Speaker 1: 0:40

Thank you, welcome to the Never Been Promoted podcast and YouTube channel. I'm on a mission to help you cut the tie to all the things that are holding you back so you can unleash your entrepreneur. I know you're wondering what tastes better coffee or water. The answer is wine. You all got enough. We're going to be talking today. By the way, hi, I'm Thomas Elfrick, your host of the Never Been Promoted podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:55

Why Never Been Promoted? Because in my career I never was promoted. It's crazy. It's not going to happen now. I trash talk too much corporate. I can't go back. It's just how it is. Not that I wouldn't take a job, but no one would have me. So this is how we're going to be we're just going to do a podcast.

Speaker 1: 2:08

But today we're here with Carolyn Denson Landro. We're going to be talking about some cool ass wine. That's right, wine. I don't drink anymore. So she's going to make me an alcoholic today. It's going to be great. She's going to bring me back full fletch. I may be loaded by the end of the show. All this is kind of not true. So anyway, listen, I'm just going to do one call to action. If you listen to the show and if you're listening to the podcast. By the time you hear this, there's a thing called Cut the Tie. Cut the Tie is a community that we've started to help entrepreneurs get help and give help to help people cut ties to shit holding them back. So the idea is you go there, you give about an hour of your time, you get an hour of someone's time and you can move forward in your entrepreneurial journey.

Speaker 1: 2:48

So, check it out. Cutthetiecom. Enough shameless plugs. Let's add Carolyn to the stage. Hello, how are you?

Speaker 2: 2:55

Hello.

Speaker 1: 2:58

You're not going to make me an alcoholic. I can do that by myself. We're going to talk about wine, about crafting stories, raising a glass. You know it's good to see you on here. How are you? How have you been, by the way?

Speaker 2: 3:11

I have been good. I've been sort of between super, super busy and vacation holidays slash mode. So you know, you know how things, everything shuts down during the holidays.

Speaker 1: 3:25

Especially in Europe.

Speaker 2: 3:26

Oh yeah, but I mean even here, because of the holiday being in the middle of the week, nothing got done. So I'm ready to go.

Speaker 1: 3:36

I feel it, I feel the energy. You look great, by the way. I want you to know that. I can tell you went and you're like I'm going to fix some things Not that you needed to, but I can tell you put some time in.

Speaker 2: 3:50

No, no, I mean, this effort is all for you.

Speaker 1: 3:55

I'd send you a bottle of wine, but you don't need one. No thank you do you want to just take a couple of seconds here? Just introduce yourself, just you know who you are where. I think where you live is an interesting story. You can throw that in there if you'd like. But do you want to set us up for the day? How about?

Speaker 2: 4:12

you? Oh okay, so Carolyn Denson-Longereau, I'm originally from Pittsburgh, pennsylvania. We still have a home there, but I spend a lot of time in Paris we have a home there also, so I have residency in France and I'm still a US citizen, so it's kind of a little 50-50-ish. I was a flight attendant for a major airline. I don't know if I can say it or not, so I won't.

Speaker 1: 4:42

I'm not going to try to talk, unless it's United or American Airlines, because they suck.

Speaker 2: 4:46

No, it was Delta, actually, I love.

Speaker 1: 4:48

Delta. See, I'm in Atlanta. I didn't know there was other airlines here.

Speaker 2: 4:52

I had no idea. Well, in Atlanta there's not, so there you go.

Speaker 1: 4:56

It's a South terminal, then there's where everyone else goes.

Speaker 2: 4:58

Right, exactly so. I did that for 35 years. I was a flight attendant for 35 years and then COVID happened 2020, forced into retirement. Well, you know, took the package and I started writing children's books. So I write children's books. I have a publishing company with children's books. But my husband is born and raised in France and his family's in the champagne industry, so he was raised doing champagne. He knows all things champagne. We've been together for 15 years, married since 2006.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Are you guessing? Yeah?

Speaker 2: 5:40

I know, shame on me, right? That's a guy's role.

Speaker 1: 5:43

If a guy said that oh my gosh forget it.

Speaker 2: 5:46

I know, I know, no, this is 2016, for real. So eight and a half years we've been married, but we've been together for 15, almost 16 years. So I did not know when I met him that he was in the champagne family. In a champagne industry they produce, grow, sell champagne, so he knows all things champagne. We spent a lot of time in the region. We got married there.

Speaker 2: 6:13

His family's still there, and how we ended up getting into the champagne import business is that we've decided to do our own label, so we are white labeling some of the craft champagnes that are from the area, because what Americans know, 90% of the imports of champagne to the United States are from the same market. They're all from the same huge group, so Americans only know a fraction of the champagnes that are actually available from the region. So our mission is to bring the family-owned craft champagne, small batch flavors and tastes to the United States, and part of that is by doing our own label so that we can be able to promote that as well. So it's really exciting. It's such a fun business. I think a lot of people don't understand champagne. Yeah, so champagne has to come from the champagne region. So a lot of the things that people are drinking they're thinking is champagne. It's not. It'll say made in champagne method, or it'll be from a region that's not, even if it's in France.

Speaker 1: 7:29

I thought there was like a I had trademarks wrong rule but you couldn't use the word champagne unless it was from the region. Or is that just a courtesy and people say, I don't care, I'm doing it?

Speaker 2: 7:40

They're not supposed to.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Is it enforceable though?

Speaker 2: 7:44

It is. It is the champagne. There is a huge council in champagne that regulates everything, Even our exports are regulated If I make it in the champagne method.

