Coach's Corner

It has been awhile since I reported on what has been going on within the VWG/OTE organization, so while sitting here on a flight home from St. Louis; I'll bring you up to date.

First off, Carol and I, along with business partners John & Jana Scarpa and Tom Ward, attended the annual NIAF weekend in Washington DC on October 27th - 29th. Annually, the National Italian American Foundation hosts an event to honor Italians who have achieved much and have given back to the community in a way that merits individual recognition at the highest level. It was a great weekend and a super way to say thank you and congratulations. The NIAF organization invited us to pour our wines for two days, and I'm proud to say the wines were well received. Tom Ward did the hard work, but fortunately his wife Diane was on hand to help. We made a lot of good contacts and sold 12 cases of wine in the process. The highlight of the events came during the NAIF's salute to our wounded warriers, when we met U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond Odierno and his son on Thursday night, the 27th. Jay Rafetto, a Chester County, PA wounded hero, was also there with his parents. Jay is the man we honored in the spring. He's doing well and his spirits are high. I was privileged to present Jay with an NIAF award.

On the following Wednesday, November 2nd, Tom Ward and I helped to host a VWG/OTE wine tasting at the Pyramid Club in downtown Philadelphia. The event was organized by Ray Welsh and the Bancroft organization to generate awareness of the program's aim to help special needs people in New Jersey. Ray is on the Board of Trustees, and no organization does more for people who need special assistance to survive and live with dignity than the Bancroft organization.

Approximately 50 people attended, tasted our wines and were introduced to the Bancroft program. I believe, by the time Tom and I left that night, we gained some VWG/OTE customers and at the same time, helped raise money and awareness for Bancroft.

On Friday, November 11th, I flew to Kansas City with the Tom Pontano hunting party for four days of Iowa/Missouri white-tailed deer hunting. I went last year, so I knew what I was getting into. We all had a great time and most of us got our buck! On Wednesday, November 16th, I drove back across the state to attend the St. Louis Hall of Fame Banquet where my two wide receivers, Isaac Bruce and Tory Holt, were being inducted. Major Brands, our VWG/OTE local distributor, poured our Proprietary Red XXXIV during the reception. Our XXXIV label has spoiled me, I know the reaction of the tasters beforehand - they all love the wine.

The following day Sean McKeon, our Major Brands service rep, picked me up and we toured the St. Louis marketplace. Our first stop was at Cardwell's at 94 Plaza Frontenac, to visit with and pour for Assistant GM Don Collins. We had a great lunch, tasted with Don and met his wife and General Manager of Cardwell's, Toni Collins. They liked all of our wines and selected our 2009 Frediani Zin, our Proprietary Red XXXIV and Sauvignon Blanc to add to their already solid wine list. I was not a stranger to Cardwell's in that Carol and I used to stop in there in the offseason before attending a movie in the Plaza Theatre. From there, we headed to Steve Church's Cigar & Wine Bar to do a radio show with Martin Kilcoyne and Frank Cusumano, talking football and Vermeil wines. We took a number of calls and preached patience to the Ram Fans. We also sold some wine to those who dropped by to smoke cigars and taste wine. Thank you, Steve Church.

After that, we went on to the St. Louis Cellars for a bottle signing event hosted by owners Matt and Jennifer Williams. The event was well attended and organized. I met many loyal Rams fans who have a passion for wines, including ours. Proprietary XXXIV was by far our biggest seller, but our '06 JLV, 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and '08 Frediani Zin was appreciated as well. We ended the evening by selling over $6,000 worth of VWG/OTE wines, as well as recruiting a few new VWG Coach's Club members. Thank you, Matt and Jennifer. We enjoyed the event, and we will be back in 2012! They have a great staff working for them!

As usual, when I get to St. Louis, I end the day by meeting with former associates I knew while coaching the Rams. Seven of us met at Maggiano's for a good old fashioned Italian dinner. Lory Fabian, Dana & Mary LeDuc, Larry & Jennifer Clerico, along with my old UCLA All-American nose guard Cliff Frazier, showed up to share a glass of wine and a few exaggerated Rams stories. Great people, great time!

On Friday morning, I took a cab out to Rams Park for a short visit with Coach Spagnuolo and to say hello to the people who are still working in the organization; there aren't many of my staff left in the building. Coach Spagnuolo is a good guy and coach who is going through tough times right now. No one is immune to a bad season in the NFL. The Rams are short on talent, and have had more than their share of season-ending injuries, but their morale and tenacity is good, so they will get it turned around.

From there, Sean McKeon picked me up and we headed over to see Matt Ferus, Asst. Manager at McCormick & Schmick's. Matt, who played football in college, recently graduated and is in charge of McCormik & Schmick's wine list. We poured four wines, 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, 2009 Frediani Zin, Proprietary XXXIV, and our 2008 JLV. Matt liked all four and I'm confident he will add at least three of them to the list. Brad Mock, M & S's General Manager, came by as we finished lunch to say hello and give the go ahead to Matt to place an order. I would have liked to coach Matt; he loved the game and our wines.

Following lunch, we went to Major Brands' office and warehouse to sign cases of wine to be put in the marketplace before Christmas. They say it helps, so I do it!

Keith and Kay Wortman were the hosts for an evening at the Old Hickory Golf Club for a VWG/OTE wine club members' dinner. Keith and I did a radio show together in St. Louis my first couple of years in town, and was the motivator to get this event put on at his golf club. Morgan Perry represented Major Brands and helped me with the presentation of all five of Paul Smith's wines. I've never had anyone pour five wines at one event before, but when Bob Menendez, the Food & Beverage Director, puts something on, he does it right! Everything was very well organized, the food was outstanding, and the staff really did a good job of both pouring our wines and serving their food. I have included a copy of the menu, so you can see the Old Hickory staff went all out to make it a very memorable evening. At the end of the evening, all 80 guests were given order blanks to fill in if they wanted to purchase some of our wines. Bob Menendez told me later that they purchased 40 cases of wine to be picked up at a later date. I'll be surprised if we don't pick up a few new Club members and local customers within the next couple of weeks. I hope so, but in looking back at past wine dinner experiences, sometimes the enthusiasm and appreciation for our wine wears off as fast as the good feeling of 5 or 6 glasses of wine does. Well, it was a great evening and I'm sure many of the people there were as impressed as I was.

