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  Montesquieu Winery
General Posted by winer1 on 07/03/2006 at 10:38 PST in General
Last Reader Comment on 02/09 at 22:18 PST

( 96 Reader Comments 96 New Comments )


 
  jawbreaker 07/12/2006 at 13:07 PST [Reply]

Anyone else have anything to say about this? Or is this a jaded ex-employee with an axe to grind?


     


 
  heathcliff 03/01/2008 at 15:03 PST [Reply]

Since the above post was deleted I want to reiterate in essence what was said there by winer1.

He basically said that he was a former employee of Montesquieu and that he wanted to warn people that he believed Montesquieu was not being honest about where the wine came from and where the grapes came from. He also gave an example stating that wine bottled and labeled that could read it was from Napa for example, could actually have product from Germany, as an example. He claimed that the owner of the company has been doing this for years, and that he was making the post so that people could know the truth.

Later the post was deleted and a lawyer who represents Montesquieu starting posting on this site. His name is John Hinman and he claims he had nothing to do with posts being deleted. Several other responses have also been deleted. I hope that this post does not get deleted and I implore whoever did that in the past to please not do it anymore.

          


 
  gaia 05/09/2012 at 14:14 PST [Reply]

I went to work for Montesquieu but it had another name then...I forgot what that name was but same place and headquarters are in San Diego Ca.

Anyway...i walk into this place in San Diego and it is located in an old grammar school classroom (no longer a school there) and the first thing i notice is that the noise level is like that at a rock concert and i am not kidding...i mean totally deafening and there are a bunch of desks forming a square. No computers just phones and maybe 10 people at the desks. I notice all the desks have about 4 bottles of different wines on them and the reps sitting at the desks are from time to time taking sips from the different bottles. Also there are a few people and you are not going to believe this but there are other reps who are playing a game of "soft ball" with plastic bat and rubber balls and also they are shooting these blow gun platic balls at each other. Well this is totally bizarre...never seen anything like this in my life! I figure this is not serious. Then i go into talk with this guy who interviews me and asks me about my phone sales experience and i tell him i can sell ice to eskimos. lol. Well....he hires me and tells me i will make $250 a week in salary for the first two weeks then...well if i prove myself and i should be able to in two weeks i will be stickly commission but i will make a fortune like $5000 a week. Well. this $250 for the first two weeks in salary sounded good so he hands me some leads and escorts me to a desk which is not one of the desks that is in outer square but an inner desk in the middle. All the leads were total nonsense with Vietnamese names one could not pronounce who were MDs or i got these TX born again Xians. Well i tried but everyone said no. Then the work day ended and the guy who hired me gave me two bottles of wine to take home and it was my "homework" to drink these two bottles of wine!

Another thing...i was very wrong about this place as they had this black board or rather a white board at front of the room and whenever anyone made sales they would put up how much they sold and a bell was rung and everyone applauded.

Now this was so weird because there were these maybe 4 people who kept selling and selling and selling and all of them had been working there for at least 3 years and they seemed to have a lot of repeat clients who just loved their wine and all it took was a quick look at their precious lead pack which btw they kept locked in a safe in wooden boxes each of theise 4 ppl had one of these lead boxes.

As hard as it was to believe these people were making between $250K and $300K a year and i am serious.

The poor slobs like me and a couple others we sat at our desks in the middle of their prestigous outer line of desks so they could look at us struggling and never even getting more than a couple sentences into the script before getting hung up on while they would just sell and sell and sell cases many many cases.

The following monday it got even more hilarious. I got to work at 9 am and we all had coffee then we went into a conference room and we had a sort of "therapy hour" with the reps who made all that loot and us failures and as i said this was sort of "therapy" like they would say "if you were an animal what animal would you be." And i remember one guy who was one of the winners saying how much he enjoyed F%&king with people and everyone laughed.

Ok so therapy hour ended and out we went to the sales floor not to sell no no no but turned up the music full blast and i had a bike and i had brought it into the office and someone was riding my bike between the desks and once again it was soft ball time and blow gun time and drinking lots of wine time and this goes on till lunch time when i guess i had tried to make a few calls and failed but the regular ones the ones who were making all the loot they had not even started working. So one of the bosses hands me and one of my loser workers a bottle of chardonney and tells us there is a nice pizza joint about a block away and that we should go have a pizza and drink the wine for lunch which we did.

Now it is around 1.30 pm and FINALLY the regular sales team who have a QUOTA of about $30K they must make in wine sales that day and cant go home till they hit that number so they are off to the races and by god by 5.30 pm they had done it.

Of course we had sold nothing. Also they would not help us other than it is true occasionally one of them would grab my phone hold it upside down so i could not hear the customer and he would yell me to say things as he could hear but i coundnt even with his so called help i made nothing.

By Thursday i was burning out and most puzzled how they were doing it. I came up with all kinds of theories. I got fired that day told that i just didnt know how to sell and the others were fired too.

I got totally obsessed with this wine firm as it was a lot of fun playing the music and playing soft ball half the day and riding bikes around and making a fortune and they were making this or something very fishy was going on i dont know. So about a year or so later i applied again for this job and now it was called Montesquieu but same people as before and they remembered me and were really nice but no way would they share with me or with the other losers they had chosen for a week or torture how to do it. My plan was to buy my own leads and sadly my cat got sick and i had to pay a big vet bill so i cound not afford the leads so it was deja vu allover and once again fired.

I have told this story to many people never online and some people i have talked to think maybe it is some undercover deal maybe they sell drugs who knows...i am still so intrigued but now live far far from San Diego. Their wine is good not the best but pretty damn good. These people who make this money are not very well educated...i mean when i had my short "training" they could not even properly pronounce the names of their French wines so this is just another most weird thing about these people. All i know is that they have offices not only in SD but elsewhere in the country i think in FL and in Los Angeles. Havent kept up with them recently.

I dont blame you if you dont believe this as if i had not experienced this place i doubt i would believe what i haeve written here. God if i could only figure out how these bozos were making a third of a million bucks a year doing next to nothing i think i would sell my soul!!! LOL

               


 
  dgris 05/15/2012 at 12:56 PST [Reply]

Hi Gaia, I was one of those gullible customers for longer than I wish to admit a number of years ago. I never spent more than good local wines cost. I finally wanted to know where they came from and how they compared on the market. I could not find any information and when I started looking, I found several sites and found that the prices were quite inflated for the quality. They are mostly gone from the cellar now and wines of the same value but aging quality have replaced them. Some were very good and probably of good aging value, but others were overpriced for the drink now quality. There are a number re-bottlers and sellers of oversupply that do not allude to it being boutique winery juice, and the discounted pricing reflects clearance sales. When entering into my cellar management program, I was astounded at the regularity of buys. I was one of those dependable customers. One consolation was that I only bought affordable wines in the $30-40 range, not that $100+ juice they were pushing onto the rich set. In hind site, I would like to have that money to put toward some nice wines in that price range. Live and learn!

               


 
  michi 08/14/2012 at 17:47 PST [Reply]

Oh how I wish the internet was a viable source of information when I went to work for Schenk which then became Gerhardt Wines in 1996. I find it absolutely UNBELIEVABLE that they are still treating their employees (aside from the chosen few) as dirt! The reason the "star" brokers were making sooo much money back in the day was due to the fact that schleps like me were selling to their clients and they were racking up the commissions on the sales I made for them. Do you think that they were an ethical company and actually gave me any sort of compensation for the sales I made???? I actually did like the wines they had to offer and was a faithful client to a friend that continued working there. The fiasco scenes described taking place in the office are totally true. The whole entire office was not allowed to leave at night until the daily sales quota was filled. You could be there from 8:30 am until 8:00 pm. I can't believe they are still making bogus claims on the amount of money people can realistically make while working there. Even back then the whole set up was suspicious to me. Wondering if anyone from back then is still working there and making the $500k they alledged they would be making at this point???? So glad I am not there and luckily I have achieved that figure and I MOST DEFINATELY am NOT a client of their's. Salud!

               


 
  nycwinepro 08/29/2013 at 23:13 PST [Reply]

Gaia, you are 100% correct in your characterization of this weird company. BTW, I think the name was Jacob Gearhardt when you were there. I worked for them a couple of years ago here in NYC. So bizarre, and you are correct about the weirdo 1 hour long pep talk meetings in the am.

     


 
  wlbiv 03/23/2010 at 12:22 PST [Reply]

So I was in the process of attempting to interview for a wine broker's position with Montesquieu when I began doing my diligence. The most common complaint about anything is the Creighton Cabernet. For definitive information, seek out a definitive source like the Washington State Liquor Control Board. From my research, no such winery as Creighton is licensed in the state of Washington. For that matter, I could find no information about any of their domestic wines that didn't trace back to Montesquieu as the source. I'm calling right now to cancel the interview as I cannot reconcile the seemingly false information they provide with the truth.

