A Road Map to New Wines From the Bottle Back-Label
Having sought out new wines for several decades now, I’ve found that I prefer particular styles of wine and specific wine regions. This has certainly helped steer me in the right direction when I’m perusing the numerous offerings at my local wine shops. It has also helped me avoid spending cash on wines that might otherwise disappoint me.
What I’ve also deduced over the continuum of developing my instinctive behavior is that I tend to favor wines offered by select importers. How does an individual importer influence my wine purchasing decision? This is today’s topic.
Over the past 20 years the universe of wine importing has broadened, from monolithic importers who controlled most of the wine purchased in the United States, to a sophisticated, focused group of smaller importers that supplement the offerings of the mainstream importers. Many of these “artisanal importers,” if you will, have a passion for a particular style of wine or particular wine regions and vigorously pursue wines that express their passions. Their focus is on the small producers, who don’t produce enough to garner the attention of the larger importers and who otherwise might not have the opportunity to offer their wines to the American consumer.
Thus, certain importers’ names have become synonymous with small producers who offer wines not otherwise available in the marketplace. These importers are passionate about a particular aspect of a wine, be it the underlying principles of winemaking, the expression of a unique terroir in the microcosm of a wine region or the discovery of a new sub-region that offers unique wines not yet mined by the large wine production companies.
If you like the new wines coming from the south of France, there are artisanal importers who have spent hours in the cramped, damp and poorly lighted cellars of family-owned winemakers, many of whom are fourth and fifth generation producers. These artisans now have the opportunity to offer their finely crafted wines across the Atlantic to a consumer in northern Westchester.
If you like Champagne, there are artisanal importers focused on small producers who offer alternatives to the highly marketed French mega producers, at prices that are competitive to the big Champagne houses.
If you like organic or biodynamic wines, there are artisanal importers who search high and low for small producers who have simpatico philosophies, bringing these wines into the United States and creating a new awareness of natural wines to the American consumer.
Who are these artisanal importers? Their names are right there in plain sight. You can usually find them by looking on the back label of your favorite wines. Using this research tool as your guide, new vistas will open as you seek out wines to enjoy.
Only the distributor’s name is displayed on the back label, not the importer? Ask your local wine merchant for the name of the importer who is represented by the distributor, or alternatively, check the distributor’s or the winemaker’s website. Once you’ve identified the importer, begin asking for their selections at your local wine shop. The likelihood is that you will be pleased with the representative wines.
Several of these artisanal importers are right here in our backyard. Their offerings may or may not be aligned with your preferences, but in the interest of supporting local businesses, I present them to you so you may experiment to find new wines.
South Salem is home to Serge Doré Selections, the eponymous house whose founder long ago traded constant toiling on hot, concrete pavements for traipsing through vineyard rows with sun-warmed soil underfoot. He traded meetings in sterile office buildings for kitchen table tastings in the homes of multi-generational French winemakers. Today, his numerous offerings, primarily from nine French regions, have become popular with Americans seeking wines with unique bouquets, aromas and flavors.
In Mount Kisco, Polaner Distributors is a unique blend of distributor and importer. They encourage consumers to “open your mind and taste.” Their focus is to “comb the wine world to discover and launch tiny, up-and-coming producers.”
For an expanded listing of consistently reliable niche importers, feel free to contact me via e-mail.
Nick Antonaccio is a 45-year Pleasantville resident. For over 25 years, he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. Nick is a member and Program Director of the Wine Media Guild of wine journalists. He also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