Speaker 1: 7:56

like is that?

Speaker 2: 7:57

word. Well, the champagne method, they can say, or made in the method of champagne, if I call it champagne.

Speaker 1: 8:02

How do they enforce that? Like you can't do, they own the word champagne. Is that why that region does? How does one enforce? I always wonder how do you enforce that?

Speaker 2: 8:10

They could sue the company and have it shut down. So they call it champagne I mean alcohol.

Speaker 1: 8:15

I don't know if you guys know this, but alcohol prints money. I mean that's the one thing that not only doesn't slow down during bad times, it accelerates. If you look at the sales alcohol during COVID, you think pharmaceutical made a lot of money, holy moly. You should look at the embeds as well. I didn't realize there would be a craft champagne. I would think there's some markets for it from older stuff. But that's an amazing statistic that 90% of what you see is you're calling it same market. You're probably thinking it's shit. It same market. You're probably thinking it's shit. It's really not good stuff and you could do much better for yourself.

Speaker 2: 8:49

I'm saying that not you, no, no, no See, that's another myth that happens about champagne. People think that in champagne, in the actual region, it's not that competitive, it's so highly regulated that you don't have to be. So everybody is going to, you know, be make money. Or or you know, you can only produce so much of the grapes if you have a vineyard, if you have hectares of land or whatever. So it's super regulated. So everybody drinks everybody's champagne. It's not that competitive. It's more competitive in the United States, just because that's our nature.

Speaker 1: 9:30

So something like the probably most famous one that people know is like you know, people who don't drink champagne think oh, dom Perignon, I'm going to get some of that right Me. I look at that. I think it's just marketing. It tastes like a Cordell black bottle. It's the same to me. So in your business. I know we're jumping ahead a little bit, but this is fun. What really?

Speaker 2: 9:57

separates a craft from the Dom Perignon versus the Costco brand. So what is happening with the larger champagne brands is they're buying grapes from the smaller people. So what they're doing is they're blending the terroir and the champagne grapes that they're getting into their own brand, so it's more of a conglomerate of different vineyards. So what we're working with the people, that we're working with the producers growers grow from their own land. For example, our Purple Label is from a family that goes back 10 generations who actually started at the same time as Dom Perignon. So our Purple Label is a fantastic champagne at a lower price point than what you will get Dom Perignon, but equally as good, probably better. I hate to say that because it's made from the same land, from the grapes, from the same craft. It's single batch.

Speaker 1: 11:01

It's like it's from that same vineyard. There's no mix of other grapes. There's no mixing Exactly back it's, it's like it's from that same vineyard. There's no mix of other, there's no mixing. Exactly that.

Speaker 2: 11:08

That's what would change the taste is when you you can truly right.

Speaker 1: 11:10

It's not a blend, gotcha and so that's what people aren't we're drinking blends, that's, we're mostly drinking those blends in the us. Okay, right, right and there are.

Speaker 2: 11:20

You know. I mean of course you the Dom Perignon that are vintage, for example, are going to be more not blended. But it's also going to cost you a lot of money. You're going to pay a lot of money for that and all of them have that. So I'm not saying that they're not great champagnes. They're fantastic, they're fabulous. But what you're able to afford at our price point is not going to be that great.

Speaker 1: 11:53

Let me ask this so do you guys, when his family, when he does, does every year, do they make like 20 bottles and they say we just lock these away and then, like those become the $10,000 bottles a hundred years from now or something like that? Like, is that the mindset? Like we're going to lock a few away and we're always going to have our super special, like wedding versions or something?

Speaker 2: 12:13

So what's interesting about vintage champagnes is that they can't do it every year.

Speaker 1: 12:20

Interesting. Why is that?

Speaker 2: 12:22

So because it has to be really really good grapes, a really good crop from that year. Anytime it's not a great crop, they're going to have to blend it with previous years. Sometimes they have to destroy up to 90% of their grapes because of weather, because of mold, those kinds of things. So if you get a really great year, you can do a vintage. So we're not importing his family champagne. We keep that for ourselves. Sorry, people, if you know us, you can get it. So, for example, we have a 2009 and a 2016 vintage, because those were the last two years that they were able to vent the champagnes and we have those put away and I'm pretty sure his family has some of those put away as well. So you won't see, I don't know if you know this, but you won't see dates on a champagne bottle unless it is a vintage year and it's not every year.

Speaker 1: 13:25

All right, so that's okay. So if you see a date on a champagne bottle, a real one, like, not a a real champagne bottle from champagne champagne. You might want to hold on to that one because it's an actual vintage.

Speaker 2: 13:36

All right, yes.

Speaker 1: 13:37

We'll say vintage, or just it'll just the vintage is the year when it's on there. The vintage is the year, so when you see a year, you'll know that it's a vintage. Got it All right In your own business right now. What's the biggest challenge you guys are facing for bringing?

Speaker 2: 13:51

this craft. Right now, our biggest challenge is actually the United States government. We are in the process of registering our labels with the TTB and that is like I said it's highly regulated. So it's highly regulated on the French side, but it's also highly regulated on the American side of things.

Speaker 1: 14:15

You said TTB. What is TTB?

Speaker 2: 14:19

TTB is the Department of Alcohol, tobacco and Firearms in the United States. So they regulate everything that comes in. So the labels have to be perfect to their regulations and then when it gets that what you call approval, I guess from them it comes to customs and then has to go through customs again. So that's the biggest challenge that we have right now that and funding. But that's like as an entrepreneur, that's an ongoing issue.

