Kermit Lynch got his start in the wine import business with a $5,000 loan and an idea. Some 53 years later, the name is synonymous with world-class wine regions and incredible bottle finds from across the pond. A little praise is due for the man who changed the entire American wine landscape as we know it.
Some of this writer’s favorite finds have been through his import business. Industry folks have raved about it for decades, and many other great import outfits have succeeded by following Kermit Lynch’s blueprint. So what makes it so great?
Here’s how Lynch has broadened the domestic wine palate and raised our collective IQ on the subject.
Lesser-known wine regions
Image used with permission by copyright holder
It’s crazy to think about the place starting in 1972 in Berkeley. At the time, Lynch had a little money and about 35 cases of wine. That would prove to be the preface to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.
Part of what’s so intriguing about his selections is both the focus and the colorful range of options within. The portfolio only covers two nations in France and Italy, but it gets to all of the compelling nooks and crannies within each country. Lynch brought us places like Italy’s Alto Adige and the Jura in France, well, well before they became popular. In that sense, there was some risk involved, but he proved prophetic in bringing those and other regions to light here in the States.
One could say quite fairly that now-trending regions like Sardinia, Sicily, and Friuli do so well stateside right now because of Kermit Lynch. So much of winemaking is about storytelling, and the labels in his collection always have a good narrative (subscribe to his newsletter if you want a good wine read). They explore regions through the concept of terroir and so often involve smaller producers that use minimalistic winemaking techniques to preserve the character of the juice.
Canceling out myths with new wine styles
Ogeday çelik/Getty Images / Getty Images
Chilled red wine? Oxidized orange wine served at room temperature? Bracing white with mouth-watering acidity? Kermit Lynch has helped make these things so, taking a chance on long-standing European wine culture traits that, at least before, didn’t carry much weight here. But that’s changed thanks to his pursuit of unique wine styles, many of which debunk age-old myths about wine.
He’s helped popularize low-intervention and natural wines here in America. Kermit Lynch recognized the power of these wines in Europe, where they’ve existed for ages. Now, they’re some of the most sought-after styles in the U.S. In fact, many domestic producers are embracing similar winemaking approaches to mimic these wines.
Myth after myth has been busted by the Kermit Lynch team. Bordeaux only excels at whites? Nope. Champagne only does good bubbly? Nope. You can’t find good, inexpensive wine in Alsace? Not the case. And just when you’ve retrained your mind, the importer throws a fascinating and tiny location on the wine map, like Molise in Italy, at you for your discovery and joy. Thank you, Kermit.
Innovation
Unsplash
Innovation has always been a big theme with Kermit Lynch Wine Importer — from the 1980s, when Lynch experimented with refrigeration for shipping Burgundy (he was one of the first to do so) to today, working with winegrowers using deft new approaches to sustainability. He continues to work with game-changing producers that are trying out lesser-known or new varietals, or even bringing back indigenous ones. He’s been awarded for his work by big names like the James Beard Foundation and famously took on the surgeon general warning that only pointed out the evils of alcohol consumption as opposed to the healthier approach of drinking in moderation.
This is to say nothing of his work in the culinary realm. He worked with big-name chefs to bring smaller-batch wines to restaurants all over the country. This was quite innovative at the time, with so many establishments stuck with the same stagy old distribution companies that only repped the major names from across the pond. To this day, if you read his name on a label, you’re more than likely going to get a great wine at a reasonable price that reflects the very place it came to be. And that’s pretty much what wine is all about. The Europeans have known so for ages, and now, thanks in part to Lynch, we know so too.
And while it might not seem innovative today, the populist approach to wine certainly was when Lynch got started. In the 1970s and 1980s, European wine was seen more as an exclusive product than a dinner table right for Americans. Bordeaux and Champagne, as the common belief went, were wine temples mostly kept behind the curtains, full of limited-release wines fetching sky-high prices. Lynch changed the game by bringing more affordable wines from esteemed appellations to American tables. And he’s always done it in a way that champions the entire wine community, not just the winemaker. He highlights not just great wines, but exceptional growers and family-run businesses.
Here’s to Kermit Lynch.
Dining and Cooking