The Till

I’m new. Forgive me for being giddy and please pardon the slobber. I just like the cut of your sample bag. A little taste before you buy. The ritual of pulling out the bottles and rotating the labels sends anticipatory butterflies of rose petal and violet across my palette. Have I had that one before? Which will go best with our program? Damn I love a good Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Sampling for wholesale purchase doesn’t have the pomp and circumstance of a customer oriented tasting. One glass, rinse with wine, spit a little bit if you have to. Dumping encouraged. Noses deep in the glass, gargling noises as the juice rolls over every part of your tongue. Most importantly, there’s only one opinion that matters; it’s yours. Subscribe now Mano y mano, at most a doubles match, there’s no hiding here. Tastemaker and list curator, the buyer is responsible for what gets offered to their customers. A balance of price points and regions adds some objective structure, but at the end of the day it’s all about feels - what do you think? Small tables lead to big discussions. There’s no hiding behind nods and hummed affirmations. “I like this” doesn’t quite cut it. And at the other end of the spectrum, pontificating around WSET classifications of medium acidity and a garnet hue aren’t exactly answering the real question. Screw your 92 point rating. Romantically that question is “does this wine bring people joy”; commercially it’s just a question of whether it…