Our next VWG/OTE event will be at Botto's Italian Line Restaurant at 1409 Kings Highway, Swedesboro, NJ (856-467-1570) on Thursday evening, December 8th. Hope to see you there!

October 27, 2011

The more I move around our VWG/OTE wine business, the more I realize the formula for success is the same for all businesses, surround yourself with good people and good things happen! Case in point; Tom and I hosted a VWG/OTE wine reception and dinner at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA last Saturday night, October 22nd that was as good as it gets in every way!

President Robert DiSalvio heads up the Sands team and has surrounded himself with an outstanding staff that did all the ground work. Diane Walker and Kathleen Birkbeck, along with Mike Trageser, really worked hard to make sure everything went smoothly at both functions.

The dinner was held in their Emeril’s Chop House and Chef Tony Page did a great job of matching all wines poured with each course. We started with our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, went on to our 2008 XXXIV Proprietary Red, to our 2006 JLV Cabernet, and finished up with our 2007 Frediani Zin. The food was excellent and the wines were very well received, though I think the group appreciated the Sauvignon Blanc and XXXIV the most.

Earlier in the day, we poured our Semillon and XXXIV, and they were also very well received by this group who were invited guests of the casino – “high rollers.” About 100 people attended, most of whom had never tasted Semillon before. I would say they all left asking how and where do they go to get some. Nice going, Paul Smith.

General Manager Jason Lonigro and Executive Director of Food & Beverage Martin Doyle really must be proud of their staff, because they all contributed to making the events special. This is a stop we would like to go back to! Robert and I talked about combining a Vermeil and Andretti wine dinner in the future. Sure would be fun to take a lap with Mario! He only lives a few miles away.

On to Washington, DC, for NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) weekend. Partner John Scarpa is hosting a VWG/OTE wine tasting on Friday afternoon and Tom Ward will be there pouring our wines in the downstairs exhibit area. Imagine 1500 Italians in the same hotel for 2 ½ days!! Fun!!!

Since returning from our Calistoga trip, I've been promoting VWG/OTE wine with some degree of success.  Since September 14th I've been doing a live VWG/OTE radio show in St. Louis every Wednesday at 11 am Central Time from my home in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  Martin Kilcoyne and Frank Cusumano host the five minute show on 590 The Fan KFNS.  It has been fun and very good for our market exposure, though with the Ram's poor start, it makes it difficult to keep being positive about the team's future.  I will remain positive because I know how tough it is to turn a franchise around.

On Monday, September 19th, I played in the Fred DiBona Charity Golf Tournament (Fred's Footsteps) at the Philadelphia Country Club.  It is an extremely well organized fund raiser and I'm proud to say a mixed case of VWG/OTE wines was auctioned for $2,000.  There was a local VWG/OTE Coach's Club member in attendance helping push up the price.

On Wednesday, September 21st, I drove to Atlantic City to speak to a Motorola/Verizon management team at Bally's Casino.  These events provide me with a very good opportunity to market our wines and promote going online to both purchase wines and join our Coach's Club.  Our online activity was up after the event, so these events do help, plus they provide me with a "team" to coach for at least an hour!  Fun and good for business.

On Friday, September 23rd, I flew to Fort Lauderdale to speak at two events for Summit Brokerage.  What a great experience this was for me.  They are outstanding people, well organized, and there aren't many hotels any nicer than the Boca Raton Resort & Club!  Donna Beattie, my contact, worked hard to make my experience a positive one.  She organized the purchase of ten cases of Vermeil wines to be both tasted and given as gifts to all those in attendance.  Approximately 350 people got to taste our VWG/OTE wines, then take some home.  We are sure to gain some new customers.

Marshall Leeds, the Company Founder and CEO, is a strong, positive leader!  It is easy to see why the company is so successful.  He and I presented awards to the 2011 Super Achievers, which included a bottle of Vermeil wine.  Thank you, Marshall, for providing us with this opportunity.  Don Shula has been their Company Spokesman for a long time, but couldn't attend this year's conference, so he recommended me.  Thanks, Don!

Also, out of this experience came an invitation to an Alaska salmon fishing trip in July with Floyd Shilanski and his son.  They were among the award winners and run a Summit Brokerage Services business in Anchorage.  Needless to say, I accepted.

On Thursday, September 29th, John Scarpa, a Principle Partner, Tom Ward and I all played in another Creative Financial Group golf outing featuring VWG/OTE wines.  This is the third outing with CFG, organized by Bernie Audet, Senior Partner, President & CEO of CFG.  They purchased seven cases of our wines - '08 JLV, '09 Frediani Zin, '08 XXXIV, and our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc - to serve at the cocktail party and dinner following the golf outing.  This event was held at Roger Hansen's Hidden Creek Course in Egg Harbor, NJ.  I was Roger's golf cart companion for 18 holes.  What a nice man, but I set his game back a long way - a golfer I'm not!!  Anyway, Bernie Audet's business associates purchased 27 cases of wine before the night was over.  Thank you, Bernie!  Incidentally, if you haven't played Hidden Creek, seek out the opportunity.  It is a beautiful course!

My next VWG/OTE events will take place in Dallas on October 14th and 15th, and then on to Houston to see Robert and Olivia Pacini, the people who introduced us (VWG/OTE) to John & Lindy Rydman.  John and Lindy are the owners and operators of the Specs Retail Spirits & Wine stores throughout Texas.  Houston is their home office and store and I visited there in early June.  A spectacular organization.

