Pineau des Charentes Stuff

First, a brief definition:

Pineau des Charentes (PdC) is a French aperitif made in the Charentes region, a 60+ mn drive north from Bordeaux (SW). It is made in the region that is also known (or mostly known) for making Cognac. PdC is a blend of unfermented or slightly fermented grape must and Cognac, aged in a barrel.

The grape juice is mixed with grape distillate that might not be old enough to be called Cognac just yet (though Cognac AOC can be used, see below). The addition of the spirit stops the fermentation process by killing the yeasts that are converting the sugar of the fruit into alcohol and therefore keeps the sweetness of the grape juice. This blend is then aged in oak barrels, which adds depth and complexity.

Pineau des Charentes comes in several varieties: white, red, and rosé.

Beginning of Alcoholic Fermentation

The foundation of any good Pineau begins with controlled fermentation. To balance acidity and alcohol while developing aromatic esters, temperatures between 20°C and 25°C are typically recommended during fermentation. Exceeding these temperatures can result in the formation of unwanted alcohols. Nutrition of the yeast is crucial thought one has to make sure alcohol fermentation is capped at a legal maximum of 2.5% alc/vol and the sugar is above the limit of 170 g/l in the must. Having the fermentation start helps with creating more complexity, stabilizes color and helps with lessening the perception of sweetness in the wine.

The use of specific kinds of yeast (like LSA) is often suggested to encourage a gradual fermentation process.

Pre-Fortification Operations

For white PdC, cold stabilizations (much like for dry white wines) help with aromatic complexity.

Red and rosé wines benefit from daily racking to avoid undesirable odors, and cold maceration to extract stable colors without producing unwanted esters. Maceration can done in different ways (cold with enzymes or hot in alcohol (for reds)) . Macerating time tends to be about 24hrs.

Controlled debourbage (lees/peeps/sediment removal aka clarification) ensures the removal of vegetal debris, conserves aromatic potential, and usually help with a successful fermentation.

Mutage (Fortification) and Post-Mutage Monitoring

Before mutage, residual sugars should be higher than 170 g/L.

Fortification is done by using an eau-de-vie de Cognac (eau-de-vie since the alcohol does not have to be 2yrs old hence does not have to qualify as Cognac AOC) with an abv of at least 60%. Some are pushing boundaries using VS, VSOP or even XO cognacs to fortify (as long as it is >60% abv).

Post-mutage requires careful homogenization for over two weeks by pumping or racking.

ABV post mutage should be between 16% and 22%.

Élevage (Aging)

A Pineau with a pH<3.5 will be better able to age as increased acidity helps to protect against bacteria. The newly distilled spirit should be stored in steel tanks.

Rose Pineau: minimum of 8 months, with 6 months in wooden casks.

Red Pineau: minimum of 12 months, with 8 months in wooden casks.

White Pineau: minimum of 18 months, with 12 months in wooden casks.

"Vieux" (old) or "Très Vieux" (very old) designations: respectively 7 years and 12 years in wooden casks as of 10/01/23

Notes:

The original text of law from 1945 is here.

My understanding is that the 2019 text of law (here) is the one that currently applies, including the modification made here which amongst other things pushed the Vieux to 7yr min and Tres Vieux to 12 years min is

Below some of the aspects of the texts that i found important/interesting:

…..

a) White fortified wines are made from musts from the following grape varieties:

main grape varieties: Colombard B, Gros Manseng B, Ugni Blanc B;

secondary grape varieties: Baroque B, Folle Blanche B, Mauzac B, Petit Manseng B, Sauvignon B, Sauvignon Gris G, Sémillon B.

b) Rosé fortified wines are made from musts from the following grape varieties:

Cabernet Franc N, Cabernet Sauvignon N, Cot N, Fer Servadou N, Merlot N, Tannat N.

…..

2° Proportion rules at the winery:

White fortified wines:

The proportion of the main grape varieties Colombard B, Ugni Blanc B, and Gros Manseng B must be no less than 70% of the grape variety composition. None of these three grape varieties can represent more than 50% of the grape variety composition.

Rosé fortified wines:

The proportion of the Tannat N grape variety must not exceed 50% of the grape variety composition.

The compliance of the grape variety composition is assessed, for the color considered, on all the plots of the winery producing juices and musts intended for the production of fortified wine of the appellation.

…..

The fortified wines with the controlled appellation of origin "Pineau des Charentes" or "Pineau charentais" must be prepared by muting the grape must with aged cognac in such a quantity that the acquired alcoholic strength of the product is at least 16% by volume and no more than 22% by volume.

During the storage period at the property, further muting with cognac is allowed. However, this additional contribution may not increase the acquired volumetric alcohol strength by more than 0.5%. This must be declared to the General Directorate of Customs and Indirect Rights and to the National Institute of Origin and Quality.

The musts to be used must present a minimum density that will be set each year by the office of the union of producers and propaganda of Pineau des Charentes, provided that this office cannot set a density lower than 1.075, corresponding to 170 grams of sugar per liter of must.

…..

The musts must be used during the harvest period without any filtration. They may have undergone the beginning of fermentation, but at the time of mutage, they must not have an unfermented sugar content lower than 170 grams per liter. The use of preserved, concentrated, or chaptalized must is prohibited.

The cognac used for mutage and surmutage must come from the property. It must have a minimum volumetric alcohol content of 60%, have been stored in oak barrels, and be mature, meaning it must come from the previous distillation campaign or an earlier one. The blending must be done thoroughly.

The fortified wines thus prepared must be stored in oak wood containers from the first racking and in any case before April 1st following their production. They cannot be approved before October 1st of the year following that of their production.

…..

PM's Philosophy to Deciding Which Potential Supplier To Have Conversations With

We are always happy to talk to new people, taste products, and have discussions. This philosophy comes from the following thoughts/facts:

• When PM was started 12 years ago, very few cared to respond to an email or a call. It leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, one I can still taste now. The absence of a response communicates 'you’re so not worth it that I am not even going to take 7 seconds out of my busy day to write a ‘thanks for reaching out and sorry, but we are not interested’,' and it hurts. Hence, as much as we can, we want to respond, be helpful if we can, and consider a product/supplier if we feel it makes sense for both parties.

• The business is always changing: one who worked here yesterday works there now, brands get bought, distilleries find funding, someone new is hired...and because everything is constantly flowing, being set in one’s ways, not being willing to see what is out there, and being shut off to the world can only hurt the business.

