Midwestern Roots, European Energy
Our Values
Pyrenees Wine Merchants is a Chicago-based importer of exceptional independent European wines, collaborating with Beivuma Distribution in Illinois. Founded by Steven W. Alexander and Kristin C. Lewis in 2025, the company is the culmination of more than twenty years of travel, research, and enduring relationships cultivated across Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal.
We take our inspiration from the majestic Pyrenees Mountains, the natural border between Spain and France and a crossroads of some of Europe's most compelling wine and culinary traditions.
We chose the name Pyrenees because these mountains have long preserved the unique cultures, traditions, and identities found within their valleys while serving as a bridge between them. Shaped by generations of farmers, artisans, and families, the region reflects the authenticity, independence, and profound respect for place that define our philosophy.
Pyrenees Wine Merchants is a boutique wine company built around family growers and human-scale producers.
Our guiding principle is simple: to represent authentic, soulful wines of exceptional quality and value while honoring the culture, people, and places from which they come.
We work exclusively with independent producers whose wines reflect transparency in the vineyard, integrity in the cellar, and a deep respect for their regional heritage.
Most of our partners farm organically, biodynamically, or regeneratively, viewing the health of their vineyards as a responsibility measured in generations rather than harvests. For them, farming is not simply an agricultural practice but a way of life, rooted in a lasting commitment to their land, their communities, and the generations that will follow.
What unites our growers is not a particular winemaking style or dogma, but a shared respect for stewardship.
Many have inherited or taken on something fragile: old vineyards and cultural landscapes that could easily have disappeared. Rather than pursuing higher yields, trends, or easier farming, they have chosen the slower path of improving and innovating what was entrusted to them.
For us, quality and value extends beyond the bottle itself, just as the health of a vineyard is inseparable from the health of the people behind it.
We believe strong partnerships are built on reciprocal respect, shared knowledge, and long-term trust are essential to meaningful work.
After two decades spent working throughout Spain and other European wine regions, we have learned that choosing good people is ultimately the most important ingredient in choosing good wine.
Our focus is deeply rooted in Spain and Portugal, where we spend our time exploring, learning, and building relationships. It is essential to visit our producers regularly to walk the vineyards and sit at tables to continue the conversations that shape our understanding of each region, vintage, and culture.
Pyrenees Wine Merchants exists to offer a fresh, human-scale perspective within the wine trade. Our experience has been built through years of working our way up in industries like hospitality, restaurants, wine importing, travel, and philanthropy - fields where people and culture all take center stage.
We care deeply about authenticity and the preservation of independent voices in wine.
We believe great wines should carry a sense of place, but also a sense of creativity and joy. Above all, we hope to build a lasting community around the producers we represent and the people who value what they do.
While we always take our work seriously, we try not to take ourselves too seriously. Here's to many more adventures with shared tables, great bottles, and laughs along the way!
Salud!
- Steven & Kristin
