Cry for help - Boston

Hey Berserkers,
I am moving to Boston in two weeks. The only thing lined up at the moment is my fiancee’s job (the reason we are moving). I can handle the moving and apartment finding (although suggestions on nice neighborhoods that are reasonable are welcome) but I was hoping for some wholesale contacts for a sales representative job.
If you can help it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Daniel,

Where is your fiance’s job located, that would be a good determination of neighborhoods you should look at.

Medford. All of the surrounding neighborhoods look pretty good though!

Well, maybe not. And after a few weeks you’ll know it’s called “Meffa.” The females walk around snapping gum and wearing 1980’s hairstyles supported by the daily half a can of hairspray. As far as the surrounding neighborhoods, be careful about Chelsea, Revere, parts of - Somerville, Charlestown, Saugus, Everett, Medford and Malden.

Reading, Melrose, Winchester are nice close by, parts of Somerville, Cambridge, and a good chunk of Boston could be close via the subways/buses if you want to bypass a car, and the special auto insurance and parking hassles that accompany owning a vehicle in Eastern MA.

Bring warm clothes, temps in the 40’s for rest of week. Don’t worry, spring comes out for 2 weeks next June.

Ha, we are ready for the grey… We both grew up in CT but our blood has been thinned out by being in the south for 4 years. Thanks for the neighborhood recs!

Check winejobs.com for current openings, there are always a half dozen or so MA listings.

Based solely on what they sell (no idea what these companies are like to work for) if I were taking a sales job in MA I would probably want to work for one of the following:

Big guys
MS Walker
Classic Wine Co
Carolina Wine Co

Smaller guys
Charles River Wine Co–Peter Sagansky
Atlantic Imports–Sean Siegal/Tom Modica
Ruby Wines

If you PM Peter Tryba he could give you a better, current lowdown on what’s going on in MA right now.

I know in NY right now almost no big guys are hiring. You also might want to consider a winery rep job, though that could require more out of state travel.

Good luck, enjoy Boston!

Wow…big move. While I can’t help on the job front, I can sure help with the welcome wagon! let us know when you arrive and we can throw something together! I love that you’re moving to Boston to be with me, but i can’t even get Bill to visit

Whatever. You know you love coming down here to see all of our hot women.

Dan, what the hell man?

What you didn’t know is that the hot women were down there for McNiff - they are all coming up with him!

Sorry for the thread drift…now folks, let’s get this guy a job!

Thanks Brent, I have found you can tell a lot about a distributor by what they sell! Will bother Peter today or tomorrow…

Thanks Zach!

I know… My head is spinning there is so much to do (that’s why I’m on here posting…)

I’ll email you that list of contacts soon!
Let’s trash Z-Lang’s place when you get here mwahahahahaha!

If you haven’t already committed to living in “Meffa” but need to be in the area, I’d suggest Melrose. Housing costs are about the same but it’s a much nicer town.

Hi Daniel,

I started in the wine trade in Massachusetts and can give you a bit of background on distributors there- though it is a tad dated, as I have been in NY for a while now. But of the distributors listed- Carolina Wines used to be a very good, fine wine company with a superb book, but expanded dramatically in the mid-to-late 1990s to get more volume brands (such as Mondavi), and I have to imagine that there is the combination here of a great book and pressure to move the volume juice as well. Carmen Martignetti ran the company (and probably still does) and he was a straight shooter in my days there.

MS Walker is a big liquor company that was branching out into fine wines at the time I worked in Mass., with one of the son-in-laws of the ownership family running the fine wine division- Doug Shaw- a very good guy. They were the distributor of choice for new, high quality producers coming into the market in the late '80s, as their book was not as full then and they were a talented and motivated crew. Not sure if the momentum was maintained, but there was little turnover amongst the sales staff at that time, which is usually a good sign.

Classic Wines was the first fine wine distributor in Boston, started by Fred Ek back in the late '50s or early '60s. They had a great book, but not sure how the company has evolved since Mr. Ek retired. But they were the best in the business back when I was in Mass.

Ruby Wines was another fine distributor, but a lot of their portfolio was Chateau and Estate-derived, so not sure how the demise of that great company (once it was mangled by Diageo) has affected Ruby. Again, here the sales staff was long-tenured and everyone seemed to be making money and happy with the firm.

Boston Wine Company used to be very good too- strong Burgundy and German portfolio, but not sure if they are even still around these days.

Ideal Wines and Spirits (conveniently located in Medford) is a terrific small distributor- very strong in Burgundy, Rhone, Loire and values from Italy. Great sales staff- company run by Larry Bender and Hugh MacPhail- two very serious wine pros and true gentlemen as well. Small, tight-knit sales staff and a good place to work from what I can tell, but they are small and turnover is not very frequent, so there may not be any positions.

I think you and your fiancee will enjoy the town.

Best Regards,

John

Can’t help you buddy,but thanks for everything from Dallas,those btls are on the way to HK, I hope everything’s fine with you in Boston,nice city.

Different Carolina Wine. Very different.

We are now focusing on Somerville and Arlington. I looked at housing 5yrs ago when I lived in CT and am absolutely shocked by how cheap it is now. It looks like we will be paying the same amount as we do in Dallas (uptown area)



John, for reference do you mind me asking when you left the market? Thanks!

I appreciate all the support from the board, looking forward to getting together.

One thing I had not thought of - wine storage. Does anyone have recommendations in the area? There were only a few places that popped up when I searched but International Wine Vault looks great and seems to be pretty cheap. I only have 7.5 cases right now.
TIA

IWV is a great place but at capacity right now with a long waiting list for a private locker. They are offering bulk storage which is $1.50 per wood per month. The terms of the bulk storage are good, no charges for in and out, 24 hour notice required.

Daniel,

New England is a great place for passive cellars. Even in a rental, you might be able to find something with basement storage space that could work.