Common traits overshadow the differences. The farms we work with value character, nature, and truth. They work land with knowledge from tradition and decision-making filtered through 1,000s of hours among their vines, learning up close.

Our portfolio strives to be deep, not broad. The variations that abound in wines produced by hand between one farmer and the next are key to our learning process and are a big part of where the fun is in this endeavor.

We share an emotional, at times irrational bond with these people and their wines. We care about their success, and see value in who they are and what they do. But mostly it’s in the bottle: our love comes from the wine, the same experience you have tasting the wines. So maybe your feelings will be close to the same.

 

I started Piedmont Wine Imports in 2012, to bring small farm organic European wines to America. After 13 fun-filled years in independent wine shops, I wanted to get out into the countryside, to find wine that would slightly increase the quality of what was available in America.

There are still finds! As years have passed we’ve traveled more miles than I maybe anticipated at the beginning of this dream job. Maybe I just don’t like a crowd. Leaving the trade shows and finding the one-lane gravel roads up to some isolated hillside farm, remote enough to hear nature surround you from the moment you turn off the car, this became my day at the office. It feels right. To meet grandparents and parents and pets, to see livestock and compost and tentative steps toward future plans, this approach brings us a better understanding of what we are selling to our customers. We become partners in the lives and dreams of the farmers we represent. As their spokespeople in America, this small slice of understanding makes it easier to do our real jobs, to be their advocate. It also builds friendships: we don’t work with jerks! Or generally speaking, middlemen. We prefer farmers, characters, funny, hardworking, inquisitive, real humans.

It’s all very personal at this stage. When it comes to the wines we import, it’s my goal to make zero compromises. Piedmont Wine Imports can skip mediocrity and collect wines we’d share with our friends and family, made by farmers who we’d invite to dinner.

I love how Piedmont Wine Imports changes. Every year our mission statement moves a little. It feels like glacial change. Scrutinizing, tasting, looking at the horizon and discerning where we best fit on the wine map: today we have a small team of smart wine professionals tinkering with what Piedmont Wine Imports is. It brings me optimism, also makes me feel a sense of urgency. I have to be sharper, more aware of our terrain to remain a relevant part of what we do. The people I work with give me freedom, they keep it from feeling like work.

 

 

Contact for Metro Wines: Gina Trippi

 

About: John Grochau Hosts a Tasing of His GC Wines

 

Meet John Grochau, Owner and Winemaker at Grochau Cellars (now GC), on Wednesday, May 21st from 4 to 6pm @MetroWines. Customers @MetroWines know John Grochau for his Commuter Cuvee Pinot Noir and his crowd pleasing Melon de Bourgogne. This is an opportunity to taste his other extraordinary wines from Amity, Oregon! The event is "at the bar" and "on the house."

 

GC Wines Founder John Grochau made his way to wine organically, starting first in fine dining restaurants in Portland, namely the legendary Higgins, and learning to make wine under the guidance of Willamette Valley greats.

In 2002, he founded Grochau Cellars, his eponymous wine label, where he could explore the production of food-friendly wines reminiscent of place. More than twenty years later, John has become well known in the Oregon wine industry as a friend, compatriot and community builder. 

He has lent his expertise to countless winemaking endeavors and prioritized strong relationships with growers across the state. After reflecting on more than two decades in the business, he shortened the name to GC Wines to reflect the brand’s evolution from one person’s dream to a dream realized and a much bigger family.

 

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Contact for MetroWines: Gina Trippi