Don Mateo Wines started with three global entrepreneurs, a passion for wine making and a vision to become world class.

So, what’s so special, you ask, lots of aspiring winemakers out there.

Yes, but how many have won four awards at the recent Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) convention? And, how many have had a journey that began in China?

I first met the partners running Don Mateo Wines in late 2010 and was immediately struck by their business acumen, gained in global trading, and applied to the wine world. Their story is interesting.

Andy Lam and his brother Matthew were successful exporters of various products and commodities to Chile from China. Over the years, the currency exchange swings hurt their business and so they turned the ship around and began importing wine from Chile. Their passion about wine helped, and they began buying vineyards and wineries. Added to that was the patience and tenacity to develop top quality wines. They hit the Chinese wine market at the right point in time and the business flourished.

You can’t be a global wine player without the US market, so a third partner, Peter Loucks, entered the picture and applied his overall business skills to the wine business. Peter is smart and a quick learner so it’s not surprising that he soon realized that, unlike China, the supply of wine (Chilean and others) exceeded the demand. Consequently, growth here would be an uphill battle. Further, the mandatory wholesaler tier has become more and more difficult to deal with, as in “take on another wine brand, are you kidding?”

But, he knew that despite the hurdles, he had some key brand equities and assets. For one thing, Don Mateo is a memorable brand name for a Chilean wine and the brand symbol is both interesting and notable to consumers.

As you can see, the symbol/logo is the Moai (pr. mo-eye). These Moai are the monolithic statues of Easter Island, off the coast of Chile. According to their website “they reflect our commitment to discovery, craftsmanship and passion. These three elements have been the guiding principles for Don Mateo wines from Chile.” Might even stand for the three partners behind the venture. You never know.

If you asked the brand owners what is the single most important asset of their wines, their answer is most likely to be, the wine. Trust me folks, these are outstanding wines. But, in case you don’t believe it, think about the medals they won at the WSWA – three silver and a double gold.

Here’s the irony. Despite the entrepreneurial approach, despite their marketing and branding and, despite the high quality and good value, you would think wholesalers would be beating a path to their door. Instead, getting wholesalers to take on the line has been slow and difficult. Such is the state of the booze business and the plethora of brands on the market.

But, hey, the Moai on Easter Island have stood the test of time, so why shouldn’t Don Mateo Wines.

For you former Seagram folks out there… It might interest you to know that Jim Reichardt introduced me to them and their New Jersey wholesaler is Sam Ellias.

Dale DeGoff is a booze business entrepreneur and somewhat of a renaissance man. His latest endeavor moves him from behind the bar into the realm of a manufacturer. He’s been credited as the inventor of the Cosmo and, more important, is a really nice guy.

I first met Dale back in the day when he was tending bar at some great places, most notably the Rainbow Room. From that point on, he was at the forefront of what’s been described as the gourmet (or mixologist) approach toward cocktails, particularly the classics.

I suppose that’s why he’s known as King Cocktail, although I think of him as a booze business equivalent of Wolfgang Puck – a celebrity barman (but without an accent).

The man has a list of awards, including the James Beard Award for Wine & Spirits and has written a number of books about cocktails. But wait, there’s more – he’s a partner in the bar training program called Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR, get it?) and founding president of The Museum of the American Cocktail. He also tours the country with a one-man show called “ON THE TOWN! A Tribute to Bars, Speaks, & Legendary Saloons.”

You’d think that would be enough to keep him busy, right? Wrong. Dale has recently launched his own brand of bitters called Dale DeGoff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters. It’s designed to be very similar to Pimento Dram, an ingredient Dale often used, but is no longer available. He joined forces with Ted Breaux, of recent Absinthe fame, to produce it.

I think that before I go any further, we should talk about bitters and their use in cocktails. If you’re a booze maven, you probably know this but indulge me anyhow.

