Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Georgia
November 17 2023, Ketchum (Idaho), Lenexa (Kansas), Doraville (Georgia), Melbourne (FL) and Napa Valley — Effective immediately the estate-vineyard wines of Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery are now represented by four prestigious distributors in Florida, Georgia, Idaho and Kansas.
“We are delighted to now be represented by S&C Wines in Idaho, Prime Wine & Spirits in Georgia, The International Wine Company in Florida and Handcrafted Wine & Spirits in Kansas,” said Stu Smith, General Partner/Founder, Smith-Madrone, in making the announcement.
The four distributors are launching with Smith-Madrone’s 2019 Chardonnay, 2018 Riesling, 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2019 Cook’s Flat Reserve, all originating from the winery’s estate vineyard in the Spring Mountain District appellation of the Napa Valley. “These are wines with restraint, style and polish, which express their mountain personality with distinctive elegance,” says Chris Bender of S&C Wines.
“Wines of this style are what we seek but are so hard to find from California,” commented Jay Kaplan of Prime Wine & Spirits. “We’re honored to represent this historic winery in Kansas,” adds PJ Angell of Handcrafted Wine & Spirits.
“We are thrilled to be an ambassador for Smith-Madrone in Florida and represent an exceptional collection of Napa Valley wines and the passionate team that created them,” commented Dana Andersen of The International WineCompany.
“Doing things the easy way has never been the Smith-Madrone way,” Stu Smith says. “Whether it’s digging boulders out of the mountain to make way for our vines or farming slopes up to 34%, our goals, our passion, our life is to grow the very best grapes, whatever the hardships. We know that only the best wine comes from the best grapes, and we were inspired when we began by the saying Bacchus amat colles, that Bacchus loves the hills,” he adds.
Smith-Madrone has participated in events around the country this year, from an Instagram Live chat with Paul Grieco in New York on April 6 to the charity fundraiser vinNEBRASKA in Omaha on March 31 and a Wine & Spirits Magazine walkaround tasting in Los Angeles on June 14. Stu’s been interviewed on LifeBetweenTheVines in May and he appeared on San Francisco television talking about the unusual snowstorm in Napa Valley on February 24. He was a guest on The Booze Hustle podcast in January.
Handcrafted Wine & Spirits of Kansas was founded in 1996. Handcrafted provides a meticulously vetted, concise selection of the some of the world’s finest handcrafted wines, spirits, and other beverages to its partners across the sunflower state. Handcrafted Wine & Spirits is based at 17501 W. 98th St. #46-27 in Lenexa, Kansas 66219, 913/829-4500. More at https://handcraftedwines.net/kansas/
S&C Wines was founded by Jim Cimino in 1978 and has been family-owned and locally operated ever since. The company is based at 200 Northwood Way in Ketchum, Idaho 83340, 208/726-4316.
Prime Wine & Spirits of Georgia was founded by Jay Kaplan and Gil Shir in 2008. The company is based at 3137 Chestnut Drive in Doraville, Georgia 30340, 770/582-0115. More at http://www.primewineandspirits.com/wholesaler/ga
The International Wine Company is a woman owned wholesale company distributing a growing portfolio of small production wines to on and off premise retailers in the state of Florida. TIWC was founded by Dana Andersen in 2021 after she worked and studied in some of the most important wine producing regions in Europe. TIWC is based at 3110 Skyway Circle, Melbourne, Florida 32934, 321/372-4688. More at https://www.tiwc.wine/.
Smith-Madrone is one of Napa Valley’s authentically artisanal wineries, founded in 1971 by Stuart Smith. Winemaking and grape-growing are handled entirely by the two brother-proprietors, Stuart and Charles Smith, iconoclasts known for their staunch adherence to dry farming on their mountain vineyard. All of Smith-Madrone’s wines come from the 38 acres of estate vineyards surrounding the winery, planted 52 years ago by Stuart and Charles. The vineyards extend across steep mountainsides, at elevations between 1,300 and 1,900 feet, on slopes angling up to 34%. Total production each year is less than 4,000 cases. More at www.smithmadrone.com.
