Behind the Scenes of Wine Buying

Our wine buyers have a tough job. They ensure our shelves (and more importantly your homes) are stocked with delicious, unique, and exclusive varietals from around the world. Putting a wine list together of over 4,000 wines is not an easy task, but someone has to do it!  Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a wine buyer? How they find the hidden gems in such a vast world of wine, how one gets into such a unique profession, or even how much wine you drink as a buyer? We sat down with our wine buyers to ask them these questions and more! 



Who are our buyers, and how long have they been here?
Dave Smith - I've been here since inception. Originally I was managing a wine store in Shaughnessy, and when our store was bought by Everything Wine, I was asked to come up with a wine list for our first store. A daunting task to pick out 3,000 or more wines, but I did it and it worked. Since then, I managed the North Vancouver store, and then moved to head office and became the director of buying.

Lisa Giovanella - I've been with the company for a little under 5 years. I started as a sales associate at our South Surrey location. I then became the events coordinator, supervisor and then moved into head office as an assistant buyer.

How did you get into wine buying?
DS: I fell into wine. I was a manager of a bar in Whistler, and was given the opportunity to take some courses. I chose wine courses. I took classes in Napa Valley - the teacher was so enthusiastic about wine, it made it hard not to fall in love with wine. The rest is history.

LG: By being in the stores and learning about wine through my multiple positions, I began to get really passionate about wine. The more I learnt, the more I wanted to learn.

How many wines do you taste on average each week?
DS: It varies week to week. Sometimes it can be as many as 40  or as little as 10. I would say on average we taste anywhere from 2,000 per year.



What is the difference between a sommelier and a wine buyer? 
LG: A sommelier works in a restaurant and curates a wine list and portfolio intended to be consumed in the restaurant. They are trained in food and wine pairing and do so for the dishes on the menu. It is more restaurant focused. As wine buyers, we do a very similar job, but through a retail perspective, rather than restaurant perspective.

Everything Wine serves people with a very diverse tastes and palates. What is the hardest part about buying wine for such a broad group of customers?
DS: It isn't hard - it's fun! As we have over 4,000 SKUS of wine, it isn't necessarily hard to cater to a diverse group of people with that type of inventory. We have so much variety, and so many options for people to choose from. The fun part is we can pick interesting wines with great stories.

LG: The hard part is selecting the wine, we turn down 90% of what we taste. That way customers don't have to wade through the wines that aren't as great, but rather select from a variety of wines we thought were perfect for Wine Wednesday or are cellar-worthy. Sometimes it can be challenging to find those hidden gems, but we always do!

Do BC wine consumers mimic global wine trends or are we a unique bunch?
DS: BC is very proud of what is produced in its backyard. We have a unique grouping of varietals that we love to drink. Sure, people will reach for new-age European wines, but we also tend to stick  to local wines.

How often do you find a new favourite wine?
LG: Daily, sometimes hourly.

DS: Every so often I have a moment where I taste a wine and think "that's off the charts!", that probably happens a couple dozen times a year. That being said, we taste so many incredible great value wines.

What is the most versatile wine? 
LG: Sparkling wine - it goes with breakfast, lunch and dinner!

DS: I like Riesling. It goes with a ton of food and is pretty diverse.

What do you love most about wine buying?
LG: The opportunity to taste thousands of wines a year. Every time we taste something we learn something new about wine in general.

DS: I agree with Lisa.  It is a very unique job. Not a lot of people get an opportunity to do it - to wade through the choices of wine and continually stoke the fire of why we love wine. There is always more to learn. Also a bonus, the people we get to meet and the places we get to see along the way.

What is in your wine cellar?
LG: The classics - Champagne, Burgundy or an aged Australian wine.

DS: I love wine from Rhone. Also Port, or Burgundy. I'd love to cellar more Reisling as well.