plonk’s posterous

The trials and tribulations of creating a wine label

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

   
Click here to download:
Plonk_is_moving_along_with_a_l.zip (318 KB)

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

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!

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.

Plonk Wine and Yellowstone National Park

I just contacted Greg Hanks, who is the Food and Beverage Director for Yellowstone National Park in hopes of getting Plonk wine on the restaurant menus for this summer.  I was a bartender at the Lake Hotel from 1992 to 1994 and I remember master brewers from Teton Ale (Jackson, WY) and Black Dog Ale (Bozeman, MT) coming in and selling their beer in the park.  It was terrific exposure for them as there are tourists from around the country, as well as from all over the world, who visit the park in the summer. 

 

I left Yellowstone N.P. in 1994 and moved to Burgundy, France where I lived for 4 years.  I eventually completed the International Wine Commerce program in Beaune, France in 1999 and returned to the States to work in the wine business.

 

It’s only fitting that I should now be back in Bozeman and trying to get Plonk wine on the menus of the many restaurants in the park.  I have a meeting with Greg Hanks on Sat Jan 10th at 2pm.  I’m crossing my fingers that he loves the wine and that my love and history of Yellowstone will be compelling enough for him to showcase it in the park.

 

To be continued...

Cheers

 

MW

 

PS   If you’ve never been to Yellowstone National Park, you’re missing a National Treasure that has amazing food and accommodations for a place as pristine as it is.

 

Here is the lobby of the Lake Hotel.  They traditionally have a string quartet that plays in the evenings while visitors sip cocktails, read books or just wait for their dinner tables to be ready.

Plonk Wine and the Vino per tutti wine club

Plonk wine has made its first move in to the wine club world.  A beautiful downtown Bozeman wine shop called Vino per tutti has graciously decided to feature Plonk wine for their January wine club.  The owner of the shop, Tim Christiansen, is very hands on in choosing his wines and they are selected based on his experienced palate and not on magazine scores or ratings.  If you see his store or check out his website, it's apparent that this is someone who is passionate about wine and loves to share that passion with others.
 
For a new wine label, being a part of a wine club is such an important step.  It shows that someone, other than me, is willing to showcase this wine to his or her most valued clients.
 
Now, I really have to finish the plonk.com website.
 
Cheers
 
MW
 
 

Plonk wine pics for the plonk.com website

Just wanted to share the good fortune in having my future wife, Jane Crites, be an amazing artist.  We just purchased adobe illustrator CS4 and a Wacom Graphics tablet so that she could learn how to create original images for the plonk.com website.  She has just gotten started but is already creating some great stuff.  Here are 4 wine bottles and a drawing of me.  I think at my age, drawings of me look a lot better than real life pictures so I love this idea. 
 
Anyone have any favorites they would like to vote on?

         
Click here to download:
Plonk_wine_pics_for_the_plonk..zip (303 KB)

Social Media and Wine

So, as I now enter what is more or less the 3rd month of the launch of my wine label 'plonk' I've realized that I'm really enjoying writing about the progression of the wine.  My question is, can Social Media alone create a nationally recognized wine brand?  I would love some feedback or ideas about this.

Plonk wine, Missoula and a 1970 Grands Echezeaux

A quick recap of my wine selling trip to Missoula, MT.  First of all, if you've never been to Missoula, you're missing out.  It is an unbelievably well kept secret.  The town is about as cool as you'll find and the wine scene here is much more sophisticated than you would ever imagine.

Anyway, my distributor, Kurt Winegardner and his rep for that market, Lacey Capps, were kind enough to escort me around to various places and introduce me to some of the local wine hot shots.  Places of note:
  • Scotty's Table http://scottystable.net/  Beautiful restaurant located next to the river in an immaculately restored building.  One of the owners, Katie Gill, was gracious enough to taste with us even though she's pregnant, don't worry, she didn't swallow.  I think they will be adding plonk to their list and I couldn't be more excited.
  • Liquid Planet  http://www.liquidplanet.com/   Killer wine shop, great design and super selection.  The wine buyer, Heather Thuesen, was super busy but still gracious enough to take a few bottles to get started.  I would typically prefer my wine to be in restaurants and wine bars to start but this place is a perfect complement to cool wine spots in this town.
  • Red Bird Restaurant and Wine Bar  http://www.redbirdrestaurant.com/  This place was the big surprise of the day.  This place is somewhat legendary in Montana and everyone I spoke to before going to Missoula said, "you have to be in Red Bird".  Lots of pressure but I was willing to give it a try.  We entered through the kitchen and as we were making our way to the bar I noticed a young woman whom I thought I recognized.  I pointed at her, she pointed at me and sure enough we had worked together in Yellowstone National Park back in the mid 90s.  Her husband, who is also a part-time server at the restaurant, is an old compatriot from Texas.  His name is Tom Catmull (http://www.tomcatmull.com) we had also worked together in Yellowstone.  I then meet the wine buyer and it's someone who used to sell me wine at my old wine bar.  To make a long story just a bit shorter, I ended up knowing almost everyone there.  Small world story.  I had such a good time with those guys that we went back for dinner and brought a bottle 1970 Grands Echezeaux from Domaine de la Romanee Conti, courtesy of Kurt Winegardner.  We shared it with the owner, Laura Waters and the rest of her staff.  The wine turned out to be a magical Pinot, only the way old Burgundies can be, and the night was a blast.  Best of all, they said they would pick up my wine.
Great trip, great town, great people.  Try it some time.

Cheers

MW








         
Click here to download:
Plonk_wine_Missoula_and_a_1970.zip (2541 KB)

Plonk loves the Good Food Store

Just had a great tasting with Jerod Peitsmeyer, the wine buyer of the Good Food Store. The place rocks and so does Jerod. It looks like they are going to stack it for the holidays.
 
My fingers are crossed.
 
MW
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