| An Interview with Wendie Waters from Qwik Way/Beverage City |
Wendie Waters is the Dallas Area Regional Manager for the Qwik
Way/Beverage City Wine and Beer Store Chain. She is one of the most
wine savy and knowledgeable people I have met in the Dallas Wine
Industry. Her stores boast a wide variety of excellent wines at very
affordable prices with helpful and knowledgeable sales people to guide
you through your purchase. They offer a 10% discount when you
purchase four or more wines which is a generosity that is unheard of in
the industry. Besides selling wines, she host some very fun and
entertaining Wine Tastings and many pair wines found in her stores with
some great Italian food at Paparazzi's.
Wendie was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions with
regards to what's going on in the Dallas Wine Scene:
How did you get interested in wine?
I became interested in wine quite by accident. After I discovered that
simply having a college degree does not grant you a dream job, I decided
to refocus my career goals. Having worked in both retail and restaurant
environments since high school, I naturally turned to these venues. I was
most comfortable in the retail environment and discovered that I actually
excelled at sales. I quickly became bored with this, however, and I decided
to shift gears. I already had several years of bartending under my belt,
and during that time I had acquired an interest in aperitifs, digestifs and
cordials, quite frankly, because most of them were sweet and came in
really neat bottles. While at a bookstore one day, I found an encyclopedic
book that reviewed the history and social impact of hard alcohols. I bought
the book and read it in one week. Having a B.S. in Biology, I found the
numerous production processes of alcohol fascinating. There was a brief
chapter in the book on wine production that I found particularly
interesting. I went back to the bookstore and spent a small fortune on
books about wine; most notably the Windows of the World Book on Wine
by Kevin Zraly. I was hooked. I went through the book chapter by chapter,
trying to taste as many wines as I could from various different regions.
How did you get where you are now in the wine industry?
So I have caught the wine bug and decided that I wanted to continue my
educational process by working in a nice, wine oriented restaurant. The
problem was I had no experience as a waitress and my bartending
experience, although extensive, was all at casual restaurants or pub
environments. Absolutely no one in the city of Dallas would let me get my
foot in the door. So I did the extreme, I took a bartending job on a five-
star cruise line. This position opened the doors to all sorts of
opportunities. Since the cruise line I worked for was seasonal, I found that
most of the employees took winter positions with four and five star resorts
in Colorado during ski season. I followed their lead, and was granted a
position with a wonderful resort in Vail. From here, my career path started
to take shape. In addition to working at the resort, I began moonlighting at
a wine retail shop outside of Breckenridge. The manager of the retail shop
was a true ‘wine geek’ and took me under her wing. I will never forget the
first time I was asked to taste a wine and actually turn an opinion into a
sales pitch! After that season, I contemplated going back to the cruise
line, but got a better offer in New Orleans. From there, I answered an ad
in the Dallas Morning News for a wine retail manager with the Quik-Way
Group. I spoke to one of the owners over the phone, and here I am.
What is your best selling varietal and why?
Chardonnay, Chardonnay, Chardonnay. I think that this wine is a best
seller for many reasons. First, this is a name that people are familiar with.
For example, someone can come into your store, and even if they know
nothing about wine, chances are they have heard that Kendall Jackson
Chardonnay is a really good bottle. Second, Chardonnay is an
impressionable grape in regards to winemaking. In other words, it is easy
to manipulate and therefore comes in a wide spectrum of styles. Third, you
drink it cold and it goes down smooth: that is to say, there are no bitter
tannins on the finish and, well, it’s hot in Texas.
What do you think is the toughest thing about making it in the wine
industry?
Quite frankly, I don’t think I have necessarily made it. But this is what is
great about the wine business; it’s a cross section of business politics,
marketing, finance and good and bad wine. The wine industry in the United
States is still in its infantile stages. Therefore, the industry and the market
are constantly changing. I think one of the hardest things about the wine
business is trying to stay abreast off all the incoming information. The
production methods, varietal popularity, target audiences, wineries,
winemakers, companies and virtually everything else associated with this
industry are constantly acquiring, shifting, reinventing. At some point in
time, you have to stop, refocus and realize that you simply cannot know it
all.
In addition, there are still a lot of wine elitists in this industry. If the US is
to progress as a wine drinking nation, we need to loose the notion that
wine is for the rich or well educated. Wine is for everybody; it is a social
drink that is meant to relax political and socio-economic boundaries, not
create them. That is how and why it was created and consumed by the
Romans and Etruscans; why not us?
How do you think the Dallas Area wine enjoying public compares to say,
New York, Chicago or San Francisco?
Dallas is not as advanced. For the most part, we are still a City (state) of
beer drinkers. The aforementioned Cities are meccas for tourism. What
do people do on vacation? Eat at upscale restaurants. Furthermore,
studies show that people are more likely to try something new while on
vacation. This applies to food and wine. People go to New York, Chicago
and San Francisco to eat and drink things they can’t get at home.
Therefore, the restaurants in these cities have more eclectic wine lists
than those in Dallas. The locals become used to their restaurants having
fabulously unique and large wine lists. In addition, they want to be able to
purchase those wines from their local retailers. I think Dallas is on the
verge of this type of revolution, however, we aren’t there quite yet.
