Robert “Bobby” Kacher was born and raised in Florida. He came to Washington DC in 1971 and rather than attending college he received his wine education travelling the roads of France. He strapped on a backpack and headed to Europe with a desire to learn about winemaking by exploring France and its wine-producing regions. While traveling Bobby discovered a lifestyle of wine, food, family and the vineyards and kitchens of France. This lifestyle captivated Bobby and it grew to become an all-consuming passion.
Impatient to pursue his newfound passion, Bobby returned to the States, settled in Washington, DC and got started working in a retail wine store where he learned that the personal interaction of connecting directly to the wine drinking consumer was what really excited him most about the wine business. “The most fun I ever had was visiting winemakers in France, hand selecting containers of wines, clearing them through importers and distributors back home, and selling them directly in container sales in the store,” says Kacher.
After working as a consultant at Continental Liquors in Washington, DC Bobby became a top executive at World Shippers and Importers. Then, 24 years ago, he founded Robert Kacher Selections. His goal with the new company was to associate himself with the growers and producers who had both the passion and energy to strive to become among their country’s most renowned winemakers. During the first two decades of Robert Kacher Selections, Bobby spent almost half of each year in France, criss-crossing from region to region in an effort to select and help develop the finest portfolio of French boutique estate wines of any importer in the US. Through this hands-on approach of working side by side with growers and producers, Bobby was able to ensure the quality and authenticity of every wine in his collection.
Bobby still works as a partner with the growers and winemakers in all aspects of viticulture and vinification, constantly pushing them to produce an even higher quality product. Some of the innovations he introduced to his growers and wine makers include lowering yields, using state-of-the-art trellising, green harvesting of fruit at ‘veraison’ (the point at which grapes start to change color), hand harvesting of fruit at the point of physiological ripeness (not analytical ripeness) and doing a triage (a sorting of the grapes to rid them of damaged fruit) as the fruit is harvested.
Bobby’s dedication and passion for the wine business has resulted in numerous awards and accolades: Recently Robert Parker named him “one of the 20 most influential wine personalities of the past 20 years.” In 2004 Bobby became Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole, one of only a handful of U.S. importers to ever receive the prestigious honor.
Bobby remains as passionate to developing great wines for his portfolio today as when he started 24 years ago, claiming, “I don’t sleep at night when we have a less than superior bottling.”
