Ronnie Sanders’ gifted palate and visionary spirit has made Vine Street Imports a flourishing presence, since its debut in 1999. Sanders, born and raised in South Jersey, acquired a passion for fine wine at a young age. Although Sanders’ love for wine was apparent early, his career in wine importing was not immediate.

Sanders attended the University of Hartford in Connecticut, completing his studies with a Bachelor of Arts in business. Upon graduating, he worked with Materials International, a family-owned textile importing company. In the mid 1990s Sanders began exporting California wines, and ambitiously formed Far East Wine Traders, exporting wines to numerous regions of Asia where he purchased fabric, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

While exporting wines from the United States, Sanders’ dream of importing rare wines became a reality through a newly formed partnership with Michael Twelftree of Two Hands Wines in Australia. Their collaboration was a leisure pursuit until Sanders began working for Vine Street Imports. His goal of importing and distributing wines from the emerging regions of Washington State, New Zealand, and Australia, was the driving force behind creating the Vine Street Imports brand.

Much of Sanders’ expertise is attributed to his dedicated travels all over the world and his commitment to discovering the finest wines. His ventures have included trips to Italy, France, India, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Malaysia and the entire United States. Sanders both conceived and launched a private wine label known as the Lost Highway Project, with Parker scores ranging from 93-96. When selecting which wines to carry on this label, Sanders considers maturation and blending as well as the discovery of the finest wines for the connoisseur, expert enthusiast and novice.