First and foremost, we wish to extend our sincere condolences to the families who have lost homes, businesses, and loved ones as a result of the wildfires that are currently ravaging Northern California. Natural disasters have been an all too frequen
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Corporate and Holiday Gifting with Estate Wine Brokers
How to Select a Broker Part VII: Trusted Brokers
WHERE TO START: TRUSTED WINE BROKERS When our clients ask for referrals to other wine brokers to use, this is the list we give them. They are not the only good wine brokers out there, but they are the ones we can personally vouch for, a
How to Select a Broker Part VI: Checking Facilities
STEP 6: CHECK THEIR FACILITIESThe last step in selecting a broker is to check a their facilities. If possible, you should visit them in person. If you are going to be buying and possibly storing wine with a broker for years, you should ensure they
How to Select a Broker Part V: Checking Licensing
STEP 5: CHECK THEIR LIQUOR LICENSEAnother thing that you want to double-check is whether a potential broker has a valid a liquor license. If you’re going to physically touch a bottle of wine (in the United States), and you’re going to make it publ
How to Select a Broker Part IV: Checking References
STEP 4: CHECK THEIR REPUTATION AND THEIR CLIENT REFERENCES At this point, you should only have three to five finalists left, for two spots. Now it’s time to dig into the details of their business. A good broker should be able to give
How to Select a Broker Part III: Checking Prices
STEP 3: CHECK THEIR PRICESAs you are checking the price trends of the wines your potential wine brokers recommend, you should also be checking the actual prices they are quoting you. As you look up every wine on their lists on Wine Searcher and
How to Select a Broker Part II: Testing Their Skills
STEP 2: TEST THEM TO ASSESS THEIR SKILLSMost wine brokers you come across will pass Step 1, having experience. If they don’t, remove them from consideration immediately. But once you’ve found five to ten wine brokers who have experience, and th
How to Select a Broker Part I: Checking Experience
We have been in the wine business all our adult lives, and we know, at least by reputation, all of the major wine brokers in the country. When friends come to us and ask how to find and select a wine broker to work with, this is how we recommend that
Wine Basics Part V: What Makes Great Wine Great?
In the world of wine, there is an important distinction between subjective assessments (i.e. simply liking a wine for personal reasons) and objective determinations of a wine's level of quality. Professional tasters examine the follow