K2, WHINO, DAMN GLAD TO MEET YOU

The silly side of the wine business in a lot of respects is the constant sales pitches I get from visiting winemakers, wine brokers, importers and the like. Having been in this business for as long as I have, there are a growing number of folks I run into that were at one place and now somewhere else. It is a rather incestuous business we work in, which is part of its glory.

The one thing that really makes me chuckle is when a sales rep that I have dealt with for years, and I have spoken to at length, each time this person shows up at my stores, he/she fails to recall ever having met me before. I don’t ever say anything. I just go with the flow.

The other day, I met with one such rep, who works for a fairly big importer. I have probably been dealing with this person for 7 or 8 years. Yet every time this person comes into the store, he gives me a business card and says “Hello, my name is #$%^&, good to meet you…” [Heavy sigh.]

Hey, I get it. These folks have to see a bazillion people during any given day, week, month… so not recognizing me or knowing who I am is easily forgivable. Hell, it is not like I am freaking Brad Pitt or something, right?

Still, there are people like Big John from Boisset America, John Erickson from Hahn Family, Lisa from Ste. Michelle, Jim from Beringer – these are people I have known and worked with for years, and they remember who I am, and that recognition obviously makes me feel pretty cool, and obviously, I am more inclined to work with their products, and feature their products. It’s all the nature of the beast I suppose.

Mind you, I am not wanting these people to shine my shoes when they come in, or some tawdry back room shenanigans, just a “hey, good to see you, how are things in your world?” I like to think of the people I work with as friends, even the sales reps that I deal with from wholesalers, brokers, importers and wineries. It just makes things easier, and nicer too.