An Heir of Modesty

Following in the footsteps of a famous father (My California Journey Part Two)

His father’s name is on wine bottles all over the world - it’s not an accomplishment coveted by his son. “I have no interest in changing how we market the wines or promoting myself in such a way,” said Anthony Lynch, the 35-year-old son of Kermit Lynch, the famed wine retailer and importer whose wines feature the words: “Imported by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant” or “Selected by Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.”

I met Mr. Lynch the younger for the first time at the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant store in Berkeley, California last week. Although the store is closed on Mondays, it was my last day out West and Mr. Lynch was kind enough to open the store so we might meet. It was an imposition, I said apologetically. But Mr. Lynch gamely insisted it was no trouble at all.

Although the name and the spirit of Kermit Lynch loom large both in his own store and in stores all over the country featuring Kermit Lynch wines, his son now plays many of the roles his now-retired father once held. “I’m picking up a lot of what my dad was doing- on the supply side meeting with producers,” said Mr. Lynch whose formal title is Sourcing and Content Manager. He never actually intended to enter the wine business. “I thought I’d work in the store while I figure my life out,” said Mr. Lynch who began working full time for the company in 2012.

The life that he led - moving between California and France with his family and studying Italian in college - set Mr. Lynch up perfectly for a role in the business. Fluency in both French and Italian is a decided boon to a company specializing in first-rate Italian and French wines. Indeed, the list of wines imported by Kermit Lynch reads like a roll call of the greats: Tempier, Ostertag, Clape and Quintarelli- just to name a (very) few of the (very) many legendary names on the Lynch roster. It’s why wine lovers trust the Kermit Lynch name. My husband (unbidden) recently told me whenever he sees the name “Kermit Lynch” on the back of a bottle, he buys the wine. “I don’t know a lot about wine, but I trust Kermit Lynch wines,” he said. It’s a sentiment I’ve heard expressed by many wine lovers many times.

I’ve known the elder Mr. Lynch for decades– not only as an importer and retailer but also as a writer. His book, Adventures on the Wine Route: A Wine Buyer’s Tour of France, is a classic and a must-read for wine lovers and wine professionals alike. Indeed, his talent as a writer nearly eclipses his reputation as an importer. When I was the Executive Wine Editor of Food & Wine, I assigned Mr. Lynch stories every now and again. We corresponded - author to editor – via fax in those days.

Years later during my tenure as the Wall Street Journal wine columnist I interviewed Mr. Lynch a few times including at Balthazar restaurant in New York. Over glasses of late-morning Muscadet, Mr. Lynch faux-lamented having written his Wine Route book. “I made a huge mistake commercially; I wrote a book explaining what I do,” he said. I don’t believe that is true but I do think he may have inspired other wine importers to try their hand at writing as well since several subsequently wrote similar books of their own- though none as good as the Lynch original.

Today Anthony Lynch writes and edits the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant newsletters, which he noted could be a bit daunting, considering his father’s reputation as an author. “It’s a lot of pressure; he’s a great writer,” he said.

Mr. Lynch the younger has also taken over blending duties for some of the custom wines the company produces. Might he put his name on a label one day? Would there be an “Anthony Lynch Selection?” There would not. “My dad had the merit of creating a brand that wine drinkers can trust, and if I can uphold that through my own work, offering ‘Selected by KL’ bottlings is the greatest honor,” Mr. Lynch replied.

Anthony Lynch may be the most modest scion I’ve ever met. The business his father built is clearly in very good hands.

Anthony Lynch in the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant Berkeley store; the 2025 Charles Joguet Chinon Rosé ($27) one of the first rosés his father ever imported- a delicious pink from Chinon in the Loire Valley that I purchased and shared with Berkeley pals who declared upon tasting it “We need to up our rosé game.”