Merchants of Thirst

Seek The Extraordinary

CURIOUS FOLKS IN SEARCH OF CURIOUS THINGS

It started with a rejection of the ordinary, because honestly, the ordinary’s boring. Overpolished wines, spirits engineered by committees, bottles made to fill quotas, not move people. That was never going to be our thing.

We’ve always been drawn to the wild stuff, the soulful, the strange, the bottles that don’t check all the boxes, and don’t care to. The ones that taste like a place, a person, a story you weren’t expecting. And we realized early on, if we wanted to share those kinds of wines and spirits with the world, we couldn’t just sit back and hope they showed up, we had to go out and find them.

So we hit the road, we walked vineyards, we tasted in barns, basements, caves, and corner bars. We met the people making magic with their hands, their guts, and not a ton of money. We listened, we learned, we drank, and we kept coming back.

Over the years, we’ve built something more than a portfolio, we’ve built a network of weirdos, obsessives, dreamers, and skeptics. Winemakers who trust their instincts, buyers who give a damn, friends who bring snacks to long drives and bottles to quiet nights, people who aren’t afraid of a little sediment or volatility, as long as what’s in the glass matters.

We’re not here for hype or flex bottles, we’re not chasing clout or clinging to dogma, we’re just trying to share stuff that makes us feel something. Wines that are alive, spirits that make you pause, bottles that don’t ask permission.

At Merchants of Thirst, we’re not trying to carry everything, we’re carrying what we believe in, what we want to drink, what we want to tell stories about. Because at the end of the day, thirst isn’t just physical, it’s something deeper, something human.

And we’re here for it.

We represent the wines we love.

made by our friends in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, California & Oregon.

Merchants of thirst

Based in San Francisco, Merchants of Thirst is a wine and spirits importer and distributor built on relationships, curiosity, and an unapologetic love of soulful wine.

We specialize in small-production wines from California and Europe, bottles made by people who farm with care, respect the land, and work with minimal intervention in the cellar. Most of our producers farm organically or biodynamically, not because it’s trendy, but because it’s the right thing to do. No additives, no manipulation, no marketing gimmicks, just honest wine that reflects where it comes from and who made it.

We’re not chasing scores, status, or allocations. We’re here for energy, integrity, and the kind of bottles that make people pause mid-conversation and say, “Wait, what is this?”

Our background is in restaurants, retail, and winemaking. We’ve been on the floor, behind the bar, in the vineyard, and inside the logistics mess that is modern wine distribution. We know what it’s like to hand-sell a bottle table-side, to build a wine list with intention, and to need your delivery to show up on time. That experience shapes everything we do. Our portfolio is curated with purpose. Our communication is direct. Our goal is simple: make your wine program better, not harder.

We work with restaurants, wine bars, and independent retailers across California who care deeply about what they serve and who they support. Whether your vibe is natural and punk rock or classic and clean, if you care about what’s in the glass, we’re probably going to get along.

At the end of the day, we’re not trying to be the biggest. We’re trying to be the best at what we do: connecting people to wines that matter.

Let’s quench some thirst.