Thierry's Wine Importers have traditionally been known as French wine specialists but the importer has lately taken to looking at wine regions that have made wine from millennia but have never really been at the forefront of quality wine production. 
Now though, with fresh young blood coming online and producers looking to revive or regenerate the wine industries of their country, there are some very exciting things happening in Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, and Moldova. 
I chatted to Matthew Dickson, Director of Thierry's Wines and asked him why now? He believes that in the last 10 years, the quality of the wines from these regions has improved substantially and that these wines are now ready for prime time, so to speak. He also thinks that consumers are looking for different wines and styles. They are no longer satisfied with a chardonnay or sauvignon blanc. The UK wine consumer has become more demanding in their wine choices and are now looking to be intrigued and challenged by the wines on offer.
What do you do in a recession if you want to get people to notice you and buy your product? You get creative, the best response is to be bold, different and experimental. Pushing out the boat, although not too far, is one of the best ways to get consumers to sit up and take notice.
I tasted through the wines and found the wines of Turkey to be the most exciting of the bunch. Turkey has it's own native varieties of both red and white. The Ancrya narince, a white wine, was one of the standouts for me. A dry, balanced wine with plenty of ripe peach notes and a bitter almond finish make this a great wine on it's own or with a hummous! There was a bit on hand and it was a good match. Retailing at around £9.99, it's a safe bet to take home for dinner.
I've visited Croatia quite a few times in the past 6 months so I know that the quality is definitely there and the Malvasija grape is a clear winner from that region.
Moldova was interesting but they are still finding their feet. The Taking Root pinot grigio on tasting had some interesting minerality and ripe white fruit on the palate, it wasn't boring or bland and priced between £6.99 - £7.99, I think it's a fair price for something out of the ordinary.
Thierry's also has taken into account the demand for low-alcohol wines and has sourced some drinkable examples. I personally don't see the point of low-alcohol wines (or beer for that matter) but if you have to drink low-alcohol, the Pugibet Le Petit Blanc and Rouge both at 5.5% were serviceable. And, priced at around £4.99 - £5.99 you won't feel like you're getting ripped off. One interesting side note, low-alcohol wines are cheaper because the taxes are lower. The government bases tax on how much alcohol is in a wine so anything at 5.5% or below only pays half the tax of a bottle of wine at 6% or above. Interesting, indeed.
It's gratifying to see a major importer taking a chance on lesser known wine regions and I do hope to see more of them following Thierry's lead.