Many wine lovers will tell you about “the” moment, where a casual interest in wine turned into an all-consuming passion. Perhaps it happened during a trip to the Italian coast, at a small restaurant where the local wine was a revelation; perhaps it was a shared bottle with a character so profound it turned upside-down everything you thought you knew about the transformation of grape into wine.
A great importer is the maker of moments. We are fortunate to be that crucial connection between the talented growers who toil the soil and the passionate individuals who applaud and respect their toil. In substance, we procure expressive, authentic wines and shepherd them to market; in spirit, we unite passions and palates across cultures and oceans. It just may be the best job in the world.
North Berkeley Imports wears three unique yet interconnected hats in the fine wine market. We are an importer first and foremost, with a distinct focus on wines from France and Italy. We are also a wholesaler with a national distribution network, our selections appearing in many of the country’s top restaurants and wine bars. We too are a retail store with a personable and professional sales staff, available six days a week to assist private customers across the country.
No matter how far we’ve traveled to bring you that next great moment, our roots have remained deep in our home soil. North Berkeley Imports started in 1979 as a small neighborhood wine shop in Berkeley, California. Just up the street, a culinary revolution was starting at another local spot called Chez Panisse, run by Alice Waters. It was an exciting time, as American palates were evolving, seeking out new tastes and experiences, and looking to Europe for inspiration.
And so did we. Many of the first scouting trips we took as a fledgling importer were to France, and many of those first vine growers we met then are still, more than a quarter-century later, our partners today.
Yet our Berkeley store is where it all started. Today our retail shop is larger, and located down the street from our original spot on Shattuck Avenue -- and excitingly, in 2020 we’ll be returning to this location. Stay tuned!
Many of our first customers still come by the shop to share stories of recent wine discoveries or open a well-aged bottle of Burgundy they purchased from us years ago.
Relationships built on trust and respect
As an importer, our relationships with growers are everything to us. There is nothing easy about living a farmer’s life, whether one is born to the craft or chooses it independently. For us, it is an honor to represent the fruit of a grower’s year-long labors; it is a privilege to bring their art to the broader world.
We like to say that great people make great wine. For more than 25 years, we’ve witnessed this firsthand. We’ve shared family dinners with growers after a long day in the fields, laughing over shared stories and crying over shared tribulations. We’ve witnessed the changing of generations, as fathers hand the reins of an estate to daughters and sons. We’ve helped pick grapes at harvest and tasted alongside from barrels of early wine. We support and trust our growers; and in turn, they support and trust us.
On this basis, many of our first grower partners are still with us today. We were one of the first importers to bring grower Champagne from Domaine Egly-Ouriet to the United States. Pioneering organic estate Mas de Gourgonnier from Provence was one of our very first partners; we’ve worked now with three generations of the Sabon family from Clos du Mont-Olivet in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
For more, visit our website: northberkeleyimports.com.
