Had a Perfect Sales Day Yesterday!

Incredible but true, I had almost an idea sales day yesterday! Met with a bunch of cool, nice folks all over town, and had great parking karma too!

The day started off meeting the new wine director at the Jonathan Club in downtown LA. Never been there before, and enjoyed my experience there, everything from the valet parking (comped!), tasting down in the cellar, and chatting about the business with the wine director.

Next up, I went over to Larchmont Village Wine, which was bustling with customers buying sandwiches left, right, and center - met the wine buyer who tasted through my wines, liked them. And oh, did I mention, both wine people at the Jonathan Club and at Larchmont Village had heard of me before - said my name looked familiar - my face too - ah! The Wine Country newsletter! Wow - it pays to be published! Thanks Randy!

Then it was over to the west side. Yes, I'm all over the place. I was headed to Playa del Rey where there is a small wine shop called The Vintage Shoppe. Met with one of the owners who tasted through everything and placed an order! Score!

Next up, I was headed back to Long Beach to meet with the wine director at 555 East, a steakhouse in the downtown area. Had a chance to say hi to the general manager, who said they used to do very well with the Rudi Wiest portfolio. The wine director tasted and placed an order! Bam!

After this, I spent some time stopping in a variety of places, including Parker's Lighthouse, the Queen Mary..... these will be places to follow up on in the future.

My second to last appointment was at Benley, a Vietnamese restaurant I will be doing a wine dinner at very soon. The wine dinner is totally sold out, so discussed with the owner about doing a second one a week later - he agreed! He also filled out the forms for being a new customer, so he is my first new account! BAM! I love this place too!

Finally, my last appointment was with a Sushi place on Second Street called Yen. Did a wine dinner here almost 2 years ago, but they never caught on as a Rudi Wiest customer. Yesterday, they decided to put one of the basic Rieslings by the glass and on the list. Hurray!

In the evening, Johan and I decided to check out the SkyRoom for some drinks. We had never been and I had been trying to get through to the manager there, without success. The place is very lovely! Awesome views, of course, as it is 13 to 14 stories high, 2 great bars, including a rooftop bar that has been remodelled. I had a Riesling which I think any item in our portfolio could easily trump. Later on in the evening, met the manager I had been trying to get a hold of, found out when they make appointments and when they usually taste - BAM!

Like I said, great sales day, and I hope to have another good one like that today! And tomorrow too. This is fun!

Thanks for reading!