Speaker 1: 14:59

Well, I mean for funding. Right, it's sales. So if you have sales orders, you can get funding pretty quickly from banks or other places, because you're like, hey, I have 10,000 orders, right, and they will be like, they will give you a loan on sales receipts or on free orders. No POs, no, really no.

Speaker 2: 15:21

I can't believe you couldn't find an investor to be like. I'll do that. Well, okay, so we are doing that, we're doing it, you know, formally.

Speaker 1: 15:29

Are you now do you guys? Are you doing it through accredited investing? Are you going to do more of like a not a GoFundMe, but like a, you know, a Kickstarter or a WeFunder?

Speaker 2: 15:38

No, we're actually working with an investment coach that that I met a few months ago this summer and we've been putting together my pitch deck and my whole pitch and the whole nine yards.

Speaker 1: 15:52

So I mean it's an official pitch, investor pitch, you're probably going, you know, regulator route and you're doing the accredited version Right, because there's the WeFunder, where you find the first 50K and the elite investor, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the is.

Speaker 2: 16:24

It's not easy, but I think it's the best thing for us to do, because we want to do more than just import champagne and label and sell our own labels.

Speaker 1: 16:37

We want to grow it into something else as well, well, it becomes an import-export company to some degree, right, Like you could bring anything in on that. Well, so anything on that?

Speaker 2: 16:48

registered for with the TTB is to be able to bring in wine, champagnes and fortified wines, so that means cognac and things like that as well.

Speaker 1: 17:01

Yeah, so you could bring in like you, could you know you create your own not distribution, but import into it so you have access to contracts with it. Yeah, so you could bring in like you, could you know you create your own not distribution, but import into it, so you have access and contracts with it.

Speaker 1: 17:10

Now you have, I get that. I think you'll find investors for that. There'll be plenty of people who were, who just love that stuff and want to be a part of that, and if you just say, hey, listen, you're going to get a really good bottle every year, at the very least they'll be like right?

Speaker 2: 17:32

well, that's the thing with champagne is, a it's a consumable and b people collect it and c people love it. So, um, what you were saying earlier about how the, the drinking, sort of grows during hard times, um, we're looking forward to more hard times ahead.

Speaker 1: 17:46

It grows during good times too, you know it's crazy though.

Speaker 1: 17:49

Especially in the U S, people with money do stupid stuff, right, they waste it Like, and I'm okay with that, but that's their prerogative. But our neighbor they didn't do it. The neighbor before that we even moved. Like. They put an addition on this house Right and like, oh, the only reason it's a sunroom is because below it is a wine cellar and this wine cellar has got to be. It's as big as, like the addition it could be a small one bedroom home and I'm thinking, yeah, that's a lot of wine storage. I mean like, and so people, you know, they add onto their homes to store alcohol. Yeah, I find this amazing.

Speaker 2: 18:23

One of my best friends has two wine cellars.

Speaker 1: 18:27

In their home.

Speaker 2: 18:28

In their home.

Speaker 1: 18:29

Did they do like a secret door, one I've always wanted to have?

Speaker 2: 18:31

a secret door.

Speaker 1: 18:32

Yes, yes, I've always said let's cut a hole in the foundation, let's go in the foundation.

Speaker 2: 18:36

It's going to front yard no this is like a real with the temperature control in the whole nine yards.

Speaker 1: 18:42

I mean, that's what you would do, though. You put it in some kind of like subground where, even if it's hot, everything fails. It's still going to be 52 degrees in there, no matter what.

Speaker 2: 18:49

Well, champagne changes if it's not kept at a certain temperature.

Speaker 1: 18:54

I didn't know that. Does it become like?

Speaker 2: 18:55

syrupy. No, it's just the flavor changes. It's not a good thing to do, you know. And wine has to be stored properly. Any kind of wine has to be stored properly, and a lot of people don't store it correctly.

Speaker 1: 19:11

It never lasts long enough around our house to be stored. It goes on the shelf and then people come over and are like where did all the wine go? And we're like I don't know stored it goes on the shelf and then people come over and are like where'd? All the wine go. I don't know You're not a collector, sir I'm not a collector.

Speaker 1: 19:22

People collect it and they put it in their bodies. As you know, I don't drink anymore. It's not that I wouldn't. So if you said, hey, this is like the finest bottle of rugby champagne that we have, I will try that for sure. We went to Cuba a few weeks ago, tried a little rum to see what the rum was like. Tastes like rum, but the point is I would try it and I think some people I appreciate it.

Speaker 1: 19:46

I have to appreciate it. I was like, all right, well, I'm here, I might as well I'm in Cuba. How often can you get a true Cuban, like whatever, say I don't smoke cigars, but I had one there because it's in Cuba and I was at a cigar plantation.

Speaker 2: 19:59

I get it, I would probably do the same. I don't smoke at all, but I would probably try it.

Speaker 1: 20:04

Having champagne guaranteed, Guaranteed, Because you've been in Champagne France. How could you not? Anyway, how is champagne champagne-ized? Do you have a little soda stream and they just put a bunch of white?

Speaker 2: 20:16

wine together, oh no, no, it's a process.

Speaker 1: 20:21

My ignorance spills, spills.

