A wine shop that’s also an agency for wine brokerage: an interview with the owner to find out how it works—and to get his opinion on current retail selections.
Wine Stores: Cellarbrokers
Cellarbrokers, located on Hampton Road in Southampton, operates as both a retail wine store and as a wine broker. In this latter function, it acts as an agent between buyer and seller for trades in important, collectable bottles. Although wine brokerage is an established business practice, the agency relationship is something we are more used to in real estate or stocks. With wine, selling from inventory or selling at auction are the more common and observable methods.
I asked Marcos Baladron, the owner of Cellarbrokers, to explain the concept. “What that means is simply really connecting the dots between a buyer and seller. We have gathered many contacts over the years, and are able to ‘dip’ into very private cellars, so that anyone around may enjoy a well kept 1945 Mouton or Lafite. That’s the exciting part to me now, to trade these antiques.”
Well, maybe “anyone around” who is extremely rich can pick up a ’45 Lafite just like that. But what about the rest of us consumers who are not big collectors and investors, and who drink more modestly priced wines? Does Cellarbrokers have much to offer us? “For cabernet alone, I have over 200 selections, and pinot noir about 125. I like showing off each different wine style and price-point against another. I like to have a German riesling and a New Zealand riesling next to each other. The classic $40 German blue chip must then compete with the far less expensive one. I like it when the styles compete, so to speak. The most common misconception about us is how expensive we are,” he explained. “But in creating a varietal competition in the store, we bring out the value in our selections. When we carry a bottle for $7, it is good.”
Though I did not doubt Mr. Baladron’s word, I posed three questions that I thought would put his theory to the test. I asked first what he would recommend to a collector with an unlimited budget. “Right now, I would tell anyone with this type of budget to invest in a very special bottling of the ‘05 Chateau d’Yquem. For the first time in their history Chateau d’Yquem has made 100 bottles in 15 liter formats. Each customer will automatically be entered in a raffle for a chance to win the bottle labeled ‘#1.’ Imagine that as a collector’s item! Each costs $15,000.”
I asked next what he would recommend to a value driven consumer in any price range. “We all know that Australia, Spain, Chile and Argentina have good deals, but I believe those prices are rising too fast. It seems their wineries are trying to cash in a little too fast. Portugal is most definitely on the horizon. And I’m not kidding either. I’ll be taking a buying trip to Portugal by the end of September. Portugal is starting to produce some very well crafted wines at $10 to $15 a bottle. Our selection now is the 2003 Vertice for $15.95. It’s amazing! You can stand that up to any $50 California cabernet”
My final question was about an inexpensive wine we can use for everyday summer drinking. “Rosé!” was the answer. “Cellarbrokers has brought out Torbreck Saignee for the summer. We feel that for the price ($19.95) it’s one of the best rosés on the market. And we have plenty in stock.”
Mr. Baladron is clearly a man with plenty of imagination as well as plenty of rosé. It will be interesting se see how this year-old company fares in the future.