That said, we are also never really looking to add any items, because our aim is to constantly do better by the people/suppliers who are entrusting us with their business. We want to grow by increasing the sales of our existing portfolio, as opposed to growing by adding a ton of brands. The latter way only results in a decline in the sales of the brands one has been working with for a long time, which does not feel like the right thing to do.

Do we manage to always grow the sales of the suppliers we have been working with for years? Of course not. We are not magic. Like any company, we will fail at stuff, we try to learn and do better. Also, the market has a say: it is not all about what the supplier and her importer/wholesalers think or want to make happen.

Now, are we putting time and energy into constantly trying to figure out how we can do better? Yes, we do, because our portfolio is actually curated, every supplier has been vetted, and we decided to represent her for a reason. Because as a team, we measure our success by the success of those who entrust us with their products.

That said, we are always open and potentially interested when a cool/good opportunity comes along.

We also aspire to be mindful of one’s time and not let one think that because we are having a meet & greet conversation or a preliminary meeting, we are signaling that we are going to do business. We want to be straightforward so as not to give false hopes as a sign of respect.

We rarely(*) say 'no' right away; doing so would mean we feel entitled and complacent.

(*): though we do in the following instances:

• It’s obvious the product is not a good fit. Our portfolio, values, and ethos are available on www.pmspirits.com; should one have done minimal research, one would have realized we are the wrong people for one’s groundbreaking 'F$CKFF' shimmering cinnamon-infused glow-in-the-dark sparkling rum or 'TequiLot,' that sensational merlot tequila liquor.

• The people and/or values behind the product(s) do not align with ours. We thrive to work with honest, genuine, and good people that we feel good being the spokespersons for.

Yves & Jean-Noel Pelletan: How These Influential Coopers Shaped My understanding of Cognac

I first met Jean-Noel Pelletan (JNP) randomly in a small bookstore in Jarnac as I was looking for a notebook. Sitting at a table, he was signing his book "Le Cognac: Les aspects juridiques de son élaboration" (“The Cognac: The legal aspects of its elaboration”). It had just been released, it was 2008 and I had just discovered I had a genuine interest in Cognac.

I bought a copy, JNP signed it. It became the first non-touristy Cognac-related document I spent time on.

In my mind, because of the circumstances, the dude was an authority.

I had started to “network” on a tiny level, asking a family friend in the region if he wouldn’t mind introducing me to a few people he knew. I crossed paths with Olivier Laurichesse, then working for his family estate, the great but now sort of defunct Cognac Paul Beau. One eau-de-vie particularly impressed me then: their Borderies Extra Vieille in its crooked bottle, from a vineyard they were not farming anymore (my memory eludes me as to why, they might have sold it). The quality was obvious. The wine must have been of great quality, the distillation on point (Olivier was running it with his uncle) and the aging precise.

Over our conversations, Olivier kindly mentioned that I should meet someone, a friend of his, a man of many talents and with an encyclopedic knowledge linked to the impact of the wood on aging cognac: Jean-Noel, the guy from the library.

I drove to Mainxe and entered the small cooperage Jean-Noel, his dad and a single worker were working out of. Each appellation tends to have its top artisanal cooper, the dude who works on his own or close to it, takes more time, pays more attention, puts out fewer barrels than the bigger outfits and is naturally supplying a lot of the small distillers who put a lot of care in all aspects of their work.

(Armagnac has Gilles Bartholomo, Cognac has/had Yves and Jean-Noel Pelletan.)

The name itself is fitting for such a family, as per the translation from the “Dictionnaire des noms de familles de P.Lagneau et J.Arbuleau, 1980”:

Étymologie PELLETAN : Ecorce-tan (oc) Surnom d’écorceur de chênes which roughly translates to Etymology PELLETAN: Bark-tan (oc) Nickname for oak bark stripper.

Yves Pelletan, born 3/18/48 started working as a cooper at age 14. When he turned 25, he created his own small business, a one-man cooperage operation, a few kilometers from the capital of Grande Champagne (aka Segonzac).

On June 1st, 1992 he became one of France’s very very few Maître Artisan Tonnelier(*). The emphasis here is on “Master/Maitre”; while any cooper could call herself “Artisan Tonnelier” to my knowledge, only three coopers in France have obtained the title of "Master Craftsmen Cooper" in past 4 decades: the deceased Denis Devienne and Yves Pelletan as well as Yves’ son Jean-Noel Pelletan.

Yves was a very friendly man, soft-spoken and extremely hard working, at his shop 7 days a week. The contrast between his kind demeanor and his grip (shaking his hand was akin to placing one’s hand in between two cinder blocks) was startling.

His cooperage had gained the reputation in the cognac region of being the Rolls-Royce of hand-made casks, producing 4(*) barrels a day on the best days while larger companies produce up to 200.

Woods was be hand-picked in the forest, Yves selecting the trees he wanted to be cut.

Pelletan quickly became a name that was desired by the best bouilleurs de crus (artisanal distillers, the cognac equivalent of the Récoltant Manipulant - RM - in Champagne) who were looking for barrels of utmost quality. Uncompromising distillers who aimed at making the best possible Cognac were customers of Pelletan.

The waiting list was long. The cost of a barrel high. But Pelletan was making true art.

Jean-Noel (12/20/79) unofficially started working with his dad when he turned 15 and became a full-time employee at 22.

Coached by his father, he became a Master Craftsman Cooper on Nov 2nd, 2006.

Jean-Noel has been one of the most influential figures in my early career when it comes to Cognac and aging.

He also introduced me to his customers who were all looking for excellent barriques.

Imagine a chef who is truly passionate and has a vision: she will want to work with the best tomato producers, and the best cheese mongers etc... always in search for like-minded people who are putting their hearts into their products. A good number of bouilleurs de crus who put their pride in putting out the best cognacs they could were customers of the Pelletan. The first person JNP drove me to was no other than Jacky Navarre.

The world of the best artisanal distiller in cognac opened up along with extremely insightful conversations with these people who all share the same passion and a tremendous amount of experience.

JNP is an avid book reader. But not any book. He is particularly fond of the old texts from mid 19th century on, related to wine, vineyard, cooperage, eaux-de-vie in general and cognac in particular. His library was imposing. He had been looking for old books for over a decade, online and in specialized bookstores across France. Recipes for making cognac without cognac (rum+walnut+...). I got hooked.

