This Wine Company Wants You to Drink Beyond Conventional Borders

It’s no secret that making wine is expensive—back in 2012, one winemaker told the New York Times that “it takes 16 to 20 years to make a profit” from a winery. There’s no telling how many would-be winemakers have decided to pursue different career paths due to a lack of resources, and that means the world is missing out on a lot of wine from potential producers that don’t fit the white, male, old-money mold.

But the wine world is changing, and drinkers—especially younger ones—are interested in expanding their palates by drinking wine that falls outside of the conventional bounds of well-established regions and producers. They want to explore new flavors, of course, but they’re also thirsty for stories. At a time when more-conscious consumption appears to be on the rise, we want to know where our wine is coming from, who’s making it and how it ended up in our glass.

One company is attempting to make winemaking more accessible to producers while also delivering the narratives drinkers are craving. Go There Wines, which was launched in 2022 by restaurateur Rose Previte, her husband, David Greene, who formerly hosted NPR’s Morning Edition, and their friend, entrepreneur Chandler Arnold, aims to provide a market for winemakers in underrepresented communities and wine regions. The winemakers name their own prices, and they receive 25% of the company’s profits. Go There’s portfolio includes wines from a Syrian winemaker in exile who’s currently working in Lebanon, Georgian sisters breaking the patriarchal winemaking mold and a Black woman winemaker pushing boundaries in Paarl, South Africa. In the process, the company is introducing exciting, less-conventional wines to its consumers.

Previte knew she wanted to expand U.S. wine horizons while she was operating her restaurants. “When I opened my first restaurant, Compass Rose, I wanted to share all of these incredible wines and the stories of the winemakers David and I met while living abroad,” she said. “We were bringing in wines that rarely if never had been brought into the U.S., and guests loved learning about them.”

According to Previte, these types of wines appeal to adventurous, curious wine drinkers: “Most of our wine drinkers are people who are naturally curious about wines from regions they’re never had the chance to taste. With so many conventional wines from Napa Valley or France sold in stores and restaurants, we want to provide our customers with wines that [are] just as bold and aromatic as the ones we have from South Africa, Lebanon and other unorthodox countries.”

While Go There has to consider the market they’re selling to, they also wanted to focus on providing value for the winemakers themselves. Previte said that when they were deciding which winemakers they wanted to work with, they focused on producers who didn’t already have a “big platform” in which to sell their wines on the U.S. market. Of course, this also functions as a selling point for some consumers. According to Previte, “I think each winemaker’s unique story affirms our consumer’s decision that they’re helping and impacting each winemaker directly as they taste delicious wines from regions they might not have heard of. It makes the purchasing process more rooted in transparency.”

Baia and Gvantsa Abuladze of Baia’s Winery in Imereti, Georgia, are two of the winemakers who have chosen to partner with the company. “When Rose, David and Chandler approached us to be one of Go There’s winemakers, we were thrilled. To work with partners who believe in the story of a multi-generation winemaker family creating organic, biodynamic wines has been incredible,” said Baia Abuladze. “Ever since we started working with Go There Wines, we’ve seen more people celebrate Georgian wines.”

As much as you may love the classics from Burgundy or Bordeaux, many wine lovers—and winemakers—are looking forward to a future of wine that’s less exclusive, less elitist and more varied, reflecting the unique terroirs of previously overlooked regions and the unique stories of previously overlooked producers. Go There is part of a growing movement to redefine what it means to both make and drink wine.

Samantha Maxwell is a food writer and editor based in Boston. Follow her on Twitter at @samseating.