EPISODE #9 THE FRANK PRIAL ESCAPADE vs WILLIAM HILL WINERY

This episode delves into a defining moment from February 1986 that catapulted William Hill Winery into the spotlight. At that time, I was Vice President of Sales when Frank Prial, in his popular New York Times column "Wine Talk," made a misstep with his less-than-favorable comments about the results of our blind tasting event. During this event, we pitted our wines against the esteemed First Growth Bordeaux from the celebrated vintages of 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981—and to our delight, William Hill wines triumphed in three out of the four flights.

This episode not only showcases Bill Hill's remarkable talent for spirited debate but also culminates with Frank Prial gracefully extending an apology in his column, while not coming right out and saying he was wrong, just two months later, in April 1986. 

I invite you to immerse yourself in the captivating details of this escapade—it's sure to pique your interest and provide fascinating insights. Tune in and enjoy!

Take a listen or read the transcript

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Transcript

 EPISODE # 9 THE FRANK PRIAL ESCAPADES/THE GIFT

 Fred Reno  

Well, the lesson I learned from this episode is that when you see an opportunity to enhance your sales and marketing efforts, grab it. Again, as I have said before, don't be afraid of the dark, as you never know when the light will shine brightly. This episode with Frank Prial, the wine writer for the New York Times, was a gift, and we seized it. 

I remember that day in February 1986 as if it were yesterday, specifically Wednesday, February 5, 1986, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, waiting to be picked up by my friend and top sales manager at M. S. Walker, our distributor in Massachusetts, Chip Cohen. I had about 15 minutes to kill, so I purchased the Wednesday New York Times. Wednesday was the day that Wine Talk, a column written by Frank Prial, the well-known wine writer and critic for the New York Times, always appeared in the Wednesday food section. Frank Prial was widely read and considered one of the foremost authorities on wine, especially European wine. As I read his column and began to realize that he had received the press release we had issued back in November of 1985 about our triumph over the wines of the First Growth Bordeaux at a Dallas blind tasting, which we billed as a showdown in Texas. He started out reasonably complimentary about William Hill wines but then took a quick turn downward. He began to argue that this is a classic mismatch, as Bordeaux wines tend to last longer, be more complex, and so on. His opening to this argument, and I quote, very impressive. Why am I thinking of the Harlem Globetrotters and how they roll into town, take over the American Legion hall, and wipe out the setup opposition to the tune of Sweet Georgia Brown.

 He concludes his column with numerous other comparisons that he claims would be more valid tasting William Hill Cabernets against. And then follows with his final paragraph, again I quote. It's like those automobile commercials that say more trunk space than the legendary BMW, even if squirrels power the car in question on a treadmill. The association has been made. 

Intuitively, I realized that he had stumbled and had no idea who he had just taken on. I found this amusing because I had tried on several occasions in the past, when Bill Hill was in New York, to arrange a meeting or lunch with Mr. Prial, and he declined each offer. I think to myself, we need to get this guy. It's just past 9 am Eastern Standard Time and 6 am Pacific Standard Time. I go to the pay phone. Sorry, no cell phones in those days, and I called Bill Hill at his residence, hoping not to wake him. Bill answers and says, Fred, why are you calling me at home at this hour? Bill, you will not believe what Frank Prial just wrote in his column this morning. As I give Bill the flavor of the article, he says, can you FedEx me that paper article. Again, these were the days, even before fax machines became ordinary and before the real internet as we know it. I said, Of course. I told him I'd have the hotel concierge do it immediately. As I got off the phone, I spotted Chip, who had just arrived to pick me up. He wondered about my delay. I started to explain to him what I had just read, and when I had woken Bill Hill to inform him. 

I went on and told Chip that I didn't think Frank Prial had any idea what was about to happen next week once Bill had a look at his column. I remained excited all day as we called on accounts in Boston. I was confident that Bill would find a way to turn this into gold. Sure enough, on Monday, February 17, Bill sent Prial a rebuttal letter. Bill was great in person when he spoke to people, but he was equally a match for anyone when he wrote to counter what they might have said about his wines. He included a six-page rebuttal in his cover letter, referring to all the points that Prial made in his column. My favorite sentence in his cover letter was, and I quote, “since you are a long-standing and highly respected student of wine, I would like to gain some insight from your knowledge and experience”. Boom! 

 While he cc'd several interested parties at the bottom of his letter, what he didn't tell Prial was that copies of Bill's letter and rebuttal memo were sent to dozens and dozens of wine writers nationwide. Bill wanted to bring to their attention what Prial had said and suggested there might be a debate in all of this. He closed by saying, Please feel free to quote any of the enclosed materials. 

 Well, Bill's instincts were right on, because for the next several months, numerous wine writers took up the challenge, and a debate ensued about the age ability of California Cabernet Sauvignon and California wines in general, versus their European counterparts. Most writers sided with Bill or slammed Prial for his one-sided, slanted viewpoint. Then what happened was what I referred to as a Tipping Point in the evolution and recognition of the William Hill brand. On Wednesday, April 16, Frank Prial, in the Wine Talk column in the New York Times, devoted the entire column to the controversy and his prior statement, quoting extensively from the letters and memos he had received from Bill Hill. He deftly apologized without apologizing to Bill. I quote from his last two paragraphs. Quote then, too, the idea of good California Cabernet Sauvignon outlasting some 1982 Bordeaux’s. Well, it's not particularly shocking, after all, the 1982 Bordeaux were more like California wines than many California wines. Last, I regret having referred to first-growth Bordeaux or anything else as immortals. If there's one thing that the wine writing trade doesn't need more of, it's hyperbole. Wow, we won. It propelled us forward like a slingshot and created an awareness that we never could have bought in a million years for our brand, just for the record, though, although Prial had referred to the 1982 vintage in his April 16 column, we had never tasted our 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon at any of these tastings. What a Time.