Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant occupies a low building at 1605 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, on the west side of town between University Avenue and the Albany line, next door to the bakery and cafe that grew up around it. The company was founded in 1972 and describes itself as an importer, retailer, wholesaler and distributor of wine from France and Italy, buying directly from small producers rather than through intermediaries. Jacob Rodriguez is listed in the chamber's records as a manager.

Three divisions under one name

The Berkeley shop is the public face: a retail store selling the wines the company imports, which lean toward the Rhone, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Provence, the Loire, Piedmont and Tuscany, and toward growers who farm and bottle their own fruit. Behind it sit a California wholesale arm that sells to restaurants and shops across the state, and a national distribution department that moves the portfolio to other states, Canada and Puerto Rico. The founder, Kermit Lynch, is also a wine writer, and the company's LinkedIn page puts the staff between 51 and 200 people.

For a shopper, the practical result is a store where nearly every bottle came in through the company's own containers, and where the staff can usually say who made the wine and where the vines grow.

Making the most of a visit

The shop keeps retail hours that do not run every day, so check the website or call before making a special trip. Come with a budget and a dish or occasion in mind; the staff are used to steering people toward an unfamiliar appellation. Ask about mixed cases, the newsletter that announces arrivals, and whether a wine you liked at a restaurant is in stock, since much of what the wholesale arm sells to Bay Area restaurants can be bought here by the bottle. Restaurants and retailers looking for wholesale accounts should ask for the wholesale office rather than the shop counter.

From West Berkeley outward

Customers drive in from Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Richmond, Kensington and Alameda, and the wholesale portfolio reaches restaurants across California. The store sits on the San Pablo Avenue corridor a few blocks from the Interstate 80 University Avenue exit, with parking on the street and behind the building.

Call 510-524-1524 for the shop, or visit kermitlynch.com for the catalogue and current hours.