Why I started Fass Selections

Checking out some Pinot Noir grapes in Baden with one of my producers

Many of you have heard by now that I have opened Fass Selections, but some of you probably have not. It is an online wine retailer/importer with some minor distribution in the OC/LA area. Don't fret, NYC, you won't be rid of me that quickly as I will be still based in NYC, albeit with more frequent travel.

So why did this happen? Many reasons and I'll start with the big one. Every time I go to Germany and France, producers always ask me the same question. How can I sell more wine to America? For me, the answer was glaringly obvious. The prices at the estate were very inexpensive, so the winemakers were not to blame. So what was going on? The wines, in America, were too expensive. Why? Because of the three tier system. Yes, the system that saves Americans from the tyranny of evil alcohol. Besides saving Americans from the tyranny of alcohol they also are making European producers wines more expensive in the USA, and a as result they sell less and not more. It's ironic, as you would think the system would work and producers would sell more, and I suspect it does work for wines like Kendall Jackson Chardonnay that is 2 million cases annually and needs a team of schnooks to move the wines. But when a small European producer who makes 6900 bottles annually and sells it for 9 euro at the cellar door, which translates to $28-$32 a bottle retail through the 3 tiers, you start to see why they all ask me that question. Through Fass Selections I'd sell that wine for $22.00 a bottle, maybe less as I grow bigger. Thank goodness California is going through gnarly economic times and they needed to raise revenues and realized a good source of revenue would be through issuing these new ABC licenses. At the end of the day, the way for small producers to sell more wine in the USA, outside of the randomness of a high score (which is less and less relevant by the day), is to cut out tiers and in my case, overhead. Who thought you could buy a mortgage at Walmart today, 25 years ago? Nobody.

Other reasons I opened Fass Selections are kind of the typical reasons one opens one's own company. Sick of answering to someone, being in total control of the marketing and message, and most importantly, helping the greatest most humble growers in the world get their wines in the right hands. Your hands. Most of my producers are very small and most importers can't take on a producer who makes 2,000 bottles a vintage! Just not economically viable for a small or even medium sized importer/distributor. Bur for Fass Selections that is a perfect number.

I'm also excited to travel more and work more closely with growers, hit these infamous wine fairs, and most importantly I have something to leave behind. Warms my icy heart. It's not really icy.