I love parties, nothing makes me happier.  The bigger, the better!  In fact, if it weren’t for parties, I would not be here writing this blog and selling sangria.  Think about it, when you get right down to it you can argue that Senor Sangria exists for two basic reasons…(1) I leveraged my friends as guinea pigs during what turned out to be the development (and adaptation) of my own personal sangria concoction (I know, such a burden to place on friends)…and (2) my lovely wife – woo-hoo! – the catalyst to – at the time – my terrifying life transition that led me to where I am today.

 So….the point?  Two great friends of ours in Flemington, Rick and Debbie, throw a HUGE bash every year…upwards of (and sometimes beyond) 200 people.   The food is plentiful and delicious, live bands provide a festive summer atmosphere…and, most importantly, sangria – compliments of yours truly – is present in some shape or form.  And this year, I  got  my own table!

 Rick and Debbie’s friendship and support doesn’t end there, though.  They have been instrumental in helping Senor Sangria gain traction within their local community.  Whether it’s introducing our product to mommy groups, carrying a bottle whenever they visit friends (or whenever they leave the house!), or just talking up Senor Sangria in day-to-day conversations, I sincerely believe we would not have as strong a following in their area without their support. 

 A big thank you goes out to Rick and Debbie, and to all the other Senor Sangria fans spreading the good word within their local townships and communities!  Feel free to drop us a line with your story anytime! 

Once again, we can’t emphasize how much our customer’s loyalty excites and keeps us going every day.  The support we’ve received, and continue to receive, from the Sangria “community” at large justifies all our hard work. One customer has been particularly dedicated to her passion for Senor Sangria.  She’s been purchasing Classic Red for quite a while now, even with it being a 20 minute drive each way from her home in Middlesex, NJ.  A couple of weeks ago she decided to reach out to her local liquor store, and soon-there-after the owner was contacting me to schedule a meeting. 

This is where it really gets good…while I was meeting with the owner (who, it is worth noting, really liked our sangria), the woman – the catalyst to our meeting – walks into the store!  Talk about being in the right place at the right time!  Needless to say, at this point I had a pretty good feeling a sale was imminent.  A few minutes later some more patrons walked in, and the owner asked them if they would like to taste our sangria (a very slick move on the owner’s part, gathering as much customer feedback as possible).  The owner liked what he heard, and placed a 10 case order!  I have to say, this sale was truly meant to be.  Woo-hoo!

This just goes to show you…if we aren’t in your area, keep recommending our product to your local liquor stores and you can make things happen.  Once again, thanks to everyone for your dedication!

If you live or happen to be in Middlesex, NJ…please stop by Jilly’s Liquors located on 657 Lincoln Blvd.

Get ready to have a second pitcher on hand!  Sharpen your knives, grab a bigger cutting board and be prepared to double-up the fruit!  Make sure to grab a second bag of ice when you’re at the store, because the perfect complement to Classic Red is just around the corner.  That’s right!  We locked in our Classic White sangria recipe about two weeks ago, and I can’t tell you how psyched we are.  This recipe ended up being a little more complex than our Classic Red, and we’re more than confident that it will meet, if not exceed, expectations! 

 As promised, it’s a crisp, refreshing, and satisfying accompaniment to the hot summer days that are ahead (or rather, that are upon us).  Now, please understand that we are not in full production mode yet.  We still have to process a small production run – not for sale – to ensure the flavor survives the pasteurization process (because what’s the point if the bottled product isn’t on par with the original formula from the test lab)?  We’re anticipating being ready as July approaches.  Cheers!

Tomorrow is a very big day for me!  You ask why?  Will you finally be bottling your white sangria?  Nope!  I will finally be marrying my long time love Maria.   I can’t tell you how excited I am this day is finally here. 

As a lot of you know, planning a wedding is a very stressful undertaking and there are many things that need to be done, so this big day can happen.  Maria has been phenomenal throughout this process and the way she can multitask is mind boggling to me (a man…that says it all). 

I bet most of you are assuming Senor Sangria will definitely be served at this wedding.  Well, you are right, but this was not an easy decision and we do not intend on making this the main cocktail of the evening.  We looked at this at every angle before coming to a final verdict.    

     Q: Will all the guests think this is a marketing event?

     A: Probably not and we are just being paranoid. 

     Q: Will the guests be upset if we do not serve Senor Sangria?

     A: YES, I was already receiving threats.

So, these are a few of the reasons you will find our classic red being served!  Well, wish me luck and the next time you hear from me I will be a married man.

Now… Hopefully you won’t be to jealous after reading this post. Jason Salder & Evan White wear t-shirts for a living and today they get to drink on the job. How much better then that can it get…

Um… why don’t you join them and drink on the job as well (Buy Senor Sangria Online)?

Today we’ll be giving away a $50 American Express Gift Card. All you’ll need to do to win the gift card is leave a comment below describing your best sangria drinking experience. If you don’t have one then go to Buy Senor Sangria Online OR just make one up.

We appreciate the time you took to swing by our site and for giving us a little bit of love.

If you want to learn more about us check out the links below:

http://senorsangria.com/blog/matter-magazine-sangria/

http://senorsangria.com/blog/senor-sangria-displays

http://senorsangria.com/blog/senor-sangrias-birth/

http://senorsangria.com/blog/sangria-keeps-flowing/

I’ve always tried to make sure I never leave for the day without being prepared to spread the good word about Senor Sangria.  This is yet another example of why this is an excellent philosophy to live by.