When I was looking to find a place I could make my own cellar to put the casks and demi-johns I had sourced, Yves and Jean-Noel kindly offered a small barn they owned; there was never a question of money. Trust was mutual, they were true to their word and I was just thankful to have crossed paths with such people. I remember having started to use the space to lay some barrels. I came back a few weeks later to check on the stuff and found a new wooden door and new wooden shutters, each made of three layers of heavy planks, the door boasting no less than 8 locks. Yves had decided that if old and rare cognacs were to be stored there, they might as well be very safe and he used his weekends to make the room impenetrable to intruders. He never asked for anything in return, just felt it was the right thing.

I have been back to Cognac several times a year every year since 2010 and each time spent days with the Pelletan. Part of the French National Guard, Jean-Noel would pack up French military rations so we could optimize the day and not “waste time with lunch”. Some of the weirdest yet most awesome memories i have from that time were around survival food in cold cellars.

Yves started feeling ill sometime in 2018 and passed away late 2019. Inhaling wood dust for over 50 years cut his life short. He is dearly missed.

Nowadays Jean-Noel divides his time between the shop and his consulting business, assisting small makers in optimizing the overall quality of their cognacs.

(*) https://www.artisanat.fr/metiers/labels-qualifications/titre-maitre-artisan

The title of "Maître Artisan," which translates to "Master Craftsman," is the highest distinction in the field of craftsmanship in France. It is a testament to the holder's acquired skills and their commitment to promoting craftsmanship. To obtain this title, one must meet very precise regulatory requirements. Typically, "Maître Artisans" are business owners who have honed their craft and business over several years, often training apprentices. There are three ways to obtain this title: holding a Mastery Certificate in the practiced trade, holding a diploma of at least equivalent level with qualifications in management and psychopedagogy, or being registered in the Crafts Directory for at least 10 years with recognized expertise in promoting craftsmanship or participating in training actions.

(*) Jean-Noel now operates his business without using any sanding tools which are ubiquitous in regular cooperages; this policy makes adjusting wood staves even more complicated and has slowed the output from 4 to 2 barrels per day. This decision was made after Yves passed, his sickness having been largely causes by the exposure to wood-dust for decades.

A Data Analytics Revolution for Smaller Businesses with AI

For a company that’s not too big, not too small - call it "small medium-sized" - data analysis is super important. But in reality too often, we’re all running head-down and don't dedicate the time needed.

We looked at a few options, played around with them; below is a short recap.

Chat GPT: Looked like a game-changer. The potential is massive for sure. But it's not there yet when it comes to crunching big numbers (or a large amount of them). It’s cool for language stuff but doesn’t quite seem to add up when you need the numbers to tally up. Not the lethal weapon right now, but soon might as it is constantly getting better.

Microsoft BI: the powerhouse for sure. You don’t need a black-belt data wizard to start making sense of it - or at list to get it to spit out some good insight - which is a plus. But if you’re in the Mac camp, like with most Microsoft stuff, that's an issue.

Tableau: got that modern edge, no question. Packs a punch and if you've got the time & brains to dive in, it’s likely a treasure trove of insights. Requires a lot of work/time.

If lean on staff and not up for an 18 months course in data analytics Julius.ai, so far, seems like one potential solution to consider. Good visuals, intuitive, cleans up csv without issue before providing insight. Perfect? Prob not. But a solid player that ends up being useful after the first 15mn using it.

And, oh wait….today OpenAI released it’s GPTs (https://openai.com/blog/introducing-gpts), custom versions of ChatGPT - or GPTs -that allow anyone to tailor an AI to one;s specific needs and share it with others. And a GPT Store is soon coming, the Apple store version but for AI models .

This tech is going to change (it already has) the way any business operates and tremendously even out the playfield between smaller businesses and larger ones.

I am no tech wizard but gonna keep on exploring, using AI, possibly looking at playing around with a PM GPT.

These times are genuinely extremely exciting.

Some Thoughts On Launching a New Artisanal Spirit SKU in the U.S.

Disclaimer:

The following thoughts are valid, in my opinion, for a US made artisanal product of high quality that is not intended to be sold en masse and is the creation of a real person.

Basic Premises:

First, your product has to be good—ideally, it’s very good. Second, it’s better if it looks good too. If you're pushing something average, it’s going to be a long and expensive battle that is likely to fail (honestly, it should fail; the market is already filled with sub-par products).

Price Setting:

Profits: Figure out the profit per bottle you need to make; it will be the key of your strategy. Obviously, it should be aligned with the type of product, its quality/packaging, and how it is intended to be used. From there, have a solid 30-40% margin built in for both wholesale and retail. This way, people will have an incentive to help you out should you need them to. You could consider adding a few extra $/btl as a marketing cushion (might come in handy; if not, that’s just more profit).

Suggested Retail Price (SRP): I wouldn’t necessarily be too stuck up about it. Sure, a price point like $9.99, $19.99 or $99.99 can make a difference in a volume game, but this is not what is being discussed here. I think that not hitting an exact SRP is not the end of the world. I believe it is not worth the time debating endlessly if your product should be $105, $115, or $145. Outside of some key SRPs, whatever choice you make, be it $5 or say $25 around the original idea of what that SRP should be won't make or break you. Yes, $600 instead of $110 is vastly different. But i feel the difference between $165 and $125 is not that much of a deal.

DTC:

When it comes to going Direct-to-Consumer (DTC), the aim is obviously to be able to ship to as many states as possible. Your marketing strategy should make that 'Buy Now' button the epicenter of anything you put out, everything linking to that one page. Build up your social media outreach on as many social media platforms as you can. Don’t try to sell all the time. Provide content that has no call to action and every so often, ask for the sale. Collect all data you can gather from the analytical tools those platforms provide. Have patience. A lot of it. Nobody is waiting for you.

If DTC doesn't work out, you always have the three-tier system to fall back on, and luckily your pricing aligns. Have a backup: even if you're committed to DTC, and while pursuing that route, it wouldn’t be stupid to familiarize yourself with the key wholesalers in essential states. Start making some friends. Have a plan B.

Say this product is part of line of other skus: think that one sku could go DTC while the other could go through the traditional system. Learn DTC, get to know your end customer, have wholesalers build your brand/tell your story. Don’t compete with your wholesalers by selling DTC the same stuff they peddle, it will piss people off.

