Last weekend was Williams Seylem's Spring 2011 pick up weekend. They are perhaps California's original cult wine. Started in the 1980s by two friends in a garage in the Russian River area,they fast gained a reputation for making one of California's first truly world class pinot noirs. They also produced a kick ass zin from the Martinelli Jackass Hill vineyard.
My wife and I were first introduced to this winery in the late 80s while dining with my sister and her then boyfriend (now husband) at Bibba in Boston. Our waiter told us that at the staff pre-service meeting, they tasted what he thought was one of the best wines the restaurant ever carried. We took the bait, ordered the bottle and were truly amazed. The wine was Williams Seylems Summa Vineyard Pinot Noir, regrettably a wine they do not make anymore.
Upon returning to New York, we visited our local wine shop and inquired about the wine. Michael, our friendly shop owner told us that he tasted the wine and that it was almost never available at retail, only through the mailing list. Several weeks later, he obtain several bottles, that were gone as quickly as he could stock the shelves.
Jump to 1990. We were going on one of our pilgrimages to CA wine country. We called Williams Seylem and arranged an appointment. Unfortunately, 2 or 3 days before the appointment we got a call telling us that they had to cancel as the staff would be away for a trade show. They then offered to put us on the mailing list. At that time the wait to get on the mailing list was years, not months, so we agreed. Our first allocation was one bottle of Allen Vineyard Chardonnay. For the next 2 or 3 years we were allocated an occasional bottle, a zin or a chard, but almost never a pinot. We were also lucky that shipping laws were not enforced as the bottle were shipped to us in Brooklyn, NY.
As we jump ahead to the mid 90's. our allocations grew until the current day when as customer 1955 we can purchase 5 to 6 cases per offering. We only can afford 6-8 bottles. Many friends have suggested that we purchase our entire allocation so we can trade or sell the extra bottles. That requires capital that we do not have, or wish to commit to this undertaking.
Earlier this month we got an email from Williams Seylem inviting us to a pig roast at the winery. This got me thinking that there must be something going on in the rare allocation world. I have heard rumors that there are many cult wineries that are having trouble selling their wines at anything near the pace they were just five years ago. Maybe Williams Seylem's move was to forestall the move towards this trend of loosing allocation customers. Anecdotal evidence from several friends who have recently joined their mailing list have only waited weeks, not years, to become members. Yet, when I asked the Williams Seylem marketing and sales director, he told me it took 6-12 months to become members.
What is happening is that the winery is adding benefits to being a member of their mailing list, moving it to being more like a wine club. They have private tastings at the winery, special events and special wine offerings. They are being proactive in realizing that it is easier to retain a current customer than it is to attract a new one.
Wine clubs, one of the hottest marketing moves in wine country over the past several years, have been exploring how to keep a current customer happy, while moving cases out the door. We belong to only one club ourselves, Cypher Winery (formerly Four Vines) located in the Paso Robles region of the Central Coast. We joined because they had some truly unique zins and Rhone based blends. Big wines that go great with BBQ and smoked meats.
The problem with all these clubs, and lists, are that my collection is heavily slanted towards these two wineries. We have been drinking all our old Williams Seylems (2001 Russian River Valley was fantastic, mush better than I thought it would be) and grilling lots of food to go with the old Four Vines stuff. I understand why wine clubs are important to the winery, but when you are shipping 12-24 bottles a year, your customers tend to have some very lopsided collections. One thing about wine drinkers, they like variety. And that could be the reason that the turnover in wine club membership is so high, customers get tired of all that wine.
I believe that a new approach to customer loyalty must be found, and the keys to that approach could be found in one of the more fascinating videos that I streamed last week. Gary Vaynerchuk is a very controversial figure in the wine industry. Like him or hate him, he is on the cutting edge of marketing. Follow this link to view his key note address to the Nomacorc Wine Marketing Symposium, it will blow your mind, http://www.nomacorc.com/marketing-to-the-next-generation-of-wine.php . There is much to be said about what he's speaking about.
Back to the Williams Seylem spring 2011 releases. The pinots and zins were of this house's ;usual high quality. The real stand out, and without a doubt the most interesting wine was the 2009 Limestone Ridge Chenin Blanc. A dry wine in the style of Savennières, it was one of the most unique wines that I have tasted from this winery, if not from a California winery. Great minerality, great fruit, with just a touch of neutral oak to give it some bite, this could have been the best chenin I've had from California.
Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you will join me next week after I've through the Alexander Valley, tasting wine along the way.
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