Living Wine: A French Entrepreneur’s Success Story in New York

Roland Benedetti moved to New York thirteen years ago to “establish a Norwegian software company”. Despite a career in IT, this Savoyard with a “slightly atypical” background has always been passionate about wine: “I always visited the winegrowers and brought back wine for myself and for my friends, it was a passion” , he says. When he moved to New York, he missed this habit and, one thing led to another, he relaunched a similar activity, which consisted of “going to visit the winegrowers and bringing back wines that we like where we live”. Therefore Living Wine see the day. Today, the company distributes “direct to New York and other states through distributors,” with partners in Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon and Vermont.

Living Wine, wines with a “terroir” approach

The Living Wine portfolio is mainly based “around the Alps”, with wines from Eastern France (Savoie, Jura, Rhône Valley, etc.), Northern Italy (Piedmont, Lombardy) but also from Slovenia, Croatia, Austria or Germany. Roland expresses a preference for small producers and natural wines, as close as possible to the vineyard: “The wines that I like are wines which are not technological, which express a terroir and the work of a winemaker”, underlines -he. But finding a place in the world of wine imports in New York is not an easy thing: “It’s not as romantic as we think,” jokes the Frenchman, who cites a saturated market and excessive consumption. falling. “It’s a very competitive sector, that’s obvious. There are many importers in classic wine and artisanal wine,” he adds. Despite everything, the co-founder of Living Wine remains positive: “We are very small, but we are growing! “.

The Maison de l’Occitanie, where Occitan talents are exported to the United States

Renew ties with the French community

Although he set up his business in a sector not necessarily surprising for a French person, Roland does not consider himself a “traditional expat”. When he arrived in the United States, the link with France was “not obvious”. Married to an American and living in Queens, he confesses to having “never really integrated into the expat or French communities”. But recently, through Living Wine, the Savoyard says he has reconnected with the French community. Although he believes that he has not encountered any particular difficulties in his entrepreneurial approach thanks to a “relatively marked and accessible” path, he nevertheless advises those who wish to try the adventure of entrepreneurship to join FrenchFounders, the first international French-speaking business network: “I think that FrenchFounders is the must, at the beginning anyway. It’s very good for people who want to establish themselves, such as start-ups,” he recommends.

2024-03-10 17:05:25
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