Ok, December was absurdly cold; but, it seems that for a few days, January will offer us a break from what has been a harsh winter. I saw a basketball game, joggers were out, and my lawn has the consistency of a sponge. While we are well aware that this will be short lived, it goes a long way to remind us that our second year of production and, most importantly, expansion is nearing. Thoughts of chillin’ in shorts and a t-shirt while enjoying a cold refreshment made us think…it’s never too early to advertise.

That’s when a unique opportunity presented itself. It just so happens that some of the guys at The Brotherhood Winery are on a soccer team. Their league runs from around mid-February and lasts 5-6 weeks. Like any sports franchise, they wanted a sponsor (with a checkbook). The result is Team Senor Sangria! We’ll be providing the team with Senor Sangria t-shirts for their games; and, ideally, advertising will continue at the after-game celebrations. We plan on attending as many games as possible! GO TEAM SENOR SANGRIA!

And yes, it’s indoor soccer.

Maria has been playing around with a few recipes for our White Sangria which we have shared with family, friends and co-workers. The batch made last weekend was absolutely delicious and everyone who tasted it couldn’t get enough. This is BIG NEWS for Senor Sangria and we are ecstatic to share our excitement with you. We finally feel confident to move forward with the white sangria. We have reached out to the winery to begin the recipe making process. This week Maria & I will be doing the happy dance all the way to Washingtonville , to kick-off the next stage of Senor Sangria’s on-going success. This March expect to see our sales force pounding the pavement with samples of our white sangria.

We recently received a message from one of our customers that we wanted to share with you. A friend who lives in Hoboken introduced her to Senor Sangria, which she loved and has purchased ever since tasting it. On December 17th she welcomed a beautiful baby girl into her life, so it’s been awhile since she’s been able to enjoy a nice cold glass of Senor Sangria. Unfortunately, she has been unable to locate a liquor store in her area that carries our sangria. Her girlfriend from Hoboken will be visiting and she has requested she bring a BIG bottle of Senor Sangria. Talk about loyalty, she has asked we provide her with some of our business cards, so she can distribute them to local vendors in hopes they will listen to her and begin stocking it. These are the stories we never get tired of hearing. The dedication we have received from our customers is amazing and is the reason we are confident Senor Sangria will become a household name!

A few months ago we unveiled our brand spankin’ new van to our followers.  Since that day, in the back of our minds we have been unable to shake the thought that something was missing.  This magnificent piece of machinery represents a critical component of our operation.  No van = no distribution = no money!  So in a way, you could think of our van as a vessel for our success.

Well, history and tradition demand that a vessel of such importance bears a name.  In 1797 in Boston, the first description of a naming ceremony was of the American warship Constitution (aka “Old Ironsides”).  At the ceremony, the sponsor, Captain James Sever, stood on the deck and broke a bottle of fine old Madeira over the heel of the bow as it was launched.

Well, heck…we’ve already broken a bottle of Senor Sangria inside the van; and, there history offers a precedent of sorts linking the importance of naming of ships to that of vans (remember The Mystery Machine?)!   So, it’s about time to honor that sacrifice by giving our van a name…

This is where you folks come in.  No guidelines.  No rules.  Just post your ideas to this thread!

You know you’ve got a solid product when people start incorporating it with repeat events.  A product truly becomes a staple when people associate it with something they love.  Super Bowl and chili.  Tailgating and BBQ.  Campfires and S’mores.  I can now proudly add Senor Sangria to the mix!  A fellow Senor Sangria-lover recently emailed me the following story:

I was buying my sangria from Gary’s Wine Market, in Wayne NJ, which a few months ago was the only place i could find it (and Gary’s wine is about a half hour from my house).  NOW I’ve learned that there is a store that carries it right in Wallington, NJ, which is less than 5 min from me!  Which really is great, as I’ve gotten all of my girlfriends hooked!  It’s become a staple @ our weekly “Girls Greys Night” where we get together @ my house and watch Grey’s Anatomy every Thursday, eat some great food, drink some great wine and then catch up and laugh! 

Simply awesome.    I know I have said this before, and I will probably say it again.  This is precisely how Senor Sangria came to be.  A home-recipe that was a staple at BBQs and gatherings amongst our friends to that festive bottle you see on store shelves.  For us to hear about Senor Sangria becoming a part of tradition elsewhere rocks!  We want to hear more about traditions Senor Sangria may have given birth to or been incorporated into.  Shoot us a line at info@senorsangria.com or post your story to this thread.

Cheers!

Before starting Senor Sangria, Maria and I use to frequent our favorite local pub in Maplewood St. James  Gate.  Since starting this Senor Sangria adventure, we’ve had to be more conservative with our spending habits, so we definitely miss our weekly St. James fix.  St. James is a great spot to catch up with friends over a pint or two, which is something Maria and I decided to do a couple of weeks ago.   After chatting away and enjoying some drinks, we realized how hungry we were and decided it was time to take a look at the menu.  While scoping out the specials, to our surprise there was Senor Sangria as one of their featured cocktails.  We were extremely humbled and very excited.   We are honored that St. James thinks our sangria is worthy to spotlight on their specials menu.  The owners and workers at the pub have been very supportive of our business and they have had lots of success selling our product.

If you are ever in the Maplewood area and looking for a delicious and authentic Irish meal, please visit St. James Gate and tell them Rick and Maria sent you!

Now that summer is over, sales have slowed down dramatically.  Even though this is something we expected, I must say it saddens me and I am definitely missing all the attention we were getting.   I won’t lie; it has taken some time to adjust to this slow down.  I have found myself staring out the window or at walls for long periods of time.  I’ve also driven around aimlessly in our delivery van.   Now, that the pity party is over WE ARE BACK!  It is time to push the pedal to the medal and begin working on building a prosperous future for Senor Sangria.

Here is the direction we will be taking over the next few months

• Prepare for a series of promotion events in the month of October
• Begin contacting distributors in other states, so we can introduce ourselves and our product
• Contact big chain retailers and tell them our story
• Plan our next round of NJ in store promotions
• Begin looking for more sales representatives…we would like to grow a team of about 15 reps
• Formulate the white sangria
• Planning for the 2010 spring/summer season
• Figure out how we are going to pay for all of this!

This will continue to be an exciting adventure with many lessons learned, but I am confident Senor Sangria will become a household name.

As we start to think ahead for summer 2010, we are excited to tell you that the formulation process has begun for our white sangria.  During the in house formulation, we quickly ruled out two of the formulas. I actually liked one of them, so maybe it will be reappear in the next round of recipes.

We are putting together formal focus groups like we did with our red sangria.  We are confining our taste testers into a booth and recording everything as it happens.  YEAH RIGHT, we want to have fun with these taste tests.   The first batch we brought over to my brother’s house for a BBQ and everyone provided us with feedback.  The following day we found ourselves at another BBQ and had some more folks try it.  As we adjust the formula, we will keep offering it to more friends and anyone who will taste it.   Trust me; we are not short on volunteers.  We are also going to have our existing retail customers tell us what they think.

We do try to keep some rules in place while offering samples of our sangria.

• Must be over 21
• Shouldn’t be allergic to alcohol
• Must enjoy spending time with friends
• ….Hmm I think that is it

Our goal is to have a white sangria recipe locked down at the end of the year.    We promised you white sangria and we will deliver.  This time next year you will be sitting and relaxing with a glass of our white sangria followed by a glass of our red.