Traversing the wine business - Q&A with Tablas Creek's National Sales Manager Darren Delmore

By: Lauren Phelps

I visited a while with our National Sales Manager Darren Delmore to get the inside scoop about the wine business from his very unique perspective.  Darren has a fascinating past as a published writer, professional surfer, winemaker and now travels the country educating people about Tablas Creek wine.  Darren is also is a husband, and a father of two adorable children, Shea and Canyon.

 

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in San Luis Obispo, California and grew up in Arroyo Grande and Shell Beach.

When and how did you get into wine?

I started with working in restaurants; both my parents owned restaurants while I was growing up. I went to a distributor tasting when I was 21 with local wineries and it blew me away. Then I found myself growing more and more interested in wine. That set me off on a path to learn how to make wine for the next ten years.

What has been your career path to where you are?

My first harvest position was in Humboldt County, of all places. I worked there for two years followed by a complete harvest internship at Bonny Doon. From there I moved back to the Central Coast and started working in tasting rooms at Eberle and managed the tasting room for Saucelito Canyon.  Tasting rooms are another piece of the industry that was new to me and that was interesting. I also found myself, after a few years, wanting to get back into making wine. So I went to live in the middle of nowhere in Cazadero and worked for the Hirsch family. It was an hour to the grocery store, there was no internet in my little cabin, and there was no phone service… it was a decompression time. Also, I completed two-hemisphere harvests for two years in a row in Australia and that kind of completed everything I wanted to know about making wine. Even with all that experience it would have been difficult to get a winemaker position without a degree in oenology. So when I was up for an assistant position and Jillian and I had our first baby on the way, I ran into Tommy Oldre, the previous National Sales Manager for Tablas Creek. Tommy had just accepted a new position at Vineyard Brands and he suggested I apply for the open position at Tablas Creek.  I had always wanted to work at Tablas Creek so I jumped at the opportunity. It was a frantic summer, I was up for two jobs, an assistant winemaking position in Anderson Valley and the sales position at Tablas Creek, plus we were 8 months pregnant with our first child. Surprisingly, I heard back from both jobs on the same day! We talked it over and I accepted the Tablas Creek position on August 1st. I started the job on August 6th and we had our baby Shea on August 18th… 2012 was a whirlwind year!

What are your main responsibilities at Tablas Creek?

The main responsibilities are scheduling market work with distributors on a monthly basis, traveling to those appointments, bringing the new wines and tasting them with sommeliers, wine directors, and shop owners. We invest a lot to go out to work the market for a three day stretch and the pre-planning is huge; the work that we do there is key because we’re meeting 5-6 individuals a day and I can’t come off being short with someone at the end. We’ve got a short period of time and you’ve got to connect with people on those days in a unique way so they will have a better experience. I focus on conquering the agenda that’s been set for me in the morning and try to be cheery and try to relay the story and the wines in a personalized way for everyone.

What new industry trends are you most excited about, and why?

I’m seeing smaller wine lists that are often times one page next to the food menu. I’m seeing smaller menus with more well chosen wines from around the world with lower mark-ups. There are more restaurant concepts that are appealing to the “millennial diners” where you’re not handed the tomes of a wine list anymore that are 100 pages. You’re seeing these really cool restaurants that are popping up with less large entree portions, more small plates, more fun, looks more affordable with wine lists that are just more adventurous and encompass the whole world.

Another trend I’ve been seeing is an expansion in the keg wine programs at restaurants. I think that’s also offering a value and a way of thinking about wine seasonally. People are maybe paying more attention to what to drink at certain times of the year.

What’s your biggest challenge as a Sales Manager and Wine Educator?

One of the biggest challenges is getting the distributors to continue the momentum we start when we do our week in the market. So that falls into the follow up of these trips and how to do that effectively. That’s probably the biggest challenge. If you remember something that rep was into that you were into… it’s important to find non-superficial ways to stay connected with those people. Because we’re so small… and for some of these distributors, they’re bombarded with eighty people, large brands too, in a month and finding a way to stay on their radar and keep them excited about Tablas is challenging.

What would you change about the wine industry if you could, and why?

I would lower the intimidation level for consumers. There are still people who are scared to go wine tasting because they feel like they might not have enough money, or a certain type of lifestyle that make them feel comfortable doing it. Honesty, I think a lot of people didn’t know what wine tasting was until the movie Sideways came out. I do think there is still a level of intimidation and I see folks working in the wine business who aren’t as eager to see the intimidation lessened. So I would like to see that happen. There is so much more information available now but there is still a disconnect about how wine is made and what goes into it.

What’s your favorite wine region in the world – other than Paso Robles?

My favorite wine region overall would be the Rhône, rather than just one district of it, there are pockets of it that are incredibly undervalued and I think there is a lot of mystery to all the different villages and regions that keep the prices down and I think they’re the best value overall for what you get if you can figure out what you like and how to get them. With a lot of domestic regions and the more famous regions you’re just never going to get that and so I think the Rhône still delivers.

How do you spend your days off?

That has certainly changed a lot over time. I used to spend my days off surfing. But now I spend so much time traveling that when I’m home I have to give Jillian, my wife, a much needed break. My days off now are with the kids. And most of those days are spent just doing dishes.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I worked at a tofu factory in Arcata California. I was the “curdler”… they hired be because I have long arms, on the spot.

If you weren’t working in the wine industry for a living, what would you be doing?

Working in publishing somehow or running my mom’s restaurant, Del’s.

How do you define success?

There’s a good quote from Planes, Trains and Automobiles on that one, “Like your work, love your wife”. Because you’ve got to balance it all. If you’re doing something you’re passionate about and you can keep that in balance, that’s success.