Tuesday, November 20 2007
Guest Blogging From the Prairies
The view from the back seat
Today's guest blogger is Craig Swanston. Along with his brother Colin they own the Wine Sense retail stores in Winnipeg and in Brandon, Manitoba. Formerly known as 'The Brew Doctors', they've been with Winexpert since the early days, and I've been coming out to do tasting events with them for the last six years. They're not only great retail partners, they're wonderful friends, and have made me feel like a part of the family, right down to being as annoying as a couple of brothers could be. Plus, their mom is one of only three people on earth who can call me 'Timmy' without getting a poke in the snoot.
It's not often that I find myself in the back seat of a vehicle- I'm either driving or I get the front passenger seat by default as I'm 6'6". But when the talent is a 300lb power lifter, you know when to take the backseat.
It's Tuesday and we're making the 2 hour straight line journey from Winnipeg to Brandon for the first of our 4 nights of wine tastings. When I say "we" that includes Tim "The Talent" Vandergrift, Rick Vanderberg our Wine Expert Account Manager, my brother/business partner Colin, my lovely and eternally cheerful girlfriend Wendy and our buddy Andy, who thinks a week of wine tastings is a holiday.
The six of us are packed in a mini van with 6 cases of wine, 3 cases of crystal wine glasses, the assorted supplies needed for a wine tasting and overnight luggage. I think Rick is driving- I'm not sure because I can't see everyone due the boxes. It's wine tasting season.
Over the next 4 nights we'll sample this year's exciting Selection Limited Edition wines to over 1000 people. This will be our biggest "tour" to date. Wine Sense has added a third Winnipeg night this year due to the ever growing popularity of the Selection Limited Edition program.
You would think it would get easier each year (this is our 8th year) but trust me- there are always challenges. We were bumped from our booked Winnipeg venue for Friday night, which of course caused an incredible amount of stress/panic while finding a new venue. Also one of our 'special order' wines was sold out from under us by the local government liquor stores- another problem solved. And let's be honest- once we get to Brandon I'll realize I left something behind in Winnipeg. But we'll get through as we always do. It's wine tasting season.
Tim has been kind enough to allow me to do some guest blogging for him while he's in Winnipeg. I'll give you the behind the scenes look at the exciting world of hosting 4 Selection Limited Edition Wine Tasting events. I'm sure Tim will add his input as well.
A lot of work goes into these events, but it truly is worth it when you see your customers learn about the wonderful world of wine while being entertained by Tim and enjoying great wine with terrific food pairings. It's wine tasting season.
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