Peter Wasserman on quality wine

Peter Wasserman and Selection Becky Wasserman (that ?s his mom) are among the best French wine brokers in the world. Their wines are well-made and offer value, even when they cost a lot of money. But, unlike many of their ilk, they sell wine to importers that isn ?t expensive. Which makes the company the Wine Curmudgeon ?s kind of guy (if I can jumble up my grammar).

I chatted with Peter Wasserman during a tasting in Dallas last week. A few insights after the jump:

? Wine is supposed to be fun. Frankly, too many importers and producers approach wine with a seriousness that is depressing. How many of them, when pouring a $200 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne 2007, would call the wine ?My 200 buck Chuck (Nice wine, too, if you happen to have $200 to drop.)

? Don ?t chase palates, chase producers. This is one of the worst things about the modern wine business, and it ?s getting worse. Importers and producers look for wines that ?appeal ? to the American palate, which means I end up tasting French, Italian, and Spanish wines that taste like they were made in California instead of France, Italy and Spain. Wasserman does just the opposite. His company looks for quality producers to import, secure in the knowledge that wine drinkers will buy quality wine. I tasted a a couple of $12 wines from Corbieres, a not especially important region that is known for dark, earthy wines. They were exactly what they were supposed to be, and I ?ll be writing more about them when they ?re available in the U.S.

? Sell wines that you like to drink. There is a degree of cynicism ? call it a lack of respect for the consumer ? among importers. The thinking goes: They ?ll drink whatever crap we bring in as long as it has a good score and we use a lot of winespeak. I ?ve even read this interviews with importers (though phrased more delicately). But you know what the first thing Peter said to me: ?If we won’t drink it, we won’t sell it. ?