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

brought to you in partnership with 
B I R M I N G H A M

 

