Fine Wine Confidential Podcast

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In this Episode #7, I detail how I unwittingly jumped in and tried to make a significant change in the wine industry by trying to undo the Franchise Law protection that the alcoholic beverage wholesale distributors have in this country. These Laws are a vestige of the repeal of Prohibition and harm the wine producers in the most unfair way possible in well over half of the states in the country.

I started a new organization on the heels of the Coalition for Free Trade's successful Supreme Court ruling that was issued on May 16, 2005, which allowed the direct shipment of wine from the producer to consumers throughout most of this country. 

The new organization was aptly named Wine Fair Trade Coalition (WFTC), as the goal was to provide the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with a roadmap for them to investigate and help, as they did in their work that helped set a course for the CFT's successful fight. However, it turned out to be a fool's errand in the long run.

Take a listen.

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Episode #6 describes my initial encounter with the bureaucracy in the wine business. It was when I went to work at William Hill Winery back in 1984 and was introduced to the world of Franchise Laws. 

Franchise Laws come in many shapes and sizes in the country, but essentially, what they are written to do is protect the alcoholic wholesaler distributors in this country. In the case I outline, it is in the state of Georgia, which has far and away the most protective and egregious law in the land. Literally, if a wine producer signs on with a Georgia distributor, that distributor now owns the rights to the brand for life. The only recourse a producer has is to withdraw from the market for three years or have their brand transferred to another distributor in the market, which may or may not be any better. Crazy stuff.

I guess because Georgia was initially established as a Penal Colony, they like the thought of having the wine producer in leg irons, where they are the Judge and Jury. You are not going to believe what you are going to hear in this Episode.

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This Episode shares a firsthand account of some of my early wine-buying visits to top California wine producers in 1981 & 1982. It is just a small sample of what I encountered at a time when the early wine producers were just beginning to become well known on the East Coast, thanks to my and my best friend Jim Arseneault's efforts as we introduced them to our respective wine-loving consumer clients in Washington, D.C.

I profile 3 wineries, Mayacamas Vineyards, Kistler, & La Crema Vinera. The latter is not to be confused with the wine producer known as La Crema today, which is owned by Jackson Family Wines.

I know you will find this snippet informative and entertaining at the same time. 

Listen below or read the transcript.

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In this snippet from my upcoming book, I share a story about my first time on the streets of New York, calling on accounts and selling William Hill wines in only the second week after I had taken the position as VP of Sales for the 
Eastern Division at William Hill Winery. Some Division, I was a one-man show and responsible for half of the country east of the Mississippi. 

In this episode, I detail my account call at the famous Sparks Steakhouse in Manhattan. It would become even more infamous a year later when Paul (Big Paul) Castellano would be whacked sitting in his car outside of the restaurant in a Mob-related reputedly ordered by John Gotti.

This account call posed an immediate challenge to both my instincts and sales ability. However, I put to the test what I believed based on my experience, and that was, most people buy wine based on the way it smells, not on how it tastes.

Take a listen or read the transcript.

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In this episode I share a story about one of the actions I took early in my career that change the course for me. 

It was 1979 and I had just been hired 5 months before at a Retail Wine Merchant in Washington, DC. I was promoted by the owner of A & A Wine & Spirits, Harry Cook, to be the American Wine Department manager. 

I wanted to test him right away to see if I had both the responsibility in this new position, along with most importantly the authority to order for purchase the wine I believed we needed to build our selection into one of the finest in the city.

It was quite the test, and he passed. I believe you will enjoy this brief excerpt

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Episode 2 provides a brief overview of what my book is about and my goal in writing it. 

To sum it up quickly, let me say that I have been fortunate to have had many unique and challenging experiences in my 46-year wine career, and I want to share these with anyone who is interested and curious about what really happens behind the scenes in the wine industry from growing grapes, producing wine and then the obstacles that wine producers face in marketing, selling and the distribution of their wine through the bryzanine archacia distribution system that was set up in the aftermath of the repeal of Prohibition.

The Wine Industry is a patchwork of laws that make it like selling wine in 50 different countries. There is nothing uniform about it. You will be left shaking your head once you have read my book and question why anyone would want to be in this industry. Unless of course you are one of the protected class, read Liquor & Wine Distributor.

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The Fine Wine Confidential Book Podcast is a series of audio excerpts or snippets from my upcoming book, titled Fine Wine Confidential.  

This new Podcast series will share insider information about what really happens behind the scenes in the Fine Wine business. Everything, from the up-close look at how marketing, sales, and pricing decisions are made to the sometimes crazy notions winery founders and owners have about who they are and why they have had success. 

I will tell you from my experience that most of their success is a result not of their decisions but the recovery efforts by their staff or outside help to overcome the not-so-brilliant direction they were headed. You couple that with good timing and other market conditions that were not of their making, and that usually explains the success they enjoyed. I will lay it all out there for you to decide for yourself once you have heard the stories.    

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Here is Part 2 of my in-depth interview with Lucie Morton where we continue to discuss the differences between Norton and Cynthiana grapes. 

We also cover her attempt to reclaim another Virginia native grape, Cunningham which one of her familial ancestors is connected to here in Virginia. 

Finally, Lucie will describe her proverbial Ah Ha moment when she decided that she would produce her upcoming documentary film titled "Odessey of Forbidden wines, exile and return of American grapes." 

This interview is packed with many more insightful comments and history from Lucie and is a fitting last episode in my All About Virginia Norton podcast series. 

Take a listen or read the transcript below. 

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Lucie Morton is the World's most preeminent Ampelographer, if not the only one still living that practices this art in the wine industry. I know, you are asking yourself what is Ampelography? Well, Lucie will explain that in some detail in this episode. 

In fact, this interview was filled with so many insights that I have chosen to break it up into 2 parts. In Part 1 we touch on many areas of winegrowing with a focus on American Heritage grapes and their demise and rediscovering. One of which, the Cunningham Grape, another Virginia native grape Lucie is in the process of recovering, it is going through the quarantine requirements, and her nephew plans to plant it on their original family farm on the banks of the Potomac River in King George County, Virginia.

Lucie is also in the process of producing a film called the Odessey of Forbidden Wines, Exile and return of American grapes. We will discuss that in detail in Part 2. 

I could go on about Lucie's many accomplishments, but I will let the Episode speak to it instead. Enjoy the listening. You will be as fascinated as I am every time I engage Lucie in a discussion about winegrowing.

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It is safe to say that Kendell Anderson the featured winemaker in this Episode #20 started his career in the Wine Industry in a most unconventional way. He graduated from William & Mary with a degree in Kinesiology and Health Science, not the traditional degree you might associate a winemaker with.

It was a girl friend of his that got him interested in wine when she began to take him to wineries mostly in Loudon County in the Northern section of Virginia.  He would eventually land a job with a large California company, Saxco that sold bottles, labels and other packaging materials that many beverage companies used. That led to a position at Stone Tower Winery as a cellar assistant. 

Ultimately, he would get a position at The Winery at Bull Run where he is the winemaker today.

Kendell is emblematic of the younger generation of winemakers here in Virginia as he approaches the industry with an open mind and the interest in learning what folks want in the future for wine and how they will interact with it. 

It is a fascinating look at a winery that is stepped in history as a result of it's background having been the site of the first battle of the Civil War.

Take a listen or read the transcript below.

Thanks for being a listener to the Fine Wine Confidential Podcast. For more information go to www.finewineconfidential.com