North Berkeley Imports

It's all so ... shiny! Our good friends and Nuits-Saint-Georges' first family of wine, Domaine Philippe Gavignet, in their new digs bottling the fruits of the 2020 vintage! Spectacular wines, elegant and refined -- you don't know Nuits until you've had Gavignet. #pinotnoir #burgundy #northberkeleyimports

Enjoying a lot of this cherry-bright 2018 Chianti Classico from L'Erta di Radda, our new organic partner in Tuscany! High-altitude energy, so much flavor and soul. This is the real deal when it comes to Radda, one of the Classico zone's more important regions -- it's terroir you can truly taste. Now in stock! @ertadiradda @wineandspirits #northberkeleyimports #chianticlassico #raddachianti #altitudewine #drinkorganic #sommelier #wineimporter

It's official! North Berkeley Imports has been named Importer of the Year for the second year in a row by Wine & Spirits Magazine. We are thrilled by this accolade and want to thank all our customers across the U.S. for their support -- and of course our grower partners who have trusted in us all these years. This is an award for us all! Editor Joshua Greene said the magazine’s short list of outstanding U.S.-based wine importers in 2020 was based on their evaluation of sp...ecific wine regions. In particular, North Berkeley Imports was honored for its work in France’s Champagne and Burgundy regions, and in Italy. North Berkeley Imports was also named Wine & Spirits Magazine's Importer of the Year in 2019.

A very important part of any winemaking team: the plow horse. Say hello to Ramses of Domaine de Gouye, having a snack break.

The Barolo zone is a ridiculously pretty place in autumn. Come along for a ride with our good friend Vittore Alessandria as he cruises some vineyards in #Verduno as the sun goes down...

It’s #internationalchampagneday and Friday, so you know it’s popping off! We couldn’t be more proud to represent the finest group of grower-producer Champagnes! Cheers! #champagne #growerchampagne #grandcru #eglyouriet #jeanvesselle #francisorban #lancelotroyer #michelturgy #petitetbajan

Hello, autumn. Lovely leaves and gray skies over the northern Rhone and our friends at the very top of Saint-Joseph, Domaine de Gouye. #syrah #rhone #saintjoseph

Thrilled to see our newest partner from Italy, Romagna's Chiara Condello - Le Lucciole, featured among this stellar list of great wines under $20 in The New York Times. Chiara's beautiful Sangiovese wines from Predappio are starting nothing less than a revolution in this historic region; it's here also where experts believe Sangiovese originated. Chiara's wines are lovely, luminous, wonderfully suave; and represent extraordinary value, too. Her 2016s are in stock, and 2017s arriving soon! Bravo! #sangiovese #romagna

At Azienda Agricola Ronchi in Barbaresco it’s a family affair; four generations to be exact. This estate was originally founded at the end of the 19th Century by Carlo Rocca, the great-grandfather of the current proprietor Giancarlo Rocca. Since 1996, Giancarlo has been at the helm of Ronchi, crafting honest, expressive, and most importantly delicious wines. This is a winery to keep on your radar! The Rocca family has lived surrounded by the vines of the ‘Ronchi’ cru in Barb...aresco, a beautiful, naturally shaped amphitheater, for generations. The vineyards are part of the family; Giancarlo can walk from his breakfast table to his Nebbiolo vines in less than a minute, while his Arneis vines are located a short 15 minute drive away in Guarene in the province of Cuneo. Giancarlo recently finished the 2020 harvest of his 6.5 hectares of vines with the assistance of, naturally, his family.Needless to say, all work is performed by hand, and as sustainably as possible. No herbicides or pesticides are used. Wines are aged, depending on the cru, in either Slavonian oak casks or a combination of French oak barrel and cask. In recent vintages, Giancarlo has been experimenting with a Langhe Nebbiolo that he ages in terracotta amphorae. All wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered. #ronchibarbaresco #aziendaagricolaronchi #barbaresco #ronchi #nebbiolo #arneis #giancarlorocca

Sunrise at the very top of the Saint-Joseph appellation in the #NorthernRhone at our friends, Domaine de Gouye. Not a bad view to wake up to before work every day! #syrah #rhone #saintjoseph

Watching a winemaker perfecting their craft is one of the most inspiring and fascinating aspects of our business. In this video Vittore Alessandria of @fratellialessandria is introducing the ‘pied de cuve’ to his freshly picked grapes. A ‘pied de cuve’ is the equivalent of a sourdough starter for wine, where a small amount of grapes are picked a few days in advance of the others, crushed, and then allowed to ferment on their own. This ‘starter’ helps strengthen and build the native yeast population when later added to the freshly picked grapes, as seen in this video. Vittore utilizes this method for all of the red wines he produces. #piemonte #barolo #barbera #dolcetto #pelaverga #verduno #nativeyeasts #naturalwine

Some wise words and great advice from our man @sien.brown on the glorious Blanc de Blanc Champagnes from #MichelTurgy in Le Mesnil. Small, family grower producers are where it's at in #champagne!

A little bit louder for the people in the back: End. Tariffs. Now.

Back in March, owner Billy Weiss sat down with winemaker Bruno Gaspard and Blackberry Farm's Andy Chabot to record this excellent podcast about how each of them got into the business of fine wine -- one importing it, one making it -- after a sold-out tasting weekend of Le Clos du Caillou wines (plus exceptional cuisine!) at this award-winning hotel and resort in Tennessee. Click the link here to listen! https://theblackberrymagazine.com//billy-weiss-and-bruno-g

Northern Rhone still life, tasting table in autumn. Love the old-school Saint-Joseph #Syrah from Domaine de Gouye