VISIONARY ELEVATOR PITCH
“Things are so because we wish them to be so.”
-Louis Pasteur
An elevator pitch summarizes a product or idea in the time of an elevator ride from thirty seconds to two minutes.
ELEVATOR PITCH: Bluet Wild Blueberry Sparkling Wine, Scarborough, ME
Even though my interview with Michael Terrien, founder of Bluet, lasted for an hour, there was a classic burst of elevator sentences that both set me reeling and seriously thinking. “We couldn’t have done this ten years ago; from the redefining of categories, to a healthy drink, to saving the family farm.” Whew. Let’s take this thing apart step by step, or floor by floor.
Ten Years Ago
Ten years ago, there was wine, beer, and spirits as separate entities. For example, you might say, “I’ll have a glass of wine, please.”
Today we are redefining everything hourly. Fruited sour beers with freshly imagined components. Orange wine, pastoral and purposely archaic, that transports us back to living in a yurt. Cocktails, whose numerous ingredients take a half hour to concoct, and can be both savored and consumed in a matter of minutes. Craft ciders with lemongrass and seaweed, testing our imagination. Kombucha, delivering a probiotic 6% buzz. Not to forget seltzers that can deliver an obsessive gaze at the % of sugars, carbs, and alcohols as nutritional modifiers to our lives. It has become a contest of both the quasi new and the exotic, followed closely by the marketing focus groups of multinational corporations.
Bluet isn’t any of that. It is an exceptional winemaker’s dream.
Enter Bluet
Think wild Maine sparkling blueberry wine as a refreshing, original idea, and flavor. We have Bluet in a can, 250ml., $5.00 per can, 4-packs at $20.00. The flavor fits squarely in the craft, fruit, slight funk spectrum, yet dry. It is not mom’s blueberry pie. It is startlingly modern, so much so that you can splash it in a fruited sour beer, a craft cocktail, or a heritage cider and reimagine and reinvent the blend. Wild Maine blueberries untamed. Intensity, fruit, bubbles, dryness with a hint of funk. It is today. The 750ml. bottles are $20.00 for the Charmat method and $36.00 for the Champagne method.
The “Better for You Movement”. Three R’s – Resveratrol times three. The antioxidant compounds found in red wine are abundant in Maine wild blueberries. There is nothing quite like a healthy 7% alcohol buzz. According to Michael, 7% is perfect; 15% alcohol would be too much. Bubbles are the key to releasing aroma and flavor. Flavor and health as a field to bottle (or can movement). Celebrity yoga mat people have put more energy into concocting a dreamscape for their Instagram followers than the actual quest for a healthy buzzy beverage that delivers intensity of flavor.
The Big Picture
Michael and his partner Eric have created a 34-page document available online titled: “Wild Blueberry Sparkling Wine the Manual.” This is everything you ever wanted to know about making blueberry wine, the origin of our unique low bush blueberries, and where to locate the original antique equipment.
But wait, there is more. Namely, the visionary goals of two idealists. Now that we have saved ourselves with those loads of antioxidants, it is time to save the planet (or at least the Maine part of it).
Looking at the distribution list of states (always a good idea when you want to dig deeper into the real lives of wineries), their sales numbers and popularity are no doubt soaring. Also, the articles extoling their virtues are on their website and are soaring. To paraphrase one: Maine is a Zen Garden of wild blueberries. Heady stuff.
All they need to do to really succeed is replace the pictures of that slice of blueberry pie on those large farm signs with the logo of a can of Bluet and the words: “Maine blueberry adventure trail begins here,” and our visionaries will have created a revolution.
Now that’s an elevator pitch.
ELEVATOR PITCH 2: Jing Yan, Asian Fusion, Portland, ME
The finest elevator pitch is one that is perfect for both time and place. It doesn’t need to be visionary, although that can add an extra dimension.
Jing Yan at 90 Congress Street in Portland’s Munjoy Hill neighborhood is open from 4 to 9 p.m. and closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the old space of one of our favorite former restaurants–Lolita–Jing Yan creates an inspired Asian fusion experience. Right in the door, it is pure nouveau Asian Munjoy Hill with a Washington Ave vibe. There is no doubt where we are. “Warm, welcoming, and comfortable with detail-oriented service,” accompanied by some serious Asian-inspired dishes.
We began drinking from small ceramic cups filled with Momokawa Nigori Sake, cold, cloudy, and a brilliant beginning on a small drink list. Eggplant dip, shishito peppers (a dish that I could live on), shoyu ramen (totally unlike the stuff you get in college), and we were ready to dive further in.
Gaspard, anyone?
Then, I noticed this mysterious item on the wine list: Gaspard Pinot Noir, France, thirty bucks a bottle. There was simply not a lot of information here that made sense. Now is the moment for our waiter’s elevator pitch.
“It is sold to us by a woman distributor, and it is biodynamic.” If Jing Yan 2 were to open on outer Congress Street near St. John Street, this would be a brilliant elevator pitch; on the cusp of Washington Ave, it is a cliché.
Actually, what the wine did when accompanied alongside the Beijing Style Lamb Skewers (lavash, cumin, chili, sumac, onions) was impart an edginess, funkiness, and acidity that transcends traditional pinot noir flavors in ways that are unique to the complexity of their food. That is your elevator pitch.
Never content with half answers, I looked Gaspard up the next day on their website. Pinot Noir in its classic form (Burgundy, Oregon, Coastal California) tastes of ripe fruits that include strawberries, raspberries, and cherries with a hint of truffles. They are silky smooth with a touch of natural acidity for balance.
Biodynamic?
Strange stuff our Gaspard. Nowhere does it say certified biodynamic. All the sustainable bells and whistles are present, but nowhere is the hallowed stamp of biodynamic. Funk rules the day over fruit. It tastes like it was made in a yurt.
Another thing caught my attention. Loire Valley in France is listed on their website and shelf talkers but doesn’t appear on Gaspard’s back label. Is your address South Portland or Cape Elizabeth? It matters in wine, as well as houses.
We liked Jing Yan very much and will return, hopefully awaiting a better crafted and researched elevator pitch. Their service was great, and we do tip well.
With elevator pitches you don’t know who is going to pitch and who is going to show up for the ride.
Layne has been a professional in the wine business for many decades as a teacher, importer, writer, competition judge, and winery CEO. He was awarded the Master Knight of the Vine for his pioneering work in the Oregon wine industry.
Read more WEN Layne’s Wine Gig posts here.
Visit Layne’s blog at http://winemaniacs.wordpress.com/blog.