September 16, 2011

Carol and I are back from our thirteen day trip to Calistoga, and as usual, we had a great time! The Louis Vermeil Classic Non-Winged Sprint Car Races on September 3rd & 4th were very good. USAC (United States Auto Club) sponsors and promotes these events and work very hard to put on first-class events. I shipped my dad’s old #7 (1926 vintage) out for the events and ran exhibition laps with the other vintage cars each night. I personally restored this old sprinter, probably the reason it quit running both nights. Hope my dad wasn’t looking down at me. Our grandson, James Barnett, came in to spend the weekend with Carol and me and see his first sprint car races. He really enjoyed them, and needless to say, Grandpa and Grandma really had fun with him being there. Special!!

Since the harvest is late once again this year, I wasn’t able to get involved in driving a tractor in the morning and working in the winery in the afternoon. Mother Nature doesn’t read my calendar; therefore I spent more time in the tasting room. We were very busy during this two week period and I met a lot of very nice travelers from all over the country. A good number of Eagle, Ram and Chief Fans dropped in to say hello, taste and purchase wines. Thank you for your business! Mary Sue, who works 10 & 12 hour days in the shop, is doing a great job. She has a great passion for what she does. Thank you, Mary Sue.
While in town, the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce organized a city wide open house night for all those in the travel, hotel, transportation, and restaurant business that ended up being a big success. Thirteen hundred people registered for the activities in our Vermeil/OTE tasting room parking lot, so you know we poured a lot of free wine; at least four cases were consumed! Fun was had by all!! Free wine and food – how could they not have fun?

On Thursday afternoon, September 8th, representatives of the Elwyn Organization that I’ve supported over the years here in the Delaware Valley, came to Calistoga with a group from their Northern California branch of Elwyn. In case you don’t know, Elwyn is a very large organization that provides total support for those with special needs, enabling them to maximize their potential. Elwyn Board Members Tom Hollinger and Jeff Morton, along with Stan Retif who heads up Elwyn’s Development Programs, had conducted developmental meetings with the San Jose Branch, and then treated them to a trip to our tasting room. The other people attending were development people from Elwyn NC, past family donors and future financial support prospects.   Everyone appeared to enjoy the wine and the experience. If you don’t know anything about Elwyn, visit www.elwyn.org and look up what this organization does. You will be impressed.

When the tasting was over, Tom Hollinger purchased a case of wine for each couple there as a way to say ‘thank you’ for their attendance and support, as well as to show his appreciation for our VWG/OTE participation.

All in all, it was a good thirteen day stay, highlighted by the sprint car races, our grandson’s visit, the Chamber of Commerce event, the Elwyn Tasting, the Luvisi ravioli making party, and the Saturday night feast at D.D. Butler’s home. D.D. is the widow of Warren Butler, lifelong friend to Don and me. Warren, Don Luvisi and I grew up together in Calistoga. Thank you, D.D.! It was a super night. Your family is special!

A special thank you goes out to Mickey and Don Luvisi for hosting Carol and me for all thirteen days. What great hosts. There is nothing better than old friends!

I really don’t know how many VWG/OTE wine dinners we have been a part of since forming our business three years ago, but I do know the dinner at Longwood Gardens on Friday night was one of the very best occasions to date, if not the best! As a representative of the VWG/OTE team, I would like to say thank you to all those involved with putting it on.

Michael DeAngelis, Restaurant 1906 Manager, had his staff all primed to do a great job and they did. His game plan was so well-executed, there wasn’t a person leaving the event without a big smile on his or her face.

I thought it would be pretty much a local crowd, but I was wrong. We had tables from Harrisburg, Baltimore, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware, just to name a few. Also in attendance was one of our new Wine Club members, Joseph Kilinski, whose wife came to do a little tasting as well. Thanks, Joe! He’s a Paul Smith Zinfandel fan.

Thomas McMullen, the restaurant’s head chef, knocked himself out. You can see what I mean when you review his menu. He started the evening by introducing his menu course by course, and I followed with a wine review. All wines matched beautifully, but I think the buzz of the night was our 2007 Frediani Zin. Shawn Jellesma of Southern Wine & Spirits was also there to help with the wine presentations. He has helped before, but it was good for him as our distributor representative to hear and see how much the crowd enjoyed VWG/OTE wines. Hopefully, it will motivate SW&S to be more active in getting our wines out in the public! Another positive in regard to the wines: the guests weren’t restricted to a one-glass taste. Maybe this is why they all left smiling. Wines were poured as needed.

The staff did a super job of serving each course. The ratio of staff to attendees was the best I’ve ever seen. It almost seemed like each table had its own server. They were very efficient and were really into making this evening special.

If you are in the Chester County area and looking for a nice place to go to dinner, try Longwood Gardens 1906. The walk to the restaurant is a very pleasant walk in itself. You won’t be disappointed. Don’t forget to order a Vermeil wine to make the evening complete.

Tijs Wolters of Longwood Gardens and our own Tom Ward worked out the logistics. Thank you for putting it together. We look forward to our next opportunity to repeat last Friday night’s event.

We are heading to Calistoga on September 1st to be there for the Louis Vermeil Classic Sprint Car Races on the 3rd & 4th, as well as hoping to get to work the earlier part of the harvest. If you are in Calistoga during the first two weeks in September, stop in the tasting room and tell Mary Sue to call me and I will come over and share a glass or two!