Manny is the owner of Substance Salon & Barberspa in Lyndhurst, NJ, a business he just happened to set up last year right next to a Senor Sangria account.  I took notice one day while visiting this account that Manny was preparing for a private party to celebrate his Grand Opening (and the event just happened to be Sept. 9^th – my birthday!).  I peaked inside, Manny approached me and we introduced ourselves.  Following my 30-second elevator-style intro/bio, Manny inquired whether I might be interested in serving Sangria at the Grand Opening.  This took approximately half-a-nanosecond to consider.  I mean seriously, a high traffic business with constant turnover throughout the day, next to an established account…and the planets had aligned around my birthday…

 So here we are…more than half a year later and Manny has been styling my hair and talking up Senor Sangria since then.  Last time I visited, I was again in “spread-the-word” mode and brought some samples of various Classic White formulas, so his staff and appointments that day would have an opportunity to taste and review our new offering.  The feedback was extremely positive.  While for the most part everyone liked all of the samples I provided, I was able to fashion a clear understanding of what direction we needed to go with our formula.  (This is something I’ve gotten used to, filtering through a large grouping of generally positive comments about a wide variation of formulas…because in the end there can only be one).

 Attached are some photos of the event that kicked off this great relationship last year, Manny’s Grand Opening.  (I somehow forgot to take pictures of the white formula tasting…oh, well).  Thanks, Manny!

As you may have read in a previous post, we recently started using a new warehouse which also takes care of our Senor Sangria deliveries.  If you didn’t happen to catch that post…we recently started using a new warehouse which also takes care of our Senor Sangria deliveries.  One of the drivers down in South Jersey happened to sample our Classic Red – off hours, of course – and loved it.  He talked up our Classic Red to 72 Buy Rite Liquors in Manahawkin, NJ, and soon-there-after we received an order from the store manager requesting 10 cases.  Cha-ching!

This is precisely how the business – and our product’s reach – will really start to take off…when Senor Sangria starts to sell itself.  It’s just one instance, but getting a first-time order through a non-direct sales channel is an indication that Senor Sangria is positioned for growth after what is now years of hard work (and cash, and debt, and…).  It also reinforces that we have created a product that is developing a broad base of folks who enjoy it; and, more importantly, will come back for more.   Hopefully the patrons of 72 Buy Rite Liquors feel the same, justifying a 20 case-order the next time though.  Enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to a luxury doggie day care center to arrange for boarding accommodations for Sky (yes, Sky enjoys better accommodations than I usually do when traveling).  While I was there I ran into a woman who had recognized the Senor Sangria Van (yep…the van is still alive!).  Not only that, she’d also read the article in Maplewood Matters Magazine and had seen our product around town. 

After our brief conversation, I was in a great mood and I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to continue with the great momentum.  So I chatted sangria with Seth, the owner.  It turns out he’d been to a Spanish restaurant the night before and had been enjoying their homemade sangria (seamlessly transitioning my previous conversation…it was meant to be!)  Always looking to plug our product, I ran through my schpeel about Senor Sangria and where to purchase it locally.  He was genuinely interested, so I returned later with a sample of our Classic Red.

I am a huge fan of folks that take sangria sampling seriously (specifically, those who waste no time in cracking open the bottle they were given).  So, when I returned the next day to drop off Sky and saw Seth again, I was psyched to learn that he had already taken our Classic Red for a spin.  Not only did he enjoy our Classic Red, he felt it was better than the sangria he ordered at the Spanish restaurant he had visited.  One thing was clear; this man deserved another taste.  So I left him with a sample of our almost-ready Classic White. 

 It just goes to show, in business – especially small business – be ready at all times.

Not too long ago we wrote about a two-page article that appeared in the most recent edition of Maplewood Matters, a bi-monthly publication out of the Maplewood & South Orange townships. One of the big reasons we were really “stoked” (as we put it) was because this publication has positioned itself over the years as a staple in the two communities (and greater surronding area); 20 years running to be exact! We had no idea how loyal the local readers actually were…

We saw evidence of its impact on sales immediately in the field, and at home. Since the article hit newsstands, the manager at one of the local wine shops has informed us that sales had noticeably increased; and, new customers have been coming into his shop as a direct result of folks just reading the article. One woman walked into the store and immediately asked where she could find Senor Sangria (she read the article and was “dying to try it”). Maria has been getting calls at work throughout the day with comments on the article and inquiries as to where Senor Sangria could be purchased.

Another shout-out is greatly deserved for Michelle Brunner of Maplewood Matters, who took the time to write an article with an excellent perspective on how Senor Sangria came to be.  Thank you!

If you didn’t get the chance to read this great piece, feel free to take a look at it now.   (http://senorsangria.com/blog/matter-magazine-sangria/)

Sangria sales for April have exceeded any expectations I could have had.  We’ve had more sales in the month of April then at the peak of Summer 09.  I am astonished at how popular our sangria has become in such a short period of time.  Word of mouth is really working and we can’t thank our loyal customers and fans enough for spreading the sangria love.    Last year we had a number of accounts that only ordered 8-10 cases.  This year they want more of our product.  If this is a sign of the rest of  Spring and Summertime, we are going to have a phenomenal year.  We are closing new accounts regularly and I wouldn’t be able to do this without my talented sales force.  Thanks Guys and Rock On!