Regardless of the distribution path, your personal brand is your most valuable asset. Build it relentlessly.

From On/Off Premise To Wine/Spirits Wholesale: What To Be Prepared for (REAL TALK)

In the wine and booze game, going from on/off prem to wholesale isn't as easy a transition as it might seem. The dynamics differ greatly, and if you think that the skills you’ve honed selling drinks or bottles will directly translate, reality might hurt.

It often looks like this: maybe there comes a point in many hospitality careers when the late nights start to lose their allure. Maybe coming home at 3 a.m. is straining your relationship with a significant other who works a 9-to-5. Maybe your body is sending you signals that it’s tired of the grind. Or it might simply be that you've hit a ceiling in your current role, realizing there’s little room to move up the ladder. That’s when one starts thinking about "going to the other side."

Below are a few thoughts about how real life might look for the first 12 to 18 months of a fresh wholesale rep’s life, unless one manages to land (and/or is willing to land) a job selling brands that sell themselves, for which education/story-telling/carrying bottles in the bag are not really a thing, products that can be sold using only a laptop and discounts on deep buys (a game i know nothing about as I have never practiced it).

1- The Sales Game Is Different

First off: selling or upselling to a guest in one’s venue is vastly different from doing the same with on/off prem accounts as a wholesale rep. When you’re wholesale, you're not dealing with people who've already decided to invest their time and money; you're dealing with people who have no idea who you are, don't want to work with yet another company, and don’t want to bother making the effort to get to know you or your book. Imagine trying to pull people walking by on the street to not only enter your venue but also to sit down and spend money. Rejection is a thing. This is when you really sees whether your skin is as tough as you thinks it is.

2- Your Social Circle Will Shrink

When you thinks about wholesale and how successful you can be, a way to reassure yourself is to count your friends, look at that social network, and think the first thing you’ll do is leverage it. Reality is this: the moment you start selling to friends, you’ll find that your circle is way smaller than you thought. People might not get back to you as quickly as you are used to; some won't get back to you at all.

3- Ego Is The Enemy

If you’re known for having a prominent ego or are self-aware enough to know you have one, understand that in wholesale, ego can get in the way of sales big time. Wholesaling demands humility, and a willingness to listen and learn. You're also representing a brand and building relationships. Humility will go a long way, helping in opening doors that would otherwise remain closed and creating genuine, solid relationships.

4- Gotta Be Willing to Embrace the Suck

It will be a grind. You might need to hustle for a solid 12 or 18+ months before you start to see tangible results. Nobody is waiting for you, the market is filled with portfolios, products and fellow sales people all calling on more or less the same accounts. Success comes to those who are okay with following the tougher path, have patience, create a game-plan for themselves, have discipline, organization and do what they said they would. The road will be hard, the rejections numerous, and the challenges plentiful. One will be working for days and weeks and months without seeing immediate rewards. So keep pushing.

The work is challenging, but it does offer real opportunities for who hustled enough to earn them. The people you meet, the relationships you create, the places you go to, the experience you live are hard to match.

Passion Powers The Hustle

The past 12 years showed me that if one really really believe in something, if one relentlessly go at it, if one surrounds oneself by good people who help one in those moments of doubts (Tactical Nuclear Penguin), eventually someone might notice.

A over a decade ago i had started organizing a break-even bottle event where a friend at a bar or restaurant i knew accepted to give me a PDR or some sort of private space for a couple hours. A special bottle would be chosen, something cool and weird and rare and it would be sold by the ounce, at cost, on a first come first served basis. I was emailing a list of indsutry people, explained why i had picked that bottle, gave a day and time and would mention that the event would go on for as long as there would be liquid left in that bottle.

I had nothing to sell, PM wasnt a thing yet nor even a thought, i had no real plans of what i would be doing in the business. I felt it was just an accasion to for one who likes booze to pop in for 10mn without the certianty there would be anything to drink left, have a taste, have a quick chat and leave. On paper, it sounded like a cool idea and as i truly wanted to learn more about spirits in general, it was a way to force myself to read and learn about that specific bottle i had selected.

In practice very, very, very few people showed up for the first 10 or 15 tastings.

One night in a bar of the South Street Seaport, the bottles (with an “s”, there were two) were this high-proof beer by Brew Dog called Tactical Nuclear Penguin; in my mind it was kind of exciting to drink/taste/chat about a 32% beer. Turns out that 45mn after the start of this tasting, i was still on my own as not a soul had showed up. Then a lady walked in (Kara, you remember..?), probably thinking that everybody had gone already. Little did she know... She was the only person to show up that night which in itself was great, as nobody got in the way of us introducing each-others and chatting for a bit. Fifteen years later i can still taste the feeling i had of how much of a loser i must have looked like to the restaurant’s staff seeing a dude by himself doing an event that nobody is showing up to.

I have been sing this example to tell my girls that if they deeply believe in something, and if the first attempts are failures, they should keep going despite the unpleasant feeling the failed attempts generate in one’s brain.

Thoughts On Import Brand Creation & How To Approach The US Market

In my opinion, Brand Owners would benefit from doing some of the following:

• Understand that nobody is waiting for one's brand to be available; the market is likely already saturated or close to it, especially in the US. Every brand/product on the planet is either already there or trying to enter the market right now.

• Learn about the market, its organizations (tiers), and margin structures.

Being successful in Germany, Australia, or Belgium is great. It means nothing about how the brand will fare in the US.

• Define your Global Suggested Retail Price point (GSRP) for the Product.

This is the suggested retail price one's product should be sold for at shops/retailers around the world, should the stuff be available worldwide. Seeing widely different price points for the same thing on sites such as wine-searcher.com is not helping anyone.

• Walk back from said GSRP for each target market based on said market's structure, to define how much one needs to sell the Product to the Importer.

Inevitably some markets will see higher profits than others, the home market often being one of them. This means that with a three- and in some states, a 4-tier system, one would realize that one's home market prices are likely too low to not see the US retail be 3 or 4 times that amount.

• Identify which product or line of products will likely be a good fit for the market.

Too many items may be a hindrance; too few might turn off the Importer and/or wholesaler (too much work for only one SKU). Ideally, each product occupies a specific need/price point/has a well-defined individual story.

• Where does said product(s) fit in the market (retail? cocktail?) in one's mind.

