Toast To A Good Friend

17 Aug 08

One of the great joys of travelling and working in foreign markets is that you get to know some people really well. Glen Mendez is one such person and I thought from the stories he tells I would ask him about his life in wine …….

Glen grew up in a wine environment in New Jersey where his father was a wine and spirits salesperson. Growing up in Perth Amboy he fondly remembers, as a young boy, riding with his father on his sales calls. An early memory is being in a smoke filled, noisy bar at seven o'clock in the morning with a crowd drinking 'Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and shots of Whisky'. They were all local factory workers having a 'knock off' drink before going home for a well deserved rest after the night shift of very hard physical work. Another yarn tells that no scrap of paper was sacred in the house or, in fact, anywhere, as his father would write an order on any piece of paper handy. So, wherever he was, and he needed a scrap, he found one. He had a lot of pieces of paper lying around, and would occasionally lose them.

As a 15 year old his family were partners in a bottle shop and his working life started there on the 1st of November 1976. On his first day a partner in the shop said, "Stay 3ft behind me, learn and listen." Glen did this and learnt a lot about retailing. This led him to study Marketing, and whilst he was at college, he managed the 'Student Pub' which gave him further insights into the industry. Fresh faced and full of ideas he left college in 1981 to work with a wine wholesaler, and by 1983, became the youngest state manager in the United States for 'Schenley Imports'. This company import mainly Scotch whisky, with their major brand being Dewars White Label.

In 1985, being ambitious and seeking a new challenge, he joined what is now the Diageo Group and developed a real interest in selling wine. As this stage Glen had serious ambitions of studying to become a Master of Wine (M.W). During 1987 the company merged with Moet Hennessey, and he immediately became fully immersed in wine, touring, tasting and living for wine. A career defining move occurred in 1997 when he joined the Robert Mondavi winery and, for two years, coordinated the Sales and Promotion side of their wines in metropolitan New York. This was a major time in the wine market as the public interest in wines was growing rapidly, and it was a great industry to be a part of. As big companies are always looking to improve by putting the right people in the right place, he was sent to New England as a Regional Manager for a few years.

At this stage Glen was ready to learn what wine was all about and started to work for Scott Street Imports, carriers of the Australian brand Evans and Tate. This was his entry into 'Aussie' wines and from here he met Bob Guinn who had just started working for Joshua Tree Imports in California. Glen always wanted his own territory and now he has the mid-Atlantic region (the East Coast of the US, not the middle of the Atlantic Ocean) and runs it very well.Glen is loveable, active and has an infectious personality, so it was great to get an insight to what he is about, and it is always great to spend time with him. Go Glen.