Customer Service

I went to an industry wine tasting event earlier this week with fellow retailers and restaurateurs, and engaged in a bit of shop talk while waiting for the event to begin. I was speaking with another retailer about how the business has changed over the last decade, with the role of retail morphing from customer education into almost entirely customer service-related tasks.

“I would argue that that the overwhelming majority of customers today already know what they want, or have an idea of what they want before coming to us,” I said to the fellow retailer; “We’re really just connecting the dots at this point.”

That’s when another retailer sitting nearby overheard our conversation and chimed in: “Yes! It’s so annoying, right? No one cares about our experience anymore!”

I smiled politely and replied: “It’s definitely a new era.”

Part of the reason (if not most of the reason) that people get into the wine and spirits industry is to talk about wine and spirits—and when I say “talk about wine and spirits” it means they talk and you listen. There’s a certain pride that wine industry professionals take in being a serious student. When the educational part of the job gets taken away and all that’s left is the customer service aspect, it can upset those personalities because that’s not the part of the job they enjoy. They’re merely public servants at that point, with no audience to care about their detailed opinions.

There’s this fantasy about working with wine and spirits that continues to carry on, leading generation after generation to believe that the title of “wine professor” is a real thing—that one can just sit in a retail or restaurant space all day long, never have to lift a finger, and simply answer questions or offer expertise about a subject.

Today, I’m here to tell you unequivocally that this job doesn’t exist.

If you’re not making wine or whiskey, then you’re selling it. If you’re selling it, then your job is to make customers happy. If you’re not making customers happy, then you’re not making money for your company. If you’re not making money for your company, then you’re not upholding your duties as an employee.

Even though it was fifteen years ago while working my first retail wine job, I can still clearly remember a colleague openly venting on the sales floor, saying with a sneer: “I didn’t get a level III WSET certification just to move boxes all day long.”

While the industry has changed immensely since then, one aspect has remained entirely the same: the wine and spirits business is a real job, and if you don’t like dealing with customers, then you’re in the wrong business.

-David Driscoll

Breaking Down Our Laphroaig Barrel Tasting

Last night I took my colleague Ara to the Raymond restaurant in Pasadena for a special barrel tasting event and dinner with the team from Laphroaig and Beam Suntory. Mission was one of only fifteen retailers selected nationally to receive one of Laphroaig’s first distillery-direct single cask selections, and yesterday was step one in what will be a multi-step process to make that happen! We were very excited to be selected, as Laphroaig is easily in my top three favorite distilleries in the world, and I’m obsessed with the idea of being able to choose from specific warehouses on site.

I’ll be going live on the @missionliquor Instagram at 3 PM today to dig into the nitty gritty, but the gist is this: we had cask samples from five different types of barrel, from different ages, and it was up to us to decide which type of cask we’d like to select. Not the final selection, mind you; just the type of wood. Seeing that the MSRP for the Laphroaig single barrel will be the same no matter the age, barrel type, or volume, there’s a lot to consider beyond pure flavor!

I’ll be live on Instagram to talk about all the details later today, then I’ll repost the video here tomorrow for anyone who misses it.

-David Driscoll

New Matthiasson Vintages: The Best Ever?

If you missed the live Instagram discussion with legendary Napa winemaker Steve Matthiasson last week, I’d encourage you to check it out now. It was such an inspiring walk through the vineyards with Steve that we immediately sold every bottle of Matthiasson rosé on hand, forcing us to scramble for additional inventory in the wake of today's email offer.

For those who aren't familiar with the Matthiasson wines, the New York Times' Eric Asimov has a fantastic summary: “Matthiasson wines bear an agricultural stamp, as fresh, lively and alive as the best produce from a farmers’ market."

Indeed, the stamp each Matthiasson label bears is the pruning shear: the most important tool in the Matthiasson tool belt, as Steve's philosophy is far more centered around farming than actual winemaking. "The pruning shear is our version of a chef's knife," Steve said during our discussion; "When you buy a bottle of Matthiasson, you're paying for for the fact that our vines were tended by hand, by full-time, year round employees with paid holidays and 401Ks. They're doing everything by hand, taking care of the land organically."

The 2021 Matthiasson Rosé was made from a combination of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Counoise from the Windmill Vineyard in the Dunnigan Hills, Barbera from the Muller Vineyard in the Dunnigan Hills, and Syrah grapes from the Hurley Vineyard in Napa Valley. It is delicate on the nose, fresh and lively on the palate, and it really lights up the taste buds about mid-way with tangy red fruits and beautiful notes of raspberry with herbs. All the fruit is grown specifically for rosé and harvested very early to keep the acidity fresh, similar to the level of ripeness for a sparkling wine. If I had to choose the top rosé from any winery in the world, I can't imagine tasting anything better than this 2021 vintage from Matthiasson. Their obsession with organic farming and top-notch fruit is palpable in every sip.

In the tradition of Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2019 Matthiasson Napa includes a small amount of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, and is blended from six vineyards throughout the Napa Valley. The three AVAs are Coombsville for structure and black fruit, Rutherford for savory Cabernet characters and bright fruit, and Oak Knoll for soft fruit. It is a Napa Cab of the old school, a blended wine, age-worthy, complex, and begging for a steak off of the grill.

As Steve discusses during the Instagram conversation, the fruit was specifically farmed to yield fruit with a lower alcohol levels, brimming with traditional and classic Cabernet Sauvignon flavors of dark fruit, tobacco leaf, and a hint of pepper, yet simultaneously with mild tannic structure to create a wine approachable in its youth. To me, this wine drinks like California Cabernet from decades ago, reminiscent of old Heitz Martha's Vineyard vintages, but with a silkiness and elegance that manifests itself immediately, rather than over decades in the cellar. In short, it's nothing less than spectacular.

-David Driscoll

As an aside, don't miss the Tendu Wines as well: an affordable label that also features Steve Matthiasson as its winemaker, and holds true to the same organic standards. It's like a farmers' market inside every bottle.

St. Patrick's Day Surprise

I was lucky enough to sit down with Louise McGuane, half of the inspiration behind the new Kentucky Owl St. Paddy’s Day Edition, when she visited the store a few weeks back, so I think I’ll be able to give you all some intricate details about the make-up of the new expression that you won’t read elsewhere. For those of you who don’t know Louise, she’s an Irish whiskey bonder in Ireland, meaning she contracts whiskey from various distillers, but also sources her own barrels, then fills and ages them in her own warehouse to create her own unique expressions.

The project with Kentucky Owl came together when she was visiting Kentucky to obtain some ex-Bourbon barrels, and decided to work with the brand to create a marriage from the whiskies previously housed inside those casks. Using roughly a 40% base of 4.5 year old Bardstown Bourbon Company wheated Bourbon, the remainder of the blend consists of whiskies from Heaven Hill (the oldest component), Peerless, other Kentucky Owl stocks, and the standard Bardstown Bourbon Company rye Bourbon mashbill. Bottled at 100 proof, it’s an absolutely beautiful and balanced whiskey from front to back, loaded with plenty of mid-palate richness, rounded fruity notes, and plenty of spice. Definitely worth grabbing a bottle in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day this year if you prefer Bourbon over Irish whiskey.

-David Driscoll

Instagram Live With Penny Pound Ice

On this beautiful morning in sunny Southern California, we do a quick introduction to our latest partner in Pasadena: Penny Pound Ice!

If you haven’t stopped by our cooler to grab some rocks for your next cocktail or whiskey drink, come on by and see what the fuss is about. Once you try it, you’ll never go back.

-David Driscoll