Speaker 2: 20:25

No, it's a process. I don't know the whole technicality of it because I didn't grow up in it. My husband does like 100%, he's the voice of when people ask questions of like the whole technical part in it. My husband does like 100%, he's the voice of when people ask questions of like the whole technical part of it. But they harvest in the usually like late August at the earliest, through the beginning of October, depending on when it's ready. They harvest the grapes and it is made into wine, it's blended, it's fermented, it's put in the bottles and it has to be turned. I think I don't know what the schedule is, but it has to be turned regularly. One quarter turn and then the first fermentation is done. It's at, the yeast is added to it. The first fermentation is done, they take out the first cork which has the yeast plug and pull all that out and then they re-bottle it and you know, and that's the abridged version of how to make champagne we always like just take wine and put some soda stream in that thing and you got.

Speaker 1: 21:38

You got some champagne. I'll do it down perry on land. I'll tell you what.

Speaker 2: 21:44

No, it's stored in these big giant vats of like steel vats, and yeah, it's, it's a huge industry, like it's a huge business. If that's part of what we want to do, too, is champagne tourism, that's like in the future, as we grow.

Speaker 1: 22:01

That's what I was going to ask. You is like can you, can you know you, set up a? You know three couples, four couples, come over, put them up in a little bed and breakfast and they spend the week eating cheese and trying different. You know, if you, if you want to get, I look at your marketing is like, if you, if you want to get, I look at your marketing. It's like you're.

Speaker 1: 22:17

Probably one of your biggest challenges is just, you're not selling a product. You have to sell a story, right, and a feeling. If the only way you can get access to order the stuff is buy through a tour, at least initially, then that's the brand that it becomes like hey, the only way you can get this stuff is actually if you show up and then that's where you have to buy. It is actually in our stores here. Eventually you can buy it in the store. But that would be, that would be a. That's something that people will certainly pay for, cause you go to Paris, you do a day there, like you'll hold, you know, go out in the country for days.

Speaker 2: 22:47

Right, well, that's something that that's like, actually we're we're planning on going, so we're going to build a guest house in Champaign. Like I said, his family is there, so you know we're going to build a guest house, they can do Champaign tours.

Speaker 2: 23:02

One of the producers that we work with does Champaign picnics at her vineyard where she sets up Champaign. I think she has 15 varieties of Champaign at her vineyard so she picks out and does food pairings for you and packs your picnic basket and you go into the vineyard and you have a blanket and you sit there and you look at this beautiful countryside because it's absolutely stunning. Champagne is gorgeous.

Speaker 1: 23:32

Male escorts and you should have the women come over and the men come over spiritless. They're like we budget, thomas. That's a whole over spiritless. They're like we budget.

Speaker 2: 23:39

Thomas, that's a whole nother business. We're not, we're not, no.

Speaker 1: 23:43

Hey, pimping ain't easy. Okay, and this is December and I already said I'm being as professional as I'm going to be all year right now. That's just where this is going. It's more fun, all right. So we're not going to be all year right now, that's just where this podcast is going.

Speaker 1: 23:58

It's more fun. All right, so we're not going to do. I mean, pimping isn't easy. Everyone knows that Pimping ain't easy, Especially when it's male escorts, because they have attitudes and they just they really. Anyway, we'll go down a narrow line with that, but I think that would be.

Speaker 2: 24:11

I think we should get some beautiful people that personally, because you know I'm a married woman and I I can't even talk about that so well you can't.

Speaker 1: 24:21

But I think your husband can appreciate if you were pimping the good-looking dudes because he's selling more champagne. It just kind of works. Where did this conversation go? And I'll tell you why. I'm thinking like, okay, that's nice champagne. But then they see these really hot dudes serving champagne. Like I don't give a shit what the champagne tastes like. It's going to taste so good because that guy is going to serve it to me in a picnic.

Speaker 2: 24:43

Who would have been in that for our bachelorette parties?

Speaker 1: 24:47

That's a no-brainer. You should have a whole training program for the guys in champagne, like sit-ups running every day. If you're going to be one of our guys, you got to have an eight-pack, no six-packs.

Speaker 2: 25:00

We're talking like Jason Mimosa. No, all they need is a French accent.

Speaker 1: 25:02

Oui, I do a good French, fake French. Bon ziz mon ziz, mon zi Bois.

Speaker 2: 25:07

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 25:07

It's not Guys, that is not French. No, no, it means something about eating. M is to eat, so is it? I actually said a french word. I didn't, you did so. I'm so sophisticated, I am so upper class, you don't even know um what. So, so getting okay. So let's go back. So your biggest challenges right now it's which is interesting, because, uh, it's not the production, because you can do that no, it's really.

Speaker 2: 25:35

We actually have the order sitting there waiting ready to go yes, it's logistics on the um.

Speaker 1: 25:41

Once you get your your uh, your approval, then you just need local people to go sell it. Um, are you gonna have a distribution model of like, hey, listen, like you go, thomas, you know all these liquor stores? I don't, but if I did, I'd be like, hey, listen, this is only available, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or you go to total wine, like what the what's? You get approved, what's the next strategy you do after the Total Wine? Are you going for more of the niche players? And like the bodegas or something.

Speaker 2: 26:07

So we actually are mostly business to business. So we will supply to hotels, restaurants, caterers, that sort of thing. We are working with some local liquor stores in the Chicago area. We're also going to get our own distributor's license and work with the distributor, because we have private clients all over the United States.

