Yesterday was an interesting day here on the urban wine schlepp.
After a thrilling lunch with husband-and-wife winemakers, I strode up and down the cold bright streets of a metropolis in economic distress. Countless restaurants with FOR RENT signs on the windows. Many many little shops of all kinds now abandoned. Many of the ones that remain open are doing a much reduced business.
I reflected on how glad we were that our wines will retail, by and large, for under $25. A good number of them under $20, some under $15. People have said how lucky we were that we focused on those price points. My response is always, "We beat up on our producers beginning in late 2007, telling them that a major recession was coming to America, and that if they wanted to sell, they'd better get real about price. We're old enough to recognize the warning signals of a down economic cycle. We knew it would be rough." Not this rough, I must add, but rough. The pricing strategy was deliberately set for harder times.
As I walked around there were signs of hope and a bet on a brighter future. A couple of small restaurants had closed up at an old location and were busy constructing a new reality for themselves at a new and better one. A few others had no problem taking on new wines to sell their patrons. Some were packed early in the evening -- where there was a good bar and deep by-the-glass program.
As I walked the sunny avenues and shady cross streets, I thought about the future we've bet on. We're about to add five new producers to the book, three of them from regions that will be newly represented on our clickable wine map. We're talking seriously, though at an earlier stage, with four more -- add two more regions. The portfolio is getting bigger, more robust and varied.
And here's the thing. We love every one of the producers. We believe in their wines. We believe in their future, and ours. Yes we can. And yes we will.
Comments