AMUSE BOUCHE
“Ary” Dungeness Crab Soufflé
Capia Treasure Tomato and Coriander Nage,
Crispy Green Grape Tomatoes, Sea Spears

Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, CA 2009

Sicilian Olive Oil Smoked Plum Tomato and Basil Salad
Parma Ham Wrapped Pickled Watermelon,
Burrata Cheese, 25 year Balsamic

Zinfandel “Frediani Vineyard”, Napa Valley, CA 2007

INTERMEZZO

Grilled Culotte Steak and Braised Short Rib of Beef
Yellow Zebra Tomato and Tasso Polenta,
Sun-Dried Tomato Mushroom Salad,
Tomatillo-Pistachio Pesto

Proprietary Red XXXIV, Napa Valley, CA 2008

Juliet Tomato and Crescenza Cheesecake
Sweet Corn Gelato, Chocolate Mole Sauce,
Ancho Honey

Sweet Semillon “Luvisi Vineyard”, Napa Valley, CA 2009

August 21, 2011

Every trip I make back to St. Louis is a very warm, positive personal experience, as well as a very productive VWG/OTE Wine business trip.  I built this trip around doing a favor for Tom Hollinger, Newton One Advisors’ CEO, who has done many favors for our VWG business.  It started out on Wednesday, August 17th, with a luncheon at the downtown Missouri Athletic Club, hosted by Newton One Advisors.  They invited their clients and local business associates.  I was there to represent our wines served with lunch.  They poured our Proprietary XXXIV, along with our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.  Following the luncheon, we got organized to do the same thing at the M.A.C. in the St. Louis suburbs.  Tom and his associates, Michael Niemann and Jennifer Radman, invited about 150 people, both clients of Newton One and M.A.C. members.  This evening ended up being one of the finest VWG experiences I’ve had in our three years of business.  Almost all the people in attendance were Rams season tickets holders, and many had made the trip to Super Bowl XXXIV.  Consequently, they were very receptive to tasting our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 Cab Franc, 2007 JLV, our 2009 Frediani Zin, and our XXXIV Proprietary Red.  By the end of this wonderful evening, those in attendance had purchased 35 cases of our wines (mostly XXXIV) and many said they were going to join our Coaches Club.  Thank you, Tom Hollinger, Mike Niemann, and Jennifer Radman.  Mike and Jennifer run Newton One Advisors’ office there in St. Louis.  Jennifer did most of the organizational work, and she really did a super job!  Great job, Jennifer!

On Thursday morning I went on Fox TV 2 at 7:00 am to promote our bottle signing event that day from 4:30 to 7:30 pm, and our Friday VWG/OTE VIP Wine Reception and Dinner being held at the Lumiere Palace Casino and Four Seasons Hotel.  Thank you, Spencer Koch, CEO of Fox TV 2, for providing us the opportunity to promote our wine events.  What great exposure!!

Following the TV show, we headed over to Rams Park to do a few radio shows, and then watch the Rams practice as they prepared for their Tennessee Titans pre-season game.  Tom, Mike and Jennifer really enjoyed this rare opportunity.  Following practice, Coach Spagnuolo invited me to talk to his team.  Wow, I got fired up!  I’ve almost forgotten how exciting that experience can be.  Thank you Coach Spagnuolo, a case of VWG/OTE wines will be delivered soon, hopefully a bottle to celebrate each of your 12 wins this year.  It pays to think big!!

After doing a couple more radio interviews, we headed out to Lukas Liquors in Ellisville, MO, to get set up for the bottle signing starting at 4:30 pm.  Tom Hollinger, Mike and Jennifer came along to help out.  Gary Bilder, the owner of Lukas Liquors, and his staff had everything ready to go when we arrived.  Tim Greco, Assistant Manager, and Jon Lane were there to help me get through the three hour event without any problems.  People were lined up waiting for me to arrive.  By the end of the three hour session, approximately twenty-five cases of our wines were purchased, most of which were our Proprietary Red XXXIV.  I wonder why?  Jenny Chierek of Major Brands, our local distributor, was there as well to pour and help in any way she could.  

Following this event, I joined some friends from the Rams organization who I had worked with for a dinner at Charley Gitto’s Restaurant.  The food was good but they have yet to add VWG/OTE wines to their wine list.  Needless to say, we got after ‘em pretty good.
On Friday morning, Tom Ward joined me for a meeting with the Major Brands sales group.  We did a little tasting and a little motivating.  These people are doing a better job than any of our other representatives, but we did want them to know they could do better.  We need their best effort!

From here, we headed back to the Four Seasons Hotel for a lunch meeting with Steve Church, a person out of my St. Louis past, who is opening a cigar and wine tasting shop.  Our wines will be served there.  Finally, we got a break!  I went and got a workout in the Four Seasons gym, then got ready for the VIP reception at the Lumiere Palace Casino that is all part of the Four Seasons’ Complex.
As soon as I walked into the room, I knew it was going to be a first class evening.  They were set up to pour our ’09 Zin, ’07 JLV Cab, ’07 Cab Franc, ’08 XXXIV, and our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.  The 40 or 50 VIP guests were treated to a great appetizer buffet and our great wines.  Paul Smith will be pleased to know everyone was very complimentary of his work. These guests of the Lumiere Casino are what they call their high end customers, I called them high-rollers.

At 7:30, we all moved into a dining room in the Four Seasons Hotel and met up with the rest of the invited group.  The numbers grew to about 150 people and they were all anticipating our wines and dinner.  They poured our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc with the salad, then came with our 2009 Frediani Zin with a very good filet.  All this was nice but what made it special for me was Marshall Faulk, just recently inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, D’Marco and Suzie Farr, and Orlando and Carla Pace came to the dinner to help Tom Ward and I meet and greet these very loyal Rams fans.  Following the dinner, all the guests were treated to a gift package of our wines to take home.  I know this, I signed approximately 80 cases of wine in the three days and most of them went to the VIP guests of the casino.  That’s close to 1,000 bottles.  Sure hope they enjoy the wine!

The three-day trip went very well.  We sold about 130 cases of wine for our Major Brand distributor, received great media coverage and promotion, recruited a number of new club members, and met a lot of great people.  The only negative was my flight home on Saturday was cancelled.  Nothing worse than getting to the airport at 6:00 am to find out your 7:15 am flight has been cancelled.  I finally got out of there at 11:30.  So much for US Air.