Speaker 1: 26:29

I like that from a brand, just if I put my marketing hat on because that's the only one I could probably actually wear. Maybe I'm barely wearing a podcast helmet right now. It's a helmet, not a hat, because it's fantastic, I would think from a podcast helmet right now it's a helmet, not a hat. I would say I would think, from a brand standpoint, you should try to make this as like you can't get it. It's just, it's just so hard to get. You got to know someone because at some point you know, not that you want to become Gucci, what they did to their brand, but like you can get Gucci anywhere. Before it was really hard, it was super nice, but you still think of it as a good thing. Um, you know, if I see it rocked in Costco, I'm questioning it, Right, but if, if it's, like you know, featured in some movie and it's like this is the only place you can, you know all right. Okay Now are you making your bottles?

Speaker 1: 27:08

Cause a lot of people just bottle shop, right, they? They look at a bottle and they go. That looks so elegant. I want it. Is that part of your strategy is to make sure your bottle looks as like authentically vintage, or what's the strategy with bottle shopping, Cause that's, that's how I buy.

Speaker 2: 27:24

So our labels are more Americanized than a traditional champagne label and that's on purpose. So we are marketing to the American people Like we want them to be able to see our bottle and know that this is something that's made for us as American people. So we have three labels rugby champagne, which is being marketed more towards the athletic, male taste. It has more of, like the smoky whiskey type, bourbon, leather tobacco flavors that appeal to the more male. Did you say?

Speaker 1: 28:14

leather tobacco.

Speaker 2: 28:16

Mm-hmm yeah.

Speaker 1: 28:19

It tastes like grandpa's old Buick.

Speaker 2: 28:22

No it tastes like a really fine whiskey.

Speaker 1: 28:27

I mean your grandpa's old Buick smelled like leather and tobacco. I'm not sure I want that.

Speaker 2: 28:32

These are sommelier words that are used when it's being tasted. If my ignorance doesn't highlight how, good you are at this.

Speaker 1: 28:39

I don't know how else to separate collier words that are used when it's being tasted. If my ignorance doesn't highlight how good you are at this, I don't know how else to separate. I'm intentionally Okay.

Speaker 2: 28:49

So that's, that's our rugby champagne.

Speaker 1: 28:51

I mean I want, I want a leather tobacco smack in the face.

Speaker 2: 28:55

That's what I want. I want to try that, and it does that. That's our rugby champagne. So the highest growing demographic of champagne drinkers are males 35 to 55 years old.

Speaker 1: 29:05

It's us on keto. That's what it is. We all stop. So many people stop drinking beer and stuff because of carbs and champagne per glass actually has less calories than any other beverage.

Speaker 2: 29:17

Yeah, when I was doing Keeley beverage.

Speaker 1: 29:19

It was either vodka, neat or that, or a dry champagne like a Prosecco. Worst maybe.

Speaker 2: 29:25

No, Prosecco is not champagne, sir.

Speaker 1: 29:27

I know it's not champagne.

Speaker 2: 29:28

That's sacrilege.

Speaker 1: 29:31

It didn't taste very good. I just went with vodka normally.

Speaker 2: 29:33

Because it's not champagne.

Speaker 1: 29:36

I agree. Vodka is not champagne, it is the Russian wine.

Speaker 2: 29:40

Yeah, vodka. Okay, we're not talking about vodka.

Speaker 1: 29:44

I tried soda too in vodka and it actually tastes good. By the way, it tastes like a vodka soda.

Speaker 2: 29:48

There are good vodkas, I agree with you. There's a lot of good flavors of stuff I didn't realize you could get champagne to taste like you could.

Speaker 1: 29:58

Is it from the barreling? Is that how they do that? Is it the same way wine gets some of its taste, or is it from the earth?

Speaker 2: 30:04

It's the earth, it's the ground, it's the roots, it's the vines themselves. You know, that's where the taste comes from is actually from the grape. So you know, and then we have Vian Pink, which is our rosé, and then we have a purple label which is more of the everyday type champagne, which is very earthy, and it's just super delicious and easy to drink, so I used, like the, the more argentinian chilean wines very earthy, I think.

Speaker 1: 30:35

Yes, that's why I'd probably enjoy if I had it. Um, does the person who makes champagne a case? You just be like I'm gonna spit in this one and no one's gonna know it? Like, just like what they're making. They do something like every year that like like we're gonna throw a penny in this and it's gonna have a copper taste this year. Do they ever get crazy? Maybe drink too much and they that's how they experiment with new recipes or do they? They really lock it down and never mess it up um, no, actually.

Speaker 2: 31:04

Um, they do change the recipe a bit. They don't throw pennies in it. Um, they don't stomp it with their feet okay, I was not.

Speaker 1: 31:13

No, spitting in it for fermentation no no, no foot fungus, nothing like that.

Speaker 2: 31:18

So that's kind of like. Actually, my husband, pier's cousin, experiments a lot with different flavors. So one like our rugby champagne, which I was talking about, is actually aged in a oak barrel so that it gives it more of that Chardonnay oaky flavor which Americans like that taste. It's not my favorite but it's a very popular taste for american taste buds is the oaky flavor. Um, he also does one with red, uh, red fruits, um, a red fruit champagne which is also very popular, um, with american taste buds. So yeah, there are some. Like I was saying, there's 15 varietals. With the one company that we're working with, we're only going to import one in their fortified wine which is called Rotafia, which is absolutely fabulous. That is not even known in the United States. We're bringing something completely new.

Speaker 1: 32:25

What's your competition like for? Are you competing for shelf space, or is it just really just the network you need to develop to make this work?