     


 
  nycwinepro 05/05/2011 at 11:16 PST [Reply]

OK, I have been in the wine biz for 6 years, trained here in NYC and UC Davis. I took a job at Montesquieu and was invariably disappointed with the products and sales methods; being that The wines are sold via 'cold call' in a carnival barker style. The training to work at Montesquieu is decidely NOT wine focused training. Instead, you are told to read the 'Secret', create a 'vision board of wealth' and sell based on targeting customers who exhibit an impulse buy mentality. The wines are not legit, they are created by purchased juice and unused lots and they put a large ticket price on the bottle. Once again, these are not small production-boutique wines from small family owned vineyards, but left over second-or more likely third label wines, with shiny labels trying to appeal to the nouveau riche. I resigned, as I am a wine pro, who cannot, in good conscious, sell a product that is fraudulent. Oh, one more thing. I was relatively successful, I made a sale a day,( you can expect to make a sale per 300 phone calls...and that's an amazing average as you are calling business people at their jobs and spend a majority of your time being hung up on by savvy ad-mins) but my wine sales were not because I was a trained wine pro, it was because I am very charismatic. I noticed that the second best so-called broker was a drug addict and knew nothing about wine at all....you are expected to drink all day, starting at 8:30am and for someone who loves fantastic wines, I had a hard time choking down a few of these subpar wines. The office managers were nice, if not disillusioned and they were not trained in wine at all, the office in New York is nice as well, but to reiterate, the wines are subpar and not sold by wine professionals. At the time of my departure, there were only 2 remaining 'brokers', one was the aforementioned drug addict....actually doing cocaine on the job, and another woman who knew her stuff and had vast food and wine experience but she popped Vicodin on a reguclar basis as she had a back injury from a car accident . The last I heard she ( the vicodin addict, not the coke-head) jumped ship based on the inethical products and sales methods. To sum up, this is a job for a person who is hard up as they pay you $500.00 a week for 6 months, you need not have any wine knowledge, and you don't have to pass a drug test, dress nicely or even have a professional demeanor.....If you are opportunistic and able to bullshit on the phone you will do ok.....Expect to make no more than 20,000.00 yearly. After 6 months, you work 100 percent on commission. Soooo, you do the math. You only sell by the case. The average weekly sale is less than $3,000.00. So, there you go, if you have no other recourse, take a job at Montesquieu, but keep interviewing in the meantime.

          


 
  mqwine 05/12/2011 at 10:26 PST [Reply]

Dear Nycwinepro,

I’m sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your time working in our New York office. We would like to have a chance to discuss your experience with you, if you could make yourself available.

Unfortunately we’ve been unable to determine your identity, as we have not hired anyone with the credentials you posted for our New York office since it first opened in March. We would be grateful if you would give us a call or forward us your contact information. You can reach me at [email protected] or 415.536.1670, ext.1103.

With respect to the very serious allegations you raise in these posts, I want to make clear that we have seen no evidence whatsoever that any of our employees has engaged in illegal or inappropriate drug use in the course of business, something that is squarely against company policy and which we would not tolerate. In an abundance of caution, we have begun an internal investigation regarding the circumstances you described. But it will be difficult to complete our research without discussing it directly with you, so please do contact us.

Concerning your claims about us selling “fraudulent” wine, I would refer you to my previous post on this thread, which describes in detail how we work, and also suggest you visit our website FAQ (www.montesquieu.com/faq.php), which clearly states our business model.

Regards,
Tony Connell
Client Relations
415.536.1670, ext.1103

     


 
  kim11111 02/02/2012 at 00:05 PST [Reply]

Actually i worked in the la office. I have to agree with alot of the things i read on this board. This company is so not legit. They hire people every week and fire them 2 or so weeks after... after the new people get all the hot leads for them. Not only they train you on the wine for a couple days..... then you get on the phone with another person on the other end telling you what to say. To the point to where the customers on the other end can hear the 3rd person telling us what to say. This company gives you so called leads on paper saying "these pink ones are millionaires and can totally afford to buy wine. there is no reason not to make a sale. they are such a head trip here at this company. in all actualality these are normal people we are calling that make a small living. one person i called was an recovering alcoholic..... and i was told to say all these objections... i mean seriously "what kind of morals does this company have" to even sell to an alcoholic. i felt horrible. they are nuts there. gosh they fired me after 2 weeks... anyway it was fun to watch the craziness go down there....


 
  heathcliff 08/09/2006 at 22:40 PST [Reply]

For anyone out there who has information about Montesquieu, I would like to find out as much as possible. I have bought a considerable amount of wine from them, and if in fact I have been scammed, I would like to have all the details about what they are doing so I can take further action. Please help me if you can. Thanks.

     


 
  winepro 07/23/2007 at 16:40 PST [Reply]

My thought would be to trust your "gut"

          


 
  winepro 08/02/2007 at 11:22 PST [Reply]

If anyone starts reading this blog, they need to read all of the comments..think about it.

     


 
  winepro 07/23/2007 at 16:42 PST [Reply]

Agian....my thought is to trust your "gut"

     


 
  columbo 04/09/2011 at 15:44 PST [Reply]

I worked at this place. They used to be called "Jakob Gearheart"....they changed names because they had some heat on them, and had burned through all their leads.

I personally thought that the wine was pretty good. I hated that they made you drink wine all day while you were cold calling. I like wine, but 5 days a week, and during the day? Try hitting the gym at 6pm after a day of drinking 3 glasses of red wine....

They are really just a Negociant who buys odd lots of "this" and "that".... and then makes up a label name, a region, and a winery. So, yes it's highly unlikely that you will ever locate the winery on the label that they made up.

The Costco label "Cameron Huges" is the same thing, it's a Negociant. Except he is not trying to make up some story about "disovering" some small allocated batch of "family owned" wineries that happen to be outstanding but hard to find! Hey everyone loves a good story. In sales; facts tell, stories sell.

Is it a "scam"??...Depends upon your definition. Bernie Madoff took your money and you got nothing tangible in return.

With Montesquieu you get a tangible product, the conveinece of delivery, the excitement of some guy calling you with something "hot" and "special".

Is there a lot of mark up?
Yup, you bet cha!
They have to pay the phone bill for that many dials per day, pay for the leads, pay for the wine, the square footage for the phone room (in San Diego) and the square footage for the wine storage.

It was a great job before the internet. As a wine broker you controlled information on all your products, and cold calling was still a very accepted form of sales and business.

So are they legit? Yeah, as legit as any other outfit. Is the wine good? Well, wine is food, and food is subjective. Is it pricey? For me, yeah I'm not rich enough to have a wine "broker", and brag about my collection of rare finds at the country club---but some people like this.

My suggestion:

With costco, Bev Mo, and the internet do you really need anything else?


 
  remyh 08/23/2006 at 14:59 PST [Reply]

I've bought several cases from Montesquieu. The wines have been good, but I've had my suspicions that they're overpriced.

Either they do buy out small wineries, or they relabel--I have no idea--but I was unable to confirm my suspicion until yesterday.

I was offered a case of 2004 Terra Burdigala Bordeaux. Of course it sounded great--lots of names of wine "consultants" were dropped, including a consultant who worked with Le Pin ($500-$2000/bottle). I was told this wine normally went for $60, but that they were selling it for $35, so I agreed to get a case.

The wine is actually on their front page right now, and the lengthy description of it is here:
http://www.montesquieu.com/ourwines/vineyardstories.asp

Thanks to wine-searcher.com (the pro version is worth ordering for $35--particularly given that they just saved me ten times that--and I have no affiliation with them, I'm just a satisfied customer), I found that nobody sells this wine for more than $19.95, and in fact it's available from PJ's in New York for $6.97/bottle. (Type in Burdigala and 2004 for the vintage into wine-searcher.)

I'm fine with people making a profit, particularly if they're picking out good wines, but a 400% markup over another firm's *retail* is absurd.

I canceled the order and won't do any more business with them. Give your business to your local wine shop--they'll probably do as good a job, but much more cheaply...


 
  heathcliff 08/26/2006 at 01:36 PST [Reply]

I thank you for that information. I guess that it is one thing to make a profit selling overpriced wine, but it is another thing to lie about where the grapes where grown and where it was bottled. Obviously I am not going to do business with them again, but if they actually lied about the location of the bottling and where the grapes came from, I will have a serious problem with them. That is illegal according to several sources I talked to and if that is the case, I am considering alerting the authorities about thier illegal agenda. If anyone else has had any negative experiences, please step forward and alert everyone here about what has happened to you. Let's pool our information together and alert others before they do more damage.

     


 
  winepro 07/23/2007 at 16:58 PST [Reply]

I used to work for the company and am afraid of telling the truth.


 
  starguy 08/29/2006 at 10:16 PST [Reply]

if you want more proof, look at the corks... an alledged "knights valley" merlot from a vineyard called Camden had no markings whatsoever... i suspected from my first sip of a so called white bordeaux that was gross, that started me looking up vineyards and that led me here... i stopped payment on my CC as soon as i confirmed my suspicions


 
  rhonan 08/29/2006 at 21:00 PST [Reply]

I've had their wines. This looks like a jaded employee to me. For starters, many of the comments from the person who started this string, and some from those that have followed are completely uninformed, and show ignorance as to how the wine industry works.

Here are some examples that are easy pickins:

Taste: Isn�t this why most people buy wine? Hey, if you like 2 buck chuck, and you can deal with the hangover, then you should keep on drinking it. Why would you drop 30 on a bottle if you can�t tell the difference? However, if you can taste the difference, then you can decide for yourself whether you like a particular wine or not.

Vineyards - Plenty of good wines do not list specific vineyards because they source from multiple vineyards in a given location. The big-name wineries trade and sell grapes to one another all the time. Do you really think they are going to list the competition�s vineyard as one of the sources? But don�t take my word for it. Research it yourself.

German Wine Being Passed Off as California Wine � Just taste it. German and California wines are worlds apart. There's no way you could run a successful business doing such a thing. Completely different styles folks.

Corks � If all you require is a mark on a cork, you will be duped by far worse than this company. Branding is cheap and easy and it's not a requirement.

Leads: All sales organizations have leads. Whether they are on bar napkins, cards, or a database doesn�t matter. Leads are leads�there�s no difference.

