Of great import

Two-time Wright State graduate Brandon Snell launched a wine import business focused on introducing Moldovan wines to American wine drinkers. (Photo by Erin Pence)

Happiness was all about finding a “cool idea.” And that idea came to Brandon Snell as he was sipping wine in the tiny Eastern European nation of Moldova. Today, Snell is quite a happy man.

The Wright State University alumnus has launched a wine import business that involves introducing Moldovan wines to the palettes of American wine drinkers.

Snell, who is of Basque heritage, grew up in Lewiston, Idaho. But he found living in the sparsely populated state a little boring.

“I liked being around lots and lots of people, restaurants, things to do,” he said. “I like to feel like I’m connected to the rest of the world.”

When he was 21, Snell moved to Dayton for a change of scenery and enrolled at Sinclair Community College.

“I noticed that I was at the top of the class in a lot of things,” he said. “It turned out I was really good at college.”

Snell later excelled at Wright State, getting nearly perfect grades. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science and won a Golden Key International Honour Society Graduate Scholar Award, getting a full scholarship to Wright State’s Graduate School.

“I was in college because I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” he said. “It did make me smarter, and it did teach me I could really push myself.”

Snell said going to graduate school gave him confidence and made him more analytical, better at problem solving and better able to conceptualize the world.

“I learned that the only limits you have are limits you put on yourself,” he said. “There were all kinds of times in graduate school where I said to myself: ‘This is impossible. How am I going to do this?’ And then you do it. And you grow and get better and better and better.”

Snell got his master’s degree in international and comparative politics in 2009 from Wright State. His thesis was published as a book titled “Virtuous Aggression: The Origins of Ethno National Separatist Terrorism.”

In 2010, Snell visited Moldova, learned it was famous for its wine and attended a festival in a place known for having the largest wine collection and wine cellar in the world. He sampled a 1980 Cabernet and found it to be terrific and very inexpensive.

Moldova is an Eastern European country sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. It is on the same latitude as northern France and has been making wine for thousands of years. The tiny nation of 3 million people produces more than 30 different varietals.

“I had this entrepreneurial spirit, had been looking for an idea and was fascinated by the wine,” Snell recalled. “I had no background in wine but thought I could build a market for this.”

So he went to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and followed the step-by-step instructions on how to become a wine importer.

In 2013, the import of Moldovan wine was banned by Russia, which had accounted for about 80 percent of Moldovan wine exports. Many political observers believe it was an arm-twisting tactic to try to keep Moldova from signing agreements with the European Union.

“Wine is a huge part of Moldova’s GDP, so it’s something that they take very seriously,” Snell said.

After the U.S. government began helping Moldova export its wines to America, Snell went to Washington, D.C., to meet representatives of Moldovan wineries and forge agreements to import their wine.

About a year ago, he began importing wines under his own brand — Soroca Imports. Currently being distributed statewide, the wines’ quality and quirkiness enable them to be sold in a wide variety of places.

Nate Fakes, a Wright State art alumnus who interned at MAD Magazine and currently works for the mass media corporation 21st Century Fox, created quirky wine labels such as “Beethoven’s 10th” and “Pour Mozart.”

Not long ago, Snell walked into Rumbleseat Wine in Dayton with two bags of Moldovan wines and offered samples to co-owner Chris Holloway. Today, the store carries about a dozen different Moldovan wines.

“The wines are very good, especially for their price point. They are absolutely great deals,” said Holloway. “Once you get it into people’s mouths, they really tend to like them.”

Snell describes the wines as soft and not overly tannic.

“You’ll find that there are a whole lot of things going on in there that are good about them,” he said. “They are so good they will make you smile.”

Snell revels in marketing his wine — meeting with the owners of wineries, restaurants and retail stores. He believes consumers are eager for new wines with new labels.

“For an experienced wine drinker, it’s a whole new story they didn’t even know about,” he said.

Snell would like to see the wineries in Moldova succeed.

“I want to see them build a market for their products in the U.S.,” he said. “We’re breaking new ground.”