ADVANCED MIXOLOGY
SPIRITED BUSINESS
WINEMASTERS
Taking the Mystery out of Wine Selection
W
ineMasters Kevin Roche and Jim Treanor have spent most of their lives working in the wine and spirits industry. It was not until they became wine retailers, however, that they noticed a dramatic shift in the industry. Mega stores were taking over, threatening to put the boutique retailers out of business by breeding a sort of Walmart for wines. Roche and Treanor came together with a shared vision to increase their buying power and help make wine selection easier for their patrons. After conferring with numerous industry colleagues, WineMasters, the only retail wine consortium comprised exclusively of certified sommeliers, was born. WineMasters first order of business was to reinvent the way wine was rated and make finding great wine easy. According to Kevin, “Consumers cannot just walk into a store and choose any old bottle of wine. They may as well blindfold themselves and choose.” We all know too well that buying wine in this way can lead to disappointment and a waste of money. It’s important to have an informed staff that knows what they’re talking about. Jim adds, “You need to buy wine from a knowledgeable staff, preferably certified sommeliers who’ve gone through training and have earned the title.” This is just one way that WineMasters distinguishes itself from the rest. All WineMasters member stores must have certified sommeliers on staff or be willing to earn certification through WineMasters. WineMasters also developed its own selection process, which is more stringent and legitimate than the current 100-point system. According to Kevin and Jim, the 100-point system is antiquated, confusing and does not provide a valid or consistent assessment of wine. Kevin says, “We wanted to make things much simpler and take the mystery out of selecting a quality wine at a good price. We taste thousands of mediocre wines a year so our customers don’t have to.”
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Consumers cannot just walk into a store and choose any old bottle of wine. They may as well blindfold themselves and choose.
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CHILLED MAGAZINE
The WineMasters system of evaluation uses a sub-panel of reviewers to pre-screen thousands of wines per year before selecting those that will be put before WineMasters’ official sommelier panel. Only a select few meet the group’s criteria and earn the WineMasters Seal of Approval. With only around 200 wines awarded this honor in the group’s history, consumers can be confident that they are drinking a wine that offers the best value for its price. Another focus of the WineMasters program is to offer hard-to-find wines at the best possible price. In order to do this WineMasters’ founders sought to secure partnerships with a variety of top wineries and winemakers around the world who were also feeling disenfranchised with the three-tiered system. Kevin states, “Many wineries prefer our model to the current system, not only because they feel the traditional method is broken but because they are getting lost in the myriad of wines being presented by distributors. They simply are not getting the focus they deserve. This is a big factor in choosing to be a part of our wine portfolio.” By creating a direct from the winery system that allows WineMasters to sell wines directly from the vineyard to the consumer, they can offer the lowest possible prices on the wines they endorse. Currently, the WineMasters consortium includes 37 stores throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts and its membership is rapidly growing. According to Kevin, “We are always looking for stores that are interested in joining our group, provided they meet the criteria. The same thing goes for our wines; there are exceptional wines being made all over the world, we understand this and it is our goal to find these gems and bring them to the public.”
