One of the coolest things about living in Hoboken was daily exposure to an endless supply of great restaurants, all within walking distance.  For a town that measures one square mile, there is an infinite supply of cuisine from all around the globe.  Paying homage to my Cuban heritage, one of my favorites is La Isla http://www.laislarestaurant.com/index.html.  Chef Omar Giner has been dishing out fantastic authentic Cuban cuisine there since 1997.  After a stint at the Russian Tea Room, Omar left to combine his heritage and professional training to reinvent La Isla.  Starting from scratch, he built a menu that offers traditional dishes that “capture the simple and hearty essence of Cuban cooking” and Nuevo Latino dishes that “use an amazing array of ingredients that comprise Latin American cooking to create colorful dishes with contrasting flavors and textures.”

To top it all off – originally a trained pastry chef – Chef Giner gives good reason to leave room for one of his popular dessert creations; or, maybe to stop by for a brunch treat that you’ll never forget.  Check out the brunch menu for La Isla, you will find one of Omar’s signature items at the bottom.

-Chef Omar’s Stuffed French Toast; two slices of thick egg bread filled with strawberry and guava cream cheese, dipped in cinnamon batter, and coated with corn flakes and almonds (all for a financially friendly $9.00).

All I can say is, beyond heading over to Hoboken’s famous Washington Street and placing your own order, the description speaks for itself. It’s an amazing twist on a breakfast and brunch classic; and, it’s building a reputation!  In fact, it caught the attention of none-other-than Chef Bobby Flay (Mesa Grill, Bar American, Bobby Flay Steak, Bobby’s Burger Palace, TV Celebrity Chef and Food Network Iron Chef)…

…and, apparently Chef Flay and his team are of the opinion they can come up with a French toast creation superior to Omar’s!  So, The Bobby Flay team traveled to Hoboken to challenge Chef Giner to a French Toast Throwdown.  Watch the battle on Food Network March 17th at 9 PM.

One more thought…if you haven’t noticed, spring is breaking through; and, there’s no better a time to head over to Hoboken to visit and experience La Isla.  Tell them the folks at Senor Sangria sent you.  And while you’re there, don’t forget that Sparrow Wine and Liquor http://www.sparrowine.com/home.html.  It  is just up the block with one of the best selections of wine and liquor around (and, of course, a valued supplier of Senor Sangria)!

This morning I was following through on my usual routine of checking emails and catching up on the news. As I’m getting ready to sign off an start my Sunday an email comes into our Info box. It sure brought a smile to my face and also showed me the power of the internet.

Tom (our latest fan) found our website while searching for good quality sangria online. Unfortunately we are currently not distributed in NY so he made a trip to NJ to seek our product out. Thanks so much for your determination Tom!!!!

We are looking to make a big splash this summer but to do that we need more sales reps. We’ve established a solid following with our existing retailers but we are looking to get further penetration throughout NJ and NY. To do this we need more man power. Our product is a fun one to sell. I don’t think i’ve met someone who hasn’t smiled when we show up telling them we are selling sangria.

Company Information:
Señor Sangria has established itself as the only premium bottled sangria on the market. We introduced our red sangria during the summer of 2009. It is currently distributed in NJ and we are looking to introduce it to the NY market this year.

Our sangria is made locally in small batches following a home recipe. It’s all natural, no flavors or anything artificial is ever added.

Job Description:
- Señor Sangria is seeking an independent sales representative
- Individual must be familiar with the wine industry
- Must have excellent sales skills
- Ambitious and a self-motivated
- Ability to independently establish new accounts
- You will be responsible for your own territory
- Sales territories are available in NJ & NY

Compensation:
- 10% Commission
- Paid hourly for tasting & event participation

If interested email: info@SenorSangria.com

Back in October, Dr. Lewis Fein – a Professor at New Jersey City University – invited and welcomed me to join his marketing class.  During this session with a small round table of students, I presented them with the history of Senor Sangria…where we are today and our outlook for the future.  We had a great time exchanging ideas.  I was quite impressed with the intellect and motivation of these undergrads.  It brought back memories of my campus days (back before cell phones); and, led me to ponder if I was as inspired and passionate then as I am now about my career path.

After our meeting, I presented the entire class with their own copy of the book “Crush It!: Why Now Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk.  I hold this book dear to my heart.  It has alot of valuable information that inspires you to want to take the risks necessary to follow your dreams.

I was honored to learn that Dr. Fein invited me back this semester; and, I look forward to hearing this year’s student’s suggestions and strategies for how we can deploy our white sangria in the Spring of 2010.  Thanks to Dr. Fein and his students who have participated in these focus groups, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with all of you.  I hope to be able to continue this relationship in the future, as it provides a fresh perspective to our business and strategic vision.

Back in January, we told you about one of our customers who absolutely loves our sangria; but, she was unable to find any local liquor stores that carried it.  Luckily, a good friend from Hoboken – the one who introduced it to her – has been bringing her bottles of Senor Sangria every time she visits.  (Read Article)  

Soon after receiving her message we received one from the Hoboken friend, who told us about her Senor Sangria experience.  She was first introduced to our sangria by John over at Giannone Wine and Liquor in West New York (thanks for the good word, John!).  While enjoying a leisurely walk on Washington Street in Hoboken, she dropped by Sparrow Wine and Liquor and noticed that they also carried it; so, she stocked up!  And now, she has all of her friends hooked!