Thank you to all those people at Major Brands who chipped in and helped us present our wines.  Emily Politte and her associates were big time contributors to our successful three days.  

Thank you, Neil Walkoff, Sr. Vice President & General Manager, Lumiere Place!
Thank you, Jeff Babinski, Vice President & General Manager, Lumiere Place!
Thank you, Dan Burk, Executive Host, Lumiere Palace!
Thank you Alper Oztok, General Manager, Four Seasons Hotel!
And a special thank you to Maria Cohen, Promotions Director, Pinnacle Entertainment!

Go Rams!

July 28, 2011

If you have been following our VWG/OTE event schedule, you’ll know that last Friday, July 22nd, was the Vermeil Napa Valley Wine Train Luncheon.  What a great experience!!  I’ve been to many VWG wine dinners since our business was formed three years ago, but I don’t think any have matched the quality of this experience.  Cheryl Stotler, NVWT wine merchant & retail buyer, along with Andrea Guzman, NVWT promotions manager, did a super job of organizing a game plan we could all follow and execute.  Our Vista Dome Car was sold out at 45 people.  There were a total of 270 people going to be on the train and Paul Smith and I were given the opportunity to discuss our Vermeil wines with the entire group of 270 people prior to boarding at 11:30 am.  They poured our Semillion and Charbono to the entire group, which was a nice bonus for the VWG.  Following the tasting, everyone boarded their specific cars and off we went.  (When we got back, every bottle of Charbono was purchased.)

We were in the Champagne Vista Dome Car, which was very classy and comfortable.  The NVWT executive chef, Kelly MacDonald, was on board to meet and greet all of us as we took our seats.  Right off the bat, you got the feeling this was going to be special!  The first course was a seared day boat scallop on mango carpaccio salad with grilled orange vinaigrette, paired up with our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.  It was a great starter, but it only got better!  The second course Kelly prepared was smoked short ribs with Bloomsdale spinach sauté and baby corn, paired with our Luvisi 1908 Vineyard Zinfandel.  What a great match up.  Mickey Luvisi was on board to add a special personal touch to drinking our Luvisi Zin: thanks Mickey.  I was thinking this was it until Kelly MacDonald’s staff served our third course – grilled fillet mignon with carrot mashers in a white truffle jus, topped with achiote onion rings, paired with our 2008 XXXIV Proprietary Red.  The XXXIV matched up nicely.  We received a number of compliments about all the pairings.  Paul Smith and MarySue, who were responsible for coordinating this event, and I worked the car as everyone enjoyed this marvelous meal.  I believe the people were impressed with our wines and some will become future customers.  In fact, they purchased about five cases when we got back to the station.

I think everyone was stuffed by the time they served the freshly prepared chocolate s‘mores tart dessert, but they found a way to finish strong and enjoy the chocolate tart anyway.

Sharing this food and wine experience with so many nice people was fun, but what made it even more special was sharing it with Geri and Elizabeth Walsh, Bill Walsh’s widow and daughter.  They came up the night before from Palo Alto so they would be able to join us in the morning.  There is a very nice Westin Verasa Hotel right across the street from the train station where Geri and Elizabeth stayed, so if in the future, any of you readers are looking for a place to stay, I recommend it.  Another treat for the old coach was having Steve and Annie Yates in the party.  Steve played right tackle for me on my Napa College team in 1964.  His two sons came along too.  Steve just retired from a long term role with Kendall Jackson’s wine organization.  Good player, good person, good friend.  Thanks for coming, Steve.

Needless to say, when I joined my Calistoga graduating class of 1954 for dinner that night, I couldn’t eat.  I made up for it the next night when Carol and I attended Calistoga’s All Class Reunion at the Fair Grounds.  Great to see everyone.  We poured a mixed case of our VWG wines.  A lot of compliments Paul; nice going.

If you haven’t experienced a Napa Valley Wine Train trip as yet, put it on your calendar.  Call Cheryl Stotler at 707-253-2160, and tell her I said to call.  You won’t regret it!

On Sunday, July 24th, a bus load of San Jose State Athletic Department supporters came up to our VWG/OTE Wine Tasting Room in Calistoga.  John Poch, Associate Athletic Director/Deputy Director of External Operations, organized this event to say thank you to all of us who contribute money to their Spartan Foundation.  They boarded a bus early Sunday morning in San Jose and headed out.  Their first stop was Dario Sattui’s Castello di Amorosa, just outside Calistoga.  Dario, like me, is a San Jose State Alum, and is a big supporter of the Athletic Department.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Castle as yet, put it down on your to-do list and get up there.  Plan to spend at least three hours, because the castle and amenities are spectacular, plus it is only 10 minutes from us.  They arrived at our tasting room about 2:30pm after already doing some wine tasting, so you know they all had red cheeks and smiles on their faces.

SJS’s Head Football Coach, Mike MacIntyre and his wife, Trisha, were among the visiting Spartans.  I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet them yet, so it was real nice to be able to say hi and wish him good luck.  He needs more than my good luck wishes to help turn the football program around, but he’s got his program started and going in the right direction.  With Stanford and UCLA on his September schedule, I suggested he take home a couple of JLV cabs for post game medicine.  John Ralston, former Stanford, Denver Broncos and San Jose State Coach, was also a passenger.  He and Jenny look great and really made the wine tasting event special for Carol and me.  I worked for Coach Ralston at Stanford for four years (1965-68) and I really appreciate the positive influence he’s been in my life and coaching career.  Now, if I can get ‘em to switch from his beer drinking to Vermeil Wines, I’ll feel like I have paid him back in some small way for all he’s done for me.

