In a post-modern house situated among fir trees on the edge of Portland, Oregon, Aric Wood is starting an Alpine wine revolution.

Earlier this year, he started Archetyp, a direct-to-consumer wine club focusing exclusively on wines from seven Alpine countries along an Alpine ridge in Europe. His goal is to be “the cellar door for Alpine wines in the U.S.”

Wood has identified and defined an Alpine wine region, encompassing seven countries – France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Germany – and slicing through 120 valleys, from Nice in the west over to Maribor in Slovenia. As he sees it, there is enormous opportunity to introduce American wine drinkers to the indigenous grapes and wine styles of small, independent Alpine wineries that just aren’t large enough to attract the interest of large distributors within America’s notorious three-tier system. 

“As my wife and I were drinking Lagrein (a native red grape of Alto Adige) on a rooftop in Bolzano, in Sudtirol three years ago, we wondered how we could find a way to enjoy and share these magnificent wines with others in the U.S.,” says Wood.  “It took a lot of research and a lot of time to get the permits and licenses we needed, but today, we’re bringing in Alpine wines from 29 producers in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein, and have more than 100 members signed up for our wine club.”

Why Alpine Wines?
In addition to being a skier and a mountaineer, Wood majored in Central European Studies in college. He’s also been a wine collector since reaching legal drinking age. “Everything I’d done and was passionate about led to an interest in and excitement about Alpine wines,” Wood says. “I knew at some point I’d build a wine business (he has had a successful management consultant career for decades) and it’s only natural that Alpine wines are at the center of it.”

Besides loving the wines, Woods points to climate change as another appealing aspect of Alpine wines. “Elevation and cooler climates are top-of-mind for winemakers the world over,” he says. “Global warming is changing the ways – and places – in which wine is being made around the globe. Wines made in alpine regions have a built-in advantage of cooler temperatures, leading to wines with crackling acidity, lower alcohol and a lot of elegance and complexity.” 

What’s in it for the Wineries?
Wood sees himself with a win-win situation with Archetyp. “We’re offering a world of wine discoveries to our members – and we’re helping small, independent wineries gain a foothold in the U.S. – regarded by many as the most prestigious international wine market. 

Wood explains that while a number of the small producers with whom he works simply can’t scale up to accommodate large orders from the U.S., selling even smaller quantities in the U.S. is a feather in their cap. “Being able to say, ‘my wines are on tables from Strasbourg to Seattle’ helps small producers market their wines in their home markets,” explains Wood. “And some of the producers we work with do have the ability to scale up, so Archetyp is the point of the spear for them in the U.S. market.”

Archetyp offers three levels of membership: the Terroir Club includes two bottles a month; the Haus Wines Club includes four wines quarterly – made in collaboration with winemaking students at oenology schools in Austria and Italy, no less – and the Keller Club offers age-worthy wines and includes three bottles per month of a single wine (one to drink now; the other to lay down for later enjoyment). 

In It to Win It
While Woods is certainly in business to earn money, he counts sustainability high on his list of criteria for success. “We wanted to create a socially conscious business, so that the very existence of it improves the world,” he says. “Not only do we aim to minimize and neutralize our impact on the planet, we hope to improve the planet.”

In that spirit, every Archetyp order triggers a tree planted somewhere in the world. “We don’t really promote it, but our customers can see, over time, how many trees their orders have helped plant,” says Wood. “We’re also working with reforestation projects in Alpine regions.”

What’s Next?
“Our focus is on cultivating a like-minded community of people who share our passion for Alpine culture – starting with the wines Archetyp offers,” says Wood. “We see this community growing, as our portfolio of wines grows and we see alpine travel opportunities with members to experience the Alpine lifestyle through food, wine, hiking and other activities. There’s no question that the Alps is the most exciting wine region in the world.”