Wines on the Front Page: Terra Burdigala makes several wines. I don�t know why anyone would put a six dollar bottle of wine on their front page. Either they are total idiots, or you�ve got the wrong wine.


 
  stangeland 08/30/2006 at 21:00 PST [Reply]

The last comment from rhonan is from someone with no wine listed in their cellar. Whatever the truth is, buying from your local wine merchant is a tried and true method. Mail order is like a roulette wheel. Maybe we can move on to the positive topics of wine!


 
  heathcliff 08/30/2006 at 22:29 PST [Reply]

OK, here is the deal. I found this blog because I was attempting to find a specific wine that I bought from Montesquieu. That wine is the 02 Creighton Cabernet. This is one of my favorite wines. I must truthfully admit that I am a novice at this, however, I did pour some of the Creighton for several friends of mine that are more experienced wine tasters and they unilaterally agreed that it is that good. At $35.00 a bottle it seemed like a great deal to me. As a result I bought a significant number of cases of the Creighton and I was perfectly satisfied with my endeavor until I decided that I liked it so much that I wanted to visit the winery.

It was at this point where I came into problems. Firstly, I searched the vineyard and to my surprise, nothing came up except the site to Montesquieu and this blog. Once I read this, I was horrified that I had been completely ripped off. Now, mind you I still think the Creighton is great, but I wanted to find out if in fact I had been duped.

So I called up my contact at Montesquieu and requested some information about Creighton. That was over a month ago and to this day I have only gotten the run-around. I get only tidbits of information and empty promises of an address and a telephone number which for some reason or another never come to fruition.

At that point, I closely examined several bottles of the wine I had purchased and I noticed that there seemed to be a difference with the labels and bottles of the wine that were imported, compared to the wine that was from the States. The domestic stuff seems to have similar bottles, similar wrapping, and similar labeling. It would seem that the labeling is the biggest clue because although the labels have different fount, the formulation of the wording and the layout seem eerily similar. I want to state for the record that this is not evident in the international stuff I purchased from them, which seems to be more traceable.

I am going to provide here a list of the domestic wines with the price per bottle I have purchased from Montesquieu for the record so that they will show up on search engines to anyone who may be in a similar predicament.

They are:

2003 Crenshaw Sonoma County Meritage $38.00
2003 McCarron Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $70.00
2002 Creighton Washington Cabernet Sauvignon $35.00
2001 Creighton Washington Cabernet Sauvignon $35.00
2003 Armada Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon $78.00
2004 Casata Paso Robles Barbara $28.00
2002 Edgemont Central Coast Merlot $27.00
2003 Tamarisk Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $30.00
2002 Equinox Merlot $34.00
2003 Elgin Napa Valley Meritage $42.00
2002 Diablo Sonoma County Zinfandel $40.00
2003 Silverado Trail Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet $55.00

Personally I think the Creighton, the Silverado, the Elgin, the Armada, and the McCarron seem to taste the best to me, but again, I am not an expert.

So far, I have not been able to get any information on the wineries/winemakers for any of the above to date. It is like they don�t exist. My suspicion is that there is some truth to the first post on this blog. I certainly am willing to give Montesquieu a chance to prove they are legitimate, but so far this has been a frustrating and unproductive experience.

Please, for all of you that may be interested and/or involved in any of the above, please come forward and help all of us find out the complete truth in regards to what has happened here. For those who have already posted, I cannot thank you enough.

Sincerely,

Heathcliff

     


 
  copper 05/10/2008 at 15:51 PST [Reply]

Heathcliff,
I don't know if Montesquieu is legit or not, but I do know that they are pesky! We are moving and will not have room for our extensive collection. If you are interested in buying a case of 2002 Creighton from a non-pesky person, we could negotiate a win-win. If not, best wishes to you and cheers!
Feel free to contact me at 715-528-4810.



 
  cellbrokers 09/19/2006 at 07:28 PST [Reply]

Interesting,
Thanks for the post.
You should throw that on:
http://www.winemarketer.com/forums


 
  bkm 09/29/2006 at 22:07 PST [Reply]

Living near Napa and driving and bicycling the area for over 15 years, I can tell you that there is no such place as a "Silverado Trail Cellars" Especially at $55.00!!!

Nor an "Armada Spring Mountain" Doing a quick google found nothing, basically.

Repackaged and relabeled extra grapes dumped on the market?


 
  heathcliff 10/01/2006 at 22:42 PST [Reply]

I have requested a letter from Fonda Hopkins that she personally guarentee that the wine her company sells is authentic. It has been about 1 and 1/2 weeks. So far there is no letter, but I will post here when and if I get it. Thank you all again for your help. I will keep the information flowing here. Thanks.

Heathcliff.


 
  fsufan 10/21/2006 at 15:11 PST [Reply]

For someone who had worked for the company for a long time, I can tell you there is no scam going on what so ever..despite what has been written above. There may not be such a place as "Silverado Trail Cellars" but every wine needs a name, am I wrong? Obviously whoever it was who started this whole papertrail of trash talk obviously was not successful and therefor feels he/she needs to try to bring the company down with them. We were in fact as the Aspen Food & Wine event, we didn't do a tasting there, but Fonda and some of the top brokers were there..miscommunication was a factor obviously..
The way we do our business is legitimate and for clients who have worked with us, if you have had success with your broker then keep believing in them, don't let the opinion of an ex employee change your mind or belief in our company..

     


 
  winepro 11/02/2007 at 14:23 PST [Reply]

Nice try Gregg!!! IF ANYONE HAS BEEN ABUSED THE MOST AT THAT TELEMARKETING JOB IT HAS BEEN YOU !!!!


 
  johnhinman 10/23/2006 at 12:46 PST [Reply]

I am a lawyer and I have been in the wine business for almost 30 years. You can view my credentials at www.beveragelaw.com. Our firm represents many of the world's largest and most prestigious wineries, as well as many small wineries, retailers (large and small) and others in the wine business. Alcohol regulation is all that we do: I also serve as the General Counsel of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association [www.specialtywineretailers.org], and General Counsel of the American Wine Alliance for Research and Education [www.alcohol-aware.org]. I have represented Montesquieu as well as Fonda Hopkins for many years and the allegations of the winery being a scam, misleading or somehow shady or unscrupulous are absolutely false and an insult to the intelligence of anyone who has ever been in the wine business. They might also be actionable legally, but that is not the purpose of this post. I want to deal with the merits of the wine business.

Montesquieu is an example of a negociant winery that does just what it says that it does. It scours the world for small lots of wine from either small wineries or vineyard properties (which often are not wineries but rather grape growers who have the grapes processed for them and sell the wine) that are an exceptional value, clears the wine through the regulatory system, bottles them (and sometimes blends for taste, a process called the "assemblage") and makes the wine available to those who are on the various customer lists maintained by the winery. Those lists are generated from the website, from advertisements and, most importantly, from satisfied customers who refer their friends. The most important people at Montesquieu are those on the tasting panel. It is their taste profiles that are being featured, much as the wines hyped by Robert Parker and other wine tasters are featured on their websites.

Negociant wineries are a European concept that has slowly made its way into the US market over the last 25 years and now may represent (in one form or another) over 50% of the current wine market. Indeed, most of the currently estimated 50,000 US wine brands come either from negociant wineries or grape growers, or from special labels developed by the winery (often bearing an entirely different "dba" - "doing business as") so that particular wines can be marketed and sold in different channels of trade. The question of price is inherently wrapped up in the question of taste, and in the concept of value. A negociant goes after taste and value. The customers stay with the negociant because they trust in that equation, and they trust the negociant. One of the most relevant comments in the thread above is the one from Heathcliff, who loved the wine that he bought and who bought more as a result. He bought the wine because to him it represented quality and value and he was not disappointed. That is the true test.

As for the post from winer1, the screen name should be "whiner1." That person is clearly a disgruntled wanna-be wine salesman who didn't make the cut at Montesquieu. The winery marketing department demands that the salespeople demonstrate knowledge of the wine business, an understanding of fine wine and the ability to explain to the winery's customers what it is that they are offering. The winery makes no excuses for using modern marketing and tele-marketing technology. That also gets the story out quickly and efficiently, and adds to the value proposition. The two posts from persons who wanted to be employees and couldn't even last a day speaks for itself. They don't have a clue.

We assure you that the wines from Montesquieu are of the highest quality and that the winery can be trusted.

     


 
  nycwinepro 05/05/2011 at 12:54 PST [Reply]

John, I actually "did" make the cut at Montesquieu and can attest to the fact that Montesquieu is a scam ; ie: poor quaility wines and outright lying to potential customers! OK, I have been in the wine biz for 6 years, trained here in NYC and UC Davis. I took a job at Montesquieu and was invariably disappointed with the products and sales methods; being that The wines are sold via 'cold call' in a carnival barker style. The training to work at Montesquieu is decidely NOT wine focused training. Instead, you are told to read the 'Secret', create a 'vision board of wealth' and sell based on targeting customers who exhibit an impulse buy mentality. The wines are not legit, they are created by purchased juice and unused lots and they put a large ticket price on the bottle. Once again, these are not small production-boutique wines from small family owned vineyards, but left over second-or more likely third label wines, with shiny labels trying to appeal to the nouveau riche. I resigned, as I am a wine pro, who cannot, in good conscious, sell a product that is fraudulent. Oh, one more thing. I was relatively successful, I made a sale a day,( you can expect to make a sale per 300 phone calls...and that's an amazing average as you are calling business people at their jobs and spend a majority of your time being hung up on by savvy ad-mins) but my wine sales were not because I was a trained wine pro, it was because I am very charismatic. I noticed that the second best so-called broker was a drug addict and knew nothing about wine at all....you are expected to drink all day, starting at 8:30am and for someone who loves fantastic wines, I had a hard time choking down a few of these subpar wines. The office managers were nice, if not disillusioned and they were not trained in wine at all, the office in New York is nice as well, but to reiterate, the wines are subpar and not sold by wine professionals. At the time of my departure, there were only 2 remaining 'brokers', one was the aforementioned drug addict....actually doing cocaine on the job, and another woman who knew her stuff and had vast food and wine experience but she popped Vicodin on a reguclar basis as she had a back injury from a car accident . The last I heard she ( the vicodin addict, not the coke-head) jumped ship based on the inethical products and sales methods. To sum up, this is a job for a person who is hard up as they pay you $500.00 a week for 6 months, you need not have any wine knowledge, and you don't have to pass a drug test, dress nicely or even have a professional demeanor.....If you are opportunistic and able to bullshit on the phone you will do ok.....Expect to make no more than 20,000.00 yearly. After 6 months, you work 100 percent on commission. Soooo, you do the math. You only sell by the case. The average weekly sale is less than $3,000.00. So, there you go, if you have no other recourse, take a job at Montesquieu, but keep interviewing in the meantime.

