So You Want To Get Into the Wine Business? (How to Be a Wine Geek, Part IV: Interview with a Wine Retailer)

Welcome to the next installment in the "How to Be a Wine Geek" series here at www.1Winedude.com!

Many wine lovers have toyed with the idea of one day breaking into the wine biz. That's not just trying to jump into perceived (and relatively false) romantic cache factor of workin' the vineyard and making wine. Some would like to take a different approach to turning their hobby into their livelihood - in a way that doesn't involve the potential to run into farm animals on a daily basis.

I thought it would be enlightening to get a view on what it's like to turn wine passion into wine profession. So I asked someone who has done it. Jill Bernheimer, owner of the on-line wine store and blog Domaine547, kindly agreed to give us her thoughts on 'life behind the bottle'.

Jill has been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, and has garnered a reputation among the wine blogging community as someone who is not afraid to speak her mind. Another way of putting it, is that she's not afraid to say publicly what the rest of us are thinking provately (thanks, Jill!).

Jill recently advised her customers to buy one of her wines from a competitor because it was able to offer a lower price than she could - an act that earned her mad props in the on-line community (and no doubt increased customer loyalty).

The interview results are a great insight into life in the wine industry. Enjoy...

1WD: Tell us a bit about your business. How did you get started? What made you chose to get into the wine biz?

Jill: I run a little wine shop that happens to be online only. It's called domaine547, and the focus is on...well, on wines I like. I personally taste 98% of the wines that I bring in, and that way I can sell them without any hesitation.

The website itself is a bit curious, because the way you enter the store is through a blog... some people may not even realize there's a store, but that's intentional. I'm a soft-sell kind of gal, and I don't want anybody to feel like anything is being forced upon them. If people discover the store, and if people want to shop there... then great.


1WD: What's the most rewarding aspect of your business?

Jill: When I started the business just over a year ago, I wouldn't have considered myself an expert on wine. That's not to say I was without qualifications - I had my Intermediate certificate from the WSET, and lots of experience traveling, reading and drinking wine (and a moonlighting gig at a local wine shop). But my attitude and approach was as an enthusiast discovering wine alongside my customers and my readers.

I think the most rewarding thing is that, even with hundreds of more wines tasted, and much more knowledge about wine and experience in the wine business, my attitude has stayed pretty much the same: I'm like a kid in a candy store, just as excited about wine as I was when I made the transition from hobbyist to working in the trade. Of course, getting to taste wine everyday and meeting producers is great as well.


1WD: What's the biggest P.I.T.A. about your business?

Jill: Shipping. On all levels...my hands are riddled with paper cuts from packing orders, and my head hurts from the intricacies of interstate alcohol shipping restrictions.


1WD: How do inter/intra-state wine laws impact your business?

Ugh. How do they NOT impact my business? There are lots of folks who say they'd order from me if it were legal, so I'd have to say that my volume is affected directly. Whether or not they're just saying that? Well, I guess I won't know until the laws change...


1WD: Beatles or Stones?

Jill: Hmmm, that's a bit of a narrow world view. [Editors note: well, it is my blog, after all!]. But I'd have to go with Beatles more often than not, with the occasional Ruby Tuesday moment.


1WD: What's the best wine & food combo that you've come across?

Jill: Sottocenere cheese with a Barbera d'Alba. This is going to sound pretentious, but they taste like they have some terroir in common. The cheese is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese infused with truffles and with an ash rind containing cinnamon and nutmeg spices. [Editors note: drooling is permitted.]


1WD: What's your favorite wine in your portfolio?

Jill: Without a doubt, the Rafael Palacios "As Sortes" Godello. It's steep for a Spanish white - it crept up from about $32 in the 2005 vintage to $46 for the 2006. But it's so good. A hint of lemon, nutiness, some wet stones, ever so slight oak, and some tingle on the tongue without the acidity hitting you over the head. Really delicious. I'd compare it to a Grand Cru Chablis, and from that perspective it's much more reasonably priced. Funny thing is, I'm much more of a red wine drinker than a white wine drinker, but there is no hesitation with this response.


1WD: How many times gave you seen the film The Big Lebowski?

Jill: I've seen it from start to finish only a couple of times, but I've seen it in snippets many more. Favorite quote is definitely "I don't roll on Shabbas."


1WD: Where do you turn for help and inspiration? Any Trade publications, Blogs, web resources, support groups or Therapists you find particularly helpful?

Jill: I have RSS feeds to more than fifty wine blogs, but I've been falling behind on my reading lately. I have learned a tremendous amount from blogs like yours, Good Wine Under $20, Catavino, Good Grape, Wannabewino, Catie at Walla Walla...too many to really mention. I do enjoy Twitter more than other community web resources as it offers me a chance to talk with all of the aforementioned (except Jeff who refuses to tweet) in a more Instant Message, conversational mode.


1WD: Exactly how much does the band Rush totally rock?

Jill: Would you believe me if I told you I got "Exit, Stage Left" [Editor's note: Dude's all-time favorite album!!!] as my Afikomen prize when I was in the 3rd grade or so? I loved Tom Sawyer. But it pretty much started and ended there (and with the Geddy Lee collaboration with Bob and Doug McKenzie) [Editor's note: "Hey, 10 bucks is 10 bucks..."].


1WD: Any advice for budding wine enthusiasts?

Jill: Taste early and taste often.


1WD: Thanks for agreeing to the interview, Jill! One final question - Do these pants make me look fat?

Jill: There's pretty much no right answer to this one! [Editor's note: I'm sorry... that answer is incorrect. The correct answer is "No, you look great! Did you cut your bangs?" But thanks for playing!]

Cheers!