Profiles
in Wine: Italian Wine Merchants
Italian Wine Merchants
celebrates the lifestyle of wine by preserving the traditions of the
past and embracing the spirit of Italy's beloved winemakers...
Demanding Sophistication with Each Bottle
Take a trip to an old world European wine merchant right in the heart
of Union Square. Italian Wine Merchants offers an entirely new approach
to wine retailing. Conceptualized by Sergio
Esposito along with partners Joe
Bastianich and Mario
Batali, Italian Wine Merchants is the country’s premier
specialty wine store. Steps away from Union Square Park in New York
City, the store offers a sophisticated wine selection applauded by
wine collectors nationwide. With the country’s foremost experts
on Italian wine, food, and cellar planning - stocking. The store presents
customers the opportunity to understand the significance that wine
plays in European culture.
The owners’ direct links to wine producers in Italy are invaluable.
Sergio visits frequently to stay abreast of Italy’s rapidly
changing quality wine market. These trips enable him to source undiscovered
wines and to understand firsthand the impacts of vintage variation
while touring vineyards, tasting wines and hand-selecting the best
wines per price point for clients.
Unlike other wine shops, Sergio has implemented a special system where
only a single bottle of each wine is displayed in the showroom. As
temperature variance is the most common cause of quality deterioration
in wine, all bottles are taken into a state-of-the-art temperature
and humidity controlled storage room the moment they arrive at the
store. Other bottles are brought up to the showroom only upon purchase.
Italian Wine Merchants has proven to be most successful in its wine
portfolio management services. Clients nationwide rely on Sergio and
his team of consultants to advise their buying activity. Much like
successful monetary portfolio managers, the Italian Wine Merchants
team stays ahead of the game. With their frequent travels to Italy,
they are positioned at the cutting edge of the Italian wine industry.
As Wine Portfolio Managers, they work to optimize both their clients’
monetary investment and their sense of satisfaction. To compliment
these efforts, the store releases investment insight through their
well-received weekly e-Letter and quarterly Newsletter. IWM has been
applauded by the likes of SmartMoney, The New York Times, and Zagats.
Q&A with Italian Wine Merchants’ Sergio Esposito
Vino: How did you come up with the concept of Italian Wine Merchants
and what inspired the ambiance you created in your storefront?
Sergio Esposito: My concept was to build a showcase for the best quality
that Italy produces. Wine bottles should be in the right setting to
impress upon the client their grandeur and importance in the US market.
Thus, Italian Wine Merchants was created as a museum-like showroom.
I also believe it is important to have a beautiful store with great
attention to detail. This allows the consumer to immediately realize
that there is great thought and care focused on providing a great
in-store experience. In turn, this translates to the client that the
same level of detail and focus will be used in providing them with
the best possible service.
Vino: What makes IWM so unique?
Sergio Esposito: We provide the best quality wines at every price
point regardless of market demand, trends, scores, popularity, etc.
Our mission is to work exclusively for our clients, providing them
with the best investment available in Italian wine whether they are
filling a newly constructed cellar or buying a bottle for tonight’s
dinner. This means that we don’t participate in most industry
practices; such as purchasing closeouts on wines that we normally
wouldn’t carry in order to obtain allocations of more attractive
items. We believe in and stand behind the quality of every wine in
our cellar.
Vino: How did the team of Sergio, Joe, and Mario come to be?
Sergio Esposito: It took me 10 years to formulate the concept of IWM.
I had other partners looking to start the business with me at a different
location when I ran into Joe Bastianich at a wine auction. When I
told Joe the IWM story, he was very interested. We soon met at Babbo,
Joe and Mario Batali's flagship restaurant. I saw how far out of the
box they worked, serving lamb tongue and beef cheek ravioli –
very unusual and at the very highest quality level. So, I chose to
work with them instead because of the clear similarities in our business
philosophies.
Vino: Your focus is catering to the serious wine collector and enthusiast.
Why do you believe Italian wines should be collected and aged?
Sergio Esposito: First of all, not all Italian wine should be collected
and aged. Most Italian wines, just like the vast majority of wines
produced world-wide, are made to be drunk early. Our approach allows
collectors to secure the best age-worthy candidates at an early date
to hold on to for 3-5 years or to buy well-preserved vintage wines
at their drinking heights – 10-30 years after bottling. Great
collectible and age-worthy wine has always been made in Italy, but
it hasn’t been very prominent in the US. So, one of our missions
is to introduce our clients to the great producers and vintages of
Italian wines, showing them how to properly age and enjoy them.
Vino: What are the top regions? Who are the top producers? Which vineyards
are up and coming?
Sergio Esposito: The top 2 regions for reds are undeniably Piedmont
and Tuscany while Friuli leads the country in quality white wine production.