     


 
  nycwinepro 05/05/2011 at 16:22 PST [Reply]

John, I also, 'made the cut', above and beyond; and Montesquieu Wines are indeed scammy. The cold call lists are purchased, and not based on referrals. Also, you are trained to target impulse buyers. Feel free to read my prior posts. Also, Montesquieu uses an online reputation defender so that unsuspecting customers have a hard time google-ing and receiving honest info....


 
  rannand 11/11/2006 at 12:11 PST [Reply]

Interesting to read the various comments. I purchased a case of wine from them and wanted to see what others thought of the company.

I located a Bordeaux from the same winery on Google for a later year in a dealer offering quote if I want to become an importer.


 
  fredvegas 11/26/2006 at 08:50 PST [Reply]

I worked there for about a month, and I never felt that any of the wines were anything to write home about. As far as relabeling and/or severe mark-ups go, I would be inclined to believe it. I don't have proof, but after understanding how they do business in general, I wouldn't put it past them. It's not until after one leaves there that it really sinks in how thye do business. They "hire" 10-14 people at a time, and fire half or more of them within their first week. I left a perfectly good job because I was "sold" the job at Montesquieu. I was lucky enough to last longer than everyone else in my training class, but I just didn't push enough wine onto unsuspecting old ladies to remain there. C'est la vie. I would never buy anything from them now, and I can't help but feel sorry for those that I sold that two-buck chuck to.

     


 
  grigiogirl6634 02/14/2007 at 18:34 PST [Reply]

Did they fire you or did you quit? Im curious cause someone I know just started and really likes it. Still in there first week of training. ANy info can help

          


 
  southbayace 02/18/2007 at 13:23 PST [Reply]

Grigiogirl6634:

How is your friend doing? Still like it? Still there?

SBA

               


 
  grigiogirl6634 02/23/2007 at 12:12 PST [Reply]

yeah he is still there why?

     


 
  sahara 05/11/2007 at 22:36 PST [Reply]

Hello fredvegas. I suppose to start working for them on Monday. They promise you can make up to 60.000 in first yesr. Is it bullshit or you can make money there?


 
  jawbreaker 11/28/2006 at 12:00 PST [Reply]

I have also bought some wines from them. Some have been good, others not so much. After having researched things a bit, I feel I overpaid on a number of items and have come to the conclusion that I will never do business with them again.

Maybe they are reputable, but I have my doubts

     


 
  heathcliff 01/15/2007 at 20:35 PST [Reply]

Hello all,

I have talked to the Montesquieu people and this is what I have found out. They bottle the wine themselves even though the bottle may infer something different. They file a DBA in whatever area they claim the winery is and then offer the wine under the name they choose for the area and for marketing purposes. Although they generally don�t say that they bottle the wine, for those who are willing to search and look far enough, you will probably find out that there is no such vineyard. So the deal is this: If you like the taste of their wine, great. If you are the kind of person who wants to go to the winery and talk to the winemakers, take a tasting, and experience the ambiance of being at the place where they make the wine you love, forget about it; probably not going to happen. Their business is legitimate, but they play a game with their customers by instilling an innuendo that they are just brokers when in fact they themselves are the bottlers and in some cases the winemakers.

I have asked them for a letter from the owner of the company to personally guarantee the wine they sell and I have not gotten it. I am very disappointed in them. I don�t think I will ever get that letter and so I have decided not to ever buy wine from them again. If I do receive that letter, I will post here that I have in fact received it.

I want to thank you all for your help. I hope that I have been helpful to others who are looking for the truth.


 
  gerage 02/22/2007 at 11:46 PST [Reply]

Hello,

Reading the commentary on Montesquieu makes me feel better about my own misadventure with the winery, er ah, company. The 2004 Lyle Napa Valley Zinfandel which I purchased from a very skilled sales person (broker) was completly unremarkable at $42 per bottle.

Two weeks later I was contacted again and the broker launched into a pitch about a new wine without asking for any feedback on the previous sale. When I offered my honest assessment, the broker protested and proceded to drop more wine industry jargon and names in an effort to try to counter my opinion and me make feel like a wine neophyte. Sigh.

Telemarketing wine must be tough. Nothing illegal about it I'm sure, but not much value either. Montesquie personnel are adept at name dropping, adjectives, and assuming the proper level of wine snobbery. Unfortunately, for me, it is about the wine and value. They miss the boat on both counts.

     


 
  oscarwildes 05/01/2007 at 17:28 PST [Reply]

As a fomer employee, I can tell you for a fact that Montesquieu is the bottler. the wine you bought could've contained wines from all over and anywhere.

When we were instructed on how to sell the wines, we were told to follow the script and make the customer feel as though they knew nothing about wine and that we were the experts. In fact, most of the sales people knew nothing about wine.

In order to work for this massive telemarketing wine bottler you must be relentless in your bullying and putting the customer down. Knowing about wine is not a requirement, only a a knowledge of how to read from a script and drop wine jargon.

     


 
  nycwinepro 05/05/2011 at 16:30 PST [Reply]

Ahhhh, that brings back a Montesquieu Momory. I remember when I was a 'broker' at Montesquieu I was told to call an existing customer to tell them of a new and limited release. I got the customer on the phone and identified myself. I then asked how they like the meritage blend I had sold them a month prior....after hanging up I was reamed out by the office manager....it is Montesquieu policy to never ask a customer if he/she liked the wine////that's when I knew I was dealing with a shady outfit


 
  winepro 03/02/2007 at 13:39 PST [Reply]


     


 
  winepro 10/26/2007 at 10:37 PST [Reply]

I really love the fact that "someone" keeps erasing blogs of truthful comments about Montesquieu. They must obviously have a lot to hide!


 
  heathcliff 03/06/2007 at 00:53 PST [Reply]

Hello all again,

So far I have not received any letter from the owner guaranteeing the wine. All I can say is that I believe that I have been duped. The wine I have received from them tastes just like it did when I received it; however with more knowledge now, I can fully understand that for that same money I spent I could have gotten countless better values backed with a reputation of quality. Montesquieu does not possess that at this point, and it is sad that I spent so much time (and money) believing in them. There are many fine wineries� out there. Don�t be duped into spending your money on people who could care less about the �Human� side of things; solely to just make a sale.

I am very, very disappointed in Montesquieu. They have demonstrated that they really don�t care at all about their customers. They only care about making the sale, and they are willing to mislead their customers (by implying they don�t bottle wines themselves) in order to accomplish this. Shame on them; I originally thought I was dealing with people who cared, but in reality they are just very talented salespeople. All I wanted to do was visit the winery where they made the wine I loved, and instead of just telling me that there is no such winery and that they just purchased some product, possibly blended it, and then bottled it themselves, they chose to lead me on a wild goose chase trying to make me believe that there were some winemakers out there whom they couldn�t get in touch with and kept making empty promises about getting me an address and telephone number that didn�t exist.

And, for the record, I talked to several people who worked at Montesquieu, and some told different stories about who bottled what. I guess they need to get their stories in line with each other.

All I can say is that I hope I have helped people avoid the ordeal that I have been through. Don�t make the same mistakes that I have made. Think about it; the posts that have been deleted have been deleted for a reason. I think that a reputable company would not just have their lawyer�s delete something but rather offer opinions and facts that can dispute the theories that they believe are incorrect. That would allow everyone to hear all sides to the story, instead of only allowing people to see what they allow you to see. In fact, I wouldn�t be surprised if they delete my posts at this point.

Heathcliff.


 
  grigiogirl6634 03/14/2007 at 22:21 PST [Reply]

I think they are a big scam , my friend that worked there said they are the winemakers....2 buck chuck at its finest, you can buy a case of a reputable wine at your local liquor store for 1/2 the price they are charging.


 
  heathcliff 03/16/2007 at 14:23 PST [Reply]



 
  terrym 03/17/2007 at 16:55 PST [Reply]

Boy,am I happy to hear the someone besides me thinks that Montqsquieu Winery wines are, at best, risky, but typically, plonk. My significant other is on the calling list for one of their salespeople, a woman who humbly refers to herself as The Wine Goddess, and he keeps buying this stuff from her. The most recent aqusition is a case of 2003 Prado MaderaNapa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, at [drumroll] $125 a bottle. She sealed the deal with a promise that if we did not LUV the wine, she would take the whole case back, and even pay for the bottle we consumed, PLUS (and this made the deal) promise to never call him again. So we took the bottle over to our small favorite restaurant, Leila's in Oak Park, CA (check it out in Zaguts, but go on a weekday - weekends can be nutting), and BIG SURPRISE, noone was impressed. Meanwhile, I have a line on picking up a half case of PRIDE, and my hunnybunny is buying this (in my opinion) garbage. So the case went back, and I am anxiously looking forward to never having another case with that label grace the door to our cellar again!

