STORY

It all started in the tasting room of the Pfitscher family’s winery in Italy’s Südtirol. Aric and Erin, Oregon natives with a shared love of cool-climate wines, were tasting the Pinot Noir being poured by winemaker Hannes Pfitscher, who himself had interned in Oregon. But in terroir of the Dolomites, these familiar grapes were something quite different. And sadly, also unavailable in the US.

So what happens when two CEOs dream and scheme from a terrace overlooking old-town Bolzano, glasses of Alpine wine in hand? A wine business, of course. The truth is that Archetyp has been manifesting for decades. Aric took a wrong turn after business school and joined a large consulting firm rather than the winery job that stole his heart. Convinced he’d taken the wrong fork in the road, he stayed close to his passion by consulting in the industry, working harvests, and volunteering for the occasional cellar rat gig. Now, together, they’ve returned to the path and founded Archetyp to share the wines and lifestyle of a region they share a passion for – the Alps.

An “Archetype” is defined as the original pattern from which copies are made, the pure forms which embody the fundamental characteristics of a thing. Spelled “Archetyp” in German, we took our name to represent our desire to introduce you to the archetypal wines of Alpine Europe – with a particular focus on artisanal wines hand-tended and hand-made by independent producers, many of whom are treading their own paths as pioneering young and diverse winemakers.