Paul Smith and MarySue, as well as Clint Heise, a VWG/OTE employee, did a great job of hosting the event.  John Poch and his mother had prepared a beautiful lunch for everyone to enjoy along with our wines, so they all had good food and wine.  Don Luvisi came over and helped represent our wines.  Don, being a limited partner in the VWG, has added credibility and depth to our company and everyone enjoyed his comments.  I got the feeling Don’s 1908 Luvisi Vineyard 2009 Zin was the overall favorite of the Spartan group.  Speaking of Spartans, Gene Menges, my backfield coach at SJS in 1956-57 was also on the bus.  He played QB at SJS before I arrived and coached their baseball team for many years after I graduated.  His predecessor as Head Baseball Coach was Sam Pairo, also made the journey.  Good people!

I encouraged the party of about 40 people to join our Coaches Club, with the hope of getting the Spartan Foundation group on the Vermeil Wines drinking team.  Only time will tell, but I do believe we will pick up a few new club members.

John Poch seems to be the right guy to help Coach MacIntyre turn the program around.  He worked very hard at putting this event together and we in the VWG/OTE team really appreciate it!  Thank you, John – Go Spartans!

July 6, 2011

As I enter this Coach’s Corner update, I’m sitting in the last row on a small plane on my way home from a two day pit stop in Houston, Texas.  Tom Ward and I were in town to kick off the introduction of our VWG/OTE wine business with John and Lindy Rydman’s lead wine & spirits store in Houston. This Spec’s organization could be the first touchdown we’ve scored from a long way out in the early stages of building our company. The Rydmans run a 92 retail store outlet throughout the state of Texas, and as of now, we anticipate being in about twenty of these stores. If the rest of their chain of Spec’s stores is anything like this home store here in Houston, we are joining an outstanding team! We started pouring Friday, July 1st, at 2:00 pm, and didn’t stop until 8:00 pm! We were pouring our 2008 XXXIV and ’07 JLV Cabernet. Paul Smith will be very pleased to hear that both wines were very well received and appreciated. We sold 10 cases Friday, with a higher percentage of JLV than in any other environment we’ve been in to-date.

The help we got from everyone working for the Rydmans as we worked through our first day in house was super!! Their people are very knowledgeable, warm and friendly. It didn’t take Tom and me long to feel at home. Following our Friday efforts, we met Robert and Olivia Pacini for dinner at Frank’s Chop House on Westheimer for dinner. Robert and Olivia are the couple that Carol and I met while doing a speaking engagement in Costa Rica a year ago last February. They are very close friends of the Rydmans, therefore our introduction to Spec’s. Tom got up very early Saturday morning to catch the first flight home so he could be home for his wife Diane’s birthday. Happy Birthday Diane.

Saturday was organized for me to start pouring at 11:00 am but since I was up and at ‘em early, I headed over to open up shop earlier. Oops, they don’t open until 10:00 am, so I had to bang on the door to get in. Glen Garcia, a store manager, was there to greet me with a big smile. Spec’s is a full service stop, about anything you want to eat or drink you can purchase at Spec’s, so I went back to the deli and ordered a breakfast taco! Julia took good care of me. She’s been working for Spec’s for 26 years! The taco was so good; I would fly back to Houston just to have another one. Thank you Julia! By 10:00 am, I was ready to start pouring again. Ralph Castellano, a wine consultant for Spec’s in the fine wines division became my offensive coordinator for the day. He was a big help and I really appreciated his assistance. People were lined up for kickoff when the doors opened at 10:00 am, so it didn’t take long to get busy. I would guess we sold close to the same amount Saturday that we sold on Friday. Carter Goodrich, one of Spec’s young managers, kept coming by to make sure everything was going well. He is an Aggie amongst a lot of Longhorn fans. The Rydmans start ‘em young and train ‘em well!

I found the wine drinker coming into Spec’s to be a sophisticated drinker. They weren’t footballers first, wine drinkers second. No, they came to Spec’s to purchase good wine, and everything else they needed to enjoy a 4th of July holiday weekend. Saturday was even a higher percentage day of JLV Cabernet buyers than Friday was. I saw a lot of big shopping baskets full of goodies pass by, as the shoppers got ready for their parties. The other thing I noticed was families coming in and shopping together. I think Spec’s is a destination spot for a lot of people. Wow, do I wish we could do business like this in Pennsylvania. What a difference it would make. 
Prior to our Friday event at Spec’s, we stopped by to visit with James Kramer, Vice President of Beverages for the Landry Restaurant organization. They run a huge chain of restaurants, such as The Chart House, all around the country. Pat Kelly, one of Spec’s sales managers, helped set up this meeting and was also nice enough to give me a ride back to the airport after Saturday’s wine tasting and bottle signing event. Thanks, Pat.

Overall, a very good event and something we will do again. I’m excited about the potential at Spec’s with some of our other VWG/OTE products, such as our Sauvignon Blanc. It will be big in Texas! I hope you all enjoyed our 4th of July birthday, and maybe even enjoyed a VWG/OTE product at the same time.

June 24, 2011

As I told you in my last entry, Tom Ward and I headed to the Old Westbury Golf & Country Club on Monday, June 20th, to pour our Proprietary Red XXXIV and 2010 Sauvignon Blanc for the MJHS (Metropolitan Jewish Health Systems) fund raising event in New York.  David Nussbaum, the foundation’s Executive Director, had purchased thirty-five cases of our wines to both present as a gift to those attending and also pour at the cocktail party and dinner.  The wines were very well received as they ran out of wine before dinner was over.  Hopefully we added a few new customers.

This is the second year in a row we’ve been invited.  In fact, this year they assigned me the Honorary Chairman responsibilities, which means you do nothing more than enjoy their company, respect what they are doing to help those in need of health services, eat their unbelievable food, and drink our wines.  Pretty good duties!  The buffet served at the Old Westbury CC is the most spectacular display of quality food that I have ever seen.  It is amazing what you can do when you are told the budget for the food is unlimited!!  You name it, it was included at one of the food stations.  The New York steak table had 2 ½ inch thick steaks that were cooked to perfection.  Our XXXIV really went super with them.  The other stations were just as spectacular in their own rights.

