Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/314991
{ SOMMjournal.com } 7 Today, McAteer is Statewide Marketing Manager in Texas for RNDC—and he knows a lot more about wine and his clients. He has not only graduated from WSET's Levels 3 and 4 courses, he is now studying in the exclusive and rigorous Masters of Wine program. Currently there are only 34 MWs in the United States. Moreover, McAteer has become a leader in RNDC's groundbreak- ing program of providing structured wine education to its sales and marketing employees through its alliance with WSET. Last November, RNDC became the first ever U.S. distributor to join WSET's group of Corporate Patrons. At the announcement, Ian Harris, WSET's Chief Executive, lauded RNDC for "having been an approved provider of WSET's globally recognized qualifications to their staff and clients since 2010." "We only want well-qualified employees to become part of the pro- gram," says McAteer, RNDC's WSET Examination Officer, "because we want to guarantee a high level of success. At first, we enrolled only sales people working with fine wine accounts, but now we've opened it up to make all employees potentially eligible." Speaking the Same Language as the Buyer Each time classes are offered, RNDC vice presidents across all markets decide which employees to nominate for the courses, which are taught at WSET facilities in Grand Prairie (Dallas), San Antonio, Houston and Austin. Currently, RNDC is con- centrating on Level 2, along with the company's internal Graduate Level training program, and Level 3 curricula and not offering Level 4 courses. Typically, a training class for the Level 2 program, offered three times annually, will enroll 45 to 50 employees, while the Level 3, given yearly, will have only a maximum of 30 people. "We estimate Level 2 requires about 30 hours of study, while Level 3 will take about 80 to 85 hours of study time," McAteer says. "We send candidates study material and have follow-up quiz- zes every couple of weeks." They then come to campus for one-and-a-half days of hands-on training. In the advanced Level 3 courses, learning how to taste wines professionally is also required. "A primary reason I was attracted to WSET in the beginning is that I wanted to learn to taste," McAteer says, explaining that he doesn't mean just using flowery descriptors found in wine reviews. "In the industry, we are seldom taught how to taste wines, how to identify a wine's basic components and structure. And you can't learn that by reading a book." This skill is imperative, McAteer says, in working with accounts where the sales person must speak the same language as the wine buyer. "We can talk with a buyer about the kind of wine structure that he or she likes, and then we can recommend wines that fit that pro- file," he says. "And today our customers are increasingly taking Master Sommelier classes themselves, so we need to keep up with them." WSET training is providing the RNDC sales force with a flying start. ◗ Executive Chef John Coleman. RNDC TEAMS UP WITH CHEF COLEMAN OF SAVOR GASTROPUB When Chef John Coleman was working on his first solo restaurant venture two years ago, opening Savor Gastropub in Klyde Warren Park, a five-acre deck enclave over a Dallas freeway, he turned to RNDC for scoping out new opportunities for wine service. "I had worked with various RNDC representatives during my 23 years with the Ritz-Carlton organiza- tion," Coleman explains, but, although he is a very wine-knowledgeable chef, he had never worked with keg wines before. "I started conversations with RNDC long before the restaurant opened." "We have a very diverse dining crowd," Coleman explains, "from people who have a standard restaurant meal inside to fathers having a glass of wine outside while watching their children play in the park." This called for a flexible wine list, including keg wines for three different-size by-the- glass pours as well as a varied yet limited selection of high-quality bottles to match the menu, which reflects the "pub's" name and the social atmosphere Coleman wanted. "I feel that the people at RNDC are my partners in success, not just vendors," Coleman says. "They are advisors who bring ideas to the table, but they know when to take 'no' for an answer. Right now we are working together on a small reserve list." And the keg wine? "That turned out really well," Coleman says. "We now sell the equivalent of 3,000 bottles a month." —R. M. Somm Journal June/July.indd 7 5/9/14 12:07 PM