Does reality fit with the intended use (is this item replenishable? is its price point in the target market suitable for cocktails? etc…)

Answers can be provided by prospective import partners as well as any actors with actual market experience (operators such as bars, restaurants, or retailers).

• Trademark the brand name in the market.

Ideally, the brand is relatively easy to pronounce; one is aware of whether it could have a meaning in the language spoken in the export market. Research as to the existence of similar brands in the same category (beer/wine/spirits) in the market might be helpful: the brand will need to be registered via the TTB for importation to the US. If a similar brand already exists in the market, it might object to the registration.

• What are one's sales projections for the market (after the intro period, e.g., in year 2 or 3)?

  • How much margin does this represent for the Brand Owner?

  • For the Importer?

  • For the Wholesaler?

Based on volume projections and margins, assess how hard people might want to fight to promote/sell the product(s).

A single SKU of a niche product, which will require time and efforts to likely sell 100 cases in year one and generate 6K in profits for the importer (or wholesaler), might be a hard sell.

• Meanwhile, saturate one's home market.

• Network with the expats (bartenders/buyers/influencers) who live in one's home market and are coming from the target country.

• Bring value, be nice, be helpful, create genuine relationships; don't try to sell anything.

• Ask those you have become tight with if they are willing to make introductions with some of their fellow nationals in the trade.

• Send samples, get people to come visit, have them have a good time. Build trust and mutual respect.

• Build brand recognition over diverse social media platforms by using day-to-day, behind-the-scenes wins, knowledge about a region/category/production, etc., as content.

• Research importers: the importer's network of wholesalers and the ability & willingness of each importer and wholesaler to tell the story/fight the fight is key to success.

• Approach importers with one's understanding of the market, clear & realistic goals, and an established network of friends.

• Talk to several potential importers, ask questions, have the importer come up with what she thinks are realistic numbers, show that you are informed, learn from these conversations, identify the people you naturally click with.

• Compare one's goals/ambitions/business plan to the Importer's assessment.

• Be aware that the strategy of having several importers for the market might seem safer from the outside as one doesn't have all one's eggs in one basket. Yet it is likely to:

  • Be time-consuming to manage many relationships

  • Lead to price discrepancies on the territory

  • Create a situation where an importer who is supposed to only be selling in specific markets might eventually start selling in a state she is not supposed to, leading to one's product being available in the same state via several wholesalers (which might be legal or not, depending on the state) and at different price points. It is upsetting to many and does not look professional.

  • Make national chain retail plays virtually impossible

  • Make it hard or impossible to move to one single importer for the territory

The secrets to maybe becoming successful are: the right import & wholesale partners and a lot of PATIENCE.

Thoughts on Meaningful Connections (and Respectful Sales)

• I believe real connections are made between two people only when each presents herself to the other party as she really is.

We've all been waited on by someone who clearly is playing a role; it often feels awkward (it might not be the person's fault, I get that). Unless one is a very skilled actor (most of us aren't), one can't make it click with another human if one presents one's "professional me" face that's vastly different from who "real me" is.

• Be nice. To everyone.

In the sales game, it happens that someone walks past the people deemed "unimportant," not saying hi, and goes straight to see the perceived alpha (buyer). First, the reasoning behind being nice selectively just sucks. Everyone is important because everyone is a person. Also, acting like this will bite you back in the ass. The barback/cashier person might become the next decision-maker here or somewhere else. She will remember one and one will have deserved it.

• Ego is the enemy. Turn it off. Be humble.

One is neither better nor smarter nor more important. Nobody cares about one mentioning one’s own accomplishments. The way these might matter is if one keeps one’s head down, and as they pile on, people take notice without one mentioning anything. Ego is what makes one dismiss someone's ideas or opinions. It's what makes one not listen to an answer while just thinking about what one has to say. Not helpful.

• One has little to no idea what some of one’s colleagues, friends, or people one interacts with on the daily are going through in their lives. Have patience.

One might have a smile during the day only to come home, over and over again, to a dramatic situation. Don't assume people's default mode is that all is well. Those who have gone through really rough times, or still are, know (be strong). Those who have not encountered true chaos should give others the benefit of the doubt: this snappy reaction, comment, or action might have deeper roots than the obvious. 

Bordeaux to Brooklyn

I was born and raised in Bordeaux, France. When my mother was 6 months pregnant with me, my father passed away from Hodgkin's disease at age 26. I spent my first few years at my maternal grandparents' small winery/estate in the Côtes de Bourg. Then my mother and I moved to Bordeaux proper so I could go to a better school.

Weekends and every single vacation day outside of summer break were spent at my grandparents' vineyard, playing outdoors and helping out with whatever tasks I could do in the cellar or the vineyard, depending on needs. That's how I started to make some pocket money, feeding the bottling line or labeling or putting bottles in carton boxes for random shipments to Germany or Belgium.

For a couple of weeks each summer, I headed out to see my paternal family in Patrimonio, Corsica. The Corsican identity runs deep in that side of the fam, the accent is thick, the personalities strong. My grandfather - Joseph Palazzi - was a ex-Colonel in the French "Commandos d'Outre-Mer," as he would refer it as (*) having started in the St Cyr war school and proceeded to fight all the wars France had been involved in during his 40-year career. My father, Paul-Marie Palazzi, had left a strong imprint as someone very smart, landing an Armament Engineering job after having completed L'École Polytechnique (also known as L'X), which is arguably the French version of say, MIT or Harvard. His brother, Jean-Michel, also graduated from a well-known engineering school, which led him to several important jobs within the French public sector, including Director of the Corsican Environmental Agency.

On those days of July or August, Joseph and Michel were up at 4:15 a.m. reading all the newspapers they had in the house, following all the news they could. We played tennis from 7 to 9 a.m. Lights were out at 8:30 p.m. after the evening news, as the next day was starting early. Those "vacations" left a strong imprint, especially as I was going to Corsica solo as soon as I hit the age when Air Inter, the then regional arm of Air France, allowed kids to fly without adults (if memory serves, i was 6). The death of my father had created a riff between my mother and my paternal grand parents.

On both sides of the family, there was a fairly basic vision of life: the world was made of two kinds of people, the salespeople and the engineers.

The engineers, unsurprisingly, were the better ones.

It was also obvious to everyone that I should do at least as well as my father did.

As a boy, then a teen, and a young man, I never thought about anything much. I worked, was mostly hanging out by myself, and started in my mid-teens to go to the gym. I did become an engineer with two majors, chemistry and physics, but from a small, not very reputable school. It was a letdown to many. It had been clear to me for a long time that I did not have the same gifts of superior intelligence my father and uncle displayed.