How do you think we can improve the wine sales and knowledge in Dallas
area?
I think that we have quite a few retailers out there (and I would like to
include my Company in this) that have the right idea. I like to see stores
with balanced selections that are staffed by knowledgeable employees.
Stores that do not try to carry every wine ever produced at the absolute
cheapest price in town, but, instead, keep competitive prices on a broad
selection of hand picked wines. Most importantly, I think that wine shops
should be staffed with people that know wine and care about whether or
not their customer will like a wine based on that customer’s described
preferences. Wine shops are specialty sales environments and should be
staffed accordingly. I think Dallas is lucky to have a number of
conscientious retailers.
Anti French?
There is definitely anti French sentiment when it comes to wine purchasing
practices in DFW. Personally, there are a lot of French produced items
that I would not buy, war or no war. For example, Puegot would not be my
vehicle of choice. However, if a customer has strong political views, I
simply steer them to something non-French. Even if I feel they may be
missing out on a great Rhone or a phenomenal 2000 Bordeaux, I am a
firm believer in never debating political or religious issues with a customer.
What is your favorite style of wine?
I think when you drink a lot of wine you realize that there are entirely too
many different types and styles of wines produced to corner an absolute
favorite. Like most of my customers, I can better describe what I don’t
like or what I am drinking this month, as opposed to my absolute favorite
style. I am real tired of over-oaked Chardonnay, Chilean reds that have a
lot of bell pepper flavors and aromas, insipid California Merlot, thin and
meaningless Aussie shiraz, and over priced California Cabernet. Recently,
no doubt because of the heat, I have been consuming nice, crisp,
refreshing white wines from across the globe and a few roses. I am
especially fond of Banfi Prinicipessa Perlante, a Gavi from Italy’s
Piemonte region (spot of the next winter Olympics) that is served
frizzante; or slightly spritzy. I also have consumed quite a few bottles of
Guigal’s Tavel this summer. This sturdy style of rose from France’s
Rhone region is a perfect ‘red wine in disguise’ for the hot summer.
Served at 55 degrees with grilled salmon, delicious.
What styles of wines are we likely to see in your store?
All. Our stores offer a nice cross section of wines from around the globe,
including hot new wines like Gruner-Veltliner from Austria.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in a career in the wine
industry?
Just like any career: learn as much as you can, network, moonlight at your
local wine shop for experience, hone your sales skills, and be prepared to
start as the ‘low man/woman on the totem pole’, and most of all, have fun.
Way/Beverage City Wine and Beer Store Chain. She is one of the most
wine savy and knowledgeable people I have met in the Dallas Wine
Industry. Her stores boast a wide variety of excellent wines at very
affordable prices with helpful and knowledgeable sales people to guide
you through your purchase. They offer a 10% discount when you
purchase four or more wines which is a generosity that is unheard of in
the industry. Besides selling wines, she host some very fun and
entertaining Wine Tastings and many pair wines found in her stores with
some great Italian food at Paparazzi's.
Wendie was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions with
regards to what's going on in the Dallas Wine Scene:
How did you get interested in wine?
I became interested in wine quite by accident. After I discovered that
simply having a college degree does not grant you a dream job, I decided
to refocus my career goals. Having worked in both retail and restaurant
environments since high school, I naturally turned to these venues. I was
most comfortable in the retail environment and discovered that I actually
excelled at sales. I quickly became bored with this, however, and I decided
to shift gears. I already had several years of bartending under my belt,
and during that time I had acquired an interest in aperitifs, digestifs and
cordials, quite frankly, because most of them were sweet and came in
really neat bottles. While at a bookstore one day, I found an encyclopedic
book that reviewed the history and social impact of hard alcohols. I bought
the book and read it in one week. Having a B.S. in Biology, I found the
numerous production processes of alcohol fascinating. There was a brief
chapter in the book on wine production that I found particularly
interesting. I went back to the bookstore and spent a small fortune on
books about wine; most notably the Windows of the World Book on Wine
by Kevin Zraly. I was hooked. I went through the book chapter by chapter,
trying to taste as many wines as I could from various different regions.
How did you get where you are now in the wine industry?
So I have caught the wine bug and decided that I wanted to continue my
educational process by working in a nice, wine oriented restaurant. The
problem was I had no experience as a waitress and my bartending
experience, although extensive, was all at casual restaurants or pub
environments. Absolutely no one in the city of Dallas would let me get my
foot in the door. So I did the extreme, I took a bartending job on a five-
star cruise line. This position opened the doors to all sorts of
opportunities. Since the cruise line I worked for was seasonal, I found that
most of the employees took winter positions with four and five star resorts
in Colorado during ski season. I followed their lead, and was granted a
position with a wonderful resort in Vail. From here, my career path started
to take shape. In addition to working at the resort, I began moonlighting at
a wine retail shop outside of Breckenridge. The manager of the retail shop
was a true ‘wine geek’ and took me under her wing. I will never forget the
first time I was asked to taste a wine and actually turn an opinion into a
sales pitch! After that season, I contemplated going back to the cruise
line, but got a better offer in New Orleans. From there, I answered an ad
in the Dallas Morning News for a wine retail manager with the Quik-Way
Group. I spoke to one of the owners over the phone, and here I am.
