Samples

What is Samples?

cream team news

Andy Pates:

Picking up checks and selling wine. You know, we do this all the time. Picking up checks and selling wine. We do this when it's in the rain or shine. Picking up checks, selling wine.

Andy Pates:

Picking up checks.

Andy Pates:

Hello, and welcome to Samples for Monday, 07/13/2026. Busy week. Gonna keep this really short and sweet. Summer sale, open house, new items tomorrow at Cream. Bastille Day, July 14 from eleven to one.

Andy Pates:

And then the World Cup game between France and Spain, the semifinals is at 02:00. So your buyers that are all gonna play hooky and go get their freeze on and watch the game, why don't you have them come to Cream First and taste some killer wines? And then who knows? If they buy a lot, maybe we'll, put the game on the TV and we can hang out and, celebrate all of our sales. And we can change this podcast from Samples, and we'll start calling it pallets.

Andy Pates:

Welcome to pallets where we sell pallets, and we curate a portfolio for the discerning pallets so man can dream. Anyway, as far as sampling this week, wanted to bring your attention. Please wait and sample for Thursday or next week because tomorrow is going to be relatively chaotic as it is with the tasting setup. So if you could take notes and add these to your next sample order for Thursday or next week, that would be most appreciated. So I wanted to bring your attention to Elio Altare, the great producer from La Mora, Sylvia Altare's father.

Andy Pates:

Elio was one of the Barolo boys from Marc de Grazia in the eighties who using the French model for site specificity and, dare I say, barique wine aging, became a phenomenon. He's since retired. Sylvia has bought the business from her father. They sold their vineyard in Canooby, and with those two rows in Canooby bought a significant holding in Charetta, which is, you know, something that Sylvia is really passionate about farming. But there's a lot of skews and there are some really high end wines in the cruise like canoebe and the hand selection uno per uno.

Andy Pates:

But I I want you guys to take a look at the opportunity with the regular Barolo Normale DOCG, 17 cases. I don't wanna see 17 sample bottles, so, it's something you could certainly build a day around or an appoint appointment around by having ilio altare in the bag, and then you can build it around that from the Italian side or the high end side or whatever you wanna do. So, we need a little bit of action on that. And then as Aaron's email indicated and Slack as well, we need more engagement in the Camino Del Alberino, which is Patrick Mata and Ole's Focus, which has a charitable connection to it, just to get people excited about drinking the great white wine of Spain and Portugal. Alberino from Spain, Alberino from Portugal.

Andy Pates:

We have an embarrassment of riches, a bounty from A to Z starting with Albemarle and finishing with Zarate. But the wines that have quantity and and are certainly more of a priority for the for the team would be on the Spanish side, Columni, Pentecostas, Albemar, Fornes de Salnes, and then in Portugal, of course, Nortico. And if you wanna stretch it a little bit to an Alvarino that sometimes is blended, you can go with the Vera option. Also, another wine I had recently that I was really impressed with, and I hate to keep talking about Sauvignon Blanc, but I had the, the Vino Verso, which is that grower cooperative Mario Zanuso from Eclivi has started with some of his friends and growers in the region. And the Sauvignon with the rabbit on it, the little they're all, like, really cool critter wines, but they're, like, hipster, you know, organically farmed critter wines.

Andy Pates:

But the Svol, s v o l, Sauvignon with the rabbit on the label, that wine is sensational, and I think it's also a conversation you can have with your buyers that are getting calls for Sauvignon Blanc in an Italian restaurant situation or a Mediterranean situation or even like very specific like something like Joe Flom has like that, you know, the Adriatic side of Italy concept. So that Svole Sauvignon from Vino Versa can play anywhere. Independent retail, restaurant, high end, you know, Trattoria style, Osteria style. It's exceptional as are all those wines. I'm very happy with the way that those are working out and you guys are doing really well selling Yt Clivi and Vinho Verso.

Andy Pates:

So thank you. Then the Idlewild wines, the flora and fauna red, white and rose. We have a lot of rose that just came in. The white is well aged but drinking very good. I had some of that, I think it was like two weeks ago, and I think that Sam Bilbro does really well with Italian varieties in California and especially white wines, and the FloraFauna white is is spectacular.

Andy Pates:

So those three, red, white, and rose, need your attention, need your sampling, need your presenting. So that's all I got this week. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow to taste some wines. Buyers only, please spread the word. Don't wait for the invite to drop.

Andy Pates:

Spread the word. Buyers only 11 to one at Cream. If you know, you know, but we will do a blast for our buyers to follow-up and remind them. But I'm not sure when that is gonna drop this afternoon, so please get started on it now. And I wish you guys all a spectacular week.

Andy Pates:

Thanks for listening, and thanks for selling, and thanks for picking up those checks and everything else associated with wine, spirits, sake, cider, Seoul, sales, importing, distribution. Cheers.