Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/7240
70 / the tasting panel / march 2010 the Southern house, we became an overnight success [in Vegas]. The customers they do business with de- sire products like ours, and I have to say, the Southern force is so devoted to those customers. Fine wines are compatible with Southern's business model. It's a proven fact." Lifelong Relationships Jim Allen is going into his 31st year with Southern. "I think I'm the most itinerant of the group; I've worked more markets than anyone." He may be right. Allen has man- aged sales in Florida and Califor- nia, opened the state of Hawaii for Southern, ran Colorado and New York and is now Executive VP/ Managing Director for the Odom- Southern partnership in the Pacific Northwest, where he has access to smaller wine and spirit brands. "There's no need for a wine sup- plier to worry about getting lost in our book," insists Allen, who is big on building lifelong relation- ships. "We understand the wine biz and are apt at developing longtime commitments to small estates. The education we have in-house is staggering; we've trained our people well, and that comes across as accessibility to wine buyers." Europvin U.K.-born Christopher Cannan founded Europvin in 1978, a carefully selected portfolio of wines from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Hungary. The com- pany exports to 50 countries. "We have a group of unique products," explains Cannan, "and we are the exclusive importer of some important names, such as Vega Sicilia, arguably one of Spain's most important wineries, and renowned sherry producer Emilio Lustau." While Europvin's wines—from coveted Bordeaux estates to artisan Spanish garnarchas—are highly regarded, they are competing in a challenging global arena. "Southern is a powerful operation; equipped with enough salespeople to cover the market, they help us gain access to the trade in a way a smaller bro- ker cannot." An Army of Specialists In Arizona and New Mexico, the internal fine wine division is a small army of specialists, and the troops are led by SWS veteran Michael Jahn. "Arizona is not a hotbed of Mediterra- nean food, but I still have an Italian wine specialist to work with our large portfolio of [small] producers." Doubters on- and off-premise who believe Southern is just a high- volume machine take note. "Well, when I hear that, we just turn a negative into a positive," Jahn states cheerily. "We show up with some amazing wines in our bag!" He adds that Southern's business model is advanta- geous to the restaurateur or fine wine shop. "Our size allows us to hire tal- ented sales people and our service is just . . . better." Special REPORT Christopher Cannan, founder of Europvin.