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We don’t offer everything. We specialize in wines that grow on the edge of what is viticulturally possible: wines of superb balance, exacting expression, and immense complexity. Open the larger map and click the pins to read more.
We’ve had a busy couple of weeks getting everything in order so we can start offering you terroir-driven wines from small European estates. I’ve amassed a lot of fun material for this blog, tasting last week with both Allen Meadows from Burghound and Mouro Soldera from Case Basse in Montalcino, but we felt the nuts and bolts of our operation needed more attention so I’ll postpone writing about Allen and Mouro until the future.
I’ve received hundreds of inquiries from collectors and consumers and colleagues who’ve been curious about our website wondering just what the heck we’re up to. Here’s the short and sweet of it:
1. We are a direct-to-consumer wine merchant operating entirely online. We don’t have a storefront or a beer cooler, but we do have very competitive prices and awesome customer service. We receive, store, and ship all of your wines from our temperature-controlled warehouse in San Francisco, California. We’re only able to ship to a limited number of states, so it’s important that you check our shipping page before you place an order.
2. We communicate with you via e-mail, phone, facebook, and twitter (and sometimes in person). As a Master Sommelier, I’m deeply involved with America’s sommelier community and it’s not uncommon to find me hosting tastings, speaking at events, or maybe even working the floor as a guest sommelier in your local restaurant. I’m always thrilled to meet passionate wine consumers and learning your palate and wine interests on an individual basis.
3. Because I can’t be in all places at all times, I need a way of communicating with you. Some of our offers will only be made available via e-mail, so it’s important that you sign up for our offers if you wish to have access to all of our wines. Typically, we will send five e-mail offers each week, never more than one per business day. You can opt out of our list at anytime and we’ll never share your e-mail address with anyone.
4. We specialize in the wines of Europe that form a tight circle, a “périphérique,” around the Alps. I am 100% convinced that it is within this area, on the edge of what is viticulturally possible, that wines are at their most intense, most expressive, and most satisfying. We love acidity, aromatics, complexity, and balance. “Sunshine wines” are not really our thing.
5. We will be offering other wines, too! We specialize but aren’t so dogmatic that we’d pass on an excellent old-school Rioja or Sicilian or any other exciting wines we know you’re going to want. And we live in California, so we know some West Coast producers who are making some really, really, good wines.
So that’s the deal: good stuff at great prices. We plan to be fully operational in the next month or so and were humbled to know you're interested in our passion for terroir-driven wines. We’re always anxious to chat with you, so send us an e-mail!
