Getting that wining feeling

How did you get into the wine business?

My wife and I love wine – each night when we have dinner we will always have a glass of red. By coincidence a friend of mine was talking about a guy who had a vineyard and this particular wine and asking if I could do some promotion work for him.

First of all I asked about whether or not the wine was any good and what price range it was selling for and they told me he had spent a lot of money on building the winery at Heathcote and the Yarra Valley.

So I went out to have a look at it and tried the wine and to be honest it was pretty amazing that a bottle of wine at that price could taste so good.

I don’t want to sound like a big-noter but I will go out and buy a bottle of wine that could cost $100 or $200 or even $300 – I don’t even think of wines in the price range of $15 or $20.

[But] to be honest, you couldn’t tell the difference in quality.

I often have wealthy friends over to my house and we drink some pretty good wines, some Penfold Grange and some others. So I put out a few good bottles of wine when we had our friends over with the caterers and my wife doing the cooking and I put the wine from what is now my vineyard behind them.

So I gave them some Whitebox wine and I didn’t say anything about it and they were saying ‘Gee we love coming here Jeff, it’s always great wine’ and we finished the bottle. Then we opened another one and I showed them that it cost $18 and they thought it was unbelievable.

I also tried it out at restaurants. I always take my own wine to restaurants because I don’t see the point in paying $300 for a bottle that costs $140 in the shop – and I am pretty lucky that most places let me take it.

So I did the same thing with some other influential people and when they heard what it cost they nearly died.

Because I really love wine I decided this could be something I would like to be involved with, so I went over to the vineyard and spent the whole day there looking at all the machinery and speaking to the winemakers.

I asked them to give me a month to spread the word about it, because if people can see it and associate a name with it they will give it a try. So I asked for a month because I am not in the business of having people pay for my name and not getting anything in return – and after the opening I wound up buying into the business.

I just believe in it so much and I have got it into some of the biggest distributors in Australia. I went on a holiday to America two weeks ago and had a meeting with the biggest wine distributor in the United States, who coincidentally is a big boxing fan, so I introduced the wine to him and you never know what will happen from here.

How much involvement do you have with the brand?

I am really the face and the ambassador for Stuart Wines and the brands. One of the good things is that I have a little bit of a head start on some people when it comes to opening doors.

I tell these people the truth. For example, I go to Star City because I am a gambler and when you go back to your room they give you a bottle of wine. I said to them that when they give me a bottle of wine that tastes like vinegar when I get it home, that is an insult.

I have been really working hard with some of the big function centres letting them know that they should spend a couple of extra dollars, because at the end of the day it is all about return business. When someone has a great night with the best of the best they enjoy themselves and they tell someone else.

It’s obviously a new venture for you going into the wine business. What have you learnt from it?

To be honest I have been involved in a few other businesses but this is very different because it is so hands on. I have been trying my utmost to learn about the different wines because I am a real red guy and I have been trying to learn more about the different vineyards. But I have always known that I have had the know-how to be successful. I can talk to anyone from the kid on the street to the Prime Minister. I am one of those guys who has ridden that roller coaster and I know what I have done and where I have made mistakes, but I am in the midst of correcting them all and making sure this is going to be very successful for me.

What is your advice for others who are setting off on their entrepreneurial journey?

Preparation is everything. Before I did this I tasted all the wines, I sat down with my wife to go through everything, I had a lot of literature sent to me on different wines and I made sure I knew what I was talking about.

My first aim was to let everyone know that Jeff Fenech was involved with Whitebox and Stuart Wines so that when someone sees it they might have a go to see if I am for real or if it is just a gimmick.

There is the old saying about trying before you buy and I’m confident that once people have tried it they will buy it. And then when they see the price, then they will really have a shock. Sales in Dan Murphy’s alone was phenomenal last month – we sold 20 odd pallets.

Last issue Wealth Creator spoke to George Foreman about his business ventures and now we are talking to another boxer turned business man. How does the ring compare to doing business?

It is pretty simple. I have been lucky because I have had the absolute pleasure of training with Mr [James] Packer for a while and travelling the world with him. If you travel with James Packer and David Gyngell and you don’t learn something from them then something is wrong. I am a strong believer that we have two ears and one mouth to listen twice as much as we talk and I was very lucky to be around those successful people and learn a lot from them.

That would have been a pretty interesting time for you?

That was probably the most amazing time of my life. Boxing was great and winning was great but being around those people and seeing how a little mistake or something good could change someone’s life was amazing. It’s not just that though, seeing the generosity of Mr Packer was a real eye-opener for me. A lot of people think these guys have got money [and they don’t care] but to see the care and attention that he gave people – even if they were off the street or just worked in a bar or something – it was really amazing to me.

To be honest I learnt a lot in those months when I sat with Mr Packer in the sauna and we spoke day after day. I think that I have been pretty blessed.

Although I have been pretty stupid in some ways and made some stupid mistakes I am always the first to put my hand up and go forward.

At a glance

Name: Jeff Fenech

Age: 45

Position: part owner Stuart Wines

Brands: Whitebox, Cahillton, Huma

Sales: more than 15,000 bottles in one month