So to sum it all up…we have a retailer, Giannone Wine and Liquor, who recommended Senor Sangria to a customer, who loved it and recommended it to her friend, who loved it and now has her friends hooked.  This is precisely why we value our relationships, with our retailers and customers.  This story – this chain of recommendations – is a great example of why these relationships are important to us on a personal level, and how critical they are to the current and future success of our company.  Please, keep the input coming.  We continue to read everything you send!  Thank you for your kind words.

A couple of weeks ago, we began visiting some of our current retailers and asked if they would sample our prototype white sangria.  The positive feedback was overwhelming.  Everyone really loved it and conveyed they would purchase it, once we were ready to sell the finished product.  Each of the retailers emphasized it felt as if they were taking part in the development process, and appreciated us taking the time to seek their input.  This is exactly what we wanted to hear.  Since the creation of Senor Sangria, we have wanted our retailers and customers to feel we are listening to what they have to say.  We will continue meeting with more of our retailers and look forward to their reaction and feedback.

As you may recall, we recently moved up in the corporate world when we become the sponsor of a soccer team that a bunch of guys at The Brotherhood Winery belong to.  It’s an indoor league that starts in a couple of weeks.  We’ve been looking forward to the season starting so we could check out a few games.

One of the perks of corporate sponsorship of course is exposure.  In this case, t-shirts that shout SENOR SANGRIA!!!  Since we didn’t have much time, we decided to go with the Senor Sangria Classic Red label as the logo that would go on their shirt.  That will catch someone’s attention, right?  See below…

The shirt doesn’t exactly scream Senor Sangria, I admit.  We’re also not the only alcoholic beverage producer displayed, nor are we the most prominent one.  But we’re there, and we’re a proud sponsor of Team Senor Sangria nonetheless.

Hey, it’s not like we’re bragging about an investment we made in a NASCAR racing team…”look, that’s us! Right front quarter panel, third row of stickers from the bottom, sixth sticker from the left!  Yeeeeha!” 

We knew going into this business that food and beverage was…competitive, to say the least.  You look for every advantage that you can get.  We’re really just trying to get the good word about Senor Sangria out to as many people as possible (without a multi-million dollar advertising budget to leverage).  People can’t and won’t buy it if they don’t know it exists; and, more importantly if someone else vouches for it.

So if you can’t buy publicity, what are you supposed to do?  Answer; generate your own.  My thought, reach out to other local entrepreneurs also trying to break into this industry.  That thought led me to meet with The East Coast Brewing Company, located in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ.  They’re about a year behind Senor Sangria’s progress with their new product, Beach Haus.  A classic American Pilsner micro-brewed in the tradition of early German-American brewers, Beach Haus will hit the market in May 2010.

We’re psyched to engage with other local businesses in a similar position as Senor Sangria; working both to survive day-to-day and grow at the same time.  It’s especially sweet when these businesses are complimentary in nature (notice I didn’t meet with another local sangria producer!).  We look forward to a growing relationship with The East Coast Brewing Company, as well as any reciprocal advertising opportunities that may arise in the future.  Senor Sangria wishes you the best of luck with the launch of Beach Haus in 2010.  For more information please check out their website http://www.beachhausbeer.com/

So we’ve finalized and locked down our white sangria recipe.  That’s great news, right?  Yes!  Flip the switch and start bottling?  Nope.  We’ve figured out how much to use of this and how much to use of that; now, we have figure out exactly what this and that will be.  As we continue moving forward with The Brotherhood Winery to begin the formulation process, we have to make a decision on juice suppliers. 

This isn’t exactly the same as standing in the juice isle at the grocery store and deciding on Juicy Juice vs. Capri Sun.  The underlying premise is the same, though; selection via elimination.  We’ve reached out to a number of companies for juice samples that will be – could be, rather – used as one of the “chosen” ingredients.  Consequently, we now have a collection of juice samples that have taken over our freezer.  It’s a meticulous process that will take some time.  Our goal is focused, simple, and essential to what we strive for here at Senor Sangria; create a product that is unmatched in quality in the marketplace.

So as spring approaches and we migrate through the necessary steps to get to formulation and bottling, the anxiety level continues to build.  It’s like trying to make your way through an IKEA; whether you like it or not you have to follow a certain path through a maze of twists and turns to get to check-out.  We view the addition of white sangria as being a perfect and critical complement to the classic red that started it all, and are thrilled to think that we are now so close to sharing the fruits of our labor with all of you. 

Yum...All Natural Fruit Juices...One of these could be our winner!

So last year, we were pretty psyched when sales reached a point where we could not keep up with distribution in the Pathfinder. As reliable as she was, we needed to increase capacity. That’s when el crucero de gran vino was introduced.

This year, we have even bigger expectations for Senor Sangria. When you set such lofty expectations, that usually means also adjusting your budget accordingly. In the world of small biz, that means cold, hard cash (otherwise known as debt). Before we head over to the bank, we’ll be preparing a case of individually gift-wrapped bottles of Senor Sangria in hopes of the understanding more money = more sangria for you!

The banks decision will definitely play a big role in helping us determine whether to continue distribution ourselves or outsource it. Having the van (vans, hopefully) out there is great advertising in itself (as we experienced last year during one stop at Dairy Queen; mmmmmmmm…Blizzard).– read article – It keeps us in touch with the retailers face-to-face. Outsourcing potentially gives us access to more markets and could quicken expansion into new ones. Distributing also gives us time back at the office, so we can focus on enhancing our product line and drinking sangria.

We’d love to get an idea of what you folks out there think. Shoot us an email with your thoughts.