Enter 2012. Exit sharp left 2011
It’s been a strange beginning for a new year. Not just because maybe now we will believe that Al Gore was right (there were daffodils out in the English countryside last week); not because Iowa and New Hampshire herald a toxic program for the next twelve months; and not because everyone really has committed to a New Year’s resolution that would seem to boycott alcohol! It’s just a strange beginning that sadly saw an altogether unannounced ending. RIP Omi, we miss you already.
Unfortunately my travels back and forth to the UK did not help me begin the new blog over on www.everydayawine.com but I do have tasting notes for wines I drank during the last two weeks and when I get a chance I shall upload them to the web for all to read.
The New Year always heralds a rush of activity; fresh ideas that need to be planted quickly before the impetus runs out. I had plenty of time sitting on planes to think about the year to come and my inevitable prognosis was: if we thought last year was bad ‘we ain’t seen nothing yet’. Much of my despondency will be alleviated during the year through economic figures that will be sure to impress those that don’t look beyond the ‘chatter’. Already the employment figures released in December would indicate that all is well on the western front. And more and more statistics will be released over the coming months that have little to do with economic reality and much to do with political necessity. Sadly I’ve seen too many ‘politically adjusted’ statistics and I hold very little water with them. My prognosis for Europe is that we will see a break-up of the Eurozone, we will see a spiral decline in the euro and most European countries, England included, will fall back into recession by the second quarter. All of this will impact the US at some point, but further more I do believe that we have begun to see a fundamental change in US consumer spending – without access to free credit consumers are actually not spending and are enjoying saving money. Personally I would like to see all that saved money spent on building assets – such as wine cellars!
And so whilst I sat there high in the sky pondering the gloomy demise of Europe I tried to come up with fresh ideas for Wine at Five. I have already committed to new computers and a new POS system, I also decided to ramp up our Wine of the Month Club and beginning in February we will now devote an evening (1st Thursday of every month) to holding a Wine Club members’ night where we will open each of the wine club wines and pair them with a few choice appetizers. Club members and their friends are all welcome. Over the next few weeks we will also be expanding our web-site by including a ‘shopping-cart’ section. We won’t be listing all of our wines on the web and nor do I want to create a web based sales business, but I do appreciate that the web is an important tool and if managed in a way that reinforces our commitment to supplying customers with small production, hand crafted wines then the benefits are there for all. We will begin by sourcing outrageously good wines from California, Washington and Oregon from producers who we have been introduced to who make tiny quantities of wines without the need for inflated ratings and paid criticism. We believe that there is a market for quality wines produced in tiny quantities that have not yet been afflicted by’ Parkerisms’. Rather like the Abeja wines that we introduced to customers last year and the wines from Tray Busch’s Sleight of Hands. When I look back over some of the wines that we have sourced from the west coast I realize that with a little more effort we really can introduce the east coast to wines that they have never heard of. Being that the quantities of these wines will be strictly limited the most equitable forum to introduce them and sell them will be on our web-site.
We will continue to emphasize quality wines from family owned wineries and we will continue to source new distributors and importers who share our common mantra. It is through these small channels that we will find great gems and since my hands are tied in the state of NY due to an archaic three tier distribution system we will weed out those importers and distributors whose interests are based solely on profit margin with a disregard for the wines they are selling.
I would like to increase the number of dinners we hold with selective wine-makers. We are always looking out for a new restaurant to hold these dinners in so if you have any suggestions please feel free to tell us.
We will continue to work with charities to improve the lives of others. In 2011 we donated goods and cash to the value of $35,000 to local charities and schools. This figure may be a little less this year (!) but we will continue to do what we can especially in our immediate community. In the interest of full disclosure I should also mention that I am a director of the Wainwright House in Rye. As finance director it will be my mission to ensure the longevity of this great institution and so please forgive me in advance if I come knocking on your e-mail door!
Coming up in the next few weeks we will be hosting two of our favorite wine makers. John Abbott, wine-maker of Abeja wines and Trey Busch the owner of Sleight of Hands winery. We were one of the first retialers in New York to introduce these wines and we are honored that both wine-makers will visit the store and maybe even crack open a few bottles with customers. As soon as I get dates and confirmation I’ll post them on the web.
In the meantime…stay thirsty.
All the best in 2012.
CJP.
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