The concept...

The Pearls and Treasures concept is that of mail order wine retail company. A "virtual caviste", or wine merchant, that will sell wine over the internet and mail wine orders directly to "adventurous wine lovers". The unique selling proposition of this store will be the wine selection and its focus on european wines from small artisanal producers. "Boutique" wines from Europe. I define "boutique" as wines made by from small farmers that are passionate about their land and that prize local charater over mass appeal. The farmers will use sustainable farming practices, some will be organically certified while others will also use "biodynmic" practices.

These wines will have a high quality to price ratio. the winemakers will beamong the up and coming stars of europe, the stars of small production, and the local stars for each region. This store will market its selection to what I call the "adventurous wine lover". The wine lover who has an attraction for constantly discovering new wines, new producers, and then sharing these experiences with their friends. I argue that for many wine lovers the "known" is often too boring and they prefer variety and adventure and actively search it out.

This concept wine merchant will be located in Mass, and due to State liquor laws, will only be able to ship wines to Mass residents.

Marketing and sales will be comprised of a quarterly printed newsletter in addition to direct email campaigns to "members" (our customers) who have signed up, via the form on the web site, to receive these notices. Web based marketing will include banner ads and Google ads.

Thus is the basic concept. I invite your questions and critiques.

I dream of a wine merchant......

A wine merchant that will give experienced wine lovers adventure and those new to wine an new tool to learn more about wine. The wineries I want to represent will be stewards to their land, treating their land in sustainable ways, expressing their terroirs. The wineries will be both the "up and coming" as well as the older, local tradition bearers. The merchant will reflect the growers passion of the earth by running as "green" as possible; email marketing instead of mailed brochures, recycling programs, low(er) emission delivery services, 100% recyclable shipping materials, low inventory (clearing the wine through the wholesaler), etc.

Most importantly, it will not have a brick and mortar store (no more than is required by law). It will promote its own exclusive brands AS WELL as those that are already available yet in limited supply. Sales would be promoted through email campaigns (but not ruling out regular print newsletters, a la Rare Wine Co). Orders will be processed one online, or over the phone, with wine being delivered the next day (in MA) by UPS (etc.)


The company will be made up of people passionate these ideals and these wines. Will have years of customer service experience as well as wine tasting experience (two WSET Advanced degree holders, frequent travelers to Europe). Ideally, the board of advisors will be made up of a wines sales expert, a online marketing expert, and an importer. Lastly, part of the management team will be based in Europe and will leverage this proximity to the producers to improve the overall "experience" for the customer. (Cellar notes, video reports from the domaines, etc.)