Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/7240
march 2010 / the tasting panel / 65 Ferrari-Carano Don Carano, founder of Sonoma's Ferrari-Carano winery, goes back 17 years with Southern. "I have always felt a security with Southern," notes Carano. "As we have grown, so has the distributor. I remember when Southern in Nevada was mostly a beer house—look at them now." The last time Carano went to Southern's headquarters in Florida, he met with SWS President and COO Wayne Chaplin, Mel Dick and Brad Vassar, Exec VP & GM for SWS of America—the big guns. "In walks Harvey Chaplin [the biggest gun— founder and patriarch/owner of this still family-owned national opera- tion], who sits though our entire two- hour meeting. I walked out saying 'Wow!' He offered great ideas, and I was inspired by him." Like many of the smaller suppli- ers we talked to, Carano had the preconceived notion that because he was small, his needs would not be attended to; but in his meeting, he discovered another side to Southern. "They want to keep my brand in the spotlight. The sales force alone is not only reputable but educated and motivated. We get to take advantage of that." With more than a dozen sales people of their own, Ferrari-Carano learned how to work best with their distributor. "Another advantage of being repped by a big distributor is that we get to use their tools," Carano adds. "The software we can access sets up our retail accounts, giving us infor- mation about where our wines are being sold and which targeted ac- counts are going to be handled. Be- tween these features and also getting my texts answered instantaneously by Mel Dick, I feel looked after." Divide and Conquer: SWS Fine Wine Divisions By creating fine wine divisions, Southern has entered the field with reinforced sales teams whose job it is to work with the smaller labels. Such separate divisions include American Wine & Spirits in California, TransAtlantic in Florida, Signature in Illinois and Lauber in New York. "Just about every state that we're in has a fine wine division," Richard Booth assures us. As the VP/GM of Southern Wine & Spir- its of South Florida for 30 years, Booth remem- bers those early days. "In the mid '80s, I was the on-premise wine manager, and even back then we had a fine wine division. We knew the smaller labels needed special attention, and it was useful to have that go-between to our salespeople who were selling the larger brands." Proving that Southern does pay attention to the "little guy," Booth continues, "As we grew, we were looked upon as the big powerhouse. We heard everything from 'We're worried about getting lost in your book' to 'You won't have enough time for us, because you're only paying attention to the big brands.' But it wasn't—and isn't—so. It started with relationships and continues with relationships that are kept alive with effort and attention on our part." Booth insists that he wants his sales force to do nothing but . . . sell. "We have appointed key account specialists for our suppliers. They spend time with their buyers. They find the time to call on the account, have dinner with the buyer, pair the wines they are selling with food at the account and ultimately, be able to write a workable—and well-bal- anced—wine list for the account. This means the larger wineries are represented, but our little gems also have ink on that wine list." Heart Rhonda and Don Carano, Ferrari-Carano Winery.