I'm crazy for Joe Dressner and his impeccable taste and the wines he brings to the US through his company, Louis/Dressner Selections. I adore the wines he and team select and I actually do look for his import label on the back of bottles when I'm at the wine store. Sometimes I just ask the staff if they carry the portfolio. As a fan of 'traditional' winemaking, I have found that wines with the Joe Dressner stamp of approval do indeed please my palate and provide a great value. The product is 'real wine,' and is made traditionally with wild yeasts, is hand harvested, non-filtered using natural viticulture. The website explains it better than I ever could. It is chock full of great information about Dressner's favorite winegrowing areas as well as a well-argued case for bucking the price tyranny of the AOC in France.
I learned about Joe Dressner wines when I was asked, four years ago, to work a wine tasting at Chambers Street Wine in New York. I matched cheeses with a selection of Louis/Dressner wines served by the shop staff. It was incredible, eye opening, and the wines, Savennieres (chenin blanc) and Chinon (cabernet franc), were revelations. Not only were they were delicious, but they also reflected the terroir of the Loire valley. Better yet, they were less expensive than wines of similar quality from California, and, to my palate, better by several standard deviations than anything in the same price range from California.
In trying to locate a reliable source of Louis/Dressner Selections wine in Chicago, I did a search and stumbled on to Joe Dressner's Blog, written by the man himself on his cell phone, his blackberry and possibly his computer whenever he pauses long enough to sit down. He spends a lot of time in France, and peppers his blog with references to dinners that made him sick, temper tantrums he's had, and his dislike for the average US wine industry macher. His blog tracks his haircuts, his transatlantic voyages on discount airlines, the transatlantic voyages of people he works with, and random apologies for not blogging more often. My recent favorite entry? It had to be this one. Remember: Joe Dressner does not have peeps.
Although he claims that the site's point is "unabashed self-promotion", Joe Dressner is no PR man. His unfiltered and uncensored rants are a pleasure to read, much as his wine selections are a joy to drink.
In Chicagoland, Sam's carries some of the portfolio.
Article from Gastronomica on Joe Dressner and his approach to wine.
