Posting reviews on wine retail sites, part 2

May 14th, 2008

,

As a follow up to last week’s poll, which was met with overwhelming apathy, we thought we’d pose our question about reviewing wines on web retail sites in a slightly different manner. If it were really easy to do so, do you think you’d post more reviews on domaine547, or other retailer websites for that matter (like, if you didn’t have to sign in, if you could click a few stars like you do on Netflix, or something of that nature)

Please pipe in with your response to this poll!

If it were really easy, WOULD you be more motivated to post reviews on a wine retail site?

View Results

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We’re not sure what the impediment to posting reviews is. There was overwhelming response to our poll on what you use to guide your wine purchases, with Cellartracker coming in a strong 3rd with 12% of the vote. That leads us to believe that many of you probably enter notes into Cellartracker (see the article in Good Wine Under $20 from just yesterday), in addition to reading notes posted by other Cellatracker users — so we know you’re willing to write notes in a community context.

We think it probably comes down to a couple of things: the lack of ease of use, and perhaps lack of critical mass on retail sites. We’re going to try and work on a way to remedy this…someday!

20 Responses to “Posting reviews on wine retail sites, part 2”

  1. Gravatar Icon Carol

    I don’t know why, exactly, but I don’t ever trust reviews on retails sites. Take Amazon, for example. Half of the reviews are written by yahoos who can’t/don’t give a fair asessment. I don’t leave reviews either because, truthfully, I can’t be bothered. I have enough trouble finding time to write about wines for my blog. I have to say I’d feel the same about customer-given wine reviews on a wine retail site, though I guess if it were something I was really passionate about, one way or the other, I would consider writing about it.

  2. Gravatar Icon Kara

    The issue for me is not simplicity but bravery…I barely feel comfortable writing about art/design, about which I maintain a blog…writing about wine is daunting when you’re not a pro! Maybe some sort of prompt in the review process…suggested words/phrases, simple questions guiding me through the process…hmm.

  3. Gravatar Icon Steve

    Our site is, of course, built around the concept of a Netflix-like review system for wines in order to generate wine recommendations.

    Our crude polling of users show that the more experienced a wine drinker they are, the somewhat less likely they are to return multiple times to rate wines on such a simple scale. Conversely, our less experienced users have commented that it is to intimidating to make written comments.

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get your wine on

2008 “Bebame” Red, El Dorado County, California

Cabernet Franc (65%) and Gamay (35%) from - gasp - California! And only 13% ABV, pretty modest by California standards. If I tasted this blind I would probably have said it’s from the Loire Valley. It has pretty much nothing in common with the full bodied iterations of Cab Franc coming out of Napa. Juicy, light, delicious quaffing wine.$18 a bottle

2006 Telegramme Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge

Really balanced and smooth, this is a bargain of a Chateauneuf. Yeah, the 07s are lauded but what would I prefer to drink? This! It’s the second label of Vieux Telegraphe, from the same property but from younger vines. And it’s a deal at $33 a bottle.2006 or bust!

NV Barcino Cava: LA Times Wine of the Week!

Delicious and just in time for New Year’s Eve…this is the LA Times Wine of the Week, and we have plenty in stock. Order online, pick-up in-store!$14 a bottle!

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freshly pressed

The Business of Saying No:

No, I am not a natural wine merchant.

And no, I am also not not a natural wine merchant.

So what exactly is my store, Domaine LA? This is a tricky question that I try to answer here.
________

A couple of months back, I participated in the first annual Los Angeles Natural Wine Week, spearheaded by Lou Amdur of Lou Wine Bar. At that time, I took some heat from a few folks around the Internet who felt I might have been merely capitalizing on a trend and didn’t see me as a true natural wine merchant.

The thing is, I’ve never claimed to be a natural wine merchant. When I started my business online a few years ago, I stated plainly that I wanted to sell wines I loved. I was an enthusiast with a fairly receptive, wide-ranging palate, and I considered learning about wine a journey I would be going on alongside my customers. While I’ve since expanded my business to include a brick and mortar space, my self-conception and mission statement haven’t really changed. But my palate has.

To be absolutely blunt about it, I used to love wines that I simply can’t stomach anymore. There are blog posts archived on my website that in retrospect make me cringe, paragraphs singing the praises of some of the most blatantly manipulated wines in the world. I once criticized a wine bar for not having any Southern Hemisphere selections; it’s now my favorite spot in Los Angeles. And today I carry barely a dozen Southern Hemisphere SKUs myself.

