There was a time when Matt Tebbetts thought he’d play professional baseball. He came south from New Hampshire to play college ball, but when his career plans ultimately struck out, he dabbled in IT before going to work at the Greenville Federal Credit Union. Fast-forward 19 years, and Matt switched industries from finance to wine, motivated by his wife’s bout with cancer. At Mission Grape, the Upstate’s only locally based wine distributor, Matt and his team supply area restaurants and retailers with small-production wines made using organic or biodynamic methods. “We don’t want to be a distributor of mass-produced wine,” Matt declares. “We look at the story and history behind each producer and how they grow and produce their wine with limited intervention.”
Going from finance to starting your own wine distribution company is a big jump. Was this a leap of faith for you?
Ten years ago, a friend of ours had a bad cycling accident on the same day my wife, Carly, found out she had cancer. During her recovery, we realized we wanted to do things differently with our lives. Carly and I wanted to live out our passions without regret, so plan B was something to do with wine.
I thought about doing wine distribution . . . and eventually I connected with Tom at [wine importer] T. Edward Wines, and he called me out of the blue one day and offered me an opportunity to partner with him. I remember the day he said, ‘Let’s go find a warehouse,’ and I did. When I called him to say I’d found one, he responded, ‘OK, let’s fill it up with wine.’
What was supposed to be a one-hour visit ended up becoming an entire day and night that I spent with the Fichet family. Right then, I knew this was a great opportunity to live out our passion for wine.
But even before that, Tom encouraged me to fly to France and meet with the producers we now work with. [During that trip] I had one great experience at Domaine Fichet in Burgundy. They didn’t speak English, and I didn’t speak French, and when my interpreter didn’t show up on the first day, I thought ‘This is going to be a miserable experience.’ But with the help of Google Translate, what was supposed to be a one-hour visit ended up becoming an entire day and night that I spent with the Fichet family. Right then, I knew this was a great opportunity to live out our passion for wine.
How did you acquire your wine knowledge—do you have a sommelier certification?
My certification is my entire life studying and experimenting with wine, starting with California wines back in the late ’80s. Two years ago, I was invited to help work the harvest for Emmanuel Giboulot in Burgundy, one of the kindest souls you’ll ever meet. He’s a biodynamic farmer who allows his crops to grow naturally without sprays and chemicals. We hand-harvested the grapes, and I learned first-hand the bottling, barreling, and production processes. The vintages that just arrived are some of those I helped bottle.
How cool! So has your French improved?
No! (laughs). After a few days, I started understanding. But for first couple of days, they wouldn’t speak English. I think they were testing me.
I understand Rich Hincapie got you hooked on cycling several years ago. Do you see any relationship between cycling and the wine industry?
Cycling is synonymous with wine because as a cyclist you want to watch your weight, and so drinking wine is a better option than drinking beer.
What are your go-to varietals?
I’ve become a sucker for Burgundy, so pinot noir and some of the best chardonnays from that area have inspired me to find similar wines in other parts of the world. And that comes from someone who never liked chardonnay.
What is it about wine that’s so appealing to you?
Every time you open up a bottle of wine with a partner, or another person, or a group, what always comes with that is an experience and a memory. And that’s what I enjoy the most.
September Events with Mission Grape
Sept 13
Page Pairings at M. Judson Booksellers – At this popular event, Matt selects the wines to complement the featured books, pairing the author’s story with the story behind the wine. 130 S Main St. Mon, 7–8:30pm. $30.
Sept 17
Euphoria: Domestic Delicacies at Jianna – Matt matches Hill Family Wines with fabulous food courses from Chef Michael Kramer and guest chefs Michael Smith (Farina, Kansas City, MO) and José Salazar (Salazar, Cincinnati, OH). 600 S Main St. Fri, 6:30pm. $225.
Sept 25
Crush Wine Fest – Mission Grape selections number among the 24 diverse wines at this lively event at Community Tap. 217 Wade Hampton Blvd. Sat, 2–5pm. $75.
Photograph by Paul Mehaffey.
