The Funny Part is I Don't Drink

I'm posting at the unchefly hour of 7:30am so if I am less than coherent forgive me. I'm up so early because I'm off to a gig as a consultant to a winery.

About a year ago a couple of smart guys bought the oldest winery in the county, a brand not synonymous with quality. One has an agricultural background and one has been a winemaker since the mid-70's and CEO of another winery for about a dozen years. They really bought the place for the land and facilities not the brand. They have their work cut out for them in turning the place around.

The wine guy is pretty impressive. During his tenure as CEO for the other winery he managed to take them completely organic, convert their trucks and farm vehicles to bio-diesel, convert the facilities to green power, build a visitors center using recycled materials, and start worker housing and English programs. Certainly not bad but really incredible because this was done while the winery was owned by one of the biggest spirits manufacturers in the country. I mean, it's easier to make those kind of decisions when you're footing the bill, but to convince a publicly-held Kentucky based company to go green is a bit more difficult.

In the midst of all this do-gooding he also essentially created the US demand for Merlot. In 1994 when no one was drinking Merlot he created a devious plan to get Americans to drink more red wine. He wrote a 5 year plan and by 1998 the winery was selling far more Merlot than his projection of half a million cases.

This is the third of these creative sessions I've done. Going to the first one I wondered what value I was going to be a guy like that. I can cook yeah, but marketing is certainly our weakest area. The GM is a good salesperson but I think I'd be lucky to sell a fire extinguisher to someone whose house was burning down. I figured I'd go (even though I have to be up at this ridiculous hour) to see what I can learn from this guy. Plus, it pays.

Mind you, the wine guy didn't choose me. The guy from an independent marketing company he uses did. But they keep inviting me back. Why I'm not sure. My own theory is I'm like the sand. The irritant to the oyster that produces the pearl. OK, enough self-deprecation but the truth is I'm not sure what my role is, which is fine, it's their money.

I can't say I've learned much more about marketing but yesterday I saw the bottle for a wine they're just releasing and it felt good. I didn't care for the concept but it was still fun to see the product and know that I had a very small part in its release.