By Kate Bucklin
PORTLAND – After spending most of their adult lives working in the wine industry as distributors or brokers, Cat
Oster and Doug Watts decided this year to branch out on their own.
So far, they’ve drunk a lot of bad wine. And they’ve subjected their friends to a fair share of it as well. But they’ve
done so as a sacrifice for the nearly 100 restaurants and small retailers that have become customers of the South
Portland Wine Co. since its birth March 3.
“We won’t sell it if we won’t drink it,” Watts said, explaining the company’s motto. Another variation, “Drinking bad
wine so you don’t have to,” sums up the wine-selling philosophy of Oster and Watts. They strive for intimacy with the
wine producers they represent, and also for good relationships with their customers scattered throughout southern
and mid-coast Maine.
“We’ve drunk a lot of good wine, too,” Watts admitted.
The idea to start a family wine company began to form a few years ago, when Watts and Oster started to notice that
the major distributors consistently turned down some good wine producers because they were small.
“Every time I presented it to the distributor and they said no, I’d keep a list,” Watts said. When the list grew to 30, the
couple decided it was time to start their business.
“It offers us a niche,” Oster said of dealing with smaller wineries. “These are nationally recognized brands, just not
here in Maine.”
Oster also believes that high-end restaurants and small retailers are attracted to small vineyards. In turn, small
vineyards are attracted to the Maine market, she added.
The couple’s background in the wine business has allowed them to make extensive contacts in the wine world, but
they are not above begging to carry a really good wine, Oster admitted with a laugh.
If they knew there was a chance for success as a small distributor, Oster and Watts did not think that success would
be so immediate. Running the business from their home in South Portland and keeping the wine on temperature at
an ever expanding storage site, Oster and Watts are managing well and have just one employee who helps with
delivery. Last week, the couple finally had time to get a business phone number. They had been using their
personal cell phone numbers.
Although Oster had not planned on leaving her job as a wine broker and joining Watts until later, she quickly
reassessed after seeing the initial success of the venture, and has been busy ever since.
They attribute their success to two things, the House Wine from K Vintners they were able to secure for distribution
and also to Robert Katcher for selecting them as his Maine distributor when he could have gone with one of the
larger local companies.
“He took a chance on us,” Watts explained.
In addition to wines from K Vintners and Robert Katcher, South Portland Wines carries about 150 labels now, and
Watts said their goal is to have one really good wine representing each category.
“It is important to service our customers who reached out to us,” Oster said.
“We’re also trying to sell directly to the public, making our name with the So Po stickers on the bottle. We want our
name to mean we believe in good wine, and we also make sure our (clients) know about the wine,” Watts added.
Tim Wissemann, owner of Downeast Beverage on Commercial Street, has purchased wine from Watts and Oster
since they started.
“We were their first customer,” Wissemann said. Although he uses several distributors to stock his store,
Wissemann said So Po brings in smaller wineries and limited productions.
“These are wines you won’t find at the supermarket,” he said. “They wouldn’t be available in Maine if these guys
weren’t here.”
Besides Downeast Beverage, retailers like RSVP carry So Po’s wines. Restaurants include Hugo’s, Fore Street and
Five Fifty-Five.
Oster and Watts are turning their attention this winter to increasing their customer base and to subjecting their
friends to blind tastings.
Oster said she gets a thrill out of being in a store when someone purchases a South Portland Wine, especially when
they do it based on the small “So Po” sticker.
One of her favorite stories about the sticker took place earlier this year, when she was in Downeast Beverage.
“A woman said, ‘oh, we buy stuff with your sticker on it,’” Oster recalled. She asked the customer if she was happy
with the products.
“She paused, and then said ‘it has all been good, some was not necessarily to my liking, but it was all good’,” said
Oster. “That is our goal.”
Oster said she hopes the company continues to grow, and maybe someday she and her husband will hire some
more help. First, they plan to concentrate on infrastructure, including getting help with paperwork.
“We don’t ever see a day when Cat and I aren’t out selling our wine,” Watts said.
Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net.