And another thing! John Hinman, I realize that you want to represent your clients, but nothing said on this is libelous, and you know it. You are just trying to scare people into leaving this wine source alone, and that is not right. There aer obviously some real quality and pricing problems there, and an awful lot of unsophisticated people are paying an awful lot of money for something that has no pedigree, or real credentials.

So, if anyone is scared about what he has threatened, let me know. I've been a lawyer ALMOST as long as Hinman has....
Terry

     


 
  nycwinepro 05/09/2011 at 09:58 PST [Reply]

OMG, I know who the self-labeled wine goddess is: Alex right???? LOL! The wines are indeed subpar and they train to target "impulse buyers". Really unprofessional. I noticed that there is an ad-min site that shares phone numbers to avoid....yup, Montesquieu made the list with plenty of funny details. Oy Vey.


 
  heathcliff 04/12/2007 at 00:18 PST [Reply]

Hey Terrym,

I really appreciate your post. Maybe you could help us all out by using your legal skill to stop Hinman from deleting people�s posts. It is unethical and unfair for him to be scaring the web host people into deleting posts. Perhaps you can contact the web servers and let them know that they can be assured that they can stand up to Hinman and his threat tactics and allow everyone to post here without fear that they will be deleted as several posts have been. It is just not right that someone can do this. It sends a loud and clear message that Montesquieu is willing to go very far in scaring people into obliging their Gestapo tactics. Please help if you can.

Sincerely,

Heathcliff.


 
  johnhinman 04/24/2007 at 17:22 PST [Reply]

I have been monitoring this discussion on and off to see how far disgruntled ex-employees (Heathcliff in this case)are willing to go to libel and slander the good folks at Montesquieu; pretty far obviously.

There is no way to silence people using the blogs, and no one at Montesquieu has any desire to silence anyone in any event.

However, this is rapidly becoming personal. I am accused of removing posts. That is untrue and ridiculous. There is a board monitor here and I suspect (but do not know) that the board monitor removes posts that violate the community rules; either with respect to the use of language or invective, or because the posts contain threats that may endanger the community itself. That is how posting works.

I am as entitled to point out that "Heathcliff" has fabricated his entire litany of complaints to cover up his own deficiencies (and is probably a mental case to boot) as he is to accuse me of Gestapo tactics. In that vein, most lawyers consider being compared to the Gestapo a compliment. I don't but that is neither here nor there because the subject is not me. its about the wines.

With respect to the wines from Montesquieu the other threads on this board extolling the quality of wines purchased through Montesquieu speak much louder than I can of the quality of the products. The vast majority of Montesquieu customers appreciate the quality and value of the wines they buy and are willing to say so here, and in other places.

Try them yourselves and then make a judgment.

     


 
  oscarwildes 05/01/2007 at 17:10 PST [Reply]

As a former employee, I can tell you that what 'Heathcliff' is saying is entirely true. It's not libel or slander if it's true, John. You should know this being a lawyer. I have nothing to gain, nor does 'Heathcliff' by lying. We are reporting the facts so that people know.

Here's a question posed to you Mr. Hinman: If Montesquieu is such a great company and a joy to work with, why do they need a lawyer to defend them, both in court and on message boards? Why aren't their satisfied customers posting their appreciation for the company? On one side I see both unhappy customers and former employees. The other side is a lawyer paid by them.

          


 
  winepro 07/23/2007 at 16:57 PST [Reply]

I as well worked for the company, and am afraid of things to tell.

          


 
  winepro 07/23/2007 at 16:57 PST [Reply]

I as well worked for the company, and am afraid of things to tell.

          


 
  winepro 07/23/2007 at 16:57 PST [Reply]

I as well worked for the company, and am afraid of things to tell.


 
  starguy 04/30/2007 at 14:06 PST [Reply]

i caught them with their hand in the cookie jar, sent back what i hadn't drank, filed a consumer complaint with my state's atty general and stopped payment on my credit card and they agreed it was fraudulent.... guess what?... they are attempting to collect the balance on what was given away and drank... i have now escalated to the Calif. atty general, and the BBB of san diego... I recommend that the rest of you do the same

     


 
  oscarwildes 05/01/2007 at 17:01 PST [Reply]

Good job! I used to work for them and I've heard what they say and do with people who want to return their un used cases. When selling the cases, they have no problem 'exchanging or returning the bottles you haven't drank', but once you actually call and try to, they give you the run around. Sometimes they demand that you exchange it for another wine. Also, they NEVER return all of your money. They only return the total amount less the bottles you already drank. They tell you something entirely different during the pitch.


 
  stevo 05/07/2007 at 14:46 PST [Reply]

Hi All:

I googled Montesquieu today b/c I was feeling increasingly disgruntled with my experience and wanted to express it without having to talk to a saleperson b/c I am very busy and wanted to avoid the hard sell. It was then that I came across this Blog. I don't really believe that they are not legitimate, or a scam, and in fact I have bought some really outstanding wines from them, Chapman Cab, Navarre Can Franc, Atticus Syrah to name a few. But I do think that some of the experiences of the people here reflect the risks involved in buying over the phone from someone you do not know.

The problem I have is that NOT every single wine is "brilliant," "mind blowing," "liquid gold," and that in the end I will be naming my first born (way too late for that one) after my broker. So now when I get a message from my broker, his accolades are immediately suspect, and given some of the clunkers I have recently paid $30 for, the trust has been damaged. I will be interested to see how he responds when we have this discussion. I will reserve judgement until that conversation takes place.

My suspicion, however, is that they get a huge inventory in that they need to unload, and sometimes they unload some junk. I have come to the conclusion that I am safer putting my money in the hands of several local dealers, where I can taste the wine, even though they know my palate quite well and can make really good recommendations. The first broker who worked with me did seem to know my palate. My current guy, while very nice, has seemed to have lost touch. Also, you are safer buying U.S. wines (especially the California wines). They do not do well with French wines, I can heartily state that!

Steve


 
  heathcliff 05/08/2007 at 21:30 PST [Reply]

Mr. Hinman, I am disgusted and appalled at the accusations and apparent misinformation that you have gingerly placed on this post. You have the right to do that, and I don�t have a problem with you speaking your mind; however I have a right to speak my mind as well.

Firstly, you are completely incorrect in your assumption that I am a former employee of Montesquieu. It is simply not true, and if you bothered to read the posts up to this point you would clearly see your mistake. However, you are correct in calling me disgruntled. I am also disconcerted, displeased and dissatisfied at the treatment I have received from your client. I have been lied to, misled, and mistreated by several persons who work for Montesquieu. I keep notes of all my conversations and I have the names of all the persons who spoke to me and led me down this path of discontent. I am not a former employee, but I am a former customer of Montesquieu. I have spent well over $30,000.00 on wine from your client. The list posted earlier was only a partial list of the wine I purchased.

In all honesty, it was your original post that completely solidified my dishonorable experience with Montesquieu. Before that post, I had been suspicious that all of the bottles from American wines I received from Montesquieu seemed similar, but when I spoke to one of Montesquieu�s taster�s, he assured me that Montesquieu did NOT bottle any of the wines themselves, but rather recommended bottling companies for product they were interested in buying. In your earlier post, you stated the following:

�It (Montesquieu) scours the world for small lots of wine from either small wineries or vineyard properties (which often are not wineries but rather grape growers who have the grapes processed for them and sell the wine) that are an exceptional value, clears the wine through the regulatory system, bottles them (and sometimes blends for taste, a process called the "assemblage") and makes the wine available to those who are on the various customer lists maintained by the winery.�

Note how you admit that your client does in fact bottle the wine themselves. This is in complete contradiction to what was originally told to me by staff members and a taster from Montesquieu. Like I said, I have their names and I kept notes of these conversations.

As for your accusation that I �Fabricated� a litany of complaints, or that I am a mental case, well I don�t know what to say except that it is untrue. I would like to also state for the record that I have in no way �Libeled� or �Slandered� anybody at Montesquieu. I have only stated the facts of what happened in my experience buying wine and attempting to visit a winery that apparently doesn�t exist. In all honesty John, I would think that if you experienced the same mistreatment that I have you might well be saying similar things.

With regards to the posts that have been removed, I don�t know for sure who removed them. Everything led up to the idea that it was you, but perhaps that was not the case. If I offended you, I apologize. To whoever actually did remove the posts, I can only hope that this will not happen again. I haven�t seen any foul language, and I�ve read several posts that are now gone. Perhaps we can put this practice behind us now, and let everyone, including John, myself, or anybody say what is on their mind. Certainly anybody who supports Montesquieu should have the same privileges of those who don�t, and vice versa. Let�s make sure from now on, everyone can speak their minds.

Perhaps it would be best for the board monitor to post here exactly what the community rules are on this blog so that everyone will be completely informed about what things should not be posted. That will assure there will be no confusion about why a blog was deleted.

Heathcliff.

     


 
  troy 02/25/2008 at 18:56 PST [Reply]

I read Montesquieu�s ad on a job board and received a very sweet reply to contact them for a "broker" position...salary:
$91k - 247k...hmmmmm. Well I have a great passion for wine and I'm a professional biz/dev sales person, but after reading all this, I think I'll pass. Thanx everyone!!
troy

     


 
  venivediivin 02/28/2008 at 13:19 PST [Reply]

Heathcliff, and others:

I can certainly appreciate your frustration with the "process". As far as price/value is concerned, there is usually a tradeoff... If someone has no time to search for wine, there is a convenience in having that wine located for you, at a price. In all transactions, if you feel something was worth the price paid...(in attorney language) case closed. The problem occurs when you feel a piece of the puzzle was withheld.

