Originally posted on August 12, 2022.
I’m investing in fine wine right now. I purchase most of my wine through my #1 Key West wine expert, Mark Gambuzza, owner of Uva Wine at 605 Simonton St. Take a look at these 25 interesting Northern Rhône Côte-Rotie wines. In The Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague explains her summer experience analyzing marketing emails from wine merchants. She writes:
SOME OF MY FAVORITE READING this summer has arrived via email, from wine merchants. I while away the hours reading about special six packs of Sancerre, great bargains from Burgundy and limited-time offers of first-growth Bordeaux.
Some of these emails are more enticing than others. And some retailers provide information beyond a mere price and numerical score; their emails often contain personal stories about producers, regions and how the wines taste. Sometimes, they’re so well-crafted that selling wine seems almost beside the point—though of course that is always the point. With that in mind I bought bottles from half a dozen retailers whose emails were particularly compelling. And while a few bottles didn’t quite measure up to the fulsome praise promoting them, others turned out to be even better than described.
The emails that compelled me to buy differed greatly in tone and style. Some were more like travelogues, others were occasion specific (“the perfect pairing with grilling and golf”). The deals on bottles limited in number made me a bit anxious: I knew they wouldn’t be offered for long.
I asked merchants how they decided to offer the wines that they did in the ways that they did, and how often. Their responses were as varied as the emails they wrote.
The emails I’ve received from Flatiron Wines & Spirits in New York were tailored to my taste and buying history according to the store’s general manager and wine buyer, Clara Dalzell. “We don’t send emails to everyone,” she explained. “We segment our list to what people are interested in.” Some customers receive every email offer (by their request); others get a slower stream based on past buying patterns.
I only get a couple offers each week from Flatiron. A recent email I received from Ms. Dalzell, addressed “Dear Riesling lovers” (that’s me), offered the 2021 Rieslings from superstar winemaker Julian Haart at “best-in-nation-pricing.” I bought two bottles: the delectably off-dry 2021 Julian Haart Riesling J.J. Kabinett ($27) and the elegant, dry and minerally 2021 Julian Haart Riesling Moselle Trocken ($28).
Other offers of note: Crush Wine & Spirits
I have had excellent results with Crush as well.
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