Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/867389
September 2017 WINES&VINES 43 DISTRIBUTOR MARKET 2017 smaller company is acquired by a larger one and continues operating as it always has; other times staff and territories change, and it may take six months or a year before wineries can make any headway in a market. Haas was part of a panel discussion about distributor consolidation at the 2013 Unified Grape & Wine Symposium and said since then it has become more challenging to find a dis- tributor, but it's not impossible. He said he regularly participates in tastings held by the Paso Robles Wine Alliance in major markets outside of California, and he encourages new and smaller wineries to join. "In almost every case they find distribution when they're looking for it," he said. "There's still opportunity out there, it's crowded, noisier, and you need to be a more active participant." Find your 'brand champions' Sokol Blosser Winery produces nearly 90,000 cases in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Alison Sokol Blosser is the CEO of the winery and daughter of founder Susan Sokol Blosser. She said in an email that the winery has distribu- tion in all 50 states and is exported to about 18 countries, yet she still considers her family's business a small brand and said it's a challenge to get the attention of wholesalers and retail- ers. "There is consolidation happening not just at the distribution level but also at the retail level and the supplier level," she said. "This makes it harder for small brands like Sokol Blosser to get attention and traction." Events like Oregon Pinot Camp, which brings buyers from all over the nation to the wineries of the Willamette Valley, are vital for Sokol Blosser to build successful sales relation- ships. "Social media has also been a helpful tool to talk directly with buyers, and to track their comings and goings," she said. The winery has three sales managers who work directly with distributors, and she referred to the best distributor reps as "champions." Be- cause of the differences in people and markets, Sokol Blosser said she has to focus sales resources where they achieve the maximum effect. "Like most other wineries, we put a lot of emphasis on the markets that are traditionally big wine markets (New York, Illinois, Califor- nia, Florida and Texas), but we typically have better success in smaller markets," she said. "Often this is due to the relationship and the fact that we can get more attention in smaller markets. For instance, we sell more Pinot Noir in South Carolina than we do in Florida." L'Ecole No. 41 winery in Walla Walla, Wash., produces around 50,000 cases per year. The winery has landed on Wine & Spirits magazine's Top 100 Wineries list for 14 consecutive years and has earned favorable reviews in other na- tional and international publications. "Without trying to brag about it, you really can't get much better in respect and reputation than what we have, and it's still challenging," owner and managing winemaker Martin Clubb said about distribution. "We're still trying to make it work under the old classic model, and I'll tell you: It's challenging." The producer's wine is distributed in 47 states through a number of companies, and most of those are smaller operations. "Gener- ally speaking we try and not be with the really giant distributors, simply because we're not important enough," he said. While small compared to many other U.S. wineries in the wholesale market, Clubb said L'Ecole No. 41 still produces plenty of wine to supply all their major markets and enjoy good sales. "If we can get people behind us, we're big enough to feed them inventory," he said. That's the key challenge: Getting the people who are willing to be, as Clubb and Sokol Blosser call them, brand champions. Clubb has found the largest distributors don't have the staff or interest to do this, and he doesn't want to expand his production to the point where he could support a dozen or more winery sales representatives. Right now, he says he essen- tially has a two-person sales team. What does work, he said, is getting distribu- tors to visit the winery or successfully telling the winery's story when given the opportunity. He said when they make it to eastern Wash- ington and learn about the vineyards, the soils and terroir, they often become that champion the winery needs. "If we don't do that, we're definitely not going to win the day. We don't have a squeaky enough voice to make a differ- ence," he said. "We have to take our story out to them. We've spent a lot of time developing educational materials in terms of our sustain- able farming, in terms of our geology and soils and how that affects micro-terroir." He said he sees the results. After making an impression, it's not uncommon to all of a sudden sell two to three pallets of wine. Sales stay strong for a while but then will slowly taper off, and that's when Clubb knows it's time to renew the personal connection. "It's kind of an unending thing: con- stantly going in and trying to stay on top of their mind," he said. "We work on these issues all the time and every year, and it does get frustrating, but what's really fun is finding those champions. There are a handful of markets where those people really make such a big difference." Even owners of successful wholesale brands still describe the three-tier system as a chal- lenge, but all said it's not impossible. One's best bet is to stay true and consistent to what their winery does best. While it may seem harder than ever to know exactly who to call, email or try to meet at ever-larger distributors, forging those personal relationships is crucial to finding wholesale success. As Siduri's Lee says, "Some of it is just getting in front of people. It's being tenacious and easily forgetting rejection. It's really a relationship business." TIPS ON WHOLESALE SUCCESS T ablas Creek Winery in Paso Robles, Calif., has found success in both the wholesale and direct-to-consumer markets. Partner and general manager Jason Haas handles sales and has spoken about the wholesale market at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium and other industry events. He offered several tips for managing wholesale sales relationships on the winery's blog, tablascreek.typepad.com. • Know what makes you distinctive and focus on it. Diversity may work in your tasting room, but you need to distill, simplify and repeat in order to get a message out in the crowded wholesale world. • Demand the information you need to evaluate success. Where is your wine being sold wholesale and by whom, why? Know the pricing and the deals. Are your 100 cases being sold to 30 restaurants or three retailers? Review regularly. • Be a good partner. Work with your wholesaler's team, make market visits, get to know your reps. Be generous with samples to make sure your wines are in their bags. Be hos- pitable when their VIPs visit your winery. • Collaborate on goals and strategies. Particular wine to move? Specific regions to target? Encourage them to bring ideas to you and get them to buy in on the solutions • Build and use your own restaurant, retail and consumer relationships. • Be careful in franchise states. Ask about opt-out clauses in contracts and remember that a distributor may be a great fit now, but what happens when they get sold? (See related story by Suzanne DeGalan on on page 44.) • Remember, you and your distributors have the same goal: to sell wine. • Keep pricing realistic and pay attention to consistency around the country. Pricing in this day and age is transparent, and "special secret deals" have a way of becoming public.