Wine

Friday, Aug. 15, 2008

Wine Notes: Big risk, big payoff

In the age of big ads, Tarrica goes against the odds, relying on a distribution network

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There are different ways to be successful in the wine business. Making good wine is a given.

But once you have wine in hand, there are several ways to sell it to consumers. One option that is popular now is a dedicated tasting room—as evidenced by more than a dozen in downtown Paso Robles. Another option is a big advertising campaign that gets your brand out to millions of consumers via magazines and other media outlets.

But an unconventional option, one usually seen as risky, is to rely entirely on a distribution network. That is what Tarrica Wine Cellars in Shandon has done, and against all odds, its owners have made it work flawlessly.

“We just focus on making the best wine we can make,” brand manager Mike Gwin explained, “and get it into the hands of competent distributors and support those distributors as much as possible.”

With a “very, very modest” marketing budget, Gwin has successfully obtained distribution in 12 states and has sold out his inventory every year since 2003.

This year, Tarrica will produce about 10,000 cases of wine, and the company plans to double its production in the next two years.

Tarrica was founded in 2000 by wine veteran Sam Balakian. With more than 40 years of experience in the industry, Balakian started as one of the first graduates of Fresno State University’s winemaking program in 1964. Since then, he has worked for some of the state’s largest wineries, including Swiss Colony, Christian Brothers and Heublein.

With an enormous bulk wine production facility in Shandon, Balakian wanted a small-lot brand that represented good quality and affordable prices, thus he developed Tarrica. The name is a derivative of the names he and his wife, Valerie, gave to their daughters, Taryn and Erica.

Tarrica’s winemaker is Jason Bushong, a 36-year old Humboldt State University graduate who became interested in wine through a professor who owned a small winery. After working for him through college and getting paid in wine, Bushong decided wine-

making would be his career.

He has been working for Balakian since the beginning of the project and also is a winemaking consultant for Graveyard Vineyards in San Miguel.

With grapes from the east and west sides of Paso Robles and Monterey County, Bushong is making more than 10 wines, including four whites, five reds and a port. The port has won consecutive gold medals at the Orange County Fair in 2006 and 2007.

The same year Tarrica released its first vintage, Gwin was hired to head marketing. With a background working in wineries, restaurants and retail wine stores—that included positions from assistant winemaker to sous chef —Gwin brought a thorough understanding of wine sales and distribution and how to successfully use the system on a limited budget.

“We decided to just focus on making the wine,” Gwin said, “and using the distribution channels to do the selling.”

With key price points under $10 at retail, and under $25 on restaurant wine lists, Tarrica focused on small distributors who needed wines in that price range.

“At almost every distributor we have,” Balakian explained, “we’re the only wine they have at our price point.”

Balakian said his strongest distributor is local J&L Wines and owner Lorraine Alban.

“She has been a godsend to us,” he said. “Without her, we probably wouldn’t be in business today.”

Signing a distributor is one thing, as most winemakers have learned. Getting them to pay enough time and attention to your brand is another.

And that’s where Gwin has focused his efforts. Through phone, Internet and personal visits, Gwin constantly works with the distributor sales people, educating them and motivating them to sell his wines.

Asked about the possibility of a future tasting room, Gwin said it’s not even discussed.

“We want grocery stores, wine shops, restaurants to sell our wine,” he said, “we do not want to compete with them.”

Tarrica doesn’t even sell its wines on its Web site.

For those interested in using the same strategy as Tarrica, Balakian has a few words of advice.

“In trying to get distributors you have to accept rejection,” he said, “because four out of five are simply going to reject you.”

And he said you have to have someone dedicated to the program: “The vast majority of our distribution is due to Mike’s effort.”