I just came across this board, and I realize your last message was almost a year ago...If you would like more relevant information, please email a phone number, and I would be happy to discuss it further.

Regards

          


 
  heathcliff 02/28/2008 at 22:58 PST [Reply]

Before I would post a phone number or an email address on this site I would want to know who someone is. There are Lawyers for Montesquieu roaming this site and I don�t feel real welcome right now.

From what you�ve written, you sound as if you could be an employee of Montesquieu (but I could be wrong). If so, perhaps it would be best if we discuss this on this site for everyone to hear, so that nothing is hidden. That is of course if whoever kept deleting the posts (and I firmly believe it was from the influence of someone from Montesquieu) would stop doing it.

I have been lied to so many times from people at Montesquieu that I don�t believe a word of what they say. One time, I even got a case of wine that was shipped in warm weather and when I opened a bottle the wine was �Warm to the tongue� but when I called my Montesquieu rep, all she said was that �It�s no problem because when you have a young wine it can handle it.� Utter BS. The wine was ruined and they were only attempting to convince me not to send it back.

I don�t have a problem with wine brokers. I don�t have a problem with hiring someone to find wine for me. I have a problem being lied to and manipulated for profit.

If you�ve read what is on this post you can get a good idea of what happened and why many people are very upset, and also why former employee�s of Montesquieu have been upset too. The bottom line is what was said earlier that if Montesquieu was a great broker than how come people are posting what they are posting here? There are valid reasons for this.

The door is open to any conversation you wish to have. Please let me and others know your thoughts.

If you are someone who has inside information about Montesquieu and their less than up front ethics and wish to enlighten me, then let me know if that is the case.

Heathcliff.

               


 
  venivediivin 02/29/2008 at 20:26 PST [Reply]

Heathcliff: I am not currently nor have I been an employee of Montesquieu. I did work for the previous company- Jakob Gerhardt. Please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]

               


 
  wineexpert 04/04/2010 at 21:57 PST [Reply]

HEATHCLIFF MY FRIEND!! YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO FOR PROFIT EVERYDAY OF YOUR LIFE! GET OVER IT! EVERYTHING YOU PURCHASE IN LIFE MAKES SOMEBODY ELSE MONEY...
FORMER EMPLOYEES ARE JUST THAT, FORMER EMPLOYEES! OF COURSE THEY ARENT GOING TO HAVE ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY!
YOU SOUND LIKE SOMEONE THAT USED TO WORK FOR THE COMPANY THAT COULDNT MAKE IT HAPPEN, ITS OK.. MOVE ON. AND IF YOUR NOT, IM SURE IT WOULDNT BE VERY HARD TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK.. BUT BY THE WAY YOUR BLOGS ARE WRITTEN IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU COULDNT CUT THE CHEESE AND ARE LASHING OUT AT THE COMPANY.. PRETTY ENTERTAINING TO THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE LIKE YOU.. MOVE ON AND BUY SOME WINE YOU LIKE.. NOT TOO TOUGH..

                    


 
  heathcliff 04/20/2010 at 01:24 PST [Reply]

Whoever you are, you have no idea what you are talking about. I certainly wish I had been an employee of Montesquieu. That way I could have seen for myself how they operate and would have saved myself thousands of dollars investing in wine that is inferior. My bottles of Creighton started going bad about 2 years ago. Obviously they have sold me an inferior product and when I called them recently to discuss it, they just blew me off. Certainly they don’t want anything else to do with me, now that I know what they do and how they operate. They promised me this particular wine would cellar easily until 2015. All lies. The bottles are bad. Their wine is not meant to last. And also there is no real winery named Creighton. Yes I have been duped. I will get over it. Hopefully others will not have to go through the same process. Hopefully people will stay away from Montesquieu. Don’t make the same mistake that I made.


 
  mccarron 05/12/2007 at 22:54 PST [Reply]



 
  grigiogirl6634 05/13/2007 at 17:18 PST [Reply]

My friend that worked there for a brief time said the same thing! BIG SCAM!!!!


 
  stevo 11/09/2007 at 09:01 PST [Reply]

Just to add a final comment. I sent a comment about my positive and not so positive experiences at Montesquieu. In particular I had bought a case of Adonis Cab that tasted like paste (don't ask how I know what paste tastes like, but I am sure many of you tried it in first grade). I returned the remaining bottles with promises of a refund. Six months later and nothing. And my broker keeps calling. I left him a message telling him we needn't talk unless it is about resolving the issue of the plonk I was sold.

At any rate, my assessment is that it is a legitimate business with very poor customer service. When you have your credit card out, your their best friend, and when there is a problem, they disappear. I am done with them, and I was a reasonably loyal customer.


 
  dgris 08/25/2009 at 09:56 PST [Reply]

Having bought wines from Montesquieu over the years, I too realized that they were greatly over priced. Not that the quality was not good, for some were quite enjoyable. I wish I had found this blog much earlier, it would have saved a lot of money. Fortunately I only bought 2 half cases, of for me, expensive wine(2000 & 2001 Brunello) for about $90/bot, eVerbi the brand. With considerable research trying to find info on this winery, I did find a listing and review with a rating of 75 points. Drinking was on par with a $10-15 bottle of Chianti, very disapointing as I love Italian reds. The last purchase last year was Semperitimo del Duoero for $35 which went off after the first glass. I hate to pure wine down the drain. I still get calls from Gay, but now only buy wine from $8-20 from several on line stores and have been very satified. I can buy a mixed case to find out if they are good or not, and most are very good in the 90 pt category.


 
  pinotfemme 02/13/2010 at 14:04 PST [Reply]

Just curious here:
Why would an attorney for Montesquieu come here, a message board/blog, to defend the company??? Is he just Googling for negative feedback before the situation gets out of control?
If customers (former and current) are sharing their experiences here, why would that be an issue? If the company truly cared, they could have simply resolved the concerns in the first place.


 
  pinotfemme 02/17/2010 at 07:20 PST [Reply]

Ok I've learned something:
I understand heathcliff felt he got the raw end of the deal. Stuff happens.
It doesn't mean Montesquieu isn't legit-their wines may be pricey, but if you care about quality, then $$$ means nothing.
I learned that Montesquieu is about EXCLUSIVITY. And it's the best kept secret! They find exceptional wine from exceptional winegrowers and puts that wine in your hands! You don't even have to leave your exec chair-just sip 'n' savor.
This is the real deal, people.

     


 
  pbryon 03/01/2010 at 13:04 PST [Reply]

You sound exactly like the person I spoke with on the phone... no really, word for word...

Anyway, I completely disagree with you that Montesquieu wines are about "exclusivity." Exclusive wines are well known, coveted, highly regarded by experts in the industry, and not widely available. Montesquieu's wines, by contrast, are not rated by any reputable sources, at least not that I have found. They aren't coveted or sought after- considering the name on the label is NOT the name of a vineyard. They are available to anyone and everyone on their call list in their telemarketing centers. And exceptional winegrowers? Let me tell you a little story.

I bought wine from Montesquieu. I admit it. I have a soft spot for high end wines. The telemarketer/ broker originally called an administrative employee in my accounting office ($12/hr associates are very exclusive customers, after all). When that person made it clear that they do not, and cannot, purchase such pricey wines, the broker worked their way through our company directory to me (CFO). One of the cases I ended up purchasing was a pinot noir from the Umpqua valley in Oregon, called "Eaton." The wine was decent- 3/5 stars. Definitely not worth $40/bottle, but price is relative when it comes to wine.

I happened to take a trip to Oregon wine country shortly after that purchase, and I visited SEVERAL wineries in the Umpqua valley. I thought it might be enjoyable to meet the winemakers behind the case of wine I had purchased. So, you can imagine, I was a bit shocked to learn that there is no "Eaton" winery in the Umpqua valley. I asked around- other winemakers, tasting room associates, restaurant owners, even simply members of the community. No one had ever heard of this "Eaton." I asked if perhaps it was a side or pet project of a winemaker or just someone in the area. A resounding "no." The only possible explanation I could gather was from a winemaker who told me that there are occasions where vineyards will sell grapes on the market at a deep discount if they have a surplus- it's better than letting the birds pluck away at their vines.

A little bit steamed, I started to do my research. The broker called me again and launched into a pitch about a wine called Aragon Meritage. I held her off by telling her to call me back, and started searching for this Aragon vineyard or winemaker. Nothing. Pretty spectacular when even Google fails you. The only results I got were from or about Montesquieu. So I started going down their list in the archives section of their website. One after another, I found the same thing: no vineyard. No reviews other than from Montesquieu.

So, pinotfemme. The only "secret" about this wine is where it actually comes from. I assume it operates on a business model similar to Trader Joe's. Buy the grapes during various stages of production from several sources. Complete the process as they see fit- mix the grapes, barrel them however and in whatever location (in Montesquieu's case that would be San Diego), then label and sell direct. The only difference between Trader Joe's and Montesquieu is the price tag.

If you're looking for EXCLUSIVE wines, and you don't care about the price, go to a reputable boutique or wine dealer in your area. They will get you the wines that are ACTUALLY in demand. Wines that come from either renowned or boutique wineries, from REAL winemakers who put their hearts and souls into their juice. I would think that any true wine enthusiast could get out of their chair for that.

          


 
  mqwine 03/15/2010 at 15:09 PST [Reply]

PBryon –

On behalf of Montesquieu, I am reaching out to you about your recent posting. It sounds like your broker was not forthright with you about how we work domestically. For that, please accept our most sincere apologies. For your broker to have said or implied that the Eaton Pinot Noir came from a brick-and-mortar winery by the name of Eaton is inaccurate, inconsistent with how we seek to present our wines, and unacceptable. Please be assured that we’re redoubling our efforts to address this issue internally so that it never happens again.

