#1 Restaurant Owner
We sell a lot of wine to a lot of restaurants and for good reason. Consider Joe: he is a restauranteur who is busy running his business and literally putting out fires on a daily basis. Although he enjoys wine, he does not have a wine background. Most of the information he has garnered over the years is as a result of sitting through tastings with sales reps from the large liquor companies. Joes does not have a full-time sommelier or wine director on staff. Joes buys in the traditional way by meeting with sales representatives, most likely from one of the Top 5 largest distribution companies. He is often tired and busy, so he just reorders the same wines on the wine list and barely has time to taste through the products that are presented to him. Joe considers a couple of his existing sales reps as “friends,” but he has often wondered if he is missing a world of wine that could be available to him. Although Joe is interested to compare quality and pricing, he does not have the time, energy, or motivation to do so. When Joes was presented with an opportunity to order wine online, learn about the product at any time, and try the wine with a guarantee, he was convinced to order from OneVineWines.com. In addition, he learned that he could earn points on his credit card by ordering online and accure rewards for his well deserved vacation.
#2 Retail Buyer
Jane works as a wine buyer and store manager at a well-regarded neighborhood wine and liquor retail store. Jane is constantly watching the big box competition with their loss leaders and volume pricing discounts that she cannot match. Although Jane is interested to offer unique and distinctive wines that aren’t available at her competitor’s stores, she is concerned whether her employees can hand sell new items. She cannot always be on the floor, as she is often struggling to keep employees out of trouble. Based on history, Jane knows wines with high critical evaluations from WS, JS, VM, WA, WE, etc. will sell. She buys wines that sell. Given her years of experience, Jane knows what wines are of interest to her regular customers. Since many of her employees are new to wine speak, she would like simple, concise nuggets of info to include on an in-store shelf talker or to be able to share with customers. Upon discovering the wine notes and bullet points provided by OneVineWines.com, she was thrilled to discover new and interesting products that had not previously been presented to her.
#3 Beverage Director
Brian works at a four star hotel and oversees purchases for catering and a top restaurant that serves hundreds of people a day. Brian runs non-stop, darts in and out of innumerable meetings daily, and he’s inundated with personnel issues, paperwork, and corporate requirements, in addition to daily management tasks. Brian has little time to spend tasting and sourcing wines. Most of the wines in Brian’s hotel are mandated by corporate, leaving him little room to experiment with new products for his local market. He relies almost entirely on the Top 3 major distributors for product, education, promotional information, and selection. Although Brian is under the gun to make margins and meet inventory requirements, he is limited in his ability to truly compare quality and pricing with small to medium sized distributors. Upon learning about OneVineWines.com, Brian shared the website with his corporate team and together, they are making decisions on new wine products. Brian has incorporated an innovative program to off wine specials of these wines in the lobby bar happy hour. Guests have enjoyed the new wines, and margins are up because the wines are not well known brands available in national grocery stores.
#4 Local Wine Buyer
Eddie works in a local bistro in a small town with two high seasons followed by two shoulder seasons, each lasting about three months. Eddie has been managing the bar and restaurant for years, and has the full confidence of the ownership to manage staff and keep an eye on margins. Eddie receives a lot of wine lovers who travel from all over the country, and he knows he could sell a diverse array of products to his clients because they trust his expertise. The problem, however, is that only the largest two or three wine and liquor distributors have reps in his small town. After a friend in the San Francisco restaurant industry recommended OneVineWines.com to him, Eddie became a regular client. Eddie’s guests love being turned on to wines they’ve never heard of, and the ownership loves happy guests and handsome margins.
#5 Emerging Sommelier
Annie is a part of a younger generation of folks who saw the movie Somm and got excited about the prospect of being in the romantic wine industry. Now, she is grinding through a lot of hours to fulfill management duties in order to learn about wine and pursue her dream of becoming a sommelier. Although she joined the Guild Somm online and obtained her first pin, she has been too busy to study. Annie has already surpassed her supplier reps knowledge in many ways, and is seeking some new and expressive wines to keep her engaged and to dazzle clients. Since she is pressed for time, Annie often studies about wine and places her wine orders after midnight. Upon learning about OneVineWines.com, she was ecstatic to see all of the product information presented in a readable way that she could share with her staff and guests. Annie loves the more exotic AVA’s and regional wines that One Vine offers. She also loves to see reviews from her peers and Master Sommeliers. Her boss is content to give her free reign, as long as she is engaged and able to sell the wines for a profit in a reasonable amount of time.