March 18th – Napa/Sonoma – ReciprocityWines.
Having both worked for boutique wineries in Napa and Sonoma, co-founders Amanda Carder and AnnMarie Miller understand first hand the many challenges faced by small producers. As oenophiles themselves, they also know the frustration of discovering an intriguing wine only to find it difficult to obtain if not physically going to wineries and having a single bottle shipped to ‘try’ is simply not practical. With Reciprocity Wines they have created a solution for both small vintners and the consumers who appreciate these ‘hidden gems’.
Reciprocity Wines (RW) believes the way wine is made matters and the conviction and spirit of the vintners matters even more. They wholeheartedly believe the future of the wine industry lies in the passion and innovation of the independent small producers. “Rather than following a recipe for an expected result, small producers are more willing to go with the flow and make the best that the vintage has to offer. Small vintners tend to experiment more, seek less common varietals, and are freer to utilize ‘unusual’ winemaking techniques that make imbibing way more exciting, fun, and interesting. What you will find at RW are literally hand crafted wines, and you wont find any marketing spin here as these are the genuine article,” states AnnMarie. Small production wine is generally not available in the typical grocery as most distributors won’t work with them due to their short supply and even when brick and mortar wine shops carry them the selection is usually limited. “All we carry are truly small production wines and the vintners we partner with typically make less than 5000 cases total with many producing less than a few hundred cases of any one wine. Everything is hand selected, personally tasted, and must meet our strict criteria of high quality at a reasonable price,” tells Amanda. While hand crafted is often considered ‘the best’ and is thought to be more expensive, the wines RW carries average in the $30 range.
An important part of their mission, the website is designed to help people understand their own palate and develop confidence in what they personally enjoy in wine. RW provides a tasting profile for each wine so customers know ahead of time whether its characteristics will appeal to their tastes. And if you don’t know your pallet yet, they include a truly unique section: ‘This wine makes us think of…’ in a nod to the sense of feeling the wine elicits. Amanda asserts: “We meet you where you are at on your wine journey. By mixing commonly used wine descriptors with other more subjective criteria we think anyone can find a wine they will enjoy. We challenge ourselves to find new interesting wines and encourage our customers to move beyond their comfort zone as will likely be pleasantly surprised.” Upon exploring the website it was abundantly clear they are there to assist their customers and answer any questions before a purchase is made.
One of the unique aspects of the wine industry and small producers in particular is they will gladly refer their customers to other producers. Additionally, it is a regular occurrence to see vintners helping other vintners whether loaning a piece of equipment during harvest or rushing to help in a disaster. Witnessing this in action was a big inspiration to the Co-Founders of RW. “As we developed this retail concept and began to conceive of a name it became obvious: the vintner relationships we admired, the idea of working together to achieve a common goal, helping customers make more educated choices, and particularly sharing one’s latest discoveries with friends and wine drinking family – it is all about reciprocity – responding to a positive action with another positive action,” says AnnMarie.
About Reciprocity Wines
ReciprocityWines.com is a new online wine retail business dedicated to showcasing independent small wine producers and giving a wide audience easy access to the beautifully delicious wines they craft. Curating only the highest quality wines at reasonable prices, they intend to become a trusted customer resource for those looking to discover previously unknown wines and winemakers as well as easy procurement of known favorites. Reciprocity Wines seeks to transcend direct to consumer wine sales as it is currently understood, with integrity, honesty and transparency. Every wine is hand selected, tasted and evaluated, and has its tasting profile as well as winemaker notes posted on the site. The wine club will be launching in the Spring of 2021 for those interested in regular delivery of the latest and limited production acquisitions. Offering concierge services RW will gladly personally connect visitors with winemakers of interest. The goal is to provide a platform where discoveries happen and connections are made. Currently working with an ever growing list of vintners in Napa and Sonoma County, plans are to expand to other wine regions of California as well as Oregon and Washington in the near future. RW asks that you visit their site and if you find something of interest – spread the word. Responding to a positive action with another positive action – Reciprocity Wines respectfully requests you too to become a part of the reciprocity community.
