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Independent Pacific Northwest Importer
Sharing Authentic and Artisanal Treasures
Real Wineries · Cool Varietals · Amazing Values

About Us

Keith Johnsen
Keith Johnsen/ Founder & Director /
Keith Johnsen/ Founder & Director /
Johnsen’s dossier includes successful brand development associations with dozens of domestic and imported wineries and breweries, and personal relationships with quality artisanal producers worldwide.

So when you have been in an industry for almost 30 years, as I had been when launching Daqopa in 2008, and decide to push all of the noise and distraction aside and go it alone, there is a different bird on your shoulder that speaks to you. The kids are grown, you still need to pay the bills but not as the end in itself, and you've seen so many fads and trends ebb and flow. How can the things that you have come to love, and respect, about the wine trade - and there are admittedly more than a few to choose from - be shared with others so that they can enjoy some of the insider magic, too?

If six ineffable years of working closely with beloved English beer writer Michael Jackson had taught me anything that was perfectly suited to consider during the transition (and has only amplified since), it was the wonderful enchantment of social beverages and the people, places, and stories that spawn them. Anyone can pay the price to buy a 90+ point something because a magazine or generally self-proclaimed expert told them to, but not everyone takes the time to try something offbeat, learn about a lesser-known grape varietal or region or production method, and discover treasures that are affordable enough for everyday enjoyment. Teach a man to fish and all that.   

Now a fulfilling 14 years later, Daqopa (a Georgian word that means "to share") is still all about exactly that pursuit: seeking out limited delicious treasures that have a reason to exist other than to build a brand name and corporate revenues, or to just throw more of what the masses already want into the mix. There are plenty of behemoth national distributors who sell the wines from large industrial wineries on to the shelves of homogeneous giant grocery and beverage stores, and it's not even an enjoyable evolution of the what started when a bud emerged on a grapevine somewhere.  Despite often trying to weave cute stories, their goals are consistency and identical flavors year-to-year, reduced costs and increased margins, turnover speed and shareholder happiness.  Thanks, but I'll pass.

How many times have you heard (or told) a story about traveling overseas and drinking the most delicious, and often cheap, local wine at a street bistro, or buying a bottle and a baguette that was tossed into a backpack for a bike ride and picnic in the countryside?  The wines that are chosen to be imported by Daqopa are meant to evoke that same sense of discovery, charm, good luck, and hey, even guilt-free spending.  We hope that you think it's tasty fun, a little bird once told me that you might.  

 

Our Portfolio

Daqopa imports several dozen labels from seven countries exclusively for large and established national online merchants, adding to and changing those selections for our internet customers as their needs shift with the dynamic nature of that burgeoning channel of the U.S. wine business.

In our home region of the beautiful Pacific NW, we work with a small network of experienced and respected local distributors in selling a limited number of individual wines that seriously over-deliver for their low everyday shelf price.  If it is not brimming with flavor, value, personality, and authenticity, then we let the other guys put those on the store shelves.  

Please contact us directly if you have any questions about or interest in a wine that proudly carries our name as the importer on the back label. 

 

Borgo Molino Prosecco Rose, Extra Dry DOC

Borgo Molino Prosecco Rose, Extra Dry DOC

Vivir Sin Dormir Organic Monastrell, Jumilla Spain

Vivir Sin Dormir Organic Monastrell, Jumilla Spain

Chateau de Pougelon, Beaujolais Villages, France

Chateau de Pougelon, Beaujolais Villages, France

The Vigilant Malbec, Central Valley Chile

The Vigilant Malbec, Central Valley Chile

Qvevri Mildiani Saperavi, Kakheti, Georgia

Qvevri Mildiani Saperavi, Kakheti, Georgia

Comeluna Nero di Troia/Primitivo, Organic, Puglia, Italy

Comeluna Nero di Troia/Primitivo, Organic, Puglia, Italy

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Allies

“Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read.” 
― Francis Bacon

Reach out to us!

Wine Drinking

The grape deserves respect. In my considerable experience, people who truly appreciate fine wine tend also to enjoy a good beer. As is often the case, the snobs buy image rather than substance. 

- Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter, 2002

Contact Info

Keith Johnsen
Founder/Director

3835 Fort Bellingham Road
Bellingham, WA 98225


360.366.8228 office
206.419.0270 cellular

keith.johnsen@daqopa.com

www.daqopa.com

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