According to Wikipedia (my go to information resource), bitters is an alcohol beverage (DeGoff’s is 90 proof) flavored with a range of herbs and spices. He uses select botanicals and allspice, which is made from the pimento berry (not to be confused with the little red things stuffed in olives). Adding a little bit of bitters to cocktails and you won’t believe how it enhances the flavor and taste.

Check out these recipes from his website .

So, Mr. DeGoff jumps over the bar and joins the ranks of other bar personalities and companies making commercial bitters, including Gary Regan (Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 6), Angostura, Peychaud and others.

Welcome to the producer’s side of the bar, Dale.

What’s your favorite drink when it’s cold, snowing and you want to feel cozy?

I posed this question to friends on Facebook and via email all across the country. The answers ran the gamut from expected to exotic and everything in between including weather related, as in “Hey, I’m in the sunbelt, I don’t have that problem.”

Amidst the Sidecar, Hot Apple Pie, Hot Buttered Sorel (from my friend Jack at Sorel Liqueur), Manhattans, 25-year-old single malts, and a Cognac near a fireplace; I received some interesting comments –

My friend the blogger and foodie Mary Ellen Griffin, “I am just a simple, old fashioned girl who likes a very well aged (and properly decanted) vintage port in front of the fire.” Her blog is here. Hmm, Port gives me heartburn but I love the imagery.

From my daughter and former partner Michelle (the “M” in AM Shapiro), “Hot cocoa with a shot of Godiva liquor. I think u taught me that one!”  Atta girl, but ever since Diageo got its hands on Godiva, we no longer speak of it.

For you ex-Seagram folks, here’s a bunch from Mark Levine in Seattle, “Gosh, hard to decide: Igor the invisible or Pasha with a touch of Cherry Swiss…. no, no wrong. It must be Sabra…no, no…I know it this time…without question, my favorite, and I wish I could get it…. Lochan Ora warmed in a snifter.” That’s a trip down Memory Lane (maybe Nightmare Lane). Read more…

Wine and Spirits Daily and Shanken Daily News have each had stories on
Hiro Sake and its co-founder, Carlos Arana. In fact, there’s been quite a bit
of press about them lately.

Since I’ve known Carlos for most of my booze business days, I thought I would chime in.

At Seagram, Carlos and I suffered through the foibles of our Latin American boss and managed to survive the adventures of Patron in the early days. Carlos went on to run the Asia-Pacific whiskey business.

Next came an 8-year stint with the Beckmann family running the tequila business with impressive results and literally put Jose Cuervo on the global map. He managed to double sales and triple profits and increased market share by five percentage points. Not shabby.

A brief tour of duty as President of the Arnell Group was enough to convince him that doing your own thing is far more rewarding than working in a corporate setting.

So, enter Broadway and Hiro Sake.

Read more…

My friend and fellow blogger Robert Lehrman, knowing of my interest in matters dealing with Brooklyn and Booze, introduced me to Jack Summers. Jack and his partners, Tim Kealey and Alan Camlet, own a startup business called Jack From Brooklyn. You can find them here.

Just another start up, you say. That’s right, but unlike most, these guys have the street smarts and entrepreneurial drive to break away from the pack and become real winners. For those of you who doubt it, as we used to say in Brooklyn, “Wanna bet?”

Read more…

As a fan of the TV show and wannabe writer, I’m a bit more interested in the story than what they are drinking. But, a good friend pointed out some of the inaccuracies of the drinking habits portrayed.

For instance, people in the 1960s drank Canadian Whisky, Blended Scotch and Vodka began its ascent. In fact, Gin was already passé and in 1967, vodka sales surpassed it, no doubt with an assist from James Bond.

So far as vodka vs. whiskey was concerned, here is a memo from the late 1960s reportedly from J. Walter Thompson senior management. JWT was arguably the leading ad agency at the time…

“To all employees: If you must drink during lunch, please drink whiskey. It is much better for our clients to know that you are drunk rather than think you are stupid.”

That’s the headline in a recent online posting on the Star Tribune (Twin Cities paper) website. Here’s an excerpt:

“Upper Midwesterners drink more. Could it be our northern European roots? The weather?”

