Nomads Sports Club History

HELP! I need wine...

May 21, 2011  |    Share

 

Last January, I was in a wine store busy choosing the perfect selection of wines to give to my friend as a birthday present.

When I noticed a man in his 20’s going round the shop many times checking every label.

 After I paid for my purchase, I looked to see if he was still there. Sure enough, he was, looking so confused. His face said it all: “HELP! I need wine!” 

I don’t know if it was my salesmanship that clicked in or just my friendly nature.  Either way, I went to the man and approached him.

I said, “Hi!  You seem lost.  Would you like me to help you?” 

Luckily the man didn’t ignore me.  He explained that he was having a party the next day at his house and that he didn’t know which wine to buy or where to begin.

Sounds familiar to you?  I was in the same position 13 years ago before I opened my first wine business. I am sure you have been in the same situation.  You think it will be a simple task to get wine for an occasion but you end up staring at the bottles for hours undecided. And sometimes you just get out of the store saying, “oh forget it, I will just serve Iced Tea and beer”.    

I wanted to help the young fellow so I asked a simple question: “are your visitors wine drinkers or not?” 

He thought for a while. “Some are, some aren’t.” 

“OK,” I replied “And how old are they?” 

“We are all in our 20’s and 30’s.” 

“And how many are coming?” I asked.

“There will be about 30 people there.”

1 bottle of wine contains 6 glasses so he will need about 15 bottles if he based it on 3 glasses per visitor.

“OK, if you don’t mind me asking, how much money do you have please?” 

“About 6,000” he said.

WALA!  Easy to decide, then…. Choose Chardonnay for the white and Merlot for the red.  With a price range of about 300-350 per bottle.

The point is, you don’t need to be a wine connoisseur to pick that right bottle for any occasion.

When there is a special occasion and you want it to be different and special then don’t be afraid to serve wine.  Just ask yourself the questions I have asked above and you will be just fine.  A hostess with the mostest.

As I went out of the store, the man was just putting the boxes of wines in his car.  He looked at me with a smile.  He looked so happy that he had chosen the right wines.  As for me, I am always happy to help.  It is a reward when a customer leaves with a SMILE.

Oh, one last thought. His choice of price was just about the minimum where anyone as a wine-buyer gets value for money. Pay less than that and you are paying more for the glass and the cork than you are for the precious liquid inside the bottle.

Make sure that the wine maker has enough money after paying for the bottle and its packaging to fill it with a truly enjoyable wine.

I’ll drink to that. Cheers!

- Sheila Ubana