March 3, 2010

Shipping for less to & from California

(or anywhere)

As some of you might know, MWC started out as a wine storage and shipping logistics company. So we know how to get wines from point A to point B safely, economically, and with your convenience in mind. There’s nothing worse than scoring a great case at a great price, and then learning that the shipping wipes out your savings, and worrying about the transport conditions & insurance requirements on top of it all.

A few years ago, we noticed the lack of good choices customers faced in getting their wines delivered from other states, or even worse from overseas. Since then, we have been creating efficient and cost-effective, shipping solutions for not only our storage clients, but also for many other clients on our mailing list.

Logistic Solutions – Case Studies

1. If you live in NY/NJ/CT/PA and buy wine in CA, we can help get you your wines much cheaper than FedEx or UPS. For fine wines, it’s always best to ship via 2nd day service or better, but that ends up costing you $120+ per case from CA not including insurance or additional packing materials, and obviously not temperature controlled. Because we are able to consolidate shipments for our customers, Manhattan Wine Company typically charges a fraction of what UPS or FedEx does, and we ship via temperature controlled vehicles for the entire journey. While we can’t promise optimized pricing from every location, our customers have wines at many different facilities nation-wide, making for significant opportunities for savings via consolidation.

2. If you live in NJ or PA, most CA wineries or retailers won’t ship to you, but don’t worry, we can help…We receive wines on behalf of our storage customers free of charge.

3. If you buy wine in the gray markets in Europe, wine auctions in HK or NY, but can’t figure out how to get them into the US or your home country, let us know. We can have them insured, shipped, imported, cleared through customs and delivered to your cellar or placed into storage. No hassle, no fuss, just enjoy the wines when you get them.

Please send us an email for a free logistics quote, and we’ll let you know if we can help you get your wines. We’d be happy to help, and we know you’ll be happy with the results.

Best Regards,

Matt Tornabene

President

Manhattan Wine Company

Email: matt@mwcwine.com

Phone: 973-574-8701

WWW.MWCWINE.COM

During our successful trips to purchase barrels of wine at the Hospices de Beaune (HDB) auction over the last few years, we have had more and more encounters with the wines of Burgundy’s other great, though largely unknown in the US, charity auction:  the Hospices de Nuits-St Georges (HDN).  As we became familiar with this carefully kept secret of Burgundy, the several different cuvees we had in bottle at tastings and dinners impressed us with their fruit, density, complexity and typicity.  Although not as storied or as heralded as their larger neighbor to the south, the wines of the Hospices de Nuits are from prime vineyard sites in Nuits-St. Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin and definitely deserve to be known to a wider audience.  MWC is happy that these gems are hidden for the moment in the pricey terroir of Burgundy as we feel they are some very good drinking wines at much less than their market value.   Coupled with the outstanding 2009 vintage, we felt this was an opportune time to make a voyage back to Burgundy to taste and buy wines at the Hospices de Nuits auction on March 28th. 

We are writing today to gauge your interest in joining the 2009 HDN consortium with this introductory email. We are planning to put together a 2009 Hospices de Nuits St. Georges consortium just as we do with the Hospices de Beaune.  Most of you are quite familiar with what we do at the Hospices de Beaune, but if you are not, please take the time to read through our most recent report detailing the ’09 Consortium and its winnings.  You can find this report on our blog. If you have further questions about the way in which this consortium will work, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 973-574-8701.

A Brief History of the Hospices de Nuits:

The Hospices de Nuits was founded in 1692 to benefit the hospital of Nuits-St. Goerges, which was founded in 1270 but began to run into financial trouble in the late 17th century.  Rebuilt in 1975, the hospital was modernized several times during the 1990’s from the auction proceeds.  Over the years, the HDN has quietly acquired over 12 hectares of vines which are sold as 18 different cuvees; 17 red and one white.  These are from some of the best vineyard sites in Burgundy with 9 premier crus in Nuits-St. Georges:  Boudots, Murgers, Vignerondes, Rue de Chaux, Porets, Les St. Georges, Corvees Pagets, Terres Blanches, and a monopole of the Hospices, Les Didiers.   There are a further four lieux-dits in NSG as well as some lovely holdings of Champs Chenys in Gevrey Chambertin.  The wines are vinified in a modern cuverie which was built in 2001.  We think these wines can fill the gap in our private burgundy collection that we have been bottling on behalf of the HDB consortium.  The only two cuvees offered at the HDB auction from the Cote de Nuits, Mazis Chambertin & Clos de la Roche, are in our opinion overpriced.  Therefore, the HDN provides a nice, more affordable compliment to our HDB wines from the exciting terroirs of Nuits St. Georges.  Similar to the Hospices de Beaune, we will taste the wines from barrel prior to the auction, make our decisions based on our notes, bid at the auction on behalf of the consortium based on your interest level and utilize both our existing negociant partners as well as potentially new negociants to perform elevage and ultimately bottle the wines. 

Let us know if you are interested in this exciting new opportunity, and please don’t hesitate to call us with questions or send us emails with your potential level of commitment.  Based on experience, we suggest investing $2000 to $5000 so that you get a nice mix of all of the barrels purchased.  Remember that you will ultimately receive a pro-rata share of bottles from each barrel purchased.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best,
Matt Tornabene

President

Manhattan Wine Company

Phone: 973-574-8701

WWW.MWCWINE.COM