if you've got business, like the bee man
delivering honey every few months, or the boulangere three times a week
with the bread.

Eyes a bit downcast he asked if we were interested in buying wine. Adele
was suspicious, but I looked out and saw an old van, with "vins fins" showing
through the mud, parked outside. So I invited him in, and he hurried back with
one of those wide sample cases French salesmen treasure so.

It was a short visit. Turned out I'd already tried one of his stock while purchasing
foie gras from a local producer. An OK Jurancon but not great balance (too cloying)
and not worth buying. The others were thin reds, cheap in price and flavor;
the man seemed depressed and nearly embarrassed, he quickly retreated muttering
"not your style is all." We felt bad and wondered how the poor guy can make a
living, but what can you do?

This was just after Christmas. Flash ahead to last weekend. I was out mowing
the lawn, when I car pulls up. Out jumps a spry old lady, looking for directions
to a local Dolmen for a book she's writing. She was very polite, so we conversed
for a while, at which point her son, (although in his 60s), acting as chauffeur,
joined us. Conversation continued -- as is often true in the deep country we knew
some of the same people -- and it turned out that he is a door-to-door wine
salesman. So, we arranged for him to come back with the inevitable sample case.

Now, a different kettle of fish. This is clearly someone with a culture and love of
wine. He represents several producers in the SW. Only 4 wines in fit in the sample
case, so this is what we tried.

1. Ch. de Gourgazaud, Chardonnay, VdP d'Oc, 2005. "elevé en fut"

Big custard nose, rich malo chard with no new oak, good balance, but
very new world. Not really my cup of tea, but Adele liked and at 7.75 EU
clearly a good deal. Bought 6. Tried with scallops in bread sauce last night,
did very well.

2. Ch. de Gourgazuad, Minervois 05.

Brambly nose, funky mourvedre (40%) in the mouth, tannic but decent balance,
a little one dimensional but what do you want for 6.75 EU? Still, Adele wasn't
thrilled so we passed, even though I liked it.

3. Borie de Maurel, Minervois 05 "Esprit d'Automne"

This is the entry level wine of the well known domaine. Their cuvee Sylla has
gotten raves all over (Parker noted it in the 90s) which is why it costs 25 EU.
But this blend of grenache and carignan is 7.50 EU, and it opened immediately
with a warm and balanced nose of bramble and spice, in the mouth pepper,
nice balance again for near term drinking, solid lush fruit, herbs, and excellent length.
We bought 12, great deal, highly recommended.

4. Ch. Salitis Cabardès 03 "Cuvée prémium"

I'm sure I've had a Cabardès sometime, but can't remember much about it.
This one is 5 cepages, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, côt (malbec), syrah and
grenache. I wondered about the assemblage and vine age; our salesman
didn't know but then actually telephoned back later after getting the info
from the owners: 40 % grenache, 30% cabernet, 20% syrah the others in
smaller quantity, average vine age in this cuvée is 30 years. Tight and
structured stone fruit, leather in the nose and a bit of bandaid that blew off.
Fine structure and balance, concentration of kirsch but a little tight. I
am very suspicious of 2003 especially from the south, but they certainly
did a fine job under the circumstances. I have a few stylistic quibbles here
but it may be that it will relax in a few years. A steal at 7 EU, we bought 12.

So having once again remarked to Toto on the unlikelyhood of this being
the Sunflower State, we arranged for a next visit with different samples for
mid May, then sat down to lunch and a comparison of our two salesmen.

Even though we bought 30 bottles from the second, it's clearly low margin
stuff. After factoring 10 EU for gas, he probably made around 50 EU, for
an hour tasting, opened 4 bottles fresh. Plus he has to go down to get the
wine, (he ships only a little), which must cost a bundle. And, he deals only
with individuals, not restaurants. (One wonders: why?) What a tough way
to make a living...

-E

--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Would of course never see this in US, due to alcohol licensing
restrictions. Closest would be the company that used to throw parties
to sell dreck.

Feel sorry for the Willie Loman type.

