Looks like you’re now marketing to Berserkers, Bill.
Please make sure you declare your status when posting on wines you represent. It is standard protocol here. Other people who import or market wine, directly or otherwise, always disclaim their relationship. Expect flack for it if you don’t.
Don’t defend yourself, rationalize or make further excuses. Just do it please.
Maybe it’s just me, but his signature says William Gladstone Imports… Which made me assume he was ITB. Not being defensive, mind you, just my 2 cents. Oh, and if someone calls me out for something and I don’t know why…I admit, I become a bit defensive. Just sayin’.
How ignorant would you have to be not to understand why you were called out? this sounds like you have zero faith in Mr. Gladstone’s intelligence.
Also, for the record, I don’t feel like I’m climbing on some sanctimonious high horse with this. When various ITB folks have come on here and started talking about wines they imported, sold or had a relationship with: e.g. Lyle Fass, Martin Steinley, Rob Panzer, they’ve either declared it plainly or they’ve been insulted, called shills etc.
For Bill Gladstone to claim he doesn’t sell wine on WB goes in the face of several Commerce Corner posts and a post to Mark three or four up in this thread. He obviously has a relationship with Kapscandy. Most people here really like Kapcsandy and they’ve had very high scores from a number of critics so it’s not much of an issue to bring attention to it.
In my business, any hint of a financial relationship with a purveyor or equipment manufacturer, no matter how subtle or seemingly benign, is enough to cast a significant shadow on any statements made or research published. But if someone self-identifies as a wine geek and is on WB, then I almost naturally have a tendency to listen to his or her judgment more than anyone sending me an email blast from Any of the dozen of retailers who email me on a daily basis on the next greatest thing.
Mr. Gladstone could easily claim that he imports Kapcsandy because he loves their wines and believes in their brand, and that’s not only kosher and cool, but who imports a brand that they think is bad? The issue is transparency. You have more respect when you declare your biases and let people decide for themselves whether to believe you in spite of them.
And, honestly, that transparency is expected on this forum, and any attempt to skirt it or deny your bias is going to be lambasted, so either hew to the standard or deal with blowhards like me calling you out.
umm…ok…so…
Can’t see sigs on the mobile version, which is all I read. I’ve got no problem with Mr. Gladstone, but just think he should disclaim his relationships.
Mat Cohen and Lyle Fass are taking a beating on another thread for exactly the same reason right now. I buy from Lyle and like almost everything I’ve bought from him. But thinly veiled commercial posts don’t fly well here, no matter how well-intentioned. Just hoping to save William some of the same agony…
Totally agree with Noah and the OP on this: should have said he was involved in SELLING Kapscandy from the first. ITB could mean anything–so folks run wine shops, other sell barrels; all ITB (not me by the way). But that’s totally different from this quite direct involvement with the wine Gladstone posted about that it turns out he has.
DISCLAIMER, my company represents Kapcsandy Family Winery, Champagne Drappier, Domaine Arnoux-Lachoux, Ch. Latour - 3rd wine Exclusively, Ch. Canon & Segla 2nd wine Exclusively, Ch. Pichon Baron 2nd wine Exclusively, Donelan Family winery, and several dozen other wineries … for a more complete list please see our web site,
now can we move on… or do we need to continue to fine tune this?
I hope it is ok with the Berserker community that I listed all of these names in one notice as I did?
DISCLAIMER #2, I am not seeking Wine Berserker members to purchase any of those above mentioned wines from us. Nothing personal, however, that is not our business model and I really do not need explain that.
Good, then the fact that I wrote “yes, I do represent those wineries has now been further enhanced precisely as these couple of folks request”
PLEASE SEE DISCLAIMER nearby,
Shall we all move on now… I’ve done my part… in the sake of peace… have a glass of wine and let’s move on…
Done. Thank you!
Cheers,
N
Alls well that ends well.
I think fine tuning is in order as you have several posts that do not seem to go together. Take the above statement and following, and that is just in this thread…
If you do not sell Kapscandy, how do you represent it?
You are in business for how many years and yet, you post that you are just a babe in the woods? According to Winesearcher, you have been in business for 26 years and you have at least 261 wines for sale at the moment.
So yes, how about a little more fine tuning please?
Bill doesn’t sample the goods. No mixing of profit and pleasure. He’s old school.