Recommended Importers

I often find myself turning around bottles in wine stores looking for the name of the importer. A bottle from someone whose wines I’ve had and liked boosts its chances of winding up in my basket. As Program co-chair for our AWS I’m responsible for coming up with themes for tastings. Why not, a little bird asked, have one based on importers? OK, but how would you choose the importers? Easy, ask the Winelovers for recommendations. So I’d like to enlist your help. If you’ve got a favorite importer who has one or more wines in the $15 range (our budget) I’d appreciate hearing about it.

My favorite importers (in no particular order):

Louis/Dressner
Kermit Lynch
Neal Rosenthal
Theise/Skurnik
Selection Massale
Fass Selections

Mark Lipton

Mark's list sounds good to me, although I have not had many Selection Massale or Fass wines (though I've bought plenty of stuff from Lyle as a retailer)

I'm a fan of:
Louis-Dressner
Skurnik/Theise
Kermit Lynch
Neil Rosenthal/Madrose

Doug Polaner is primarily a wholesaler, but acts as importer for some very good wineries.

Also Jose Pastor & Rudi Wiest. I only see Oliver McCrum wines when buying from West Coast, but he bats pretty close to 1000. Winemonger is very good, though few at $15. Jenny & Francois and Peter Weygandt have some very good wines, but not quite at level of dependability.

I love the lisuts above, but they are very heavily weighted to the "Elitist Antiflavor" producers, to a degree.

If you are looking for something a little more "mainstream", North Berkeley Imports does import good, if richer and more "modern" wines, primarily from Italy and the Rhone.

I will flesh my likes out later, but One I can't wait to post is Jorge Ordonez for Spanish wines.

I love the lisuts above, but they are very heavily weighted to the "Elitist Antiflavor" producers, to a degree.

well, yeah. Mark and I are clearly of the AFWE ilk. But I think any list of recommended importers is only valuable if it is seen from a specific viewpoint. If a winelover is looking to a back label to decide if he wants to buy a wine, it's hard to imagine the person who would be tempted to buy because wines were imported by LDM, Skurnik, Polaner, McCrum, & Pastor AND be tempted becauses wines were from NBI, Eric Solomon, Dan Kravitz (Hand Picked), Bobby Kacher, Marc deGrazia, etc (I've had good wines from each of the latter, but my batting average is much lower). I assumed by asking the question Dan was going to weigh by what he knows of the tastes of the person answering vs his, and his experience with other importers recommended by that person. Looking to an importer as a rec implies (to me at least) looking for a sensibility. Almost all of those people mostly bring in unflawed wine, but that's a low target (from a technical standpoint even M. Touton probably qualifies there).

most of the importers mentioned if not all are the bigger ones that show up almost everywhere. but there are many small ones that only show up here and there. i'm thinking of Wine Traditions and David Millgan Selections but there are many others. i'll second the vote for north berkeley btw. but demure on kermit lynch.

oops - forgot to mention langdon shivrick - some good stuff there.

Mark and I are clearly of the AFWE ilk.

The two of you should try some wine WITH flavor some day. You might find that wine drinking can actually be an enjoyable experience.

A.I. Selections does a nice job. I particularly like their Italian portfolio.

[Robin Garr]

I'm a fan of:
Louis-Dressner
Skurnik/Theise
Kermit Lynch
Neil Rosenthal/Madrose

Doug Polaner is primarily a wholesaler, but acts as importer for some very good wineries.

I am totally on board with Dale and Mark, and yes, I am a card-carrying member of the AFWE.

In this region, Vanguard, based in Columbus, I think, tends to do about as well for us AFWE types as a between-the-coasts importer/distributor can; Vintner Select tends to be more for the gobs-gulpers. Wines of France/Alain Junguenet also generally works pretty well for me, Palm Bay for Italian/Europe, and for Aussie wines, Old Bridge Cellars is much more likely than its competitors to bring in wines from that region that I'll like.

I've been less whelmed by Kacher or Hand Picked, perhaps because I can't really identify a consistent "house style."

Mark and I are clearly of the AFWE ilk.

The two of you should try some wine WITH flavor some day. You might find that wine drinking can actually be an enjoyable experience.

Apropos of that, Sam, I'll note that counsel for the opposition recently posted this screed to his discussion board:

Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: po box 311 monkton,md.21111
Posts: 3,510
Re: WS wine of the year coming soon
Hey-how about something made from very-under-ripe fruit-anyone can pick a month before the grapes are ripe-no risk, no rain, get it harvested and go on vacation by October 1 while all the others are busting their asses trying to make something with flavor,and hoping to make Thanksgiving dinner with their family...so that should be a factor in the Spectator's decision-making...plus, why not go with a grape varietal that has existed for hundreds of years and never gotten any traction because most reasonable people just don't like the flavor or aromatic profile-in fact, how could a few dozen bloggers and hipsters be wrong?-let's hear it for these god-forsaken grapes(in no particular order of shittiness)....trousseau, savagnin,grand noir, chaillaud,negrette,lignan blanc,peloursin,auban,callet,fongon eu,and braufrankirsch....and drop the Wine of the Year name and call it what a real man would....The Crusaders for Crap award....or Hosemaster's Vaudeville Clown prize...ROTFL"

It's nice to see such respect given to alternate tastes/philosophies, innit?

Robin - if you feel that this is an inappropriate use of that material, feel free to delete it.

Proud member of the AFWE and "Wine Taliban,"
Mark Lipton

Surprised no one mentioned an old stand-by for Italians: Leonardo LoCascio.

[Robin Garr]

Surprised no one mentioned an old stand-by for Italians: Leonardo LoCascio.

That would be WineBow, and a few years ago I would probably have mentioned them. I can't think of any really interesting wines out of that shop in recent years, though.

[Robin Garr]

Robin - if you feel that this is an inappropriate use of that material, feel free to delete it.

Not at all, Mark. It's fine!

I did notice one presumably unintentional howler that kind of undercuts the author's self-certitude, though.

why not go with a grape varietal

Gaaaahhhhh!!

Everyone has already mentioned most of my favorites, apart from Martine's Wines. The $15 price point is a bit limiting there, but there are a few great wines, particularly from the southwest region of France that fit the bill if you can find them.

Yes, I thought of Martines and Becky Wasserman, but not sure I'd had anything under $15 from either.
I did try to list mostly midsized importers that have more than regional presence, as importers with small markets are less likely for people to run across. But none are large by industry standards- I'd bet guess on my list combined do less volume than a Constellation or Palm Bay.
Winebow and Frederick Wildman bring in lots of wines I like, but I don't get the feeling there is a specific sensibility there that would make me buy an unknown wine due to importer (which I might with LDM, Rosenthal, etc).

When we lived in Maine we consumed many of the imports from Chartrand Imports. Their focus is on so-called "organic wines", but many of them were delicious anyway.

Thanks to all for your thoughts. They give me a lot to go on.