The trials and tribulations of creating a wine label
This is the story of the trials and tribulations of starting a wine business/wine label. From the creation of a company to dealing with the ins and outs of governmental bureaucracy, my goal with this blog is to share the birth of a wine brand.
It's a go! Plonk will be teaming up with Wine Styles
Big news from Atlanta, GA as Plonk has been chosen to be a part of the Wine Styles team. After 2 days of tasting with clients, management and a distributor, Plonk passed all tests and will soon be available in Georgia. The second set of great news is that we will be working with a wonderful wine distributor - Atlanta Wholesale Wine which is a part of the National Distributing Company team. This is a seasoned, professional business that is associated with two of my former employers - Block Distributing in Austin, Texas and Grand Vin in Denver, Colorado.
I cannot express how pleased and honored I am to have been chosen to be a part of the Wine Styles/AWW and NDC team.
Big thanks to Michelle Foust for being such a diligent buyer for Wine Styles and to Linda Blakely (aka Wine Diva) for the review on my blog that started the whole process!
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Plonk is moving along with a little help from Social Media
I recently got a call from Michelle Foust who is a manager for Wine Styles. She told me that she had read a review by Linda Blakely (aka The Wine Diva) and was interested in trying Plonk and possibly bringing it in to her store. All I could think was WOW! How lucky am I!
Michelle seems very passionate about finding unique wines and offering them to her clients. She told me a story about spending several months tracking down a particular wine maker from Italy. She eventually found him and is now carrying his wine. Her clients can be proud of the work that she does for them. Here's a list of upcoming events at her store
Anyway, I sent the wine and they will be tasting it today. Hope all goes well and that we will soon be in the Atlanta market.
Also, Michelle made me realize that I needed to get our site up so......... here it is:
Thanks Michelle and Thanks to Wine Styles
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Another review of Plonk wine
My google alert for 'Plonk' picked this up this morning. I love it when this happens.
The Plonk wine website should finally be done by next week.
Cheers
MW
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It's official, Plonk wine will be in Yellowstone NP this summer!
It's Official! I got a call this morning from the director of F&B in Yellowstone and they will be putting together a purchase order for Plonk. This is HUGE! Yellowstone is not only beautiful, they have over 3 million visitors every summer and a large percentage of those eat in one of their many wonderful restaurants. They take pride in their wine list and I am humbled that they will be including Plonk.
Time to open some bubbly!
Cheers
MW
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Plonk in Plonk
Happy to announce that one of the hippest wine bars in the country, yes - country, is going to be pouring plonk wine by the glass. The wine bar is called Plonk and it has new owners who are wine-loving, restaurant-savvy, gentlemen. I'm certain that this spot will soon be featured in all the travel, food and wine mags. Remember you heard it here first.
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The first written review of Plonk wine
As anyone who has ever created anything knows, putting your creation out there for people to try and to judge, especially the first time, is a defining moment. I recently sent a couple of bottles of plonk to the Wine Diva, Linda Blakely, who is someone I follow on Posterous. She definitely knows the wine biz as she and her husband owned a wine shop and I'm sure they have tasted and evaluated thousands of wines.
I had no idea what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised when she sent me the link to her review. Check it out for yourself and see why I'll be having a bottle of bubbly tonight. Thanks Wine Diva!
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Plonk Wine - looking for a Distributor in Colorado
It's approaching the end of January and it's time to try and expand distribution of plonk wines outside of Montana and Wyoming. So, I decided to contact Blair Taylor of Enotec Imports in Denver. For a young man, Mr. Taylor is one of the original fine wine importers in the States and his restaurant, Barolo Grill, is one of the finest in Denver. I worked with Blair as a rep for his wines when I worked for a Distributor called Grand Vin. I later sold his wines in my wine bar in Bozeman. He's a true pro and a true gentleman. He's why people love the wine business.
Anyway, I contacted Blair about Distribution in Denver and he suggested that I contact Kate Jankowski of Grand Vin. I used to work with Kate and I'm hoping she remembers me. I am going to try to set up a meeting and tasting sometime in late February. I know, as my friend Kurt Winegardner says, if you want to present your wine to a Distributor, you'd better be holding it in your hand. That means, don't just send the wine in a box and hope for the best. They get thousands of wines for samples. It's the story and the personality that will make the difference - at least that's what I'm hoping. Stay tuned.
Filed under //
Barolo Grill
Blair Taylor
Enotec Imports
Grand Vin
Kate Jankowski
plonk
plonk wine
wine
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Plonk Wine Weekly Follow Up
Well, so far things are going pretty well. We're creating more and more of a presence in Montana and trying to stretch outward at a reasonable pace.
The good:
- Wine clubs, good retail presence and lots of good wine list action in some great locations here in Montana.
- Wonderful Montana wine distributor - Winegardner's Wines and great wine reps - Porter Elliot and Lacey Capps.
- Website is almost finished
- Bills are all paid
The hopeful:
- After my meeting with Greg Hanks in Yellowstone, I feel like we have a great chance to make it on their list. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This would be absolutely huge for our visibility.
- Still hoping Gary Vaynerchuk at Wine Library TV keeps his promise about featuring my wine on his program.
- Planning a visit to Denver in February to meet with some Distributors.
More good news coming next week!
Cheers
MW
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