The best producers are still the small artisans. They may not produce
much in terms of quantity, but their hands-on approach makes their
wines the best and most reliable on the market. Examples of these
producers are Soldera, Giacomo Conterno, Quintarelli and Bartolo Mascarello.
Two areas buzzing with this kind of activity are western Tuscany and
northern Campania. These 2 up-and-coming regions are proving that
they can make world-class wine. This is further supported by a close
friend and business associate of mine, Daniel Thomases of The Wine
Advocate. He recently completed a terrific article covering this called
The Rebirth of Campania, which was featured on the cover of our recent
12-page Italian wine newsletter. If you would like to read this story,
a copy is available online.
Vino: What do Italian wines offer compared to the Grand Crus and First
Growths of France?
Sergio Esposito: Italy has always made a very small number of wines,
Barolo in particular, that can compete with France’s Grand Crus
and First Growths. But today Italy has a tremendous amount of wines
from many regions that can compete. The difference is that while we
have seen the best examples of Grand Crus and First Growths, have
we really seen the best examples that Italy has to offer? I think
not. Not only is there more to come from the relatively well-known
regions of Barolo and Barbaresco but also from the new regions and
revitalized grape varieties of Italy.
Vino: What are some of the trends in Italian wine? What can we look
for in the future?
Sergio Esposito: Italians are returning to traditional methods of
winemaking. There is a continued de-emphasis on international varieties
and a push to bring Italy’s own grapes into the limelight. These
wines will better speak the typicity of their terrains and varieties.
The emphasis on new oak is lessening as winemakers allow the wine
to express their inherent qualities.
Indigenous varieties are on the move, especially in the south. To
make a name in the world marketplace, growers began planting internationally
familiar grapes in earnest during the latter part of the 20 th century.
These grapes may or may not have been well-suited to the climate and
terroir, resulting in less than desirable wines. Now, growers are
returning to the grapes that previous generations planted, which were
typically much better adapted to the area in question – after
all, growers have spent centuries researching what to plant where
in Italy. Combining these old, often ancient, grapes with modern techniques
in both the field and the cellar, growers and winemakers are creating
a whole new area of drinking exploration for the Italian wine fan.
Vino: How do you source the selection of wines that you offer both
new releases and older vintage bottles?
Sergio Esposito: I travel to Italy 10-12 times per year. For 20 years,
I have networked with the producers and wine personalities there.
In that time, I have also created alliances with foreign journalists
from Germany and Italy who specialize in Italian wine. This ongoing
process helps me follow the pulse of the marketplace.
I always taste all the wines I purchase while I am on buying trips
in Italy – preferably several times. As for older wines, I either
buy them directly from the producer or from Europeans cellars. Europe
is a better source, as collectors there know how to store wines, making
use of natural cellars. Correct storage is critical for vintage wines,
allowing them to properly evolve and show their best at the time of
consumption.
Additional Information:
Complimenting the store is the Studio del Gusto a tasting studio that
provides a forum for the study of Italian food and wine. Studio del
Gusto also hosts interactive wine tastings with guest winemakers and
wine critics. The kitchen theater is also home to a salumeria, which
makes artisan salami and cured meats. In addition, the store offers
bridal and gift registry During the holidays, the store houses a popular
selection of wine gifts presented in the spirit of the old world wine
merchant.
Partner Profiles:
Sergio Esposito
Sergio Esposito started drinking wine at the age of six, after moving
to the United States from Italy. His uncle Aldo would insist that
Sergio accompany him in toasting the end of day with a glass of wine
at dinner. The wine was always from a big green jug that had been
stored in a cupboard next to the range. It was mostly distasteful
and often either oxidized or maderized. Sergio recalls the flavors
to this day, and this first memory recall of wine has proved to be
one of his primary talents in the wine industry.
Joe Bastianich
Since the long-ago days of red checkered tablecloths and fiasco Chianti,
Joe Bastianich has been part of an Italian wine and food “revolution”
ignited by his mother, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, and now fueled
by Joe in an ever-expanding array of projects: restaurants, a retail
shop, a winery and a book. Joe grew up in his family’s restaurants.
When Lidia and Felice, his father, opened the acclaimed Felidia (243
East 58th Street) in Manhattan in 1980, he worked as a busboy and
then a waiter, picking up wine pointers from Nino Laurenti, the restaurant’s
longtime wine director.
Mario Batali
Mario Batali believes that olive oil is as precious as gold, that
shorts are acceptable attire for all seasons, and that food, like
most things, is best when left to its own simple beauty. To that end,
Mario creates simple magic night after night in Manhattan’s
West Village and Theater District, dividing his time between his many
Italian hotspots. The flagship is Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, an upscale
dining room where Batali has seamlessly combined traditional principles
with intelligent culinary adventure since June 1998.
by Christopher Ruess
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