Many of the folks at this event have already tried our Red Sangria, but hadn’t had the opportunity to try our White. We definitely pushed our White sangria very hard, because a lot of them weren’t aware of it. We received so much positive feedback and everyone promised to buy a bottle of White and a bottle of Red, the next time they take a trip to their local liquor store. We also made friends with some wonderful people, who were also in the beverage industry. Hearing about their experiences really helped us become more knowledgeable and we appreciate them being so open and honest.

This was a great event for more exposure and increasing our confidence level. We have always been passionate about our sangria because we know it’s great product, but after this event we are confident that our product is here to last. We are forming a following of dedicated loyal customers that will continue to grow with us. Thanks again to the Gerard’s for including us in this wonderful event.

We expect to see continued demand for our product, which means yet again reaching production volumes never seen before. While it will be challenging enough to meet those demands while maintaining our quality standards, it is also our intention to continue our aggressive expansion into more states. Specifically, Western CT, Upstate NY and MA. I’ve already been to MA a few times and there are a lot of great distributors psyched about our product. What’s sweet is I’ve noticed the MA market is similar to NJ – a state we are somewhat familiar with – so we’ll be looking to replicate best practices for that market.

CT and NY are also giving good vibes. In CT we’ve got Star Distributors lined up to cover western CT (Fairfield and New Haven ). Another distributor, A Gallo & Company, will cover Litchfield County. That gives us 3 of Connecticut’s 8 counties, which is a helluva good start. Just recently on a drive we dropped in on 6 liquor stores to do gather some info. What are the competitors? What is the top selling sangria? What do people want? It was awesome to see that everyone we spoke to gave rave reviews on Star Distributors. And of course we went bearing gifts. We left one store owner with a bottle of white and a bottle of red (not a bottle of rosé instead…) and our business card hoping to hear back with his comments. Down the road from there, I stopped for some grub at a Mexican joint and started chatting with some guy that worked with the power company. After some obligatory opening weather commentary, he asked why I was there and he got our story from the very beginning. After hearing me out, he also left with samples to share with friends and family (Winning!). Bottom line, if you run into us driving through your state, there’s a damn good chance you’ll walk away with some libations!

Right…so how can you help me??? I’m going to be putting a ton of miles on the old odometer to make this happen this year. I need some driving music recommendations from our Sangria-Head community! Of course, I have my favorites and I can always ask Siri for her thoughts, but I want your input!

Cheers!

2011 was a great year for Senor Sangria!

• We added 3 distributors in NJ to our Senor Sangria Family!
• 20,000 cases of our White and Red Sangria were sold because of the efforts of our talented sales force and the motivated employees at Short Point, Peerless and Kramer distributors…YEAH BABY!
• Our sangria can be found in 900 + locations across NJ
• Our White Sangria has been on the shelves since June 2011

2011 brought us closer to really understanding why our consumers like our product and our brand. The support we’ve received from store owners/employees has been overwhelming. Everyone is so animated with excitement about our product, which really pumps us up because this is exactly how we feel. I know that lots of folks would like us to expand quicker, but like we said at the beginning; we are a home grown company and will concentrate on one store at a time and one city/state at a time. It may take a while, but Senor Sangria will arrive in your city/state, this is our vow to you!

Well, it turned out there was no need to fret; we enjoyed a very warm reception. And this year, we had folks coming up to our table telling us how much they loved Senor Sangria. Lots of folks recognized us, and many knew about us because a friend introduced them to our sangria. This was great to hear…an affirmation that we are definitely doing something right. Case in point, a couple came to our table to tell us how they came to love Senor Sangria. One day they came upon our bottle in their house. The couple was confused, because they honestly didn’t know how it got there. Some might question whether this is a good thing (“Honey, did you buy this booze? I don’t think I did…”), not the case here. After some deliberations amongst the two, they remembered that some friends brought it over some time ago. With the bottle’s origins confirmed, the next step was of course trying it. But…sangria in a bottle? The couple admitted to being cautiously hesitant. How can sangria in a bottle be good? The verdict?

“Wow, this sangria is really good!”

Jackpot!

Before we close out, I wanted to loop back and give a much needed shout-out to Wine Library in Springfield, NJ. If you live close enough to check out their store, it is well worth the visit. It’s basically a gigantic vault of everything wine. Not in the area or don’t have the time? No problem, Wine Library has a massive online
presence (in fact, when you type “wine” into Google, they are on the first page of results). No access to the Internet (?) or don’t trust it? No problem. They’ll take your order over the phone as well (888-980-WINE).

Cheers!

While Benny Tudino’s has become well known in Hoboken and beyond for their pizza, they also boast an extensive menu of Italian Classics. It’s a great place to sit down, take a load off, and enjoy a solid meal. And now, it’s a great place to enjoy that meal with the perfect pairing, Senor Sangria…by the pitcher! Not only that, the folks at Benny Tudino’s are getting the good word out to their patrons. No more than two weeks after delivering our first order, we found ourselves delivering another 6 cases! Awesome!

It gets better. The management at has also been gracious enough to allow our friends at Peerless Beverage to put up posters, allowing us to promote our product within their business. A huge plus. Many thanks to the folks at Benny Tudino’s!

As usual, I find myself digressing to food and beverage. And in the case of Hoboken, why not? Hoboken – roughly two square miles officially, but realistically one square mile of developed space – has become well known for its dense concentration of bars, restaruants, coffee shops, delicatessans…the list could go on. I remember it all to well, having lived here before my Senor Sangria days. I frequented places like Black Bear, Benny Tudinos, and East LA. Others, like Duffy’s, have sadly since closed their doors; but, they are most often replaced by yet another bar or eatery.

This is the reason we have been wanting to get our product into this market since the beginning. And while Senor Sangria was being sold in 2 bars and 2 restaruants, we never really thought we would gain any substantial coverage. That all changed when we brought Peerless Beverage on board. Now that they are marketing and selling Classic Red and Classic White, we are at 12 locations and still growing! It’s all very exciting to see our brand continue to expand, especially since this is the place where Senor Sangria was born. Our commitment to making a premium product with an authentic taste does sell itself to a certain extent. We see that as more and more bars and restaurants are eager to get us on the menu; but, it also takes a motivated distributor that has the expertise and experience to penetrate a market like Hoboken. Big thanks to Peerless for taking us to the next level in Hoboken.