Puglian'swill', eh?

These reviews are three years old written by the people who are selling the wine...what you you expect them to write?

I thought these were restaurant owners.

Bi!! wrote:

Do you actually read the links that you submit here? They are restaurant owners but if you had actually read the link or gone to their web page you would see that they have and online wine sales program as the link that you submitted was a pre-order form for the wines that they were touting for that month. Would you expect them to be any more fair or accurate than Parker, WS, et al? At least Parker has nothing to sell but his advice. Why you would give creedence to a small restaurant owner in Sonoma who is trying to sell wines online is beyond me. FWIW, the web page for this restaurant hasn't been updated since 2003 so if you're going to quote a link from the web make sure it's at least current.

Why would they be biased? Being restaurant owners, why would they would be interested in giving bad advice? They don't have to please advertisers for Opus One, for instance.

Are you that naive? They're selling wine!!! It's called MARKETING. They have an internet mail order wine business running from their restaurant...if it's still open. They would be biased because they're not going to tell anybody that the wine is swill even if it is because the point is to sell wine and food....good bad or otherwise. BTW, Opus One sells every bottle it makes every year and doesn't have to advertise. It is a highly allocated wine here in Ohio and I doubt if you actually saw someone buying a whole case (it comes in 6 packs) of it since the entire State only receives a small allotment each year and very few wine stores in Columbus get much more than a 6 pack. I'm a wine wholesaler in Columbus and I know virtually every retail store owner in Columbus.

Bi!! wrote:

Scarpetti wrote

Well, maybe it was a mixed case I saw him buying. I wasn't that close to see.

Regardless, Opus One is a big joke to the wine retailers. One clerk just laughed when I pointed to it, and asked: 'What sort of customer buys this stuff?'

I'm sure that this wine is not worth $165.

Why can't I get Il Falcone or Giacosa Grignolino? These wines were readily available formerly.

FWIW, Opus One comes in wooden cases holding 6 bottles. It's worth is what the market will bear and the market seems to bear a lot more than $165. The wine is not a joke to retailers...it's a huge money maker. They can charge more than State minimum and it never has to sit in inventory. Quick turnover, large profit margins...I can see why it's such a joke to retailers.

I didn't know that Giacosa made Grignolino and the Il Falcone is a tough sell so I suspect that not much of it makes it to Ohio. I don't carry either wine.

Bi!! wrote:

M Scarpetti wrote:

It's a joke from the price/quality standpoint.

One of the best I have ever had..

Il Falcone a 'tough sell'? How so? Too many retailers let the wine magazines inform their customers and 'mold' the market. Personal service is not as good as I would like to see. Many retailers simply stock what they think people want. So, you have little leadership on the part of the props to do any 'selling'. To me, this makes little sense. Why carry mostly wine that customers can buy anywhere? With a little effort, you can turn a customer on to something that only you carry. That customer will become a loyal one. Even if another shop starts carrying it, the customer will tend to buy from the retailer that provided the 'tip'.

Too bad. When I was in Florence for a few day about 10 years ago, tried to find some Grignolino, but the shops had mostly Tuscan wines and some Piedmontese. When I was at the airport, I saw a woman carrying some wine. Guess what it was! Grignolino!!! I was so mad I could spit!!!!

In the 19th century, Grignolino was the most highly respected wine in Piedmont.

They're laughing all the way to the bank.

Having never tried the wine I don't know how you could say that. Polly. Besides, I don't know why you pick on Opus One. It not like it's the latest cult wine or anything. It's not even yesterday's news, it's last decade's news.

They stock what sells.

Ever been in wine retail?

Because it puts food on the table.

With a little effort and a big financial risk. What if the wines don't sell despite their best efforts. Are they going to throw all that money down the drain? Until Italian wines are perceived in a better light in the US, they just aren't going to sell as well as wines from other countries. It's a financial risk to any retailer that stocks a lot. And frankly, your hated Parker and WS have probably done more in getting the word out in the US on quality Italian wines than anyone else because they do have a big audience that read and follow their recommendations.

Of course retailers are willing to take some risk if they think the potential pay off is good enough but why should they choose Italian wines. There are so many wines from around the world they can turn their customers on to. Why should they pick Italian especially when the perceived QPR is so low?

Until another retailer starts selling it for less. Then the customer is gone in most cases.

Andy

On six bottles a year?

It's American. No American wine can be worth $165.

Most wine shops around Columbus carry significant amounts of Italian wine at all price points. Even carry-outs carry Cavit Pinot Grigio. My point was why say Il Falcone is a tough sell? It's a great value.

Not in many states. The price is fixed by law. In Ohio, it's 150% of cost. $10 wholesale translates into $15 retail. In other words, there is no price competition.

