Two Wineries/Two Different Results....

About a year ago, I delivered a rant about how some wineries just don't get it..."it" being that personal touch from the owner/winemaker/marketing guy/tasting room manager/janitor/anybody. This personal touch is so important in giving you a nice warm/fuzzy feeling and making sure you're a lifelong customer. A few wineries that I recognize and value for that personal touch are Carlisle, Siduri, Qupe, TablasCreek, Ridge, Jaffurs, Cedarville, Lagier-Meredith, SQN, Cabot, Failla, EdStJohn...a bunch of them. Sure...it takes a bit more effort on their part..put it pays off in the long run. Guaranteed.
Last week was a great example of that "it". Two wineries came up on my radar screen from the SFChron. One won a sweepstakes in the SFChron judging. Hmmm...maybe I should try their wines. Then I got an e-mail from a friend that his cousin's son had just won a sweepstakes award. That clinched it for me, so I ordered a mixed case of them to try. I followed up w/ an e-mail to the owner/winemaker complimenting him on the award, that I was looking forward to trying his wines, and relating the family connection that prompted me to order some. And the response?? Nothing/nada/zip. I'm not pi$$ed about it or anything, but the guy was handed a golden opportunity to make that personal connection and a longtime customer...and muffed it.
The 2'nd winery was a winemaker that JonBonne named as one of the 5 up&coming winemakers. Took a look at his WebSite and immediately was interested...hmmm..Friulian varieties..something that very much interests me. Alas...all sold out. But I decided to sign up for his mailing list to try them after his Spring release.
Say whot.....a few days later I get an e-mail from Dan thanking me for signing up for his mailing list and apologizing for his slow response. And then he invited me to stop in an taste at his wnry next time I'm in Napa. Here I was...a nobody... that dropped in from out of CyberSpace...and he took the time to thank me.
So I responded w/ an e-mail thanking him, recounting my interest in Friulian varieties, asked a few questions, related my interest in Bulfon wines...whom he was unfamiliar...and suggested he show his wines to BobbyStuckey/Frasca. Yup...sure enough...I got anuther e-mail from Dan thanking me and plans to get MX to track down some Bulfon wines.
So....this is a guy who really gets "it". Xpect I'll be a Massican customer for life. Probably not for the other wnry.
So..that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
Tom

I understand what you're saying here Tom. Locally (Niagara County, NY) there are now more than a dozen wineries, whereas 12 years ago there were zero. However, the first two wineries that opened, closed up. Both of these were started by folks that some perceived as having personality issues. I'm not suggest that's why they closed up, as there were other issues with both wineries, but it didn't seem to help.

Can't agree with you more on this one, Tom. Of course, a winery has to produce good wine. That's a given. The thing is, there are a lot of wineries that produce good wine. When you run across a place that adds that personal touch to the good wine, you have something special. It will keep you going back to that winery again and again.

We were up in Amador last Saturday with some friends who are new to the area. We didn't call Cedarville until after lunch as we weren't sure we'd make it up to Fairplay. I felt like we were imposing with a last-minute request, but Jonathan didn't blink twice. We had a great time with them and it was obvious that our stop there was the highlight of the day for the folks we were touring with. There's a kind of loyalty inspired by that personal treatment that doesn't come any other way.