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Southerners excel at networking

The Anniston Star, Uncorked, February 23, 2005

by Pat Kettles

When I started writing this column, my late editor’s husband, the Commissar Robert Downing, bugged me about meeting an associate of his in the wine business from Birmingham. The associate, Rush Garner, had introduced his wine to the Commissar when he came to Birmingham one year to sell Christmas trees.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the good ol’ Southern networking system had been activated. Before I could pick up the telephone to call this Rush Garner, a friend from North Carolina called wanting to know if I had met Rush. Rush’s father and my friend were a folk duo who performed together at the University of Alabama in the ’60s.

Then I was off to the New Orleans Wine and Food Event where in a seminar I tasted through a dozen of the best cabernets I have ever experienced. I praised the vintner’s wines and lamented their lack of availability in Alabama. All quickly informed me of their wine’s availability in Alabama through, you guessed it, Rush Distributing.

I came home resolved to find this Rush guy, before the President of the United States called to ask if we had met. Before I could call Rush, he called me. He had received several calls from the seminar vintners wanting to know why he had not contacted me.

How did this nice young man, 34 years old, the kind of young man you’d like your daughter to bring home, come to head up his own distributing company whose wine sales exceeded 1.5 million last year?

In Rush’s teen years he traveled extensively over Europe with his grandfather, the late Samuel P. Garner. If this name sounds familiar to those who attended the University of Alabama, it should. Samuel P. Garner was dean of the College of Commerce.

Dean Garner frequently traveled abroad promoting the university. He was instrumental in establishing many cultural and student exchange programs with the countries he visited. This travel continued well into his 80s.

When no longer able to travel alone, he commandeered the services of Rush, who was put in charge of selecting restaurants where grandfather and grandson would dine. Knowing little about food and even less about wine and given carte blanche by his grandfather, Rush selected only restaurants with multiple stars by the side of their names from the Michelin Guide. It was at these meals that wine started to take on a new importance for Rush.

Rush could have gone to work for the Garner family business, Texas Pete hot sauce, when he graduated from Alabama, but wine had him in its grips. After working for a wine distributing company, Rush started his own distributing company in 2002. That his sales exceeded 1.5 million this year is remarkable considering Rush represents primarily small boutique wineries whose production rarely exceeds 500 cases per year.

He literally created a market in Alabama for boutique wines. He visits wine regions frequently and searches out the small artisan producers and then entices them to personally bring their wares to Alabama. This past week alone, Rush has conducted tastings in Tuscaloosa, Ono Island, Fairhope, Birmingham, Anniston, Huntsville and Montgomery. Rush has conducted numerous tastings around town at the Victoria, Anniston Country Club and the American Cancer Society’s Vintage Affair.

Most recently, vintner Wells Guthrie accompanied Rush to Anniston. Wells, named "Winemaker of the Year" by Food and Wine magazine in its American Wine Awards category, operates Copain Wine Cellars.

Copain comes from the French word for "pal." After a stint as tasting coordinator for Wine Spectator magazine in San Francisco, Wells moved to the Northern Rhone in France, working for Chapoutier, where his love for syrah intensified. Returning to the States, Wells worked in both the vineyard and cellar of the famed Turley Wine Cellars.

Would drinking spectacular wines in Anniston, Ala., and having these wines poured by Food and Wine magazine’s "Winemaker of the Year" be possible without Rush Garner? I don’t think so. Rush’s business slogan describes his company as: "The bridge between dedicated producer and serious consumers."

Try the following wines by Guthrie that this "serious consumer" found very appealing.

Saisons des Vins "L’ete" Sauvignon Blanc 2003. $14. Guthrie’s second label carries the French name for the seasons of the year. "L’ete" is French for summer. An excellent seamless wine. Crisp, slightly herbaceous but with lot of summer fruit coming through. Great with seafood and chicken.

Saisons des Vins "L’automne" Pinot Noir 2003, Mendocino County. $18. Pleasant, light. Not as intense as the Cerise listed below but good for the money.

Copain "Cerise Vineyard" Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2002. $50. Sourced from a small, cool area known for producing varietals that thrive in coolness. Intense, berry fruit pinot with a bit of earthiness thrown in. Another in a long line of pinots becoming wildly popular since the release of the movie, Sideways.

Copain "Eaglepoint Ranch" Grenache 2003. $48. The first Grenache recommended in this column. Rich and intense. Spicy, peppery stuff. Drink with rare red meat.

(Note: These wines are available at most Birmingham outlets. If you would like to taste Rush’s wines without purchasing all the bottles check out his events schedule at www.winesbyrush.com. )