I worked a few years as an Environmental Engineer for EDF, the French electricity company, doing surveys and analyzing environmental data with the goal of monitoring the impact on the environment for the French nuclear power plants. The first couple of years were good. First salaries, the impression of being on an upward track. Then things shifted.

Fast forward another year or so, and work had become uninspiring. The perspectives of moving up in the world were brought down to reality: I had a job that was secure, I was making okay money, I knew exactly, based on the school I had attended and the salary grids HR had, where I was going to land within the company at retirement age and how much I would be making then. I guess I should have seen a sign when HR offered me the job, as one of the main questions to 21-year-old me, eager to get into the workforce, was: "Do you want to work 5 or 4 days a week?". It was a real thing in France then. Les 35 heures. I took the 5-day option.

This is proof that I never thought about any of it much. I just did what was expected of me which landed me in that rather uninspiring line of work. Now, like it seems often happens to those who don't intellectualize, one day they wake up feeling weird, upset or down, and they don't know why nor how they got there.

At age 25, as I was approaching the age my father had passed, I landed in a strange mental place: anger was a fuel, I hated the job and resented the people I was working with. I had been riding motorbikes for a while, and I was pushing that 1200 Bandit harder than I should have. Had I been self-aware, I would have seen the clear auto-destructive vibe of the behavior.

The need to do something very different than my current occupation became suddenly obvious. Going to work was a dread.

My idea at the time: I had been practicing Krav Maga for a bit, really liked it, felt I wasn't too bad at it, and thought I would go to Israel, train more, get some kind of diploma, come back to France, and start a school. It never happened, probably for the better.

A meeting one random evening in Bordeaux with a friend of a friend who happened to be visiting her family in Bordeaux really got me thinking: she had an apartment in NYC on 33rd & 3rd, offered that I'd crash on her sofa and check the city out. I had never really traveled anywhere. Never been to the US. Had no plan. It felt cool. And so I went.

This experience was so mind-bending that a few months later I had quit my job in France (in this specific division of EDF, it apparently was the first time anyone had quit without a plan nor because of another job offer - those jobs were so cushy, nobody would have thought of leaving - so much so that the company rounded up everyone after my departure to assess engagement and make sure everybody was in good spirits) and moved to NYC. This was 2004.

It took a few months (I think) to find a job as a manager for a Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research lab in the Bronx. Getting a visa as an engineer was rather easy at the time. Life in NYC was just so new and awesome. But the job itself got old real quick.

I was back waking up in the morning feeling angry for no reason (though I always redirected it to do non-negative stuff like working out) and I didn't want to go to work. The same exact feelings I had in France in a more powerful version.

This is when even someone who is not very in touch with his emotions realizes that maybe, just maybe, there is something deeper to address. That there is a chance the line of work one is in is not a good fit, that one may want to rethink one's life and what one is doing with it.

I despised my work-life; I just could not wait for these work hours to be over so that real life could be enjoyed. Those feelings were very powerful, and that work-life was just so long, 5 days a week and repeating itself to no end.

It wasn't healthy to keep going, so I gave my notice and decided to think long and hard about what I really liked to do, what I felt positive about, what I could work long hours toward and not feel it was work. What I wanted to get to was to find an occupation where there was no "work-life" vs "personal life," no dread of Mondays, etc.

I liked wine, I liked booze, I liked beers, I liked drinking good stuff and reading about them, I liked smelling and tasting and learning about what I was ingesting.

I had been buying some wines here and there from Jean-Luc Le Du and had sat in on some of his seminars at his shop, Le Du's Wines. A dude in a wheelchair was working there and seemed to know his stuff. I needed money, and I wanted to learn; I asked Jean-Luc if, by chance, he did not need part-time help.

This ended up being the laboratory where the idea behind PM was born, the place where I was lucky enough to meet some of the greatest minds and most passionate wine people in the city.

The dude in the wheelchair is/was Yannick Benjamin, one of the most capable, inspiring, and knowledgeable sommeliers in the country; whether he knows it or not, he has been one of the most impactful people in my small booze career.

So many links about Yannick, it’s hard to chose which ones to link to and to sum up all what the dude is involved in. Google the guy, support Wheeling Forward, eat at Contento, buy bottles at Beaupierre.

• https://www.winespectator.com/articles/sommelier-talk-yannick-benjamin-discusses-dignity-and-accessibility

• https://wheelingforward.org/team/yannick-benjamin/

• https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/game-changers-yannick-benjamin

• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/industry-news/wine-star-awards/yannick-benjamin-sommelier/

(*) on the document that comes with his Legion d’Honneur nomination (for heroic acts of war), Joseph Palazzi was listed as “Lieutenant d’Infanterie Coloniale” then “Colonel des Troupes de Marine”.

Role & Impact of Additives

There are two approaches to thinking about the topic for one who cares about distillates expressing their personalities without makeup.

The main one goes: additives are bad.

In most cases, I would agree, though it feels like simplifying the topic a little.

Take Cognac for example: The Cahier des Charges (in French, available here:) defines the use of additives as follows:

"The blending of eaux-de-vie of varying ages and profiles is an inherent practice in the creation of "Cognac". This allows for a consistent production of a product possessing the exact and harmonious organoleptic characteristics sought after.

Only the following methods are permitted:

Color adjustment using E150a caramel (regular caramel),

Sweetening using the products defined in Article 4.9 a) and c) of Regulation 2019-787 to enhance the final taste,

The addition of oak wood chip infusions in hot water (boisé).

Their effect on the obscuration of the eau-de-vie is equal to or less than 4% vol. Obscuration, expressed in % vol, is determined by the difference between the actual alcoholic volume and the gross alcoholic volume. The infusion of wood chips is a traditional method: the type of wood used is consistent with the housing specifications set out in the production standards, and if necessary, the infusion is stabilized by adding eau-de-vie corresponding to the target eau-de-vie."

The addition of oak wood chip infusion is among the traditional methods allowed."

Note: The term "obscuration" in the context of spirits refers to the difference between the actual and apparent alcohol content, which can be affected by the addition of certain substances.

The vast majority of distillate bottles in the appellation have had a combination of some or all of these additives added to them mainly to:

make a young cognac look darker than it naturally is,

make a young cognac taste less harsh (“smoother”),

make a cognac smell and taste like it spent more time aging in a barrel than it actually did.

