3 Powerful Secrets of a Wine Importer
Do you love wine enough to devote a career to it?
Certain people do.
In the style of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel On The Road , they see the career of a wine importer as a wine-fueled adventure – and also a way of making a livelihood.
The Fantasy and the Reality of a Wine Importer
Kermit Lynch, founder of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants, was one of the first to make this dream a reality. He recounted his experiences in the book Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France.
In it, Lynch documented his travels to Europe in the 1970s. His mission was to find quality producers in various areas of France, many of whom he still represents today.
**Click Here to See the Original Content of this Post on Forbes.Com**
Kermit Lynch: Motivations to Become a Wine Importer
Very few Americans made their living as independent wine importers in the 1970s. But Kermit Lynch was a man with a vision.
He had just invested nearly all of his money in a wine store in Berkeley, California. This small city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay was the center of the “Flower Power” movement in 1969.
You might also associate Berkeley with the food movement, marked by chef Alice Waters launching her restaurant Chez Panisse in 1971. This restaurant revolutionized the industry by its focus on local ingredients.Kermit Lynch, similarly, revolutionized the way people thought about wine. In the 1970s, jug wine produced by big American brands sold on supermarket shelves.
**Click Here for Wine Resources**
Buyers rarely knew – or seem to care – that a bottle with the grape name Chardonnay on the label was really French Colombard. These grapes were harvested from high-yielding vineyards in California’s warm Central Valley.
Early Life of a Wine Importer
Though Mr. Lynch also sold domestic wine, he bought imported wine from distributors for his shop. He advanced relationships with these distributors, and finally was invited on a buying trip to Burgundy, France. The primary grapes grown here are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The focus of that first foreign wine buying trip was to visit small family wineries. In his book, Mr. Lynch describes the eccentric families he met during the many visits.Most of Mr. Lynch’s visits were pleasant. Families welcomed him as a VIP guest.
In the cellars, the vignerons gave Mr. Lynch tastes of their best wines. They stood by apprehensively as Mr. Lynch wrote notes in his tasting book.
Upon striking a deal to buy the wine, Mr. Lynch would use that tasting book to compare his impressions of the wine he tasted during the visit to the finished, bottled wine he received at his Berkeley shop.
Lunches at the wineries were usually simple, but celebratory events.
The wives of the vignerons cooked delicious, fresh local dishes and paired them with the best wines the family estate had to offer.The wives of the vignerons cooked delicious, fresh local dishes and paired them with the best wines the family estate offered.
Though Lynch describes life on the road as rough and demanding, he admits that along the way there were many pleasures to be offered. Notably they were in the form of discovering new producers from gossip in bars. Or hearing recommendations from restaurant owners eager to share the names of their favorite producers.
Depending on the specifics of his later trips to Burgundy, Mr. Lynch might drive several hours to the Loire Valley, the Rhone Valley, Provence, or Bandol to buy wines from new regions.
Eventually Mr. Lynch would turn his attention to regions outside France, especially Italy.
Wine Importer : Virtual Visit the “Old World”
One of the many pleasures of Mr. Lynch’s classic book is that of convenient armchair travel. One of Mr. Lynch’s great skills is the ability to share an impression of a time and place with readers with vivid description.
He dramatically recreates the personalities of small growers in a lively, humorous, yet realistic fashion.
The focus of that first foreign wine buying trip was to visit small family wineries. The focus of that first foreign wine buying trip was to visit small family wineries. Then break bread with them at their family lunch table. Finally, after lunch, a reader can vicariously descend into their cellar and taste wine still maturing in barrique.
Wine Importer : A Classic Wine Road Trip
More than thirty years have passed since Mr. Lynch first wrote this book. Yet people active in the wine trade today will agree that while business models might have changed, the producers and their cellars have not.
For wine students and lovers of wine, this is a timeless “must have” book for observing all the different factors that go into the process of producing wine, importing wine, and then putting that wine on the market.
Wine Importer : Bottle Spinning with the Kermit Lynch Name
Americans are becoming familiar with European and other wines from around the world. Among wine lovers, it is becoming a habit to spin the bottle around in wine shops to see the name of the wine importer.
Often, I utilize this practice, especially if I’m deciding between two unknown wines. If I see Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant on the back label, I’m more inclined to take a chance on a new-to-me wine than an importer I do not recognize.
The Role of a Wine Importer Today
Today you will find many independent wine importers who have joined the wine trade. Some specialize in a single country. Others specialize in wines that are organic, biodynamic, or both. And some importers are even defining themselves and their companies by trend factors such as importing only high-elevation wines or volcanic wines.
Wine Importer : Risks and Rewards
Though you will find many rewards in the wine importer profession, risks exist.
Wine importers need to devote an impressive deal of energy to paperwork involving licenses and certifications beyond the basic permit. They will need a way to finance their enterprise, usually involving attaining a line of credit from the bank. Logistics such as shipping, warehousing, and delivery will need to be managed.
At this moment of time, many wine importers have taken pen to paper to write their own recollections of early days in the wine trade.
Yet among them, Kermit Lynch’s book Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France will always stand out as a classic.
Curious to see the ORIGINAL book review on Forbes.com? Click Here
Like this article? Please SHARE using the links above and subscribe to my newsletter here
If you like this article you will like:
— Dominus Estate
— Chappellet Family Winery
— Hess Collection
— Frog’s Leap
Curious to Learn More About Wine? Start Here
Want to Grab Quick Wine Resources? Click Here
About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio
Videos from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants
About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio
