Renee Hamilton, Wilson Daniels Ltd. Texas Market Manager, is more than a knockout. She’s smart, ambitious and wine savvy and (like me) balances her role as mother, wife and breadwinner. She picked me up at the Lancaster Thursday morning and we were off.
First stop - aromatic YAPA, where we met owner Mark Lewis, who used to have a deli/take-out shop in Eugene, Oregon. He gave us our first order of the day - several cases of three wines – what a way to start the morning!
Our next meeting was a bit more intimidating. We met with the Fine Wine Buyer at Spec's Liquor Stores, Charles Dalton – better known as “Bear”. This man has incredible buying power as Spec's is one of the state’s largest wine stores. “Bear” is one of those buyers who makes you feel small. In addition to his large frame, he doesn’t say much when he tastes. He rather types his comments into his computer, without giving much back. As the presenter, this makes it incredibly challenging, wondering if he’s enjoying the wines or just getting through them. He did take a photo of us for his newsletter, so I figured that was a good sign.
An Italian gentleman was waiting for us at Spec's check-out counter as we left the appointment. He was to be my “date” for the day. Somehow Gabriele (Gabe) Chiocca (a real Italian) found his way to Texas and is now one of Republic’s top sales reps. We immediately hit it off, conversing in Italian in the car as we drove to our lunch appointment. Hearing and speaking Italian always takes me back to when I lived in Perugia many, many years ago. We had a delicious lunch at Arturo’s and met David Andry, the wine buyer there.
Next stop - the father/son team at Divino, a beautiful Italian restaurant. Chatting with Patrick McCray and his father Jim McCray, gave me a sense of connection. Working with one’s folks can be rich and fulfilling, but can also be challenging. Having patience is critical. These guys were great and I enjoyed getting an outside view of a family business relationship.
Busy Patrick Dorrian of Valentino was nice enough to meet with us, but our conversation was short and sweet. By this time, I was getting nervous, looking at my watch realizing traffic was accumulating on the highways and I was an hour from the airport. Tonight was the night I was flying home.
Renee wanted us to make one last stop at the Houston Wine Merchant. Gabe drove me there as he popped in a CD from one of his favorite Italian artists. He sang as I got restless in the seat next to him. Gabe dropped me off at the shop, I called Renee to insure she was watching the time, then went inside and met up with Marcy Jimenez, who was sympathetic to my concern over the time, but courteous enough to taste through the line-up.
Minutes later, Renee whisked me away to the airport with an hour to spare. That final flight home is the one I’m always most anxious about – when you’re ready to see your kids, you’re ready.
I spent the following two days relaxing with my family. A soccer game for Max, a trip to the mall with Lauren, a long walk with Sami and Brett, homemade pizza and a good movie at night settled me back into home life in Scholls.
Happy to be home, pleased to have sold some wine and to have met a lot of really nice people in the great state of Texas. Thank you, Texas and Republic. You guys are the best!
Ciao.
Maria
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