What's Going On in the World of French Wines

I get a lot of questions here on the blog about how to locate specific wines. One of the most common is what to do when you have found a wine on vacation in France, but now can’t locate it once you are home. Unfortunately, sometimes finding a wine you’ve fallen in love with is a little like trying to find the owner of the glass slipper left on the stairs at the stroke of midnight.

Why is finding a long-lost love so challenging? Well, first off, while there is plenty of wine made around the world, there isn’t an unlimited supply of every wine label produced. Certain wineries might produce millions of cases of a particular wine while another winery might only produce a few thousand bottles. Then there is also the factor of a wine is distributed. Some wines can only be found in the region where they are made while others might be sold around the world.

So let’s say that the wine you are seeking is one that you tasted while you were in France on vacation. Since not all French wines are exported – a good deal are available only in France – but most regions export at least a few wines (just maybe not the one you are looking for), your best bet is to start by searching for wines available in your area that are from that region. The next step is to see if you can find out if there is one wine store in your area that carries a good selection of wines from that region. Once you have located the right store, call or go in and ask if they are familiar with the wine you are searching for. If they are not, ask if they have a distributor (that is a company that provides them with the wine that they sell) that specializes in the wines of the region you are focusing on. If so, you can try giving the distributor a call and asking to speak with the person who selects the wines from that region. That person, a vinous fairy godmother, might be able to help you in discovering whether or not it will be possible for you to find your Cinderella wine in the States.

Once you have established for sure that the wine you are seeking is not available in the US at all, I would encourage you to do two things. The first is to search the web to see if you can find a website and an email address for the winery. If you can, send them an email letting them know that you loved their wine and that you have been looking for it ever since you tasted it. You can also ask if they have any future plans to sell their wines in your area. If they do, perhaps they will be willing to send you an email when their wines are available in the US. The second step I would take is to see if you can find another wine from that region that you might love just as much. Perhaps you might taste an ugly step-sipper or two in your search, but who knows – eventually you might find a new wine to put in your glass.