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.