Speaker 2: 32:38

I think our competition. To me, champaign doesn't really have competition. Yeah, but you know, and that's because I've been in the region, I've spent a lot of time there and I know the mindset of champagne producers. So to me there is not the competition. Our biggest challenge is like getting branded, getting our name out there, getting people to see us and desire us and want us, and keeping the demands and supply.

Speaker 1: 33:09

Yep.

Speaker 2: 33:10

That's our biggest challenge.

Speaker 1: 33:11

One of the guys, one of the teams that my marketing company works with, they've done a few vineyards now from the cinematic video reason. I said I think having a good looking group of people come out that's representative of the demographic you want to, that visits it and tastes it, and you have somebody film that whole thing, um would be a very good use of in funds and time, because I think that's that becomes like people can identify with that. And then, specifically, if you could be like hey, we'll throw you in the closet and you can sleep here, kind of thing, um, yeah, that's going to be you in the closet and you can sleep here, kind of thing.

Speaker 2: 33:47

Um, yeah, that's gonna be. Well, check out our instagram because our social media manager is absolutely fantastic at that and she has been promoting and doing videos and, like she's so good, people are are contacting us. It's like we've been contacted by a television show to do product placement in their show. Because of her media and because of her promotion, I've gotten some influencers who are like I want to be your brand ambassador when this launches, because our official launch date is until March 4th.

Speaker 1: 34:25

Hold on, let me see if I can I do this right. Is this it right here? Uh, yeah, that's it okay, cool, that's it now. Is your social media person local into the market where you are?

Speaker 1: 34:37

she's in france yeah, this is great, very visual. I don't know what we're doing. Like, we have Instagram and I'm like I don't think we have a clue what we're doing, but we're also not a visual brand like this. This is gorgeous, this is very cool. So if those listening it's rugbychampagnewine, you should give it a follow on Instagram. I know I just did and that's very pretty. It's good and I think, if you can add I said the more cinematic stuff, high-end for sure, because you don't have 10 million bottles go to sell at Costco. I don't ever want to see this in a store. I want to just know that. I know I can get it.

Speaker 2: 35:17

Yeah, Well, listen, that's part of it too. That's part of our branding. Is the subscription model too. Like that's part of our branding is the subscription model. So you know, as a private client, if you want to subscribe, we'll make sure that you get. You know, every time we get a shipment, you'll get your case, or two or three. A lot of our private clients buy up to 10 cases per shipment, so and right now that's what we're dealing with are private clients.

Speaker 1: 35:45

Yeah, You're filling orders, putting them on a container and bringing them in on one thing and I love that, and some people drive it around in a. You know. Hopefully it's not the people who deliver Amazon packages and argue in our driveway.

Speaker 2: 35:55

No, no, no, no, no no.

Speaker 1: 35:57

I'm not saying that happens, but maybe a group of people I thought maybe we were going to get broken into were arguing in our driveway as they delivered a package today at 543.

Speaker 2: 36:06

Oh yeah, that was fun. Yeah, no, these are. They have to be refrigerated. It has to be temperature controlled.

Speaker 1: 36:13

Yeah, well, I'm just saying Just don't hire the people who deliver that Amazon package. I'm tired of it. I'm cranky. All right, I'm going to give you a shameless plug, okay. So right now, you want people to know about this brand for sure. So I, you know, I think rugby, champagne, dot wine. I'm going to put that on there. For the Instagram thing here, I would tell you, go to the website. I mean, following the social media thing makes it super easy to keep. Keep in touch with you guys, cause then you can see what's going on. You get updates. To keep in touch with you guys, because then you can see what's going on, you get updates. I hope to see you on there, too, talking about it. But are you guys? Your biggest call to action right now is if you're interested in investing in these kinds of things, or you want to get into this or learn more about how you can help bring it to America, or something like that. Are these the kind of people are you looking more like? I want people to buy it.

Speaker 2: 37:03

What we're really looking for is to get the brand out right, so you are going to be able to buy it at certain liquor stores not all of them. You're going to be able to get it in restaurants. You're going to be able to get it eventually in more places, certain hotels we have a contract with a hotel right now in Chicago, so there's going to be places where you can get it.

Speaker 2: 37:30

So our whole idea is what you're saying basically is to make it so sought after that people are looking for us right Coming to us and like saying, we want to try that and right now, through our social media, I'm getting that a lot Like I'm getting a lot of where can I get this? When can we get this? When are you launching? So we're going to have a big launch party in Chicago in March. We're going to be posting that flyer very soon where you can get the tickets to come. It's going to be Mardi Gras, it's going to be like a masquer type party and it's going to be a 20s theme. That's going to be for our rugby champagne. And then we're going to do a very elegant event for our purple label and then we want to do like a really fun, maybe with the male escorts for the pink label.

Speaker 1: 38:22

I'm available for hire. I've been working out. Okay, how are you looking at bow tie? I've been working out.

Speaker 2: 38:24

Okay, how are you looking at bow tie?

Speaker 1: 38:27

I mean, look at this tie. I'll probably cut the bow tie if I put it on, just so you know, I think it would be off brand if I didn't cut off that.

Speaker 2: 38:34

Okay.

Speaker 1: 38:35

Well, what are the kind that you can just rip off like a?

Speaker 2: 38:37

stripper.

Speaker 1: 38:38

Oh, any of my shirts you pull on, they come off at the seams. My shirts you pull on, they come off at the seams. Like that's, that's how I buy it. Just because I'm really like you know, a little ADD, so I can't just take it off. Or or one arm, there you go. Listen, anybody listen. If one arm is always tucked in of your clothes and laundry, you have ADD. Just that's how it is. One leg is inside out because you just can't take long enough to get it around. Your ankles or the backs of all your shoes are collapsed. Add, everyone. Just don't even fight it. That's the, that's it. See, if you could have one influencer, who would it be? Who would you want to be your brand ambassador?

