With season in full swing here in our beautiful desert paradise, I have been busier than ever with private wine tastings.
While I enjoy the fun and lively weekly tastings we have in my little shop, I don’t have the ability at those to get nerdy and in-depth about the wines we’re pouring. For some people, I’m sure that’s a bonus—stop your yapping, and just pour me some wine, lady!—but I’ve discovered that more and more, folks are genuinely curious about different grapes and regions, and want to know more.
I recently presented wines to a small group of friends at a house in La Quinta. We decided to focus on Spanish wines, and they gave me carte blanche to choose the selections. When I’m given the option, my selections will include grapes you’ve never heard of, from places you didn’t know existed. For this particular group, we tasted a Spanish sparkling wine from Raventos, the oldest family-owned and -operated winery in the world. It was followed by a unique white wine made from a grape called godello; a clay amphora-fermented tempranillo from Rioja; and, lastly, a beast of a red wine from the region of Jumilla made from the monastrell grape, which is known as mourvedre in France.
As we worked our way through each wine, the conversations and questions led us down various tangents where we dove into hot topics like wine scores, corks vs. screw caps, and whether there are any good Temecula wines. But above all that, there was one particular question that got me thinking: “These wines are wonderful, but I never would have thought to buy them myself. If we don’t have a sommelier on speed dial, how would we ever know to purchase these wines in a shop?”
Being in the wine business for as long as I have, I know certain insider tips, tricks and hacks. Sure, there are a ton of books out there that discuss the nuts and bolts of winemaking, grapes and places—which is all useful stuff when beginning your wine-education journey—but the average wine-drinker doesn’t necessarily want or need to know all of this information.
So this leads us back to the question of what to buy if you don’t want to drink the same wine you’ve been drinking for 10 years. How do you explore and take a leap with something new—with a little bit of confidence?
Here’s one big insider tip: When it comes to selecting wine from outside of the United States, look at the back label, and find the name of the importer. Make a note of it, and when you taste the wine, decide if you like it or not. If you do, look for another wine from that same importer. If you find that you like that bottle, too, then you and the person selecting the wines to bring into this country have similar palates. I have found this is single-handedly the most important piece of information to have if you want to get out of your comfort zone—without flying totally blind.
Most importers I know decide what to import based partly on what they like to drink. Now, before anyone gets their panties in a bunch and decides to email me, please note I said partly. Of course there are other deciding factors, but if someone is passionate about German riesling, they’re probably not seeking out traditional Australian shiraz for their portfolio. Most importers stay in their wheelhouse.
I first discovered this little-known rule of thumb with the wines of Kermit Lynch. This man is an icon in the wine industry. He not only imports the best French and Italian wines that have ever touched my lips; he is a champion of small producers, shining a light on family growers and winemakers that would have remained largely undiscovered if not for him. Lynch is a retailer, distributor, importer, writer and musician; in my mind, this man can do no wrong.
After sipping a glorious Champagne called J. Lassalle, I noticed the very distinct Kermit Lynch trademark on the back of the label. Sometime after that, a friend shared a bottle of Champalou Vouvray with me; right then and there, not only did I discover my love for chenin blanc, but I also realized it, too, was a Kermit Lynch import. As my career continued, I was introduced to the wines of Chateau Ducasse, Marcel Lapierre, Chateau Thivin and Giuseppe Quintarelli, just to name a few. These wines had two things in common: I loved them, and they were all imported by Kermit Lynch.
Through this simple concept, I’ve learned to lean on the rieslings of Terry Theise, the South African wines brought in by Vineyard Brands, the Champagnes and sparkling wines from Skurnik, white Burgundies imported by H. Mercer, Italian gems from Oliver McCrum, and the rosés supplied by Jeff Welburn. In my experience, Vino del Sol has always been the go-to for wines from Argentina, and Eric Solomon is known for bringing in crowd-pleasing and luscious Spanish selections.
Of course, there are hundreds of companies that import wine from all over the world—but don’t let that be a daunting thought. Instead, think of these suppliers as “wine counselors,” and it’s their job is to guide you to your next favorite discovery.
