By Darryl Beeson

oriel n : a projecting bay window corbeled or cantilevered out from a wall [syn: oriel window] There is no generally admitted difference between a bay window and an oriel. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913). Stand within an oriel, and one has a certain advantage of view, a positioning.

"Oriel (the wine) is poised to turn the premium wine business on its head by creating one international brand that consumers will know and trust," boasts founder John Hunt, a long time wine aficionado and collector. "By taking old-world, locally-focused winemaking traditions and blending them with modern day business practices, Oriel brings a wide variety of limited-production wines from the top winemakers around the world under one label."

Hunt has commissioned two dozen of the most esteemed winemakers in the world, including Philippe Melka (consulting winemaker for cult winery Bryant Family), Alain Raynaud (winemaker for some of the most sought- after small-production wines in Bordeaux as well as consultant to Colgin) and John Duval (winemaker for Penfold's Grange for over 15 years) to make wines under the Oriel banner. Each winemaker creates a tiny quantity of a truly handmade wine that expresses the best of the local soil, fruit, climate and culture, the whole package of influences often referred to as terrior. Oriel presently offers 27 wines from 24 appellations in eight countries.

"The premium wine market can be very confusing, even for those who know about wine. There are over 60,000 wine labels available today. Oriel's goal is to provide high quality, small production wines from some of the world’s top winemakers, and at the same time, make these wines a bit more affordable. Providing consumers with a reliable option in the premium wine world by offering quality, variety and value is extremely important to me. I want to make Oriel a reliable brand that consumers can trust," says Hunt.

Each bottling indicates the origin of the wine--the region. From Bordeaux, to Spain's remote Priorat, to prime Napa real estate like Rutherford, the vineyard location with longitude and latitude coordinates, and the grape varieties, be they Sangiovese or Tocai Friulano. The respective winemaker's signature is on the bottle, so to speak. Currently, the largest production of any one of the Oriel wines is less than 3,000 cases, with most hovering around the 500-case mark. Remarkably, because Oriel has the overhead of just one brand, the cost to bring the wine to market is lower. Most Oriel wines are safely priced in the $15 to $25 range.
          Philippe Melka
      

Philippe Melka

Oriel winemakers are given a blank canvas when making wine and are encouraged to create expressions of their specific terroir. They make decisions on vines, vineyards, yields and barrels, without worrying about a winery accountant eschewing quality over cost. They are proud to be a part of the all-star winemaking team year after year, but will drop out of the Oriel line-up for a year if their region happens to have a poor vintage.

Choosing an Oriel wine at a restaurant or wine store means getting a wine that was handmade in small batches and is representative of its native terroir. Oriel's range of international wines encourages exploration of a world of great wine—from lesser-known regions and varietals such as a Grüner Veltliner from Falkenstein, Austria (Oriel's Ortolan, made by Christoph Körner, $20) to a great bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford in the Napa Valley (Oriel's Midnight Rambler, made by Gerry Rowland, $30) Considering that Oriel's winemakers have made some of the most sought- after wines in the world, the Oriel label empowers consumers with access to wines they might otherwise not be able to afford or find.

Orbit is Oriel's wine club and takes members on a "voyage of discovery" with its diverse selection of great wines from around the world—a journey of the senses across dozens of regions and varietals. For a fixed $79 per month (including shipping) Orbit members receive two to four different Oriel wines every month—normally priced between $15 and $75 per bottle. Membership is monthly and can be discontinued whenever one likes. "Orbit is the best offer I have come across in 30 years—it allows members to get through the all-too-often closed doors of the magical world of wine," comments Steven Spurrier of Decanter magazine.

Retailers and restaurateurs recognize the price-quality ratio that Oriel provides. Some top restaurants have dedicated whole pages of their wine list to Oriel wines (e.g. Cru in New York and Tosca in Boston) while Sotheby's Café in New York has dedicated their entire wine list (25 wines) to Oriel. Top retailers and wine bars are stocking as many as 20 different Oriel wines because they recognize the unique price-quality ratio and Oriel makes life easier for their staff and customers alike. "We sell one-hundred cases of Oriel per month and our customers are trying regions they have never tried before," comments Andrew McMurray, Vice President of Zachys in New York. "We've found a similar trend through direct sales on our website, www.oriel.net,” comments Oriel's Managing Director Kelly Ford. "Our clients often try a more traditional Oriel wine such as a Cabernet or Chardonnay to start, and then we'll see their orders move toward the more esoteric wines from Spain and Austria."

The Oriel winemaking team has unsurpassed experience at wineries around the world, including Bryant Family, Château d'Yquem, Château de Sours, Château Ste. Cosme, Château Guiraud, Château Lascombes, Château Quinault, Colgin Cellars, Domaine de Chevalier, Domus Area, Dutton Goldfield, Gran Clos, Hacienda Monasterio, Hartford, La Crema, La Val, Le Fonti, Nicodemi, Penfold's Grange, Petrus, Poggio Antico, Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt, Ridge, Royal Tokaji, Sesti, Stags Leap, Venica & Venica, and Weingut Durnberg.

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Darryl Beeson
    Darryl Beeson travels the world looking for wine, spirits, food and travel discoveries. A former sommelier, he has ditched the silver ashtray and bulky chain from around his neck. It is much easier, now, to proceed through airport security.