My dad likes wine. While my dad makes a great pilot, he makes a terrible wine buyer – it’s not his fault; he has excellent instincts and tastes well. Wine buyers must know the value of every type of wine, every vineyard, every country, and every vintage (or at least have a computer to help them out) And the best wine buyers really need to know the finances how to broker the deals so that everyone wins.
An old highschool friend of mine, Matt, sells used cars for a living. He likes cars, and knows just about everything about cars, regardless of make, model, or year. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about a BMW M3 or a Ford, Matt can tell you just about anything you want to know about the engine, the fuel injection, top speeds, fuel economy, etc. If I buy a car, I go to Matt because I know he’s an expert and I know if he can educate me on a car before I buy.
Wine buyers must have the same level of knowledge and love for wine that Matt has for cars. Next time you talk to either a wine seller or a wine buyer, make sure your wine buyers know their wines like Matt knows his cars. Otherwise, you may not get the value you seek.