In our website materials (http://montesquieu.com/about.php?about=t) and our conversations with prospective clients, we try very hard to be transparent and forthright about how we source our domestic wines. It’s true that the vast majority of our domestic wines are made by our full-time winemaker, Hélène Mingot, out of high-quality juice sourced from specially selected growers and vineyards around California and Oregon. We then give each wine a unique label (because each wine is quite unique) and include on the labels the proper appellation and the phrase “Vinted and Bottled by Montesquieu Winery.” This is winemaking in the French negociant tradition. We have no intention (nor any incentive) to misrepresent our business.

Just to clarify, though: we only buy juice of very high quality. Like any market, the juice market has a broad range of products available to us, from cast-off/simple/cheap juice to top-flight/complex/expensive juice. We are literally barraged with opportunities to buy far more juice than we could ever finish and sell, so we have the luxury of being very selective. It’s true that some wineries only sell juice in years in which they end up with extra (perhaps like the winemaker you spoke with in Oregon). But many wineries – among them some of the most prestigious names out there – grow in each vintage more grapes than they want or are able to bottle and sell themselves, and so they sell juice as a normal (and crucial) part of their business. This is the kind of juice we seek to craft into wine for our clients – quality juice from top-notch vineyards and growers. And while we do sometimes blend together juice from several vineyard properties to create one wine, those properties are always from the appellation listed on the label, and more importantly, they are carefully selected by our winemaker for their ability to combine to make the best possible wine.

If you or anyone has any questions or concerns about how and why we work the way we do, please contact us – we’re more than happy to answer any questions. I’m in charge of client relations and generally available during regular business hours in our San Francisco office; I can be reached at 415.536.1670 ext. 1103 or at [email protected]. Or visit the FAQ section of our website (http://montesquieu.com/faq.php) – we’ve tried to make it as clear and informative as possible.

               


 
  mqwine 03/15/2010 at 15:38 PST [Reply]

My preceding post did not include my name and title:

Tony Connell
Client Relations

               


 
  heathcliff 04/20/2010 at 01:48 PST [Reply]

I’ve said this before and I will say it again. Montesquieu is NOT a reliable company. My dealings with them included being lied to about a plethora of items regarding their wine; how it is produced, how long it will cellar, and the quality and source of the product in the bottle. I tried my best to contact, discuss and find a solution to the problems they have caused me, and they have NOT been helpful. I even called my credit card company to complain, but since the wine was paid for so long ago, they could not help me. The more people I can help avoid this issue, the better. I am not afraid of their legal dept. I keep records of all the conversations I have had with them, the promises that were made, and the lies that were told. I am only telling the truth. The truth can be backed up. And from what I understand, there are a lot of former employees and former customers who can corroborate the negative experiences that are being discussed here.

Remember something else. I didn’t start this post. I found it the same way you guys are finding it. Because people had issues with the company and decided to let others know about it.

          


 
  mqwine 03/15/2010 at 15:24 PST [Reply]

PBryon –

On behalf of Montesquieu, I am reaching out to you about your recent posting. It sounds like your broker was not forthright with you about how we work domestically. For that, please accept our most sincere apologies. For your broker to have said or implied that the Eaton Pinot Noir came from a brick-and-mortar winery by the name of Eaton is inaccurate, inconsistent with how we seek to present our wines, and unacceptable. Please be assured that we’re redoubling our efforts to address this issue internally so that it never happens again.

In our website materials (http://montesquieu.com/about.php?about=t) and our conversations with prospective clients, we try very hard to be transparent and forthright about how we source our domestic wines. It’s true that the vast majority of our domestic wines are made by our full-time winemaker, Hélène Mingot, out of high-quality juice sourced from specially selected growers and vineyards around California and Oregon. We then give each wine a unique label (because each wine is quite unique) and include on the labels the proper appellation and the phrase “Vinted and Bottled by Montesquieu Winery.” This is winemaking in the French negociant tradition. We have no intention (nor any incentive) to misrepresent our business.

Just to clarify, though: we only buy juice of very high quality. Like any market, the juice market has a broad range of products available to us, from cast-off/simple/cheap juice to top-flight/complex/expensive juice. We are literally barraged with opportunities to buy far more juice than we could ever finish and sell, so we have the luxury of being very selective. It’s true that some wineries only sell juice in years in which they end up with extra (perhaps like the winemaker you spoke with in Oregon). But many wineries – among them some of the most prestigious names out there – grow in each vintage more grapes than they want or are able to bottle and sell themselves, and so they sell juice as a normal (and crucial) part of their business. This is the kind of juice we seek to craft into wine for our clients – quality juice from top-notch vineyards and growers. And while we do sometimes blend together juice from several vineyard properties to create one wine, those properties are always from the appellation listed on the label, and more importantly, they are carefully selected by our winemaker for their ability to combine to make the best possible wine.

If you or anyone has any questions or concerns about how and why we work the way we do, please contact us – we’re more than happy to answer any questions. I’m in charge of client relations and generally available during regular business hours in our San Francisco office; I can be reached at 415.536.1670 ext. 1103 or at [email protected]. Or visit the FAQ section of our website (http://montesquieu.com/faq.php) – we’ve tried to make it as clear and informative as possible.

Sincerely,

Tony Connell
Client Relations
Montesquieu Winery

     


 
  heathcliff 04/20/2010 at 01:31 PST [Reply]

Don’t make the same mistake that I did. This company is not reliable and they have lied to me, about what their wine is, and how long it will last. For anyone out there looking for a broker, DON’T pick Montesquieu. Don’t make the same mistake that I have. It’s not worth it. Check everything out yourselves. Ask questions about the winery. Call the winery up and talk to them. If Montesquieu claims the winery is in the United States, more than likely you will not be able to make contact with them, because there is no such winery.


 
  wineexpert 04/04/2010 at 21:50 PST [Reply]

WINE IS ONLY WORTH WHAT IS TASTE!

I DOUBT A MILLION DOLLAR COMPANY IS GOING TO RISK EVERYTHING TO SEND OUT A FAKE PRODUCT!

I PURCHASED THE WINE AND LOVE THERE POLICY, WHICH IS IF YOU AREN'T HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU GOT, SEND IT BACK! SO FAR SO GOOD! I HAVENT SENT ONE WINE BACK!

ITS ALSO FUNNY THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE POSTING THESE NEGATIVE COMMENTS ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT SPEND 150BCKS ON A BOTTLE OF CAKEBREAD AT THERE FAVORITE RESTAURANT..

THERE IS NO SUCH THIING AS BAD PUBLICITY PEOPLE!

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING! WINE IS WHAT "YOU" THINK ITS WORTH!


 
  heathcliff 04/20/2010 at 02:11 PST [Reply]

Funny about what is on the back of the labels of the domestic wine I have bought from them. My bottles DON’T say “Vinted and Bottled by Montesquieu Winery.” My bottles say “Vinted and Bottled by Creighton” or “Vinted and Bottled by (you fill in the winery they want you to believe it is from).”

Why is it you think they decided to make this change? Perhaps because their legal dept decided it was not lawful? The bottles they sold me were from years ago before they got a litany of complaints perhaps? I still have samples of all the bottles they sold me. I still have all the receipts. I have close up photos of a lineup of their bottles of domestic wine, which share the same lettering, layout, and scripting. Even the capsules are the same for a number of different wines. And each of these wines supposedly is from some winery that they claimed on their bottle was NOT from Montesquieu. What does this tell you?

Well I am glad they made that change at least. It doesn’t help me. It doesn’t make my bottles of Creighton suddenly become not bad anymore. And it’s not as if I didn’t store these bottles perfectly. They have been in my cellar the whole time, at a constant temperature of 57.5 F and a humidity of 52%. I bought them because the broker at Montesquieu promised they were of excellent quality and that they would cellar up to 2015. I paid good money for a product that they absolutely knew I planned to lay down for years. I trusted them. That is on me. I should have known better. But at least I can prevent some other people from making the same mistakes that I made.

     


 
  mqwine 05/17/2010 at 10:59 PST [Reply]

On behalf of Montesquieu, I recently had a series of conversations with Heathcliff over the phone, during which I listened to his concerns, apologized for not having directly addressed those concerns earlier, and answered a number of questions. I’m glad to report that in the course of these conversations, we were able to resolve his concerns. If you’ve been troubled by some of the concerns he’s expressed, I’d encourage you to take a look at my last post – just above in response to PBryon – or to visit our website’s FAQ section (www.montesquieu.com/faq.php). Even better, if you have any questions at all about the nature of our business or any of our wines, please contact me directly at [email protected] or 415.536.1670, ext. 1103, and I would be glad to discuss it with you. It is our greatest desire that each of our clients understands how we work and the values we hold dear in the winemaking/wine selection process. With clear communication we believe we can accomplish this goal and ensure that each person who encounters Montesquieu has a first-rate experience.

Thanks very much,

Tony Connell
Montesquieu Wines
[email protected]
415.536.1670, ext. 1103



 
  dgris 07/23/2010 at 10:54 PST [Reply]

I am glad they have revised their policy on domestic labeling. I was able to find out the producers of most of the domestic wines purchased over several years. At one time, I was willing to be sold wines at premium prices. Now with the cellar full and money scarce, I prefer to search out deals on fewer, but better wines for lesser prices. Caveat Emptor


 
  851sdca 08/26/2010 at 13:55 PST [Reply]

To me, the word scam does not describe what Montesquiue is all about. This appears to be a legitimate company that delivers the product it promises, along with a money back guarantee. That is not a scam, and it would be unfair to charactorize it as such.

