Photographs of unknown faces in the window of your neighborhood wine shop, a glowing tube suspended above some upright barrels promoting wines from obscure corners of Tuscany, hand-lettered signs extolling wines made by three sisters. You'd expect merchandising like this from Budweiser or Gallo ... not from a new Seattle-based importer called Small Vineyards, LLC.
And how did this display end up at Belltown's Seattle Cellars?
Small Vineyards is almost evangelical in its commitment to the wineries it represents. And because it doesn't have huge volumes of wine to sell, it puts its marketing effort into selected locations.
Does it work? You bet it does, says Seattle Cellars owner Dave Woods. His sales of Small Vineyards bottles have tripled, up to $350 a week, a very respectable number for a neighborhood wine shop.
Posted by Ronald Holden at October 21, 2004 11:01 AM