Importing wine can be a risky business. It helps that I am blessed with an excellent palate (attributed to my mother’s side of the family) which helps eliminate some of the risk. Over the years, I have found some great wines from France, Spain and Italy. My customers know that I won’t disappoint them when I bring samples to taste. While every wine I import might not make the Wine Spectator Top 100 list, when one of them does, I feel like it legitimizes the rest of my portfolio. Sure, I’m tooting my own horn, but, in my defense, I work alone. I don’t have any employees who might slap me on the back and tell me I’m doing a good job. But, the Wine Spectator just did.
This Thanksgiving I’m celebrating with wines from Cellers Edetària at my table because they just made the Wine Spectator Top 100 and I import them. Several years ago, I read about Edetària in Decanter Magazine (another favorite publication). I was convinced by what I read about the owner and his team that their wines were the type that I like to import. A few weeks later, I received a serendipitous email from Nani Ramon who was seeking importers in the USA for Edetària. Shortly after, we were shipping the wines to Minnesota. Nani and I have become great friends, too. He tries to teach me Catalan and I try to give him insights into American culture.
Edetària wines have been introduced to Minnesota consumers at specialty wine stores like South Lyndale Liquors, Thomas Liquors, Dolce Vita Wine Shop and Lakeside Wine and Spirits. Restaurants like Spoon and Stable (James Beard Award Winner! ) pour Edetària wines for their guests, too. It’s enjoyable growing consumer interest in Edetària, so much so that it helps me forget about a lot of the headaches owed to managing an import and distribution company in these competitive times. #47 on the WS Top 100 List? Yeah, that seems right to me. www.edetaria.com