What is your best selling varietal and why?
Chardonnay, Chardonnay, Chardonnay. I think that this wine is a best
seller for many reasons. First, this is a name that people are familiar with.
For example, someone can come into your store, and even if they know
nothing about wine, chances are they have heard that Kendall Jackson
Chardonnay is a really good bottle. Second, Chardonnay is an
impressionable grape in regards to winemaking. In other words, it is easy
to manipulate and therefore comes in a wide spectrum of styles. Third, you
drink it cold and it goes down smooth: that is to say, there are no bitter
tannins on the finish and, well, it’s hot in Texas.
What do you think is the toughest thing about making it in the wine
industry?
Quite frankly, I don’t think I have necessarily made it. But this is what is
great about the wine business; it’s a cross section of business politics,
marketing, finance and good and bad wine. The wine industry in the United
States is still in its infantile stages. Therefore, the industry and the market
are constantly changing. I think one of the hardest things about the wine
business is trying to stay abreast off all the incoming information. The
production methods, varietal popularity, target audiences, wineries,
winemakers, companies and virtually everything else associated with this
industry are constantly acquiring, shifting, reinventing. At some point in
time, you have to stop, refocus and realize that you simply cannot know it
all.
In addition, there are still a lot of wine elitists in this industry. If the US is
to progress as a wine drinking nation, we need to loose the notion that
wine is for the rich or well educated. Wine is for everybody; it is a social
drink that is meant to relax political and socio-economic boundaries, not
create them. That is how and why it was created and consumed by the
Romans and Etruscans; why not us?
How do you think the Dallas Area wine enjoying public compares to say,
New York, Chicago or San Francisco?
Dallas is not as advanced. For the most part, we are still a City (state) of
beer drinkers. The aforementioned Cities are meccas for tourism. What
do people do on vacation? Eat at upscale restaurants. Furthermore,
studies show that people are more likely to try something new while on
vacation. This applies to food and wine. People go to New York, Chicago
and San Francisco to eat and drink things they can’t get at home.
Therefore, the restaurants in these cities have more eclectic wine lists
than those in Dallas. The locals become used to their restaurants having
fabulously unique and large wine lists. In addition, they want to be able to
purchase those wines from their local retailers. I think Dallas is on the
verge of this type of revolution, however, we aren’t there quite yet.
How do you think we can improve the wine sales and knowledge in Dallas
area?
I think that we have quite a few retailers out there (and I would like to
include my Company in this) that have the right idea. I like to see stores
with balanced selections that are staffed by knowledgeable employees.
Stores that do not try to carry every wine ever produced at the absolute
cheapest price in town, but, instead, keep competitive prices on a broad
selection of hand picked wines. Most importantly, I think that wine shops
should be staffed with people that know wine and care about whether or
not their customer will like a wine based on that customer’s described
preferences. Wine shops are specialty sales environments and should be
staffed accordingly. I think Dallas is lucky to have a number of
conscientious retailers.
Anti French?
There is definitely anti French sentiment when it comes to wine purchasing
practices in DFW. Personally, there are a lot of French produced items
that I would not buy, war or no war. For example, Puegot would not be my
vehicle of choice. However, if a customer has strong political views, I
simply steer them to something non-French. Even if I feel they may be
missing out on a great Rhone or a phenomenal 2000 Bordeaux, I am a
firm believer in never debating political or religious issues with a customer.
What is your favorite style of wine?
I think when you drink a lot of wine you realize that there are entirely too
many different types and styles of wines produced to corner an absolute
favorite. Like most of my customers, I can better describe what I don’t
like or what I am drinking this month, as opposed to my absolute favorite
style. I am real tired of over-oaked Chardonnay, Chilean reds that have a
lot of bell pepper flavors and aromas, insipid California Merlot, thin and
meaningless Aussie shiraz, and over priced California Cabernet. Recently,
no doubt because of the heat, I have been consuming nice, crisp,
refreshing white wines from across the globe and a few roses. I am
especially fond of Banfi Prinicipessa Perlante, a Gavi from Italy’s
Piemonte region (spot of the next winter Olympics) that is served
frizzante; or slightly spritzy. I also have consumed quite a few bottles of
Guigal’s Tavel this summer. This sturdy style of rose from France’s
Rhone region is a perfect ‘red wine in disguise’ for the hot summer.
Served at 55 degrees with grilled salmon, delicious.
What styles of wines are we likely to see in your store?
All. Our stores offer a nice cross section of wines from around the globe,
including hot new wines like Gruner-Veltliner from Austria.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in a career in the wine
industry?
Just like any career: learn as much as you can, network, moonlight at your
local wine shop for experience, hone your sales skills, and be prepared to
start as the ‘low man/woman on the totem pole’, and most of all, have fun.
| Wendie Waters |
