First Burgundy trip as an importer.

I arrived in Beaune on a Monday in February. It was 2 degrees. The vines were bare. The town was empty.

I had fourteen appointments in nine days. Three were with producers I already imported. Eleven were introductions, set up by a friend in the trade who told each vigneron the same thing: "He is a small importer in Florida. He does not sell to retail. He will buy what you give him."

The first visit was Domaine Boyer-Martenot in Meursault. Yves poured seven wines from tank in a cellar that was colder than the air outside. I tasted, spat, and asked questions about his Perrieres. He told me the yield, the age of the vines, and the date he expected to bottle. Then he asked, "How many cases can you take?" I said twenty-four. He said, "I will give you twelve."

This was the pattern. Every producer I visited gave me less than I asked for. Not because they doubted me, but because they did not know me. In Burgundy, allocation is trust. Trust is measured in years, not in purchase orders.

By the ninth day I had secured agreements with six new producers. Combined, they gave me fewer cases than a single mid-size Bordeaux chateau ships in a week. I drove back to Paris knowing that the trip had been a success.

The second trip, in October, was easier. The third trip was easier still. By the fourth trip they poured the good bottles before I asked.