Samples

What is Samples?

cream team news

andy pates:

Hello, and welcome to Samples for Monday, 07/27/2026. This is the thirtieth episode of the number one required listening podcast in the history of cream. Really appreciate you smashing that like button and subscribing and not sharing it with your friendly competitors or accounts. Let's get into it. So the summer sale, as discussed last Friday's meeting, is going well.

andy pates:

I made some additions over the weekend. Don't wait for the official printed list to be created. Do the work. Get in there early and steal that cheese. Grab that low hanging fruit.

andy pates:

I'm gonna be working with Tori who's been doing most of the heavy lifting on the DNS wine setup, this week. It's a beast of a project. We're gonna try and get everything set up, the brands, the items, the pricing, the inventory, better communicate the timeline, so you have you'll have something, for your clients, hopefully by the end of the week, and we'll be well in advance with inventory and stock before DNEC visits the week of of August 18. So, I've been getting a lot of calls, texts, emails from people that are excited that we have this portfolio. So I think you will find the same thing.

andy pates:

I think what's gonna happen is we'll do really, really well with the best Greek portfolio in the market that's back in supply and back in business, and that'll help us extend beyond, you know, a category that we just have a few really good players in, but this will give us comprehension. And I think what will also happen is, you know, if it's more of a Greek focused or a Greek family owned business and it's a little bit insular and it's hard to to sell items other than those, for other wines, yeah, I'm not expecting a Greek restaurant to to sell a Chianti Classico, but I know that it's gonna help our spirits. I know that the back bar of a lot of these clubsterant, Greek restaurants, really hip places, concept, the the the the Middle Eastern restaurant concept. I know that they're gonna, once you form a relationship with them for these Greek wines, I know you're gonna sell them a lot of Arete and a lot of skeptic and really cool liqueurs and after dinner drinks, etcetera. So, and Iraq, I think Iraq would be super cool in the good times that we just got in, the herbal liqueurs.

andy pates:

So we'll update you as soon as as soon as we can on that. Looks like tariffs are back. One horrible door shuts and another one opens. So it looks like we've got a 10% bullshit tariff for a bullshit reason that may or may not be unconstitutional, and we may or may not get our money back that's implemented. It's gonna be 10% for Europe.

andy pates:

And this is new. I don't know if they'll negotiate or there'll be a taco Tuesday, but it looks like there's gonna be 10% on Mexico. So that's a problem. And everyone's favorite water and everyone's favorite spirit beverages, agave beverages, could see a price increase. So I think y'all need to be prepared for that.

andy pates:

In good news, sales are strong, really strong July. We're set up this week to have an incredible July. And I was looking at the numbers, and it looks like we now have a chance to have seven reps, seven out of the 13, a majority, to sell over a 100,000 in a month, for the first time. So, congratulations to you all. And those in striking distance, remember, if you average 83,000 in sales a month, that is a million dollar territory.

andy pates:

And some of you are in that wheelhouse already and approaching it. So thank you for for all the hard work that you're doing out there. It's exciting. I'm gonna attach in the email a review of the new arrivals in the last sixty days, so ideas for sampling over the next couple weeks and into August, I'll attach it. I basically went to list items view, and I, sorted I did a search by, new I new items in the last sixty days.

andy pates:

So in the last two months, everything that's new, and it could be a vintage roll, but it's a lot of new items. And so, I'll attach that to the email so you guys can, choose your own adventure in terms of sampling, but I just wanted to bring to your attention some items. Alvaro Palacios, the Camines, the tried and true Camines, Rare is on focus with, goals and rep goals. That is a no brainer in terms of being able to sell that anywhere. We have 27 cases in stock.

andy pates:

The Baron Cornaccia, the Casanova, Montepulciano, I know that we're focusing on the Poggio Verano wines, but if those are a little bit out of people's price point and you're looking for a go to BTG that's certified organic and classical and is made in big wood, that's got the Chicago Red, extended Elavage hug, Look no further than the Baron Cornaccia Casanova. I think we could probably just start bringing in containers of that. It's doing so well. There's 55.67 cases in stock. And then this is a little bit more artisan, but we now have two vintages of it.

andy pates:

The Chateau De Fargue, Lord Farquhart. The Chateau De Fargue, we have the 2008 Sauternes, and now we have the 1998 Sauternes. And they unless I made a pricing error in Erin's, absence, they are both line priced six packs at 600 or $6.30, a six pack, and we have four cases of each of those. So, you know, anyone that's Sami Saming or is in the, classic steakhouse genre, I think you should communicate with Aaron, and Aaron can pull a bottle of each, and they will drink over, I would say, a week and a half to two weeks. There might still be some in the fridge.

andy pates:

I don't know if anyone took me up on that offer last time, but, this is really fun wine to sell. Frank Cornelissen, I know everyone's, probably sick of hearing about Frank Cornelissen and me and and me trying all the ways to get you to sell more of one of Zev's cornerstone producers and and really one of the most important producers of of wine in the history of of Mount Etna, which is currently now sorry. Sicily's on fire, by the way, over by Palermo. But Mount Etna, I would like to see if anyone can sell the magma. Merton Magma.

andy pates:

If anyone can sell the twenty twenty one Magma that we have, we've got one case of that. That would be great. It looks like someone may have already sold the mags, and someone maybe already sold a case of that. But we have one case of the Magma left and and, of course, the 2021 Cruise. The 2020 and and and older vintages are also they're less expensive than these Cruise.

andy pates:

They're available. They're well aged. They're ready to go, ready to pop. So, Magma. Don't sample it.

andy pates:

