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66 / the tasting panel / march 2010 When Dan Cohn brought his wines to SWS in Florida, it was after years of being pursued by Mel Dick and Wayne Chaplin. "I had an East Coast alignment with another distributor," admits Cohn, 35, who joined the family business, B. R. Cohn Winery, which his father began in 1993. Now the Senior VP and National Sales Manager for the winery and the growing B. R. Cohn Olive Oil Com- pany, Cohn manages 53 distributors in 48 states and all global business from his home in Maryland. "It seemed like every two years, I would award our business to one of the SWS distributor markets," Cohn reflected. "But Florida was a difficult decision to make. We actually were up in numbers, by 32 percent, with the other distributor." When Mel Dick, Wayne Chaplin and Brad Vassar showed up for an in- person meeting at the Sonoma Valley winery, the landscape changed. "No distributor had turned up at my front door before," Cohn attested. "Who was I, though, when they had $100 million dollar contracts and I was a less-than-100,000-case win- ery? I asked Wayne out- right: 'Why do you care about me?' His answer: 'I'm here, aren't I?' "I was already with Southern in New York and California, and that was 30 percent of my business. In the past ten years, I've awarded the business to them in Delaware, Penn- sylvania and also New Jersey. But they're head- quartered in Miami, and I knew they wanted me to be there—to do a job for me, nationally." Cohn knows that South- ern's help in getting his wines out to market is a numbers game, but one that's also personal. "This is now a 'we' situation. We're about family, and my numbers will help determine if my kid goes to college or not. From the top management down, there is no disconnect with Southern. I will be there with them [in Florida] two weeks a month for the first six months of this transition. It means a lot—to all of us." Out-Servicing the Competition "Please don't hate us because we're big," implores Steve Slater, VP/Gen- eral Manager of SWS of California, "because we didn't become big by doing anything but out-servicing the competition." Slater, who ran American Wine & Spirits in SoCal for five years, relates, "We don't go out and buy brands; they come to us because of our repu- tation and our relationships with the buyers. Those buyers know they can call me or any of our top managers anytime, without having to explain who they are in order to reach us. And mid-level and boutique brands can go to these buyers with our sup- port behind them." Being a realist, Slater under- stands the small supplier's fear of being "lost" in the Southern portfolio. "I have a philosophy that the supplier doesn't need to manage the marketplace, but should be equipped to manage the distributor. Case in point is 300,000-case producer Rodney Strong Winery. The winery's re- gional VP, Dickson Lew, is a magician when it comes to working the building. I see him here quite often, visit- ing with the broad market teams, the chain VPs; he re- ally knows how to work us." He adds, "A small winery can get lost if they choose, by bringing us their prod- uct and leaving us alone. A supplier also needs a sales team: You have to invest in your company. There are 55 million people in the market- place here in California. You have to commit. Laying off your sales force is like cutting off your fingers." Slater quotes Carolyn Wente, whose numbers—and sales force— are staying strong in this economy. "What else can you do? The grapes are still growing." Jordan Winery John Jordan's relationship with Southern dates back to his child- hood. "Harvey Chaplin and Mel Dick played a big part in the initial launch of Jordan Winery," explains Jordan, the heir to the Sonoma winery. John's parents, Sally and Tom Jordan, the winery founders, were friends with Mel Dick from the begin- ning. "I remember Mel when I was a little boy," recalls Jordan, now 37. Jordan also shares a common career path with Wayne Chaplin. "We both were attorneys who went back to run our family business." In fact, B. R. Cohn Winery Dan Cohn of B. R. Cohn Winery. Special REPORT