The story goes on to report that Minnesota is one of the top 5 drinking states in the US. Experts point out that part of the explanation is that many residents in the upper Midwest are descendants from countries with high alcohol consumption. Another reason given, of course, is the long cold winters and indoor activity that goes nicely with alcohol consumption.

It reminded me of a story I heard from the late Jerry Mann about the adventures of booze salesperson in the upper Midwest. (See March 25, 2010 for another tale.)

Read more…

Maurice Kanbar is among a select group of entrepreneurs who have changed the spirits industry. And, he’s still at it.

Like my earlier posting about David van de Velde, Maurice is another visionary businessman who has spent a lifetime on finding a hole and filling it. Maurice has been inventing, designing and developing a host of products ranging from films and how we watch them, to surgical instruments, to things, that when we see them, we say “now why didn’t I think of that?” The man has thirty patents and products to his credit.

I first met him in the early days of Skyy Spirits when I was sent on a fool’s errand to see if he would be willing to chat about an acquisition. This was in the late 1990s and the brand was just starting its ascendency. We were feeling the effects of its growth and one of the geniuses in Sweden thought we might be able to “buy him out.” After just a few minutes of chatting, he asked the key question – why sell while the brand is still growing. Duh. Sure got my respect.

But what I really admire about him is his judgment and intuition balanced by the tenacity of an inventive mind.

Examples:

He complains to a doctor friend that he gets headaches and a hangover from Cognac. His friend explains about congeners and tells him to drink vodka. The next thing that happens, he studies the world of spirits, makes advancements to the distillation and filtering systems and creates Skyy Vodka.

At the time, no one in the food or beverage business used blue for packaging – don’t ask me why…I once got my butt chewed for presenting a new product in blue packaging. Maurice didn’t let this narrow, stay in the box thinking confine him. I don’t know for sure, but I suppose he was thinking Skyy = blue. Another duh.

When his brand starts growing, he’s smart enough to surround himself with people who know the business like Foglio and Ruvo.

So he’s an interesting guy, to say the least.

His newest effort is Blue Angel Vodka, which he says is based on further advancements in distillation that produces an ultra smooth product. But the really cool part about it, in my opinion, is that the inventor has further increased his marketing skills. First, his signature drink is the Blue Angel Martini (BAM as he calls it) made with blue curacao. Also, I like his tongue-in-cheek slogan – “the world’s second best vodka; we’re still looking for the best.”

On second thought maybe he should stick to inventing.

This blog has given me the opportunity to re-connect with friends and to make new ones like David van de Velde whose business motto is the headline for this posting.

In addition to being a very smart and affable fellow, David is an interesting entrepreneur and created Ketel One and Van Gogh Vodkas. In that regard, he changed the spirits industry.

I hope one day to write his full story but here are a few things that make him so interesting.

Let’s start with the motto. In an age of me-tooism, finding a hole and filling it speaks volumes about brand development strategies.

Not long after Seagram got Absolut Vodka, I kept hearing about this new brand, Ketel One, which was unique in its packaging, name, underlying concept and one other “outrageous” factor… a price at a significant premium to the category.

In addition, they concentrated on bartenders and servers and used videos and events to tell the story and even special olives for a martini. Everywhere I went at the time, all I heard was how we needed to learn from the Ketel One folks.

Many people think that the ultra premium vodka market was created by Grey Goose when, in fact, by the time Grey Goose came along, Ketel was already doing 200,000 cases.

David’s understanding of consumers is very impressive. He describes the target customer for high-end vodkas at that time as someone who wears Armani suits without pockets. Someone who walks into a bar and is holding the following – car keys with a Mercedes or BMW logo, an expensive cell phone and a wallet chocked full of goodies. No pockets. The question he asked himself is – would this person drink anything but a top shelf brand?

After Ketel One, he created Van Gogh vodka and brought the flavored category to new levels.

A little birdie told me he will be celebrating a milestone birthday this week so congratulations and keep finding and filling those holes.