Guide to Wine Podcast: Episode 84

Navigating Wine Imports with Mexican and Portuguese Wine w/ Dale Ott (Part 1)

Air Date: Wednesday, December 25th, 2024

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Ever wondered what it takes to bring unique Mexican and Portuguese wines to your local shelves?

Today’s guest, Dale Ott, is giving us a behind the scenes look at what it takes to import wine into the US. We talk about why she chose to import wines from Mexico and Portugal, as well as her meticulous selection process for importing wines - hint it’s all about building strong, trust-based relationships with producers. She places an emphasis on low-intervention wines that genuinely represent their regional lineage.

She also dives into challenges faced by smaller wine producers and importers, like the exorbitant margins taken by distributors and the large increase in shipping costs, all of which contribute to higher consumer costs.

Dale Ott is a sommelier-turned-importer who specializes in Mexican and Portuguese wine. Dale and her husband, Stephone Ott, are the owners of NOSSA imports. They have over 30 years of experience on all three tiers of the alcohol industry and are excited to shed light upon historically-relevant wine regions around the world that are making high quality wines deserving of international visibility.

So, if you are ready to learn about the intricacies of importing Mexican and Portuguese wines, the dynamic factors impacting wine prices, the detailed journey from vineyard to your table, and the passionate efforts behind NOSSA imports, then this episode is for you. 

Connect with Dale:
Shop - https://nossa-imports.myshopify.com
Instagram - @nossaimports

Episode Highlights:

• NOSSA Imports and Dale’s journey
• Various global and local factors that influence wine prices
• Why Dale imports Mexican wine and Portuguese wine
• Less-known wine histories of Mexican wine and Portuguese wine
• Dale’s selection process for importing wines
• Dale’s preference in wine distributors and who she refuses to work with
• Challenges in the market when it comes to imported wines
• Impact of the high margins taken by distributors in the US
• Impact on wine costs due to increased shipping costs
• The wine import process

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