Speaker 1: 39:20

Ooh that's Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama, what do you?

Speaker 2: 39:26

think, so check this out. Our neighborhood, where we are is where the neighborhood, where the Obama's house is in Chicago.

Speaker 1: 39:35

Throw a bottle of champagne. At see what happens.

Speaker 2: 39:37

We'll go sit it on their doorstep.

Speaker 1: 39:39

Maybe don't do that you might get a secret service.

Speaker 2: 39:44

You can't even walk down their street.

Speaker 1: 39:46

My friend lives on their street right, the one I was telling you about with the wine sellers, you probably can't get very close to that house.

Speaker 2: 39:52

Yeah, they live on their street. So, yeah, you can't even walk there because the secret service is on the entire block. So yeah, that probably won't happen, maybe an invitation to an event that we do.

Speaker 1: 40:05

Right, that would be a good master. I could see that there's no one smoother. Honestly, people can get mad at this, I don't know, but Obama was so smooth when he talked.

Speaker 2: 40:13

He still is Like nothing rattles him.

Speaker 1: 40:17

He's one of those people who's like you know, like you may not like his politics, whatever, but he is. If you don't think he was a smooth-ass talker, Right Like nothing.

Speaker 2: 40:24

You don't see him like getting flustered, or yeah.

Speaker 1: 40:28

I wish he was an impression, but when they got Osama bin Laden he was just like oh, we got him. I saw that shit live and I was drinking rugby champagne there you go.

Speaker 2: 40:41

That would have been a good photo. You should start putting those on there. That would be awesome.

Speaker 1: 40:48

I'm sorry I was rude. I answered your question for you. Who would you like to be a good?

Speaker 2: 40:55

influencer. That is so hard. There's so many people that I think would be so awesome.

Speaker 1: 41:02

I'll give you top three. I'll make it easier for you. What would be a good? I'll give you top three. I'll make it easier for you, okay.

Speaker 2: 41:13

What would be a good three, solid three. That's not easier for me. I mean I have people that I admire, that I really like, but as far as brand ambassadors go, it would need to be somebody who is not too young, maybe in their 30s, early 40s, like a very handsome, smooth person, smooth person, like a James Bond type person for the male part and then for the female part, like somebody hot and sexy and smooth but smart.

Speaker 1: 41:59

Abby from.

Speaker 2: 41:59

Dance Moms. Definitely not Only reason to know that is because my 10 year old is making me watch it.

Speaker 1: 42:07

Definitely not her, I'm imagining. No, I'm not going to do this, no go ahead, do it. I can't think of his name. Whatever his name is Christian Hayden. Helmsworth he would be good because he'd be funny, he would be good. Or Jason Mim be funny, he would be good. Or Jason Mimosa I don't know his last name. Is that what you call him, mimosa? Because you're talking about champagne and orange juice.

Speaker 2: 42:30

Mimosa, he would be good He'd be fine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I love what he does.

Speaker 1: 42:46

When he takes pictures of people your aunt holds his woman or like a really, really high profile rugby guy would be awesome. I'm not as familiar with that, but there there's some uh or rugby team that's like very manly, and then they're all drinking champagne. That would be a sell right there you get like.

Speaker 2: 42:55

This is my, this is my commercial idea. You will love this because, I mean, I don't know you that well, but we're getting to know each other and I think you would love this.

Speaker 1: 43:04

I mean.

Speaker 2: 43:04

I'm on the line.

Speaker 2: 43:08

My husband used to play rugby. That's where we got the whole idea of the name Rugby Champagne. It came up at a dinner party one night and we were like great, fantastic. So he used to play rugby. So I want to see and he has really long, curly blonde hair. He looks like a Viking Right. Really long, curly blonde hair, he looks like a Viking right. So I want to see him coming out of the locker room in a suit, with shades on, with the hair flowing right, coming out of the locker room with the rugby team behind him, in their rugby uniforms, with him carrying a bottle of champagne by the neck, like it's a rugby ball.

Speaker 1: 43:42

What do you?

Speaker 2: 43:42

think about that. I like that I was thinking like the New Zealand when they do the haka. Oh yeah, we love the haka.

Speaker 1: 43:50

And you just drink a champagne. They're like oh, we love the haka and all of a sudden they break out a glass of the champagne, like rugby champagne.

Speaker 2: 43:56

Yeah, we love the haka that would pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 44:00

It's intimidating.

Speaker 2: 44:01

Yeah, and then for the pink champagne horseback, like the whole Beyonce cowboy thing with the chaps and the cowboy hat, but pink.

Speaker 1: 44:13

I mean Beyonce would be a great.

Speaker 2: 44:15

She would be awesome. She probably won about 38% of your company, but you might want to give it to her if she did that. Yeah, that would be worth it, but she actually came out with, um, uh, sir davis, her um, it's a bourbon, well, a kind of whiskey. I want to say it's a bourbon, but it's called sir davis, that she has just come out with her brand and I'm thinking of doing a cocktail with it, a champagne cocktail with it.

Speaker 1: 44:43

You should. Some collaborations. The Rock has a tequila. He was in our city of Alpharetta promoting it.

Speaker 2: 44:51

Yeah, like his tequila, I do a champagne margarita, so that would be great.

