Terrestoria Wine Imports joins forces with Wines of Impact on the alternate path to mainstream distribution
LOS ANGELES, 09/04/2023—Long before the 2020 maiden vintage of Silos / Valle d’Itria IGT Bianco was in the bottle, Roberto Lasorte and Stephanie Cuadra had a clear, if unusual, route to the United States market in mind for their generational field blend of indigenous white Apulian grapes. The married couple behind Lasorte Cuadra—a new venture with ancestral ties to the “Itria Valley” on the limestone plateau of central Puglia—in fact, already had a tried-and-tested point of entry: Salt Lake City, where Stephanie founded Terrestoria Wine Imports in 2016.
With three vintages now under their belts, Roberto and Stephanie are astounded by the Italian wine trade’s reception of Silos—the only label released so far by Lasorte Cuadra. Star-laden restaurants and enotecas from Milan to Sicily have given a prominent head start to this newcomer, which is presently making its way into additional European markets, including Germany and Switzerland. Yet global visibility for the young brand can be attributed equally to its early U.S. arrival by way of Utah, the blossoming fine wine market that originally coaxed Stephanie into entrepreneurship. But for the Pasadena native who emigrated to Italy 17 years ago, there was always a hunch that wine would eventually lead her back to California.
Utilizing Terrestoria’s ultra-efficient Utah logistical hub with compliance support from the LibDib digital wholesale platform, Lasorte Cuadra’s West Coast debut is finally ready for take-off—most importantly because of a timely alliance with Los Angeles-based broker Wines of Impact, whose mission of encouraging conscious consumerism in the wine industry speaks directly to the ethos of agrarian advocacy so uniquely expressed through a wine like Silos.
“There is a large base of sustainably minded customers and buyers who want to contribute to the success of small businesses,” says Wines of Impact founder, Belle Bermúdez. “By telling those stories, we can gain not just a new customer for one wine, but cultivate a wine consumer who will actively seek out other brands that are doing the right thing.”
As the partnership between Terrestoria and Wines of Impact takes shape this fall, inquisitive wine lovers can expect to find the 2020 and 2021 vintages of Lasorte Cuadra’s Silos—made with Verdeca, Bianco d’Alessano, Maresco and Minutolo grapes—on curated wine lists and independent wine store shelves throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
ABOUT TERRESTORIA WINE IMPORTS
Founded in Salt Lake City in 2016 with satellite offices in Italy, Terrestoria was created to foster discovery among Utah’s burgeoning number of wine enthusiasts. While focusing on lesser-known viticultural zones and indigenous grapes of Italy and Spain, Terrestoria partners with small-scale producers whose voices are rarely heard beyond local borders.
www.terrestoria.com \ www.lasortecuadra.com \ www.winesofimpact.com
