WEEKEND IN BAROLO WITH CTG AND PARTNERS. A sales model based on customer relations
Posted By Gianni Simonato
Date: July 14th, 2010
from Gianni Simonato
Second appointment: Friday June 11th 2010, Barolo, Piedmont. After the success of the first experience in 2008 in Tuscany, the CTG event is repeated. There are 15 importers who have come from all over the world: United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, USA, Brazil, Norway, Germany, Canada. These 15 distributors are not only customers, but partners of CTG, a company whose mission is the development and the diffusion of wine knowledge in the world.
CTG, founded by Gigliola Trambusti and associates, wanted to create a new model for the distribution of wine. A new, real model, based on long term relationships, outside the classic distribution schemes. And it works! The expression “small is beautiful” springs to mind – but on condition that it is really beautiful, original and has value. The producers in the CTG group are 17, from all over Italy and representing the best of Italian wine production. And they are almost all present at this event. All the CTG staff is here in Barolo, with Signora Gigliola Trambusti, the heart and soul of the initiative, in the lead. In all there are four associates, but the impression is that they work for twenty. I count about fifty people present in Barolo and I ask myself: is this possible? With all the wine events that there are in Italy, is it possible that these people have come from so far away for this family event? There must be a reason. I get the impression that I am in the middle of an event which is is small in size, but immense as regards the enthusiasm which I see in those taking part. It reminds me of Vinitaly, on a reduced scale by size, but much bigger as far as the experience is concerned. And this is the real difference between the classic trade show and the weekends at CTG. Those who are present want to experience something that they don’t find anywhere else. So I understand that the secret to sell wine in niche areas is to follow different routes with respect to the mass markets. The producers present come from all over Italy and have a lot in common: their small size, for example. More than half of them are continuing the work created by previous generations. There are brothers and sisters carrying on their father’s or grandfather’s firms, and there are even some who are the sixth generation. CTG has created this mini Vinitaly which has numerous advantages. The importers have the possibility, over 3 days, to taste many Italian wines from different regions, thus saving time and money, making the best use of their time and reducing travel. The producers, on the other hand, have the opportunity to have their partners all together, at the same time. A bit like… around the world in three days! One can understand the success of this initiative because it goes far beyond the product. Wine at CTG is territory and relationships. The fundamental values are respect, transparency, honesty. Respect in particular concerns everybody: the producer, the promoter and the consumer, in the awareness that it is the customer who represents the real reason for existence for each organization. Here in Barolo, more than at Vinitaly, there is the ideal, relaxed, atmosphere, because wine should be tasted when one is in the right frame of mind. Wine should be drunk with the head, one must feel at ease and feel good in order to appreciate it. Gigliola tells us that her father used to say: “before offering a customer a wine tasting, ask him if he has had an argument with his wife, and then you will know if he will be able to appreciate it or not”.
The greatness of a winery does not lie in the number of bottles sold. It lies in the quality of the product, in the passion put into creating it and making it known. Among the producers present, some are even quoted in Wine Spectator. These producers have in common their desire to be recognized for the differences in their product, their territory, their history: Poderi Angelini, Branko, Colle Duga, Dal Din, F.lli De Luca, Gomba, La Cipriana, Perazzeta, Podere La Vigna, Podere Saulino, Provenza, Sticciano, Tiberini, Villa di Quartu, Villa Erbice.
In a word, behind each label they represent a world. When a wine is remembered, when it is impressed on the mind, then success has been attained. It does not depend on the quantity, but on the memory that a wine leaves. Just as the weekend at CTG is unique, particular, different. So now to work, to create the next event…..where, we don’t know, but when one is with family, what counts is being together.
www.simonatopartners.com