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Williams Corner grew out of a friendship and shared appreciation for wines and a realization that well-known labels, big scores, and long-established regions could not guarantee enjoyment. Rather, we found delight mostly in wines that challenged and surprised us with their finesse, balance and uniqueness. We search out producers who:

Use Natural Yeasts to Initiate Fermentation
Curtail Yields
Hand Harvest
Recognize That Living Soil and a Biodiverse Ecosystem Benefit the Vine
Realize Only High Quality Grapes can make High Quality Wine
Use Sulfur Appropriately and Only When Necessary
Do Not Filter or Limit Filtering
Respect Their Terroir, but Aren't Afraid to Experiment
Produce Dynamic, Drinkable, and Food-Friendly Wines

Quality and Service

Wines are alive, and must be carefully handled and stored they are at their best when they reach our customers. All of our wines are transported in climate controlled environments from the moment they leave the winery to the time they are delivered to restaurants and retail stores. These environments include air conditioned trucks in Europe, refrigerated shipping containers, our climate controlled warehouse, and finally or air conditioned, bio-diesel fueled delivery van.

When we select our wines, we do so with the goal of satisfying the eventual wine drinker. This requires constant attention to the quality and value of the wines we carry. We always seek to exceed our customers expectations by providing wines that of an excellent balance of quality to price. In addition to transmitting value, we also wish to transfer our excitement to our customers. Through tastings, dinners and our informative website, we hope to facilitate the success of our wines on the market through an educated customer base.

We speak from experience with each and every one of our wines. In most cases we have tasted our wines in the cellars of our winemakers and would proudly serve them at our dinner tables. We view intimate knowledge of the wine, winemaker, and site as a prerequisite to sales.

Bios

Nicolas Mestre - From basically as soon as legally permissible, Nicolas Mestre has been a member of the wine trade. Prior to even this point, his childhood spent in France, French fluency, and early involvement in the restaurant world served as good preparation for a fine-tuned appreciation for quality food and wine. Experience in the retail environment at Tastings, in Charlottesville, transitioned into work as a sales specialist for an importer and a wine consultant. Nicolas' taste progressed on a typical (at least for us), albeit accelerated route. His early interest in big labels from Bordeaux and Burgundy quickly progressed to the esoteric. From there, his focus narrowed into a singular appreciation of the clarity and genius of natural wines. A cool regard for his piles of mature-vintage, classed-growth Bordeaux are a testament to this rapid enlightenment. Constantly studious, his broad, comprehensive knowledge ranges from technical winemaking to the personalities of the wine world. His palate is unforgiving of sulfur, new oak, or high-alcohol, but smiles widely when approached by a real wine, one that shuns manipulation and embraces its honest, if sometimes unconventional, self. – Andrew Greene

Some great Photos of Nicolas from our friendTony Quinn at Cleveland Park Wine and Spirits

Andrew Greene - A brotherly gift of Hugh Johnson's venerable “The World Atlas of Wine” is likely responsible for Andrew's introduction to the fermented grape. A cartographer by training and profession, the intrinsic link between wine and place has always fascinated Andrew and served as the perfect next step after an early interest in artisan beer and homebrewing. Wine has always been, and continues to be, a second career for Andrew, starting on Sundays at Market Street Wineshop, in Charlottesville, and as weekend sommelier at the Clifton Inn, and now as a partner (and bio author) in Williams Corner Wine. During the week, Andrew can be found in Jefferson's (or Stanford White if you're a stickler) Rotunda, where he is the Sustainability Planner in the Office of the Architect for the University of Virginia. This dual interest, in wine and sustainability has led to an obvious interest in the combination of the two at Williams Corner Wine. Although more forgiving than the above palate, Andrew nevertheless favors the dynamic, fascinating character of natural wine, especially whites from the north. Not one for big labels, he is a fan of big bottles of muscadet.

Ted M. Burns, MD - is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is also Program Director of the Residency Program and Director of the Electromyography Laboratory. He has published over 30 papers and over 20 chapters about topics in Neurology. Dr. Burns has also been interested in wine for over a decade. Since late 2007, he has been the East Coast Correspondent for Grape Radio, a popular wine podcast that enjoys 13,000 downloads per show. He is married to Bonnie and has three children: Charlie, Elizabeth, and Sarah. In his spare time he is a 2009 James Beard Award finalist.