Believe this or not, because of David Nussbaum’s leadership and the generosity of the many sponsors and golfers, they raised $930,000 on Monday that will benefit those in need of health services they would otherwise not receive.

Congratulations to all involved and thank you for allowing the VWG/OTE winery to pour our wines.
 
A side note to the VWG/OTE business.  I flew to Phoenix on Wednesday, June 22nd, to speak at a conference hosted by a company called ExpertPlan Retirement Services, out of Windsor, New Jersey.  Julian Onorato is the CEO and Founder.  All the clients they work directly with in the pension plan world were on hand.  The reason I’m including this in my Coach's Corner is they purchased eight cases of our wine (5 XXXIV and 3 Sauvignon Blanc) to pour at the cocktail party and dinner Wednesday night.  I’m very pleased to report the wines got very positive reviews.  In fact, they ran out of all 8 cases before the evening was over; not bad for approximately 260 people.

What made the trip special was my UCLA QB and Eagle safety John Sciarra was there.  He is a client of ExpertPlan.  John, too, enjoyed the wine.  Then after speaking on Thursday, another special guy came over for lunch.  Kurt Warner lives in Scottsdale, so he came by for a visit.  I found myself having lunch with two MVPs, John in the Rose Bowl, Kurt in the Super Bowl.  Wow, what a high for a retired football coach!

The meeting was fun.  I enjoy having a team to coach, even if it is only for an hour; but the opportunity to share time with these two MVPs was very special to this old coach.

P.S.  I think we picked up a few very good customers.

June 22, 2011

My Bootleggers Liquor Outlet experience in Northfield, NJ yesterday was a very positive experience.  First off, the ownership team of Howard Soloman and Andy Simpson have done “it” right!  The shop is very well done. You get a very positive first impression as soon as you walk in the front door. The wine and spirits bottles are sparkling clean, no dust to be found, and all products are nicely organized and displayed. I’m very pleased our OTE/VWG wines will be one of the many highlighted products represented by this organization. Their employees were pleasant to visit with, knowledgeable and seemed to be very excited about representing our wines.

Bill Kirtsos, our VWG accountant, Glenn Davila, who directs our overall marketing program and Peter Michaelidis, who handles our shipping, were all on hand to help me as we worked through the two and a half hour tasting and bottle signing. They were a big help and made the time that both Carol and I invested all the more rewarding. Speaking of rewards, we sold fifteen cases of wine in those 2 ½ hours, thanks to their help and the very well planned out program. The wine and Eagle fans came in and immediately were directed to the tasting bar. From there they moved to my mid-store operation and I signed the bottles of their choice. We also took a few pictures.

The people were typically loyal wine and Eagle fans.  Paul Smith would have really appreciated all the positive feedback I got on our wines. Yes, some were more Eagle fans than wine fans, but they joined our team as soon as they tasted Paul’s work.

Following the event, Carol and I were invited to spend the evening with the Pontano brothers, Michael, Tom and Dan. We started our evening with a 6:00 pm wine tasting at Michael and Mariann’s in Avalon, then headed down to Cape May to have dinner at the Union Park Restaurant. The food was excellent and with Mike Pontano supplying the Italian wines, the wines were outstanding as well. Needless to say, I enjoyed every bite and every sip. Therefore Tracy Bazile, Nicky’s wife, did the driving while Tommy and I slept. Thank you Tracy!

On June 20th, Tom Ward and I headed to the Metro Jewish Health Foundation fund raising golf event at the Old Westbury Golf & Country Club in New York. David Nussbaum, a VWG friend, is our lead man. They purchased thirty-five cases of our wines to serve and give as gifts. We were there last year for this event as well, so they must have liked our wines. As we passed by the Meadowlands, Tom and I called on the Meadowlands Food and Beverage Director to say hello. They are offering our wines at the suite level this season during the NY Giant and NY Jet games.  That is if we have a season. You have to believe they will! See ya!

June 3, 2011

May 19, 2011

I finished off my last entry by saying Tom and I were heading to Total Wines in Potomac, Maryland, on Monday, May 9th to meet with Mike Mulderig, VP of Wine Buying. Well, I’m very pleased to announce the meeting with Mike, Christina Pearce, Senior Buyer, and Rachel Gross, Associate Buyer, went very well. They were very pleasant, knowledgeable and professional people to meet with. You can easily see why Total Wines has been very successful! David and Robert Trone, owners of Total Wines, have put together a very solid team of people who know what, why and how to do what they are doing – selling wine. When Tom and I left our meeting, I didn’t have a feel as to how they would respond but Tom Ward received a notice that Total Wines is placing an order for 420 cases of VWG/OTE wines!! Wow, we were pumped!! Thank you Mike, Christina and Rachel! This is a real boost for our team and hopefully will lead the way to the establishment of our VWG/OTE Wine in the USA market.

Carol and I spent the weekend in the Napa Valley. The weather was not typical Napa Valley; rain and hail as well. Oh well, it didn’t disrupt the reason we were out there – to attend the 90th birthday celebration for Mrs. Jeanne Frediani, the owner and operator of Frediani Vineyards. Approximately 120 people were on hand to show their love and respect for this wonderful lady. I’m so grateful that Jeanne has allowed me to share 74 of her 90 years with her. She is truly a remarkable lady and so worthy of emulation. Needless to say, Carol and I saw people we haven’t seen in years. A lot of hugs, laughs, kisses, and a few tears! Happy Birthday Jeanne. May we all be so gifted.

