B
rothers Jon and Nathan
Kunzman grew up in a
family that celebrated wine
and enjoyed exploring boutique
wineries while traveling, but never
imagined it would one day become
a family business. However, it was a
seamless transition for the Kunzman
brothers.
Jon and Nathan, who grew up
in Bloomfield Hills, were always
involved in their father Michael’s
business, Kunzman & Associates,
working closely with the automotive
industry.
Manufacturing, sales and
distribution came naturally to the
Kunzman family. Yet, one day, as
they traveled to California and
visited wineries, an idea was born.
“How can we parlay a passion for
wineries into a business?” Nathan
Kunzman, 43, of Bloomfield Hills,
recalls thinking.
He and his brother knew
distribution like the back of their
hands. As one of the founding
families of Temple Shir Shalom,
the Kunzman family were also well
ingrained in the local community.
It was that simple thought
at a California winery that
soon sparked The Wine Poor
Distribution, launched in 2015, a
premier distributor of curated wine
throughout Michigan.
The name is a clever play on
words, Nathan Kunzman says.
People are house poor; people are
car poor, he explains; but his wife
always joked he was wine poor —
meaning he spent a lot of his income
purchasing premier, high-quality
wines.
CURATING QUALITY
Out of that joke, one of Michigan’s
most respected names in the wine
landscape was born.
The Wine Poor Distribution may
have started as a hobby, but quickly
branched out into a full-fledged
operation with eight staff members.
Jon handles the operations side of
the company, while Nathan is sales
and client-facing, partnering with
wineries and local businesses.
Now, the Jewish-owned business is
celebrating its nine-year anniversary.
Today, it serves more than 600 local
restaurants, country clubs, markets
and more throughout the state.
The Wine Poor Distribution
specializes in boutique wines
carefully curated worldwide. It
showcases smaller or up-and-coming
wineries with more than 100 wine
brands in its repertoire.
Napa Valley is a leading region
that the company works with, but
it also sources wines from Paso
Robles, Sonoma County, Oregon,
The Wine Poor Distribution celebrates nine years of business in Michigan.
Cultivating the
World’s Best
Boutique Wines
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
22 | NOVEMBER 14 • 2024
J
N
Nathan
Kunzman
business SPOTlight
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B I R M I N G H A M