Indeed a hard way to make a living. But my guess is a geek like you
isn't the target audience. Like an insurance salesman, they're looking
for residuals. Their prime customer is the person who likes wine but
doesn't really think about it. Taste a wine they like, and order a
couple of cases per month, drinking a bottle most nights. The variety-
seeking geek isn't the target.

Thanks for write-up, interesting peek into a part of wine missing in
US.

Hello,
Yes, the cost aspect. Last summer, self, Xina, and 4 of our friends visited
a bloody lovely producer in Meursault. Couche-Bizouard, to wit. Not
Couche-Dury (did not ask him but I heard they are kind of cousins). Wer had
called well in advance and booked a cellar tasting, MC-d by M Couche
himself. A lesson for anyone who believes there is no such thing as terroir.
He opens bottle after bottle, starting with the lowly but sparky ALigoté,
working his way up through the Bourgogne appelation system, the Bourgogne
Blanc, the lesser communes (St Romain, Auxey-Duresses), then homing in on
Meursault - the base commune cuvée, the lieu-dits, then, the premier crus
.... I asked about vinification. All the same, he said. 18 months in barrel,
no differences (except the St Romain, which was a 2003 and had only done 12
months in barrel). That bottle from a plot there and there, this from
another plot, 200 m closer to the Route National ... that one all of three
kilometers to the West ... all different, in some cases completely
different.
Anyway. The point. Yes. THe point. The point being that M Couche opened
wines (yes, he only poured from bottles he opened in front of our very eyes,
despite the fact that he had just held another tasting, and there were
half-empty bottles galore - these he just put on the floor, and pulled out
new ones, with the air of a MAgician, producing more and mroe complicated
rabbits ... I already said that in a previous post, didn't I? Sorry.)
The price of the bottles he opened, over the counter, amounted to somethng
like EU 400.
I don't know how much we shopped for, but I rather doubt it came out with a
profit for him. We did buy rather a lot (and self and Xina has been back,
later, and bought some more, without any tasting).
I get the feeling that our good wine producers are walking a very thin line,
at times. Some of the old ones said, several years back, that you could
always tell who were cheating with their wines -those were the ones driving
costly sports cars.

If you come to Meursault, please contact Couche Bizouard. I dare say you
will not regret it.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf
--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se

On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:42:09 +0100, Emery Davis
> wrote:

--magnificent story of joy and desparation snipped mercillessly--

>Even though we bought 30 bottles from the second, it's clearly low margin
>stuff. After factoring 10 EU for gas, he probably made around 50 EU, for
>an hour tasting, opened 4 bottles fresh. Plus he has to go down to get the
>wine, (he ships only a little), which must cost a bundle. And, he deals only
>with individuals, not restaurants. (One wonders: why?) What a tough way
>to make a living...
>
>-E

Think about it. He loves wine and loves people apparently. He roams
the country side bringing joy and wonder to folks who appreciate what
he offers. There's no hassle of fitting in between the sous-chef and
the maestro's argument in the aspiring Michelin kitchen, only relaxed
time spent with people who welcome his arrival. Gotta be a GREAT way
to make a living.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

Nils Gustaf Lindgren wrote:
<SNIP grat story>
> If you come to Meursault, please contact Couche Bizouard. I dare say you
> will not regret it.

That sounds like a great item for the Bourgogne FAQ <poke poke> ;-)

Mark Lipton

On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:58:04 GMT
Ed Rasimus > wrote:

> On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:42:09 +0100, Emery Davis
> > wrote:
>
> --magnificent story of joy and desparation snipped mercillessly--
>
> >Even though we bought 30 bottles from the second, it's clearly low margin
> >stuff. After factoring 10 EU for gas, he probably made around 50 EU, for
> >an hour tasting, opened 4 bottles fresh. Plus he has to go down to get the
> >wine, (he ships only a little), which must cost a bundle. And, he deals only
> >with individuals, not restaurants. (One wonders: why?) What a tough way
> >to make a living...
> >
> >-E
>
> Think about it. He loves wine and loves people apparently. He roams
> the country side bringing joy and wonder to folks who appreciate what
> he offers. There's no hassle of fitting in between the sous-chef and
> the maestro's argument in the aspiring Michelin kitchen, only relaxed
> time spent with people who welcome his arrival. Gotta be a GREAT way
> to make a living.
>

You're a dreamer, Ed. And I mean that as a compliment.

