While I’m celebrating the 5th anniversary of 1WineDude.com this year, there’s a true living legend who is marking a much more meaningful – and impressive – milestone in 2012.
Importer, author, musician and iconoclast Kermit Lynch has been working in the wine biz for forty years (as long as I’ve been alive). And he’s managed to keep doing it successfully despite the big wine mags mostly labeling his wines “uncool” in favor of more bombastic, oak-infused, pedal-to-the-metal powerhouses.
Well, what goes around, comes around: wines of place, vibrancy, and context are cool again, and no one is cooler in the world of those wine than Kermit himself.
I caught up Kermit him in his Berkley, CA shop in February and geeked out with him over some delicious Corsican wine from Yves Leccia; the kind of wine that hits your palate like a life-force-giving tazer gun, inciting you with an immediate desire to finish the bottle (preferably over dinner and with friends). Kermit kindly agreed to a video interview – a rarity for this guy – which is posted below after the jump.
What does someone with forty years of against-the-grain vinous fortitude have to say about the most transformative moments in nearly half a century in the wine biz? What about the future of the wine world excites someone with that kind of perspective? And more importantly, will he let me play bass on his next album? Watch to find out!…
Cheers!
Cool simple message..appreciate the diversity in wines
Thanks, ryan!
Thanks Joe!
Just read "Adventures on the Wine Route" again this past winter, and it is amazing to see how forward thinking Kermit Lynch was when he started. Deep appreciation for the work that he has done and the words he has written. The first name I learned to recognize as a sign of quality, when I was scouring the wine back labels.
Vermentino!
Cent'anni!
Thanks, Todd! Confession: I've yet to read the book! Gotta get on that, stat…
What a great opportunity to meet Kermit Lynch! Thank you for sharing. Very interesting to hear his perspective. I can only hope in 40 years, I am still working in this great industry!
Here's to that, Charlotte!
Oh wow, tasting with Kermit Lynch. Very jealous :)
Timo – it was wine geek heaven. And he's just an awesome, genuine guy. And generous with the Corsican vino, fortunately! :)
Oakland? Isn't it Berkeley, or even Albany if you want to try and dress it up? The guy is an inspiration to be sure to any of us crazy enough to try and start a wine business.
:). Thanks, Mark. I'm a Steelers fan so I don't like even saying the word “Oakland”…
Great Interview!
It was awesome to hear Kermit Lynch heap praise on wine bloggers and natural winemaking. After 40 years in the industry, he is still on the cutting edge. Seeing his logo on the back of a wine bottle inspires more trust than any wine score. A great man in the wine biz, and a really great opportunity to hear him pontificate on the industry. Thanks Joe
-Gabe
Thanks, Gabe. I didn't get the sense that he was pontificating so much as speaking from the heart. And totally agree that he has ended up ax cutting edge, though I suspect that he wouldn't use that term himself. Cheers!
Sweet! Did you stop in at Odd Lots just up the street in Albany?
Wine Tom – alas, no, a quick stop and then we were on to Lodi for a nice dinner and to polish off the Corsican juice.
Generally when you interview someone, you need to shut up and let them speak a little more. Otherwise interview yourself.
Jason – maybe I should interview you? Just let me come up with some questions to ask myself during that interview so that I don't get bored…