The aim is to have “consistent products” which the larger brands that make up most cognac sales have based their business on.

Nothing wrong here: it makes sense that a bottle of a worldwide available VS, VSOP, or XO has a somewhat consistent(*) color/taste profile wherever it can be found on the globe.

Large Cognac brands are the reason why the region and its people survive economically, between direct and indirect jobs that the Cognac economy generates.

Without the main players, there would be none of the artisanal smaller guys.

When one runs a large business, one's finance department's mission is to limit costs and maximize profits.

Cognac takes time. Time can't be hacked.

As large brands are buying their stock in bulk from hundreds of small makers, the variety is immense.

Some cognacs may have been distilled better than others. Some might have evolved quicker and more gracefully than others. Terroirs are different, some have been distilled at the estate in relatively small stills, others by professional distillers or coops in larger computer-run alembics.

To bring these various eaux-de-vies together under a brand/age designation that fits the company’s flavor profile, additives can't be done without.

Moreover, knowing that:

there is a legal minimum aging in barrels for VS/VSOP/XO of respectively 2/4/10yr,

different cognac from different provenances (the sub-appellations Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, Bois Ordinaires) are purchased at different prices (Grande Champagne being $$$ while the Bois are less so),

aging a spirit in a cellar immobilizes cash flow,

takes up space,

has a cost inherent to the work involved in caring for these barrels,

has possibly a cost linked to the capital borrowed to purchase those casks,

it appears logical that in a volume game, one will have incentives towards:

buying lower-priced distillates,

not aging cognac more than needed.

In that context, the great equalizers are caramel, sugar, and boisé.

Hence when used with the mindset of cutting corners, additives are likely not to improve the inherent qualities of a cognac much.

Granted, if the quality of the base spirits is poor, it might drink better after adulteration.

There is both an art and a science behind the use of additives.

Here again, two tiers:

Cognacs to which additives are added over a long period of time for better integration turn out better than those to which additives are dumped into 24hr before bottling. The better additives are married to the compounds that make up the cognac, the more pleasant the drinking experience might be. Take a small distiller who has a contract with larger brands or negotiant. The brand will tend to ask the distiller to keep her cognac in her cellar until the brand needs them, which is more cost-effective and easier in terms of storage for the brand. But the brand will want her supplier to store her cognac in specific barrels that the brand will send (and charge the distiller for) to the distiller’s cellar, assuring from the get-go a path towards consistency. Should one take the bond out of the empty new barrels and stick one’s finger through the bond, scratching the inside of the cask, one would often find one’s finger covered in a thin layer of boisé. Barrels have been filled with boisé then emptied, leaving a coat of the stuff that will give a color and tannin boost to the freshly distilled stuff. The use of additives over an extended period of time tends to lead to rather well-made cognacs.

Cognac to which additives are added last minute, close to the bottling date: like oil and vinegar, the different molecules are not binding, the nose is flat, the palate disjointed. These are the poorly made products that give the appellation a bad rap.

Now one should mention another layer of possible use of additives: those which have been aged, for years or decades.

It sounds counterintuitive, it is not.

For additives to marry well to the base of Cognac, they need to have had the time to bond with the molecules from that distillate.

For one who believes that additives might enhance the eau-de-vie (which is a thing) and would want to use additives to elevate their cognacs even more, they would take the opposite approach to using additives as shortcuts.

In some cellars, one can find the following:

sugar + water + cognac, the mixture at around 20% alc in a barrel,

boisé + water + cognac, the mixture at around 20% alc in a barrel,

water + cognac, the mixture at around 20% alc in a barrel.

Sugar/boisé/water cannot be aged for long periods of time without getting spoiled; this is why cognac is added so the proof of what's in the barrels is high enough to protect from bacteria.

This practice is rare as it's not improving the bottom line nor efficiency. To the contrary, it takes a LOT of cellar floor space and barrels to store lower proof 20% liquid than its 72% equivalent. It means cellars are filled with additives patiently aging in casks.

Some of these cognacs can be magnificent.

Inherently, additives are not bad. It is the intent with which they are used on most occasions that makes them so.

(*)Note that the argument for consistency is itself not as straightforward as it may seem. Some brands tend to look at markets/countries by flavor profiles, and it is possible that a VSOP might be darker or woodier or sweeter in one market versus another to fit with market research and what has been defined as the “palate” of a specific population.

*Boisé is akin to a wood-paste, a solution utilized in cognac production, derived from oak chips/fragments.

The primary purposes of boisé are:

Coloring: Young cognacs lack the deep amber hues characteristic of older spirits. Boisé provides an immediate color enhancement, making the spirit look older than it is.

Tannins: Boisé contributes tannins to the cognac, the wood compounds responsible for structure and mouthfeel.

Flavor: Boisé imparts a wide array of flavors that resemble those found in longer-aged spirits. These flavors can range from vanilla and caramel to toasted notes, depending on the preparation and aging of the boisé.

Rancio: Rancio is a highly-prized taste/smell that evolves in well-aged cognacs. It's often described as a rich, nutty, and sometimes mushroom or earthy flavor. Some boisé solutions are crafted to possess varying degrees of this rancio character, and producers can purchase boisé with a specified level of rancio.

What make PM take on a new product/supplier?

There has never been a plan nor a method. The very first distillates (Cognacs) were brought just because they really tasted great. Initially, I did not want to bother with the inexpensive and had decided against bringing the VS and VSOPs, focusing solely on the old eaux-de-vies.

But like everything, as one keeps on doing something, one might start seeing a pattern; in the case of PM, the initial one was:

1- Smell / taste -> Does one’s brain go WOW? Does that product have a personality? Would we want to drink it more than once?

2- Ask detailed questions about who/how/why -> Are corners cut? Does it feel artisanal vs. industrial? Is there a sense of place and/or tradition?

Over the years, a third principle appeared important:

3- Are the people good humans -> Does it click? Is there a genuine human connection? Are these people we would want to see/talk to/interact with?

As the business expanded to countries where the workforce might not be naturally well protected by the laws of their land:

4- Are the people who are part of the chain that makes the product fairly treated and compensated?

We have never negotiated pricing; we assume that the people we deal with have established a price that is fair for their work, which we respect.

We never used brokers to gather samples because we were looking to fill a category or a price point.

