Ep 5: From 0 to 55 points of Wine Distribution in the DMV Area in 18 Months

Russ Lorber discovered his love for wine when visiting family wineries in Europe and found the experience to be like an invitation to a family gathering. He admired the passion of the winemakers for their craft and launched Wide Roots to bring the essence of this experience to more wine drinkers, hoping to help them in unlocking this world much the same way that Russ did for himself. Russ is certified by the Vinitaly International Academy as an Italian Wine Ambassador and has traveled extensively in Europe, having visited wine estates in Italy, Spain, France, Greece, and Austria.

In this episode, Russ is going to walk us through this wine journey and how we he transitioned from being a wine consumer to a wine expert with 55 points for wine distribution in the DMV area in just 18 months. I’m sure you would not want to miss this, so make sure to tune in! 

[00:00 - 7:24] Opening Segment 

• I introduce our guest for this episode
• Russ shares about his wine experience
• • Spent 25 years in corporate
  • Learning the stories of winemakers
  • Travel as a big role in getting into wine
  • Exploring the old world wine
• Bringing the wine journey to other people
• Combining education with the prod
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[07:25 - 21:41] Transition from Being a Wine Consumer to a Wine Expert

• Being open to education about wines
• Understanding the labeling conventions from different countries
• Building a knowledge base
• How Wide Roots came about
• • Importing wine started as a tortuous journey
  • Changing Wide Roots business strategy
  • Going from 0 to 55 points of wine distribution 
• How Russ developed relationships with international retailers 
• • Being straightforward, honest, and transparent
  • The importance of meeting the winemakers
  • Following through commitments
  • Being straightforward to customers as well 
• Join my wine club and connect with other wine lovers! 
• • See link below

[21:422 - 40:02] Let’s Talk Wine with Russ

• Italian brands on Russ’s portfolio
• How Russ put the portfolio together
• • Why there’s a focus on Italy
  • Different textures and mouth fields
• What people can try 
• • White wine from Sardinia
  • Sforzato di Valtellina
• Checkout Wide Roots and other producers
• • Check out the links below
• Trends to watchout for
• • Authenticity and natural wine movement 
  • Increasing diversity and different wine experiences
  • More educational resources to unlock what is out there 
• Russ’s favorite wine and favorite pairing 
• Russ’s recommended wine resource
• • Learn through experience
  • Find a group of like-minded people and taste things
• Final words

Tweetable Quotes:

“When you get to the history of the wine, you really start picking up things that you hadn't picked up by yourself just opening the bottle.”- Russ Lorber

“ And that's part of the reason why our shared mission here is to grow the universe of people that are just interested in exploring kind of like the craft brewers did 10 or 15 years ago, and what much to their success.” - Russ Lorber

Connect with Russ through Instagram, Facebook, Linked, or Twitter. You can also checkout theri website and other resources at www.widerootsllc.com.

Join their email list for free Quick Reference Guide to good value wines of the Old World here! 

You can also participate in their charity drive! They are donating $5/case for all our wholesale revenue in MD and DC for the month of September to Learning to Live Movement, a non-profit based in Baltimore that offers the opportunity for travel to inner city kids. Learn more about the charity at http://www.learningtolivemovement.com.

Let’s continue the Everyday Wine Conversations and connect with me through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected]. You can also check out my website at ​www.​klevywineco.com.

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JOIN THE CLUB through this link and handpick wines every month, from up and coming wineries, winemaker owned brands and wineries with unique stories while supporting those wineries directly. You can also join our Facebook Group to connect with other wine lovers, get special tips and tricks, and take your wine knowledge to a whole new level.