Just sell it. And then, Stine, the 2023 Chianti arrived. That would be fun for you to sample where you can check-in with your clients and say, hey. This is the new, you know, the the flagship wine, the wine of the territory, the wine of the of the of the estate, and then it's a good conversation for you to, talk about the cruise and the Gran Solezione and maybe upgrade your cell. We have the Bianco, which is on sale.

andy pates:

The Rosado, we're still in rose season. So it's just, you know, what's new? What's going on? Hey. You know what's new is the Astine Canti Classico 2023 just dropped or re upped, restocked, and it's drinking great.

andy pates:

Let's, let's check-in on it and get an appointment around it. And then in terms of orange wine, which, you know, they're saying that rose is the new orange. I think that orange is still really strong because Chicago you know, it's a situation where regardless of the trends on either coast, Chicago, arrives late, stays later, and and loves to wait in line. So, if you're looking if you're thinking about macerated wine wines and orange wines, they seem to be well integrated on wine list, grouped in with the skin contact rose orange wine section, which still going strong. There's the Olivier Coast Orange Star, 52 cases in stock, 42 on order.

andy pates:

There's the Jamon Jamon from Chile. And then going back to some other wines we just re upped with the Philippe Jackson of, Alsace, Philippe Blanc from Domain Paul Blanc. We have new vintages of the Pinot Gris Pattern Garden, the Pinot Noir, and the Riesling. I did put the older vintage vintages of, Pattern Garden and Riesling on sale, and they were still less expensive than the new higher priced tariff baked in higher shipping cost releases that just dropped. So I probably didn't need to put those on sale, but now they're, you know, even better than they were before, and that could be you could sell sample the new vintages, tastes, and say, hey.

andy pates:

I still have x number of bottles or cases left of the older vintage, and it's less expensive. Do you wanna add this on and build your library or do both and do a feature? I don't know. Or do an incentive for your staff. Then there's Podera Lirripi from Castel Nuovo Abate in Montalcino in Tuscany.

andy pates:

Podera Lirripi is Francesco Ely's dream biodynamic project that is right next to Mastroianni. And we just got a re up of all the, the Rosso, the Rosado, the Bianco. We have the Rosso do Montalcino and two levels of Brunello do Montalcino in stock. And that, sold really fast on them, not really fast, but it did really well in the first order. We have the second order here.

andy pates:

So you remember, we need to sell something three times before it's a success, before it sticks. And this is the second time, so I don't wanna drop the ball. I want you guys to get out there and keep pushing Padilla Rippe. And that could be a conversation for the more classical Masuriani as well. And then Sperino from the Alto Pimonte from Lesona from the De Marquis family, the owners of Isile Iolina in Chianti Classico in, Caso Nuovo Berendenga.

andy pates:

They sold, finally had to sell the Chianti project. Paolo wanted to retire and he had seven siblings and his dad didn't have a will. So there it goes. Hello, private equity. So somebody bought it.

andy pates:

Who knows? And but they're focusing on Spirino, which is from the Longue from the Altapimonte. Sorry. Not Longue. The Altapimonte because the DeMarquis were originally from Torino.

andy pates:

And, this is a property, an historical property, Sperino, that Luca DeMarquis, Paolo's, son, has been doing the historical preservation of the castle that they bought and all of the records and all of the wine inventory, and they're doing their own, vineyards in La Sona and Bramantara. And then they do, they do Acosta Della Cesia Rosso, which is essentially the Cesia River, and that is basically the wine of the region. So it's more of a declassified, not a village situation. I mean, I guess it's classified. It's Costa della Cesia Rosso, but it's, the Ovaggio, which means blend.

andy pates:

That's a more approachable in style and price of an Eviolo based wine with some Vespilina and and dare I say Croatina in the mix. And then the most popular cash flow positive, everyone loves it. Every year, somebody wants to make me a deal and buy all of it, and I always make the mistake and say no, and then we're stuck with it later on in the year. But, anyway, we have the 2025 Rosa de la Rosa Rosado Nebbiolo Rose. And for those that know, and hopefully you guys all know that some of the greatest rose in the world is Nebbiolo Rose from the Altapi Monte.

andy pates:

So we have a Freshii that just came in. We have 27 odd cases available. Got a reup with lights, direct with lights. Dragonstone is in stock. I don't know if anyone's watching season three of house of the dragons.

andy pates:

I don't know what to think of it. I really like Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I like the humanity of it. I like the storytelling. I do think the the House of the Dragon is not really my favorite.

andy pates:

I think, like, Sex and Dragons gets old after a while and you really need some good storytelling. Season three is a little bit better than season two. And so Dragonstone, I think Danielle was maybe singing the Game of Thrones or humming the Game of Thrones theme when she was in the office so I could do like picking up checks and selling wine. We do this all the time because our clients don't pay on time. Anyway, you get you get the idea.

andy pates:

So, but the Lights Rose 2025, 14 cases, no sampling. It's been in stock for a minute. I wanna see some sample action on that. And then lastly, you'll see highlighted Zarate, the Albarino from Rice Baceous. We have, looks like somebody sampled a few bottles.

andy pates:

We have 13.83 cases. Don't forget the Camino Del Albarino is going on, and that is a banger of an Alberino. I think the the Albemarle and the Zarate, kind of like a play on words, we have Alberino from a to z. I think those are two incredible producers. So get out there.

andy pates:

Get after it. Have a great week. Finish the week strong. Could be one of our best months ever, certainly one of our best July's. Appreciate all that you do, and I'll see you when I see you.

andy pates:

Thanks for listening.