Don’t Buy and Sell, Buy and Cellar!

Exploring the world of wine can be a fun and exciting journey. From discovering the different varieties, to learning about the production process, to finding the perfect bottle for your palate, the possibilities are endless. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or a novice explorer, the thrill of discovering new wines and tasting them is sure to be a memorable experience.

Let’s take a listen at this episode as Curtis Stephenson shares how he and his partners started a wine business that brings in world class wines from all over the world providing an avenue for anyone on the lookout for finding, tasting, enjoying, and experiencing wines that will help you get the most out of your wine-tasting adventures.

What you will learn from this episode:

• Find out how wine agencies work and how do you stand out from competition from among the many around.
• Discover how they’ve managed to ride it out through the pandemic despite opening a wine business at the beginning of the first COVID lockdown.
• Learn how they source their wines and choose producers all over the world and pick the best and the great ones.
• Understand the role of wine agencies in the importation of wines and how the LCBO does its part in making sure of the quality of wines and adherence to standards.
• Find out the important considerations when importing wines from anywhere in the world.
• Hear of initiatives of representing small wineries around the globe and providing them avenues to introduce their wines to a big Canadian market, especially Ontario.

Find out what differentiates the Buyers+Cellars tasting bar from the rest of the wine bars in Ottawa.

After more than 20 years in the hospitality sector, Curtis Stephenson embodies the exceptional customer service and professionalism that drive fine dining and enhance guest experiences. He has used his knowledge and skills to develop the next generation of service professionals and in 2016 he helped open one of Canada’s top new restaurants. Curtis brings a passion to his role at Buyers+Cellars and is excited to take his Ottawa tasting room guests on an unforgettable journey through the world of wine.

Connect with Curtis Stephenson:

• Website: http://ottawa.buyersandcellars.ca/

Topics Covered:

03:53 – Getting to know Curtis and what paved the way for his introduction to the wine industry
11:34 – Opening a wine business just when first lockdowns started because of COVID and surviving the whole challenge
15:35 – Understanding the role of wine agencies and the process of importing wines where the LCBO is concerned
17:47 – Can we buy in bulk orders from the Ottawa tasting room?
20:03 – Where and how do they source their wines?
25:38 – Looking forward to travelling to these two beautiful countries which have excellent wines in the world
27:35 – What inspires Curtis everyday?
29:38 – The best thing about the Tasting Room
31:07 – How wine lets you connect to your very self

Quotes from Curtis Stephenson:

“We always had wine in our household and I was introduced to wine at a very young age.”

“It was very common to actually expose your children at a very young age to a little bit of wine, because that’s just what you did in Europe.”

“I started out just as many, many people do in the restaurant industry by starting as a dishwasher.”

“Going through school I was very into art history and philosophy and that was my benchmark. And then realized, probably not going to get a real good career in that.”

“I really just loved the romantic nature of fine dining.”

“It was all about fine wines and I knew nothing like I was 20 years old and just cutting my teeth on just hospitality in general.”

“I was just at the beginning level. I knew that I loved it. I was exposed to it at a young age, but I didn’t know enough.”

“And that changed my life from then on because after that point, it was everything wine.”

“Wine is so subjective, of course, as you know, and I love the technical aspects of wine.”

“I just really fell in love with finding things for someone else that they would love.”

“If you think you know everything, that’s when you have to be really humble because you never know everything.”

“We wanted to do things differently. Go to areas in the world that are just underrepresented that make amazing wines, things we never see in the L C B O or SAQ if you are in Quebec.”

“We really had to navigate through those first three months and two years with a lot of like deft hands and getting outside the box.”

“There’s very little known when it comes to the process of importing wine for a private wine agency.”

“We’re always looking for that next great winery so that we can have a lot for our customers here, both in the tasting room and for our restaurants as well.”

“What we try to do, we try to take a step back and look at the market as a whole here in Ontario.”

“We love to get small wine makers that are family-owned, definitely organic and sometimes natural as well.”

“Now, when you have that many winemakers in one spot, of course you have to be very astute of what you’re doing because there’s no way you can taste all of them. Otherwise you’re coming home in a body bag.”

“We’re looking for those Goldilocks kind of territories when it comes to price point, uniqueness and drinkability.”

“I love to challenge and I never want to bring in guests and just to, just to do the basics.”

“Wine for me is something that’s way more romantic than anything else when it comes to spirits and anything like that.”