They appear to be selling wine for a profit. Is there any thing "scammy" about that? If the wine was no good, send it back to them. You dont have to do business with them if you dont want to.

There is value in having good wine delivered to your door step. Again, if its not good wine, send it back and dont buy more.

But to use the inter-net to bash a company as a scam when in fact they simply have a business model that involves some degree of "pressure" sales isn't right. In fact it's cowardly.

The Better Business Bureau is a fair and impartial place to lodge complaints. They will investigate and report on the company's ethics and practices. Seems that the BBB doesn't have much bad to say about this company.

Very curious why Heathcliff and others don't choose a venue to complain that actually gives the company a chance to respond formally.

Hmmmm.


 
  nycwinepro 05/09/2011 at 10:14 PST [Reply]

I actually "did" make the cut at Montesquieu and can attest to the fact that Montesquieu is a scam ; ie: poor quaility wines and outright lying to potential customers! OK, I have been in the wine biz for 6 years, trained here in NYC and UC Davis. I took a job at Montesquieu and was invariably disappointed with the products and sales methods; being that The wines are sold via 'cold call' in a carnival barker style. The training to work at Montesquieu is decidely NOT wine focused training. Instead, you are told to read the 'Secret', create a 'vision board of wealth' and sell based on targeting customers who exhibit an impulse buy mentality. The wines are not legit, they are created by purchased juice and unused lots and they put a large ticket price on the bottle. Once again, these are not small production-boutique wines from small family owned vineyards, but left over second-or more likely third label wines, with shiny labels trying to appeal to the nouveau riche. I resigned, as I am a wine pro, who cannot, in good conscious, sell a product that is fraudulent. Oh, one more thing. I was relatively successful, I made a sale a day,( you can expect to make a sale per 300 phone calls...and that's an amazing average as you are calling business people at their jobs and spend a majority of your time being hung up on by savvy ad-mins) but my wine sales were not because I was a trained wine pro, it was because I am very charismatic.


 
  ben 11/22/2011 at 15:47 PST [Reply]

(While your at work!!!)"Hi this Jenny calling from Montesquieu, can you hear me okay? (YES) Your name was recently giving to me as someone who enjoys a great glass of wine from time to time, what do you enjoy more reds or whites? (RED) Okay sweet or dry? (DRY) Perfect! I knew we were going to be a match made in heaven. Let me tell you what we do. Montesquieu specializes in small production wine from vineyards all over the world. Because we deal directly with the vineyards, we have access to their small boutique wines that the people I sell to, cant buy on their own."
This place is kind of funny. Got a job there thinking I was going to be a wine representative. It turns out to be in this little hall jammed full of telemarketers. They never really told me what I was going to be doing. I thought I would get business cards and I would go work the field. They teach us about a couple of "wine makers" and how they’re so close with them. They preach about how they would travel and taste the wine before it was bottled, "...and it was delicious."
To be completely honest I feel everything they told me was bullshit. They even teach us how to bullshit and especially how to rebuttal. I spent most of my day digging through secretaries and lying to them to get some possible "rich" lead on the phone, "this is a personal call" we would say. A lot of the time the person has been retired for five plus years. "Well who took Bobs spot"? Then I would call that person back as if they were my original lead. There are actually two people on the phone tag teaming up on you. Trying to make you say 'YES' as many times as they can.
They use a microphone condenser so you can't hear the other person yelling at them to tell them what to say to you (rebuttals). Pretty much we targeted (marketed) to people who have a lot of money and obviously like wine. What makes it easy is that its alcohol. Everyone over pays no matter where you go. Montesquieu just makes it even easier for you. We would sample the wines that we were selling at the time, and that was awesome. But I've had just as good if not better wine for a fraction of their price without the sipping and handling.


 
  kim11111 02/02/2012 at 00:10 PST [Reply]



 
  badleroybrown8 06/13/2012 at 09:50 PST [Reply]

Interesting to see this discussion that goes back several years.

I too was a wine 'broker' at Montesquieu who indeed made the first cuts (meaning I worked there for more than a few weeks). I was employed at one of the California offices until the job became intolerable. I then left.

The wines were decent but obviously over-priced, with very questionable origins. But this is not why I departed so abruptly. The spin and out-and-out lies that I was coached to give people over the phone was absolutely disgusting.

The tele-sales gig is not an easy one (for many reasons), but this company takes the game to a new low. We were encouraged to watch the 'veteran' brokers as they lied, manipulated and often made degrading fun of the people they were calling (while pretending to be their best buddy while on the phone).

Looking back, some hilarious moments unfolded (that I must try to remember if I ever write an 'Office' style TV parody of the wine industry). One stand-out moment involved an experienced blonde broker breaking down and crying on the phone as she insisted that a man NEEDED to buy an expensive Bordeaux style red, as if she was pleading with someone not to jump off a bridge. Quite a performance. Another involved a grungy sales guy (who I think was the Big Veteran on staff) screaming at the top of his lungs that he was not a telemarketer, that he was trying to reach his long lost brother (and how DARE you accuse me of harassing you at home!).

All this happened while our aging party-girl of an office manager poured us wine (I needed it) and coached us secretly on the other end of the line.

Proceed with caution if you are contacted by Montesquieu. :)


     


 
  ellenm18 07/17/2012 at 17:00 PST [Reply]

Badleroybrown8,

I'm interested to learn more about your experiences with the company, as I've arranged for an interview for tomorrow with them and am a little leery after all of these comments.


 
  sparklevt 10/01/2012 at 13:19 PST [Reply]

I worked in the San Diego office and the DC office and even after getting fired almost 3 years ago I am still SUPER bitter about the whole deal. I made the cut I made it 7 months there and have never worked so hard in my life. Which I gladly did as I was brought up believing if you work hard at whatever it is your doing good things would come out of it. I busted my ass calling sometimes 400 numbers in a day I had success and failure but I kept plugging away. They let me go once 4 1/2 months after I was hired and I was pissed because I was working so hard, I had a small but nice client base.
I was not satisfied at all and when I found out I was moving across the country I went back in and asked for my job back in the new location. I got it and started right after the new year and was kicking ass!! I hit a slow patch and was not closing as many clients as they would have like and was let go again. They weren't even paying me a salary at this point as I was 7 months in and making only commission. I begged my manager to let me stay and keep on plugging away but was denied. I really liked working there, I knew nothing about wine and was educated, yes there is wine to drink all day long but it's not like they are standing there with a gun forcing anyone to drink.
I can't help but think that part of their MO is to hire all of these new suckers to call call call all of the leads they get to weed out the good/bad prospects. Once you close a few clients and start to build your client list it's like they have no need for you. The worst part is that once you leave all of the clients, that I busted my ass to get, are divvied up among the older brokers. I was so spent after working there and let down, I mean if you work hard you're supposed to succeed, right? Well I had had success and enjoyed working there and found it challenging and frustrating and all that other crap but I was doing ok and they still let me go. Part of me wants to agree that yes it's a scam they're all full of it but I never really got that feeling, sure the wines probably are somewhat overpriced but the people that they are really targeting have the kind of money that they can spend $600/$700 on a case and want the convenience of having it shipped to their door.
I am still really pissed about this job it makes me a little bananas to think of how stressed and upset I used to get and how badly I wanted to succeed there and that they just cut me loose. Even after I stopped get "paid" a salary. The sick thing is, is that I would probably work there again

     


 
  nycwinepro 08/29/2013 at 23:59 PST [Reply]

Let me guess, Sandra from the NY office was dispatched down to DC to give you a pep talk???

     


 
  nycwinepro 08/30/2013 at 00:03 PST [Reply]

Let me guess, Sandra from the NY office was dispatched down to DC to give you a pep talk???


 
  badleroybrown8 01/04/2013 at 07:31 PST [Reply]

Ellenm18:

Sorry that I have not checked back here to see your comment.

So how was (or is) your experience working with this company?


 
  dgris 04/03/2013 at 21:05 PST [Reply]

A wine I purchased, 2001 iVerbi Brunello di Montalcino has been listed in Benchmark Wines for $15. I paid close to 6 times and this is the same wine sold as Verbena BdM for about $45, it has a Verbena cork. Obviously someone is off loading their cellar as 35 bottles were available. The wine is good and I have started drinking mine. I paid twice the retail price from K&L. live and learn, at least the wine is good. I could have waited another 6 years and gotten a really good deal from Benchmark.


 
  dgris 04/03/2013 at 23:38 PST [Reply]

For the work environment check out the postings on Glass Door, quite revealing!


 
  dgris 04/11/2015 at 00:52 PST [Reply]

It has been a couple of years since commenting. Down to 7 bottles remaining. Moved on to buying from some really nice local producers at reasonable pricing.


 
  jgyates 02/07 at 08:57 PST [Reply]

bryn
trying to download my files from the site and columns are missing. Please assist.


 
  klancaster 02/09 at 22:18 PST [Reply]

Dear Bryn,
I just wanted to write to say thank you for all the years of offering a wonderful free online cellar program.
Bottlecount has/had so many great options for sorting, searching and made drinking and buying wine more enjoyable. If we wanted a particular vintage, region or varietal for the evening, it was a breeze to search reports.
I'm truly going to miss being able to see my empty cellar cells virtually (my favorite feature) which made entering new bottles physically and virtually a breeze. As far as I know, no other online bottle management program offered this marvelous feature.
Thank you for everything as your generosity and time are so much appreciated.

Sincerely,
KLancaster
Bottlecount user since ~2005

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