That's not to say Don approves of all the things Jeff and Andrew have done. In the wake of the unionization threat, for example, Jeff brought in a management consultant. At the very mention of the word consultant, Don Zacharia's forehead creases. "I would never have dreamed of doing that," he says. Drumming his fingers on his desk, his face screwed up in a cockeyed grin, his shrewd eyes gleaming, he booms: "I'd have said, 'Get off your f -- -ing asses or get out the f -- -ing door!"
The wine-auction business belongs to Don. "I own it 100%," he says. "It's my baby."
The younger generation may have the workaday warehouse operation, but Don has the glamorous new leg of Zachys -- the wine-auction business."I own it 100%," he explains. "It's my baby."
The sales have already attracted new customers to Zachys' website and the show room, and Don says he expects the auction business to turn a profit this year. All three agree that the growth potential -- going online is in the plans -- is tremendous.
From 1995 to 2002, Zachys partnered with venerable auction house Christie's, but the relationship was strained. "We're a family business that can make a decision quickly," explains Jeff. "We analyze and go forward -- or don't. Christie's is a big company, where wine is just a small fraction of its business. It can sell a single painting and make more on that than we can do in a single year." The Zacharias decided they could do it better themselves.
When Zachys set out on its own, at the end of 2001, Don cherry-picked the best of the old Zachys-Christie's auction staff -- Kevin Swersey, who, among other things, checks potential sellers to make sure they have stored their wines correctly, and auctioneers Ursula Hermacinski and Fritz Hatton. "I wanted buzz in the room," says Don. "I wanted theater."
And Fritz is theater. At Zachys' fall sale, the dining room of the four-star restaurant Daniel in Manhattan is filled with well-dressed bidders, most of them male, most of them middle-aged, some waving paddles in the air, others bidding with a wink of the eye or a wave of the hand. Hatton seems to catch every nuance.
"Zowie!" he hollers when a bottle of wine fetches $18,000. "Keep the temptation going!" He does his best to stoke the fires: "I drank this beauty in Paris. Nice Petrus. Really nice. Might be the wine of the vintage. What am I bid for it?"
Wine of the vintage, maybe. But not a particularly good vintage. Nevertheless, the wine is the famous Chateau Petrus, and the winning bid is $2,000. Hatton bangs the gavel and moves on to the next "beauty." When a lot consisting of a mere three bottles of rare 1982 Bordeaux goes for $9,000, Don grins broadly. When Zachys sold that wine as a future back in 1984, it cost about $240 a case -- $20 a bottle. How on earth can anyone justify paying $3,000 for a bottle of wine that's not even 25 years old?
"I don't justify it," Don Zacharia says, chortling softly. "I don't have to. I just sell the stuff."
Sidebar: Zachys on the ($150) case
The store's wines range from $6.99 to $2,000 a bottle. Inc. asked Don Zacharia to put together two top-value cases from the Zachys inventory: a dozen red wines -- all his picks are Spanish -- and a dozen whites.
Spanish reds
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Juan Gil Bodegas Hijos de Juan Gil 2002 $15.99
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Mas Donis Capcanes 2002 $14.99
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Panarroz 2003 $8.99
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Gotim Bru Castell Del Remei 2001 $14.99
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Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha 2002 $11.99
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Etim 2001 $7.99
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Mas Igneus F.A. 206 2001 $18.99
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Petalos Descendientes De Palacios Bierzo 2003 $17.99
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Altos de la Hoya Olivares 2002 $8.99
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Ochoa Graciano/Garnacha 2002 $9.99
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Artazuri Garnacha 2002 $10.99
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Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2003 $11.99
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Total $153.88
Whites
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Txacoli 2003 (Spain) $14.99
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Burgans Albarino 2003 (Spain) $12.99
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Muscadet Chateau de Chasseloir Chereau-Carre 2002 (France) $9.99
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Domaine Castera 2000 (France) $17.99
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Portal do Fidalgo Alvarinho 2003 (Portugal) $12.99
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Raats Family Original Unwooded Chenin Blanc 2003 (South Africa) $10.99
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#96 Falanghina Feudi di San Gregorio 2003 (Italy) $14.99
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Kahurangi Estate Riesling Moutere 2002 (New Zealand) $17.99
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Gruner Veltliner Veltliner #1 Hirsch 2003 (Austria) $9.99
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Pinot Blanc Albert Mann 2002 (France) $14.99
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Montes Reserve Sauvignon Blanc/Fume Blanc 2003 (Chile) $9.99
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Domaine de Pouy White 2003 (France) $7.99
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Total $155.88