While in the valley, I went by the Napa Valley Wine Train main office in Napa and met with Cheryl Stotler, their wine merchant and retail buyer. Cheryl and MarySue, our Tasting Room Manager, have been organizing a Vermeil Wine Train event to be held on Friday, July 22nd. It will be a wine train luncheon, featuring VWG/OTE wines, starting at 10:30 am and running to 2:30 pm. It should be a real fun experience. I know the wines will be good and from what I hear, the food will be excellent. If any of you have an interest in this event, you can email reservations@winetrain.com or call 800-427-4124. They are only going to only have one car available for the luncheon (56 people) so if you are interested, move quickly because they sold 10 seats the first day. The charge is $159 per person. Yes, it is expensive, but when you combine all aspects – good food, good wine, good venue, and good people, it will be worth it!!

My next VWG/OTE event is scheduled for Friday, May 27th, in Canal’s Wine & Spirits Shop in Williamstown, NJ, from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. Drop by and have a taste. Hope to see you there.

Febraury 8, 2011

After taking some time away from our wine business, I headed to Dallas on Wednesday, February 2nd to utilize four pre-Super Bowl game days to market our OnThEdge and Vermeil Wines and what a fabulous experience!

I met Tom Ward, our General Manager, who was already there setting up a marketing schedule.  On our first night in Fort Worth, Texas, I thought I was in Fort Collins, Colorado, the weather was so bad! We played a role in hosting an OTE/VWG wine tasting within a Steve Sabol art show held at the Milan Gallery. Most of you sports fans would know Steve Sabol as the President of NFL Films, but on the side he is a talented artist. All his art centers on the history of the NFL. His father, Ed Sabol, was elected last Saturday into the NFL Hall of Fame as a contributor – a very deserving honor. The art show and wine tasting was a very successful event, especially when you consider the 200 – 250 people who attended had to brave very poor road conditions. The Dallas/Fort Worth area is not prepared to handle poor weather – no salt trucks, no snow plows! Steve sold about half of the pictures he had on display and we sold all our wine that wasn’t poured in the tasting. About six cases! Following the event, Steve took us all out for a martini and dinner. Thanks, Steve!!

On Thursday morning, Tom had me scheduled to do a live, 6:30 am, Mike & Mike Radio/TV show with Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg. They are really good at what they do, and they really put our wines out there, showing our JLV & XXXIV on TV as we discussed them. Football people are good guys! David “Deacon” Jones was on right after me, so it was fun to visit with the Hall of Famer. I was on the Ram’s staff when he was playing in 1969.

From there, we headed to the Super Bowl media center in downtown Dallas for eight straight hours of radio and TV interviews, the best of which was the one I did with the NFL Network. Trent Green, our limited partner in VWG and my Kansas City Chiefs QB, was on set, as was Jamie Dukes, Jim Mora, Jr. and their lead man, Rich Isen. Rich has been drinking our wines for a number of years now, and he, too, put our wines on camera. What great publicity!! Thank you, NFL Network. Our pace was so frantic; we never stopped until 4:00 pm that day, not even for lunch.

Friday was not as hectic though we did go back to the NFL broadcast center for three more hours of radio/TV marketing. When we finished up in the morning, we drove back out to Forth Worth to have lunch with Don and Mary Anne Shula at Shula’s Grill 347 (347 wins). We had a great filet and talked a little history of the NFL. Don is now 80 years old and still going strong. The Shula Steak House organization keeps him busy. Bill Herman, VP of Corporate Development for the Shula chain, was on hand as well, and I do believe our OTE/VWG wines will soon be in many of the Shula Steak Houses in the near future.

That night, Tom and I joined a Bank of America group in downtown Dallas for an OTE/VWG wine tasting event. Only about 30 percent of the people got there due to the weather conditions. Chris Traeger, the B of A strategic marketing executive who helped organize our participation, acted as the host and everyone seemed like they really enjoyed our wines (JLV & XXXIV). Tom returned for the Bank of America party Saturday night that a higher percentage of their guests were able to attend. I flew home Saturday afternoon following a Roger Staubach Company Super Bowl breakfast party hosted and organized by Ward Eastman of ppimarketing, a Staubach organization company. Marv Levy, the four time Super Bowl Coach and Hall of Famer was also a guest. We had a great time with the 60 Alcatel executives and clients being entertained by Roger’s organization. Fortunately for me, the table I was assigned to included three couples who were big time wine lovers and belonged to many of the cult wine mailing lists that exist in the Napa Valley. Hopefully, they will add OTE/VWG to their very exclusive list.

With all this said, the best part of the four day trip was being able to see Trent Green, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Ron Jaworski, Kevin Carter, DeMarco Farr, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Belser, and Ernie Conwell, all players who I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach. Special people, special players. Marshall found out the next day he was elected into the NFL Hall of fame; so deserving! Congratulations, Marshall.

February 4, 2011

January 9, 2011 - Happy New Year!

Last Sunday, January 9th, I drove up to the Skytop Resort in the Poconos to speak to a Philadelphia branch of a Y.P.O. group, and at the same time, pour our VWG/OTE wines for their cocktail party and late dinner. I said late dinner because we all watched the Eagles game after the meetings and prior to dinner. Needless to say, we all felt like we lost! It was a 145 mile trip up there for me, but Michael Azeez, our VWG Managing Partner, flew in from Palm Beach that morning, rented a car and followed me up to Skytop a little later in the day. He’s tougher than I am!

Michael knew a lot of the people involved, and he had done all the pre-event ground work, so all I had to do was speak for 45 minutes, watch the game, drink our wines, eat dinner, and sack out. I drove home the next morning. Michael turned around the same night and drove back down the hill to his home in New Jersey. As I said, he’s tougher than me, and a number of years younger!

The YPO members were very complimentary of our wines. I’m not sure which wine the group liked the most, but I heard a lot of positive comments about our XXXIV. Now, if these guys will go out and join our wine club, I’ll believe it was really worth the effort. They seemed sincere enough to do so, but only time will tell! Paul Smith would have been proud of the positive feedback Michael and I received in regard to our OTE/VWG wines.

In closing, I would like to recommend Skytop as a great family vacation spot. My family and I have enjoyed two family vacations there in the past and we really had fun. There is something for everyone and the food is great!