Couple thinks small to move wine piling up in warehouses

By STEVE BROWN

Capital Press

SEATTLE -- Modeling their business after community-supported agriculture, Ryan and Ashley Sytsma sell wine over the Internet.

The pair go to family-size wineries, harvest the best of what they find and ship them to their subscribers.

And like farm CSA members, subscribers to People's Wine Market must trust the Sytsmas' judgment in the type and quality of the wines.

"They won't know what (wine) it is until it arrives," Ryan Sytsma said.

In addition to fixed-price subscription packages, the business also offers customers the ability to go to the website, make a selection and order the wines they choose.

The Sytsmas raise no grapes nor do they produce any wine. What they do is seek out "recession-era" wines, those wines bottled in the past couple of years still on wineries' and distributors' shelves that need to move to make room for the next vintage.

"Retailers and distributors only want shiny, new wines," Ryan Sytsma said.

Ashley Sytsma said there's a perception that overstock and outlet markets are "the cemetery for bad wines. ... We reject 75 percent of the wines that are presented to us," she said. "We show customers these are high-quality brands. After the first time, they'll know."

The Sytsmas' background as wine importers has given them the fundamental tools for the new enterprise, she said, "and Ryan has an incredible palate."

The two focus on the Northwest, with its 1,200 to 1,300 wineries, but also carry imported wines. They research each wine and taste it, then buy what appeals to them.

Vicky Scharlau, executive director of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers, said she wondered about any Northwest connection when all she saw on the People's Wine Market website were imported wines.

"There's no mention of Washington or Oregon or the Northwest," she said.

Ashley Sytsma said a little over half of the featured wines are from the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Three different wines are featured each week, and only imports happened to be featured when Scharlau saw the website.

Other online services have minimums that small wineries can't fill, Ryan Sytsma said, but People's Wine Market can take as few as 10 bottles.

A lot of small producers have struggled in the recession, Ashley Sytsma said, and their product is building up in their warehouses.

"It's important for us not to lowball the winery," Ryan Sytsma said. "Even if all they can do is recoup their costs, they can be sustainable."

Not only does the business keep wine moving for the wineries, it can target regions of the country without access to Oregon and Washington wines.

"We're spoiled here in the Northwest, with access to unique stuff," she said.

The company sells direct to consumers only, Ryan Sytsma said. "We have to be sticklers about that."

"We believe small businesses are the backbone of America," Ashley Sytsma said. "We want to thrive, but not be a megacorporation."

Online

People's Wine Market: www.peopleswinemarket.com