The Wine Exchange:  Quality wine, great prices

by Susan Montgomery

How do you buy wine and what are the factors you consider?  Do you buy wine in retail outlets or do you buy it online or both?  Most people would probably say that whether they buy wine online or retail, their major considerations are the quality and the price. We know there are lots of places where we can buy reasonably priced wine, but the quality question always lingers.

So we were thrilled to discover the Wine Exchange in Santa Ana, a spacious retail and online outlet with an enormous variety of premium wines offered at very accessible prices. The Wine Exchange, which was founded in 1982, was recently purchased by Best Wines, one of the country’s most respected online wine sites. Best wines is owned by personable partners, Tristen Beamon, CEO for Best Wine Groups, and Kyle Meyer, Director of Operations and Purchasing, who knew Wine Exchange well since prior to founding Best Wines they had worked there for a combined 30 years. Beamon and Meyer have a well-earned reputation for being enterprising entrepreneurs who focus on innovation and creativity in their business endeavors—and it doesn’t hurt in the wine business that they also have great palates.

Best Wines is known for providing much more than a wine purchasing experience for its customers and that approach is being carried over to the Wine Exchange. The company’s mission is to make wine approachable, understandable and highly enjoyable. They do this in part through more than 250 entertaining, educational video interviews with the world’s top winemakers. These YouTube videos capture the personality of the winemakers and their wines, along with providing information to help the consumer understand wine and make wise purchasing decisions. You can find these videos on the Wine Exchange’s website— Winex.com.

When our group of writers from the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association visited the Wine Exchange, both partners were available to share their knowledge and passion for wine with us.

Kyle Meyer pointed out the personal approach both owners have to purchasing and selling wine. They try almost every wine before adding it to their inventory and they frequently try the wine right out of the barrel at its source before it is bottled. He says with a chuckle, “Every bottle on the floor we would drink with reckless abandon.”

At least 70 percent of the wines they offer are “allocated wines,” which means that a winery or distributor allows a seller to only have a limited quantity. Allocated wines tend to be outstanding wines and are in great demand.

Because Wine Exchange buys their wines directly from the source and frequently buys futures in wines, they are able to eliminate some of the middleman steps in getting wine to the consumer and, as a result, they can offer wines at lower prices.  For instance, while a typical wine from France would usually go through a three-tiered process—from an importer to a distributer and then on to the retailer, Wine Exchange handles all three tiers of the process.

As an example, while the first exquisite wine we tasted during our visit to the Wine Exchange, R&L Legras Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Gru, may sell at most outlets for $60 a bottle, Wine Exchange typically sells it for $35 a bottle. (Actually, as of the writing of this article, it is now on sale online for $29.98.) And it is a premiere wine, 100 percent Chardonnay with crisp, bright, clean apple tastes that were clear and precise. We learned that this is the house Champagne at many 3-star Michelin restaurants in France.

The next wine we tasted, the 2013 Burlotto Vino Rosato Elatis was bone dry but with a pleasing richness, and is one of the best Rosés I’ve tasted in a long time with super ripe strawberry on the palate and a spicy finish. At only $17 a bottle this was such a fantastic buy that I took a few bottles home.

We also tasted the 2012 Varner Chardonnay from Spring Ridge Vineyards Home Block which had nice stone fruit flavors, such as apricot and peach, with overtones of mint and honey. For the quality of this gorgeous Chardonnay it is reasonably priced at $45.

Our final taste was the 2009 Le Petit Haut Lafitte Pessac Leognan, a 75 percent Cab and 25 percent Merlot blend, which was creamy and easy to drink with a nice mixture of tastes, including cassis, black currant, toasty almonds, and soft tannins on the finish.

The sales staff at the Wine Exchange obviously reflects the friendliness and approachability of the owners.  The staff members we met were knowledgeable and helpful as we tried to match some upcoming dinner dishes with just the right wines at the right prices. And even though we live an hour or so away from the retail store, it’s nice to know I can go right online and purchase wine there. And, by the way, the Wine Exchange website is attractive, well organized and easy to use. In seconds, you can have great wine on the way to your front door.

The Wine Exchange is located at the corner of Warner and the 55 Freeway in Santa Ana, Orange County.

Photos by Todd Montgomery.