So you had this amazing wine while you were on vacation out of state and you can't wait to get home and buy it again to recreate that special moment. You start making phone calls or driving store to store on what should be a routine wine buying excursion. Except, no one in town carries this wine or has even heard of it. What gives? I run into customers having this experience all the time, so you're in good company. I thought maybe I could pass on some helpful information and a couple of pointers to help you out the next time you run into this.

First of all, rather than going store to store or making phone calls, start with the internet. The reason for that is, many states, AZ included, have a three-tier system for alcohol sales. Producer - Local Distributor - Retailer. What this means is, anyone who makes an alcoholic beverage must acquire a local distributor to wholesale their products. If they don't, no retailer can sell it. Retailers cannot by law purchase directly from the producer. One exception being that an AZ winery can sell directly to the retailer and bypass the distributor. But typically the distributor must be the middle man. So, try to find the particular product's web page. They will often give distributor information so you can determine right then and there whether the product is even available where you live without making one phone call or getting in the car.

That said, this only works about 60% of the time. For some reason, a lot of producers don't bother to show where their products are available. If you find that their web page doesn't give that information, check with a reputable wine merchant and let them know what product you are looking for. They can typically check with their local wholesalers to find out if the wine is available in your area. But be prepared this could take a few days so give them some notice. If you go in requesting that the wine be there by tomorrow night it's probably not going to happen.

Keep in mind too that small, local wineries you may visit in other states most likely only produce a few hundred to a thousand cases a year. Hardly enough to supply distributors and retailers on the other side of the country.

Some wine it seems is available everywhere you go. Others are hard to find. More often than not, it's the one you fell in love with that's impossible to locate. My best advice is, don't spend too much energy on that search. If it starts looking futile, taste some new wines and move on to your new favorite.