Good Willie, (we called them Good Willie and Bad Willie), actually
expressed some pleasure at the fact that we knew something about
wine. He estimated that 5% of his clients are reasonably knowledgeable.
So I think most of the comments he hears are of the "yeah, pretty smooth"
sort.

However unlike Bad Willie he only shows up on appointment, so that's
got to make things quite a bit easier.

-E


--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:43:48 GMT
"Nils Gustaf Lindgren" > wrote:

> If you come to Meursault, please contact Couche Bizouard. I dare say you
> will not regret it.

Thanks, I will make a point of it. Sounds like a wonderful tasting. Tales (and
experiences) like this only serve to make the US "pay to taste" business
all the more painful for me...

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 15:44:31 +0100, Emery Davis
> wrote:

>On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:58:04 GMT
>Ed Rasimus > wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 14:42:09 +0100, Emery Davis
>> > wrote:
>>
>> --magnificent story of joy and desparation snipped mercillessly--
>>
>> >Even though we bought 30 bottles from the second, it's clearly low margin
>> >stuff. After factoring 10 EU for gas, he probably made around 50 EU, for
>> >an hour tasting, opened 4 bottles fresh. Plus he has to go down to get the
>> >wine, (he ships only a little), which must cost a bundle. And, he deals only
>> >with individuals, not restaurants. (One wonders: why?) What a tough way
>> >to make a living...
>> >
>> >-E
>>
>> Think about it. He loves wine and loves people apparently. He roams
>> the country side bringing joy and wonder to folks who appreciate what
>> he offers. There's no hassle of fitting in between the sous-chef and
>> the maestro's argument in the aspiring Michelin kitchen, only relaxed
>> time spent with people who welcome his arrival. Gotta be a GREAT way
>> to make a living.
>>
>
>You're a dreamer, Ed. And I mean that as a compliment.
>
>Good Willie, (we called them Good Willie and Bad Willie), actually
>expressed some pleasure at the fact that we knew something about
>wine. He estimated that 5% of his clients are reasonably knowledgeable.
>So I think most of the comments he hears are of the "yeah, pretty smooth"
>sort.
>
>However unlike Bad Willie he only shows up on appointment, so that's
>got to make things quite a bit easier.
>
>-E

As I get older, I tend more toward the philosophical and less to the
pragmatic. Doing something you enjoy is a great gift. Doing something
you hate because you have to in order to make ends meet is a dreary
existance for certain.

That being said, I can relate the experience of last week visiting a
few wineries in the Texas Hill Country. I've already mentioned my
pleasant surprise, in general, at the quality of the offerings, but I
can imagine the tedium of dealing daily with a parade of redneck
bubbas asking if they've got anything a bit more like Annie
Greensprings or maybe Mateus.

Almost had a cardiac trying to stifle the laughter at a ill-mannered
eight year old running amok at Becker Vineyards tasting room raving to
his mommy about the great wine smells emanating from the spit
bucket--Sideways for youngsters....


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

Emery Davis > wrote in
:

> On Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:43:48 GMT
> "Nils Gustaf Lindgren" > wrote:
>
>> If you come to Meursault, please contact Couche Bizouard. I dare say
>> you will not regret it.
>
> Thanks, I will make a point of it. Sounds like a wonderful tasting.
> Tales (and experiences) like this only serve to make the US "pay to
> taste" business all the more painful for me...

The US is not uniformly 'pay to taste'.

In Oregon's Willamette Valley, it's fairly evenly divided, with some others
that will set free tastings for the more ordinary of their wines, but
require payment for their better offerings.

Washington Walla Walla area is mostly pay to taste, the Yakima Valley
rarely pay to taste.

And for most of the above, if you buy, your tasting fee is waived.