We never thought about whether the stuff would sell or not: if we get excited about it, we decide we will do our utmost to share that excitement and work hard to try and succeed.

We never had a goal to hit all main categories and/or all obvious price points.

We are looking for good products with personality, made without cutting corners, by people who are genuinely good humans and that express some sense of place and/or tradition.

We also believe that the importer can foster change by doing its due diligence as to how the product is made and how the people making it are treated. The importer can decide to import - or not - based on these findings, it has the ability to foster change for the better by creating discussions and should aim at doing so whenever possible.

Wholesale Partner vs. Wholesaler

Each state has plenty of wholesalers. Some are great, others not so much. Some are tiny, some are huge. One will kill it for you for 3 years until the one person who was responsible for 96% of your success leaves, finds a better gig, or burns out; and business drops off a cliff. Some are great at selling wine or beer or sake or booze; few successfully excel in several categories. Some states have clear answers - or answers - to the question "who should be my wholesaler." Others don't.

From an import and/or brand owner standpoint, one's network of wholesalers defines how well one's message will be told, how many people will go out into the market to fight the fight, one's product(s) in the bags, tasting people on the stuff, explaining who makes it, why and how, how much it costs, and asking for that sale.

Now, the regular way of doing business between a Brand and/or Importer and a wholesaler tends to look like this:

Supplier wants to get into market X, finds wholesaler.

Big goals/fundings/aspirations/egos go to large wholesale companies right away.

Smaller to smaller wholesalers.

"Ambitious yet realistic" annual purchase goals are set to a wholesaler who either knows they aren't feasible or decides to lie to herself thinking it will all work out in the end.

Supplier is often misled about how magical her goods are and what the market will deliver.

Wholesaler has 5 or 50 or 500 other products to launch that year, is spread thin, staff turns over, time for education is limited, few if anyone is really pumped about the new addition to the portfolio. Another product hits the warehouse.

First 18 months, things are fine. Then pressure increases slowly; by the end of year 2, supplier is not happy as targets are not met while wholesaler finds excuses. Five years into it, supplier brought in someone new to handle sales and/or investors who were in no rush are growing impatient.

Supplier switches wholesalers.

The whole thing starts again in a self-perpetuating circle.

I made a lot of mistakes initially. PM teamed up with wholesalers that were not necessarily aligned just because nobody else wanted to give our stuff a try. When a state seemed to be doing well, I did not focus on it nor try to understand much why things were going well, and waited for business in that state to not do so hot to pay more attention. I spent too much time in places where I thought business had to be great and failed to cut my losses when everything pointed in the direction of "this is not going to happen," etc…

One does, one learns. So over the years, we have started to look at doing this a little differently:

We started looking for PARTNERS.

Over the years, what we learned looks like this:

A good wholesaler is led by people who care equally about their staff, their customers, suppliers, and the products they represent.

The vibe is pro yet casual; the team is considered and well-treated, feels secure in their positions, part of an adventure, proud to represent the business they work for, and with potential to move up; turnover is low, people want to stay.

People in charge are genuine: they present themselves as who they are and not as who they want to be in the professional setting. This vibe spreads to the rest of the team. One can't make solid human connections if one is not comfortable with who one is and fakes it.

The company offers ongoing education and experiences (be they dinners, events, or travels).

The portfolio is curated: one can't carry everything at every price point and be successful and/or credible.

Communication is open, constructive, and friendly.

Both parties are in this for the long run, agreed to help each other out, and to do their best to make it work, communicating a lot and often as they go.

Two businesses deciding to fight the fight over a long period of time with the common goal to help build a brand in the market, educate customers and consumers, and get one to taste the stuff.

It is all about people: real humans who care, who one feels a connection with, a shared sense of passion, a genuine and mutual excitement about one’s brand/company/products.

Today was spent with the Prestige Ledroit team, which covers DC/MD/DE.

Good company, good people, real partners. This is thanks to people like these that we have a business.

12 Years in Booze, Day 1 in Blogging: No BS, Just Raw, Unfiltered Hustle.

It took about 12 years of being in this artisanal spirits importing and wholesaling game to discover that we should provide content to the good people who have had our back, given us their trust, and purchased products from us over the years.

To date, we kinda did the social media thing, thinking we "had to," and knowing we were neither really equipped for it nor tech-savvy enough.

Note 1: "We" is mostly me. Sometimes it describes the PM team, but often it's just me Just that I am naturally uncomfortable with using the first person. No sign of cockiness here, no "royal we"; just some stuff that one should probably have therapy over.

Note 2: We/I am French - born and raised - moved to NYC in '04. I have been working on my flow via rap lyrics and stand-up comedy, but despite my best efforts, I just cannot manage to sound nor write natively. This text is bound to read funny.

PM got into some sort of flow 10+ years into it where the business has some sort of organization, where we kinda defined who does what within our team, and it doesn't totally feel like a startup on its 3rd day.

We are by many metrics very much still a startup. But with the ambition to one day be a real business while not losing our soul/ethos.

And it is on this day of September 21st, 2023, comfortably seated in 12D (a few rows short of the extra legroom of the emergency exit seats), that things seem to point toward now as the time to think about what sort of legit, non-stale, non-boring, minimally salesy content PM could provide.

IG outreach from no later than yesterday gave great insights as to the direction that shall be ours (which honestly should have been obvious to us but wasn't) - more videos of people, producers, explanations about why we think a distillate PM decides to work with is special, have the PM team come on and talk about their interest, give some glimpses of our behind-the-scenes, show how the stuff is made, hear from the people who make it, possibly let one know how/where a specific product can be purchased, tools for the trade such as how to use the damn weird eau-de-vie in a cocktail and how do other bartenders manage to utilize these non-inexpensive products. As well as points of view about what makes something artisanal, brands vs. non-brands, additives, and the ethos behind doing what we do.

Today, Tim H came up with the thought that doing long-form video was probably a key element: using YouTube to create videos, interviews, and such, which could hopefully be of interest to some and provide us with some bits of content we could use for other platforms.

So here we are: PM has a FB, IG, X/Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat accounts. So do I. And a YouTube channel. And a LinkedIn account.

What are we gonna do with them? No clue.

All I know is that each platform is its own thing, caters to different people in different ways/formats, and has been created with different aims, so it is up to us to learn, try, and be consistent in our efforts.

Here starts PM's attempt to become more relevant using 21st-century means…