To Fred Reno:

Obviously, I do not have the depth of experience that you have had, but there may be some different views on the subject that you addressed in the November issue of Wines & Vines (Opinion/ Analysis, "Asleep At The Wheel").

Specifically, you discuss the issue of developing a brand and then losing it. In my more limited experience, I am not finding that a distributor actually develops the brand, but in fact provides the logistical services of storing, shipping, billing and collecting, leaving the brand development and especially, account placement, to the winery… I have made cold calls because the (distributor) salesperson was not able to penetrate an account, and I obtained multiple great accounts. But unless I called that customer, I did not even know if they were shipped the wine.

I see the problem as too many wines to sell by the rep, so devotion to an unknown brand just cannot be effective without winery participation.

Maybe the solution is that while building a brand, the winery should pay a higher commission rate vs. the traditional promotional program.

Thanks for listening and sharing your viewpoints with the industry.

s/
Norman J. Beko,
proprietor/winemaker/sales
Santa Maria Valley, Calif.
via e-mail

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