By and large, my palate-shift is reflected in what I bring into the store. Chris Ringland and Mollydooker have been replaced by Eric Texier and Thierry Puzelat; the California fruit- and alcohol-bombs, for the most part, have given way to wines from La Clarine Farm, Donkey and Goat and LIOCO.

As a result of my largely obscure inventory, almost every day I’m faced with customers asking for items that I don’t stock. On a regular basis, I hear:

“Do you have Rombauer Chardonnay?”

No, I answer.

“Do you have Caymus?”

Afraid not, I reply.

“What about Blackstone Merlot?”

So sorry, but no.

“Where’s the Veuve Clicquot? This is a gift. I need the recipient to know it’s nice!”

Sigh.

Saying no to people sets up a potentially risky relationship that may start and end with that one exchange—many customers want what they want and aren’t open to alternative suggestions. In other cases, however, that simple “no” can be the beginning of something beautiful, a dialogue that winds up with a customer who came in looking for the Prisoner instead going home with something like Morgan Twain-Peterson’s Bedrock Heirloom Red, a wine which, while perhaps not 100% natural, is a more honest “made in the vineyard” (yes, I know this is also a cliché) version of what the Prisoner purports to be.

Of course, sometimes that customer really just wants the Prisoner. Which leads me to my major confession here: despite more than a bit of ambivalence, I continue to sell the Prisoner, along with other wines that are by no means natural, wines that are quite frankly manufactured. The Prisoner sits on the shelf right next to the Bedrock Heirloom Red, and for the time being, it will stay there. At least twice a week people come in asking specifically for this wine, and, for several reasons, it’s a request I’m not—yet—willing to deny.

Even though I no longer drink the Prisoner, there was a time–not too long ago–when I did so happily. When I first started getting interested in wine, it was a bottle that captured my imagination and helped launch me on the journey I remain committed to today. So maybe I keep the Prisoner around out of a sense of nostalgia. Or maybe I keep it around to remind me how far I’ve come. Maybe I keep it around hoping that for those who ask for it, it will simply be their starting place just as it was mine.

Or, more cynically, maybe I keep it around because people buy it. Maybe it’s a crutch to lean on when I’m too tired to hand-sell the less familiar items on my shelves. Seeing something recognizable is comforting to consumers, and that comfort somehow lends me credibility; credibility is a precedent to trust. Trust is what enables me to recommend something different to a customer who normally drinks the Prisoner.

In this sense, the Prisoner is of great value to me, not just as an easy sell, but even more so as a gateway to all the other wines I have available. I don’t know that I’d be able to move as much of the Bedrock, an unknown wine with a tiny case production, without the Prisoner right next to it.
______

Saying no is extremely hard. Right now, I’m willing to do so 90% of the time, maybe even 95%. Call me a coward or a fake if you want. But I know where I started out, and it’s been a logical evolution. And while I’m headed in a particular direction, guided by my palate, it’s safe to assume I won’t ever be a 100% “natural wine merchant.”

I like to think there’s room for somebody like me—somebody with confidence in her tastes, who also takes into account modes of production in buying decisions; someone who has a particular point of view, yet retains an inclusive attitude. I am strong in my opinions, and enthusiastic in my passions. I never judge my customers, and hope that they’ll be as open-minded and respectful of my offerings as I am of their preferences.

So far, it seems to be working out. In recent months, I’ve brought in only one case of the Prisoner (less than a thousandth of a percent of its total production) for every three cases of the Bedrock (1.3% of its total production).

So, what am I?

I’m not a natural wine merchant. And I’m not not a natural wine merchant.

I’m a work in progress. And I’m okay with that.

wine jargon

Frizzante
From Wikipedia: Frizzante is an Italian wine term term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial secondary fermentation in tank. You might notice a light fizz or tingly sensation on the tongue with a Frizzante wine, compared to the more carbonated sensation that more fully sparkling wines yield.


Scorekage
Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.


Frizzante


March 29th, 2008

Scorekage


March 23rd, 2008

Rioja


March 3rd, 2008

grapewise

DomaineLA Store Contact Info
If you’re looking for our brick and mortar shop, here’s where it can be found:

6801 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 932-0280

Hours are 11AM to 8PM, Monday through Saturday and noon to 5PM on Sundays.

Read more…

Fabulous & Frugal!
Our friends launched a new site and domaine547 is a featured wine columnist in their premiere edition! Go check out Fabulous & Frugal for some fantastic lifestyle tips for living the good life during what, for most of us, is an economically challenging time. There’s much more than wine there, and we’re thrilled to be a small part of the start of what will surely be a successful venture. Congrats to Brandi & Steph for their achievement!

Read more…