Olson Ogden Wines

cava for the inauguration celebration

After listening to a recent NPR Fresh Air podcast featuring Wall Street Journal Tastings columnists' Dorthy J. Gaiter and John Brecher my wife was inspired to buy and bring home Cava for our next celebratory occasion. That occasion is tonight -- on the evening of the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. In the podcast the authors recommended always keeping a bottle of Cava on hand and chilled because the quality and price are right for everyday celebrations. Well today is not everyday - it made history. But we celebrated with a nice bottle of Cava from Segura Viudas.  It was their Brut Reserva which is created from a blend of their reserve and non-vintage wines made from the Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo grapes grown in the renowned Penedès region of Spain.  The wine was surprisingly balanced with crisp, fresh flavors and a touch of creaminess that lingered on the palatte.  Quite a nice wine for the price.  I think I have to agree that keeping a bottle of Cava around for celebrations is a good idea after sampling this tasty treat. -- by John

new york and new jersey market visit (update!)

I just returned from a trip to New York where I got acquainted with our new distributor, Vias Imports Ltd., and spent a few days in the market visiting potential accounts with various Account Managers.  I always enjoy New York and this time was no different.  What a great visit!  Things got off to a good start right away at the sales meeting where I presented our story and our current release wines to a team of 15 Account Managers.  Without a doubt, this has to be one of the most professional group of wine sales people I have come across in my 15 years in the business.   I went to New York with only simple goals; to get acquainted with our new distributor and the sales team, visit a few accounts to get our name out in the market and learn about the local market conditions.  Given it was January, in the middle of a cold snap (it was snowing in Manhattan) and the economy is in tatters, it didn’t seem realistic that we would get many sales.  We killed!  In three days, we poured for 15 accounts and got 12 sales on the spot including two 3 Star restaurants.  The three accounts that didn’t buy all liked the wines and said they hoped to buy in the next month as inventory went down and business picked up.  All in all, a very successful debut in our newest market, the Big Apple.  -- by Tim

new york and new jersey market visit

Tim hopped on a plane yesterday bound for New York.  He is going to do a market visit (wine business parlance for visiting restaurants and wine shops with our distributor in a particular state or region.) with our new New York/New Jersey distributor, Vias Imports.  After several false starts in the Empire and Garden states with distributors, we think we have found an ideal partner for the largest wine market in the U.S.A.  Tim and I have been very impressed with the professionalism of the Vias organization and their focus on getting on premise (restaurants) placements where we think our wine will do well given its food friendly nature.  Hope to get a full report from Tim on his visit which I will post here next week. -- by John