Today we’d like to introduce you to Marina Elettra Snow.
Marina Elettra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I entered the wine business in 2013 after a long successful career in IT & Mobile Technology. My passion for Italian wine developed over the years, a) because I am Italian, born & raised in San Diego and b) because my company (phone.com) relocated me to Italy in 2000 which allowed me to get more exposure to Italian wine!
When I decided to seek a life change, e.g. reducing international travel and focusing on being a mom, I thought moving into a field that would allow me to explore a passion of mine would be amazing… so, I decided to start training as a Sommelier and entered into the first level course. It was a lot of work but an incredible experience. Traveling around Italy by car, visiting wineries, tasting so many unique varietals and really obtaining a foundation to represent Italian wine internationally. I continued my studies and achieved the Level 2 certification in 2016.
Meanwhile from my home office in Venice, where I was living at the time, I was looking into what it would take to become an importer of Italian wine back in my home town of San Diego. There is a lot to know and a lot to do, tons of licenses and beauracracies to face, FDA, TTB, ABC… all government entities which require licensing and permits to import & distribute alcoholic beverages.
I moved back to San Diego after nearly 18 years in Italy in August of 2016. La Jolla, where my parents were living, became our new home and the hub for my DOCG Imports business. My first shipment was delivered in Nov 2016, to a very small and very cool warehouse space in Bario Logan, I had 200 sq ft and built a wine cooler that would allow me to store up to 3000 bottles. I thought that would be sufficient for quite some time. Low and behold the concept really took hold and the business started to grow. Over these three years I have moved up twice in warehouse space, currently with almost 1000 sq ft in the Miramar area. I have an assistant, three sales brokers, and a warehouse/delivery manager all of whom have been essential in my growth from nothing three years ago to over 40 restaurants, many annual events and also a solid group of retail clients who purchase wine regularly off my e-commerce wine shop.
All of this allows me to live the dream of spending extended periods in Italy solidifying relationships with my current wine producers and searching out new ones. I spend a lot of time visiting wineries, tasting new vintages and many different varietals (with well over 500 different types of grapes in Italy, this is a huge part of what I do). As a passionate wine lover and small business owner, I often reflect on how lucky I am, even on the days that I feel the weight of the world and the hard work it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur.
I am overjoyed with the growth and on target to break even sometime next year!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with all entrepreneurial projects, the biggest challenge is cash flow. Returning to the states after so many years abroad means that was not immediately allowed credit and loans from the banks, I needed to re-establish my credit score. So, with respect to inventory management, making sure I have the wine I need to supply the demand from my clients, has been tricky. Initially, the company was funded 100% out of my savings and now, as the books are starting to look good… I have been approved for a line of credit. My target is to reach break-even by end of year 2020, and I’m very optimistic that I will achieve that goal!
Please tell us about DOCG Imports.
DOCG Imports is a small boutique Italian wine importer and distributor. I personally hand select the wines I represent. I specialize in small, artisanal, handcrafted wines. All my producers harvest manually, use the absolute minimal amount of intervention (e.g. irrigation, pesticides, sulfites… etc.) and many of them have achieved certifications of Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable, Integrated and Green farming, and production practices. Many of these small wineries would never have the means nor the courage to approach the US market on their own and therefore I get a great deal of satisfaction helping them to achieve their goals and presenting these wonderful exclusives wines to the US market. I am the exclusive importer of these wines in CA.
One thing that I believe sets me apart from other small Italian wine importers is my focus on the island of Sardegna. Twenty-five percent of my labels are Sardinian. My summer home is located on the southern tip of the island and I am so fortunate to spend many weeks each year there. This allows me lots of time to explore and find wines that most other importers would never do!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
As a child my mother, who was an Italian immigrant from Tuscany, would take my brothers and I back for the summer, to the family home in Bibbona, a very small town adjacent to Bolgheri. We spent many summers there and I remember, most of all the food that I was exposed to. I’ll never forget the first time I was given a fried Zucchini Flower, crisp & delicate and to this day one of my very favorite things!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.docgimports.com
- Phone: 619.519.0427
- Email: marina@docgimports.com
- Instagram: docgimports
- Facebook: docgimports
Image Credit:
King Panda Media for the bottle images.
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