JEP62: Certain retailers have reputations among consumers of having knowledge of Italian wines and some rarities in stock. Same goes for Burgundy, Germany, Spain etc. A wholesaler will make sure this store gets offers & samples despite the sales volume of the store.

Many stores lacking the capital or resources to stock everything, decide to appeal to a "niche" market.

That's why I was hired part time to work for a retailer--because I knew Italian & California wine. Odds were if we didn't carry an Italian wine--it was not available. Same thing with new wineries in California(this was in the mid 1980's).

Later as a wholesaler & broker, that was my "rep". In wine shops I was pointed out to customers as someone who brings in La Tutti de Fruiti just for them. That's how I competed to the big boys---finding a niche that raises the profile of the shop.

Any store that sells spirits, beer & wine is doing it for the money and do have to curb their enthusiasms so their inventory of uncommon wines is wide not deep. I saw one store stock up on Burgundy, because the owner loved it, but very few consumers were buying Burgundy. The only was they got sold was in a pre-bankruptcy sale!

Yes, there are several wine shopes close to each other in the Tri-Village area of Columbus, (Grandview, Marble Cliff. and Upper Arlington). Each shop carries different mixes of wines, though of course some lines of wine will be found at all of the shops. Why do I go to some shops rather than others? Taken together, these four or five shops cover a lot of territory. Each one does not have to carry an enormous range of less popular or obscure wines, but if each carries a few, that's good enough for most purposes. The main problem is not with the retailers but with the distributors. If I want a particular wine, most of these retailers can get it in a day or two if the distributor carries it.

Correct. I know some stores that carry lots of German wines that few other stores bother with.

Precisely.

Correct. That's why you find 50 bottles of Pinot Grigio and hardly anything else in Italian whites.

I don't know any retailer that is going to sneeze at $330 (if not more) for taking no risk and doing no work. Just get the wine and out it goes. And hopefully become the go to store for people that are willing to spend more than $5.99 for 1.5 liters even if the $5.99 guy is his bread and butter customer.

Why do you have to come up with such assinine statements? It really shows your total lack of knowledge in wines.

Who's promoting it?

I've never looked at the Ohio laws, but usually those laws set a minimum markup not a set price.

One of the reason some retailers carry more obscure wine is because they can take a higher mark up as there is no local competition. If they can get customers interested, they have a higher profit margin so it's worth taking a risk on an unknown. The problem is that as soon as it becomes popular, other stores start to carry it and the original retailer is forced to reduce the mark up to the minimum or lose the customers.

Andy

"Beppe"

I agree with what you say. There are certainly stores that fit this mold, but I would suggest they are a small percentage. The average retailer must carry what the customer wants if they want to stay in business. They may bring in and push a few new things but they just can't afford to go too far.

Many years ago, I worked in liquor retail for a relatively large chain. We had a reputation for carrying high end wines with a wide selection for those that were interested.

First rule of retail, you have to sell what people want to buy.

Andy

I have never tasted any American wine that approached the better wines of Italy, Spain, or F_____.

Who's promoting most imports?

The markup is set at three levels. Pretty much means price fixing. There are hardly any wines under $9 these days, from anywhere.

The markup is the same on the obsure ones.

That's an empty statement. Means less than nothing since you claim to only drink Italian wines. Your lack of experience doesn't prove your point.

I could easily say; I've never met an Ohio resident that has shown even a basic understanding of good wine.

It depends. Many times it's the winery itself through advertising or more commonly through various wine tastings. Importers promote certain wines, as do wholesalers.

My rhetorical question was supposed to get you to think rather than reply. If no one is promoting the wine, what incentive does the retailer have to risk money to stock it.

Again, I don't know Ohio's laws, but it doesn't work this way in other states.

In other states there certainly are. Many choices from around the word.

Not in most states. It sounds like your problem is with the way Ohio does things rather than the way things work in a (semi) free market society.

Andy

Here's one Ohio resident who understands that wine and food are inseparable. To lean all about 'wine' without including food is idiotic.

I doubt that very much imported wine is advertised at all. When glancing through win mags, very few imported wines are actually advertised. Paterno and a few others advertise.

A few.

They're here, but almost nothing below $9.

I hate the system here.

You don't really understand the system in Ohio. Discounts are allowed and available below State minimum. If you don't like the system in Ohio...MOVE! Or better yet buy direct or online.....both are legal in Ohio.

A few.

They're here, but almost nothing below $9.

I hate the system here.

Only recently has it become legal to buy from out of state. State minimum is state minimum, though a 10% discount is allowed on case lots at retail. Occasionally, special promotions are given by the distributors.