The Till

I have no idea how many bottles to order. Two cases? Twenty cases? With a lot of data we can triangulate exactly to whom a cell phone number belongs to. Ads can be served so well that you think your phone is listening to you. Options prices are calibrated within a penny given a thousand points of light. Other times all it takes is a handful of datum to make a well informed decision. If you’re replacing the roof, two or three quotes give a good idea of what something should cost. A recommendation from a friend or Facebook forum might be singular, but it comes with a lot of context. Then there are problems with fuzzy data, or no data at all. Whether it’s brand new, or just new to you, the best effort is a guesstimate. Hiding behind the false precision of a few rows in Excel, is nothing but a hunch. I’ve been helping my brother and sister in law organize the wine list and club for their new venture in Omaha. It’s a lot of fun talking to distributors, and centering on the mission and aesthetic of the bottle shop. We’ve been intentional in selecting both the glassware and the glass list, and what will be available for retail. But come opening day in a few weeks, who knows what will actually sell? I have a pretty good idea about what taste profiles are interesting. And I’ve seen enough menus to know what balance looks like…