Speaker 1: 44:56

There is a that's a good use of your you know collabs on your Instagram or maybe that's a TikTok place. You start mixing up these other celebrity stuff with your stuff and say this could work and like you know you, yeah, I make champagne cocktails Like I make stuff up, so You're making me miss drinking. I'm going to have to hang up now.

Speaker 2: 45:15

Oh, I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: 45:16

You know, what I don't miss about drinking Not that you'd ever get this from your product are the hangovers. So I can stay. I don't like to stay up late, but if I do I know I can still get up at six, go work out. I might be tired for the day, or there may be some dude in my driveway arguing with somebody else as they're delivering a package last night. I can still get up and not be super cranky. But but my point is, I don't miss hangovers. So what is the right way to drink champagne so you don't get a hangover?

Speaker 2: 45:40

So here's the thing that's very interesting about champagne Champagne, the bubbles. The finer the bubbles, the better the champagne, in my opinion, Right. So you want the little fine bubbles. Champagne hits you fast. When you drink that first glass of champagne you feel like woohoo, OK, this is great. But then it dissipates very quickly, that feeling. Right, that champagne buzz goes fast. So then you drink another one, you get the next buzz. It rarely gives you a hangover because it goes through your system so quickly, Unless you just drink so much that you're like I never want to drink champagne again.

Speaker 1: 46:24

I've said that before. I've definitely drank champagne again.

Speaker 2: 46:28

I've said that before. I definitely drank champagne again. When people came to our wedding, we gifted them with a bottle of champagne that had our wedding date label on it, and then they drank champagne all night because his family supplied it for us. And when they left after the four-day party of our wedding they were saying they never want to drink champagne again. They are our best customers right now. So it's a lie. Oh, I'm sure they're. It's a lie.

Speaker 1: 46:52

I will tell you, though, if alcohol tasted like gin, you would never have drank, ever who?

Speaker 2: 46:57

wants to drink a pine tree.

Speaker 1: 46:58

Does he want to drink a pine tree?

Speaker 2: 46:59

No, yeah, my husband loves gin, not me, not me, but a glass of champagne. So what's cool about champagne, right? It's celebratory. You can also drink it with food, like we do food pairings with our champagne right, which a lot of people think it's. You know, a pair of tea if you just drink the champagne and then you go on to something at wine, with dinner or whatever. But you can actually drink champagne with food and it's just. Ours is just super drinkable, like it's. You could just go pop a bottle of champagne, which we do often, and have it instead of a glass of white wine or red wine.

Speaker 1: 47:36

You're not drinking it right now. I'm a little disappointed. I'm questioning.

Speaker 2: 47:39

I'm not drinking it right now because I'm on camera and I don't want to do that.

Speaker 1: 47:43

Drinking is allowed on the Never Been Promoted show. I didn't know that. Cussing is definitely allowed. Politics lightly is allowed. Talk about jitloads and male escorts, Apparently, is in.

Speaker 2: 47:56

Well, if I had known I'd have dancers behind me right now.

Speaker 1: 47:59

That would be funny. Just two shirtless dudes holding your champagne and you just go and they hand it to you and you're like, and some guy dabbles and the other guy takes it back garçon, take a sip garçon garçon actually you get bored like drink it for me yeah all right, um, thank you, by the way.

Speaker 1: 48:19

So much, just conscious of time. All right, this is how you get a hold of you. Rugby, champagne, dot wine. If you don't know how to spell that, it's r-u-g-b-y, and champagne, by the way, is spelled like in illinois. Is it like in illinois?

Speaker 1: 48:30

c-h-a-m exactly yes, and by the way, we're talking about champagne france. We're not, like you know, just south of chicago. That's not the champagne region she's talking about. Just to be clear. Those grapes would be very sweet, they'd be very watery. There's too much rain there, it's not enough sun, way too many tornadoes and a few rednecks, but besides that it's a great area. Okay, I grew up in central Illinois, so I can make that claim a little bit. Thank you, by the way.

Speaker 2: 48:58

Thank you. Thank you for having me. This was a lot of fun.

Speaker 1: 49:01

No, you rock. I'm going to put you in the periwinkle room. There's no champagne in there, but I will be right back with you though here as.

Speaker 2: 49:08

I said all right, Thanks.

Speaker 1: 49:11

You're welcome. Thank you so much for coming on today, carolyn. You got to. You know, if anything, you should just call her and talk to her. She's fun to talk to and she's not even drinking. You imagine when she starts drinking how much fun she would be. Uh, check out their brand rugby champagnewine. That is also their handle for Instagram. Um, I don't know what their Tik TOK one has been. If they don't have one, I'm pretty sure it's going to be something like that. But check it out Instagram and their website. Uh, really good stuff. If you're you know you love champagne. You think about investing. Give them a call.

Speaker 1: 49:41

If this was your first time here listening, I do appreciate very much. You pay attention. Oh, I do want to bring up the call here. A friend of mine from St Louis, chris Robinson, do the Haka, tommy. You're right, baby, chris. Chris, hold on. We're bringing her back real quick. This is a guy you should reach out to. He will become a private client. Chris Robinson, I don't know if you're still listening. I just just look for that face on LinkedIn. Send him a message. He'll probably buy several cases from you. Anyway, we're gonna take it back. All right, I'll put you back there. Sorry, I never do that, chris, you rock. Good seeing you, man. Thanks so much, guys, for listening. Until next time, get out there, go unleash your entrepreneur and, when you do, have a glass of champagne.