In Need of a Bottle of Natural Wine? Your Gas Station Has You Covered.

My dad is the quintessential old-school character who shows up four hours early for a domestic flight from Miami to New York. He pays all his bills with paper checks, delivering them in person. Naturally, he insists on going inside the gas station to pay the clerk directly before filling up, fully mistrusting the card machines at the pumps. So when I was visiting Miami a couple of months ago, I knew exactly what to do and walked right into the Mobil station on Coral Way and 32nd Avenue to ask the clerk to fill up pump number four.

As I stepped inside, I paused to admire the impressive collection of wines displayed on the metal racks. Nestled beside six-packs of Corona Light and local plantain chips were the wines I used to sell at the small, natural-focused shop in New York — like Subject to Change’s Sleepless Nights, a cab franc from Lo-Fi in Los Alamos, California, and Martha Stoumen’s delightful Post Flirtation. I was surprised to find these wines in this part of Miami, typically known for a nearby Hooters and the enduring Cuban restaurant, Sergio’s, especially at Mendez Fuel.

Gas stations are designed to help us out of various tough situations: air for flat tires, bathrooms and tampons when needed, crunchy chicharrones when road snacks lose their appeal, and even a clunky vacuum when your homemade trail mix goes flying. In some cities, local gas stations double as spots to grab well-curated craft beers and bottles of wine from small producers on your way home or to a friend's for dinner.

Mendez Fuel is a chain of Mobil stations in Miami where customers often browse the wine and beer selection while filling their tanks. Twelve years ago, Michael Mendez purchased the stations from a close friend and called his brother, Andrew, to see if he wanted to join the venture. The plan was for Andrew to manage the Mobil location on 32 Avenue, the most distant from the other three and the least convenient for Michael. At the time, Andrew was fresh out of college and living on his parents’ couch. 'Yeah, I’m down,' Andrew recalls telling his brother.

'Just know we’re starting from square one,' Michael remarked.

About a year into their venture, Andrew began managing beer orders for the other three Mendez Fuel locations as well. He recalls the typical selections like Heineken and Stella — the reliable brands found in any corner shop. However, after collaborating with a beer representative for a few months, Andrew was introduced to less mainstream options like Chimay, Lagunitas, and Blue Moon, prompting a shift in the store's inventory. 'As a 24-year-old, I thought it was so cool to discover all these new beers,' he shares.

In 2012, the year when craft beer truly took off in places like Miami, Andrew started incorporating craft brews into the mix, beginning with selections from Funky Buddha, a brewery located in Oakland Park, Florida. 'Then I began connecting with more distributors to find out who had what and build from there,' he explains.

Before long, all four Mendez Fuel locations became go-to spots for craft beer in Miami. On May 5, 2014, they cemented this reputation by introducing growlers — the airtight jugs that allow patrons to transport draft beer easily. According to Andrew, no one in the area, gas station or otherwise, was offering growlers at the time. 'That really made a difference,' he notes. 'We were ahead of the curve on that one.'

By the end of that year, the craft beer and growler business was thriving at all Mendez Fuel locations. Eventually, they even launched their own specialty lager, a private-label brew crafted with the help of Miami’s The Tank Brewing Co. When the pandemic hit Miami last year, Andrew found that the beverage business only continued to grow.

In the weeks and months following the initial COVID-19 lockdowns, Mendez Fuel experienced a surge in online beer and wine orders from those stuck at home. At that time, Andrew Mendez described the wine selection as quite basic: Mondavi, Josh, Woodbridge — 'nothing special,' as he puts it. Around the same period, he began hearing about natural wine from friends, and as wine requests increased, he saw a chance to enhance Mendez Fuel's wine offerings. Similar to his earlier efforts with beer, Andrew reached out to distributors specializing in natural wines to explore available options. 'Today, I've had to reduce my craft beer section to make space for natural wine,' he notes.

This trend reflects the growing popularity and availability of natural wine in U.S. cities, largely thanks to one woman: Jenny Lefcourt, who established natural wine importer Jenny & François Selections in 2000. While natural wine has had a strong presence in New York for almost two decades and has been accessible in Los Angeles and San Francisco for many years, it is still relatively new in other major cities like Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, and Philadelphia.

Five years ago, natural wines began appearing on the shelves at Sunrise Mini Mart, a gas station-convenience store in Austin's Crestview neighborhood that Dinogo Austin recognized as one of the city's top wine shops. Manager Sam Rozani, like Andrew Mendez, started diversifying the typical convenience store offerings by including craft beers. However, Rozani didn’t introduce natural and organic wines due to customer demand; he simply wanted to sample some himself.

'The best place for me to buy natural wine is my own store because I don’t have to pay retail prices,' Rozani explains. He began ordering natural wine in small batches; for instance, he might buy a half case, open one bottle for himself, and sell the rest at Sunrise. This approach allowed him to discuss the subtleties of Broc Cellars’ Love Red when customers inquired. Nowadays, those same customers know to ask Rozani about his recent favorites, trusting he’ll guide them well.

'I tell them about the region I’m currently excited about or a recent favorite, and they often reply, ‘Man, I haven’t tried that, I want to!’ which really opens up the conversation,' he shares. The same applies when someone asks for the Bichi pét-nat they saw on Instagram. 'I’ll say, ‘Hey, you know what? I don’t have Bichi right now, but I have something similar from the Canary Islands.''

Rozani believes this approach enhances the customer experience; visitors to his four stores can expect to gain new knowledge during their visit. To further this mission, he launched a retail website in March 2021, responding to requests from customers who had relocated from Austin during the pandemic or wanted to send wine to friends and family in the area. Now, they can conveniently order wine and beer from Sunrise without needing to step inside the gas station.

Just a year after introducing natural wine at the 32 Avenue location of Mendez Fuel, Andrew Mendez has cultivated a growing following, particularly among younger patrons. 'There’s a steady stream of customers in their late 20s and 30s seeking out natural wine,' he shares. However, he still encounters gas-seeking customers who are surprised or intrigued by the unconventional wines available at Mendez Fuel.

Andrew Mendez believes that the personal touch is what brings his loyal customers back to this corner Mobil station instead of opting for larger retailers like Total Wine or Publix, even when prices are $1 or $2 higher than competitors. 'If I’m in the store, I’ll do my best to assist you,' he states. While he humbly admits he’s not a wine expert, Andrew, the vice president of operations at Mendez Fuel, handles all wine purchasing, ensuring he can answer any customer queries. He’s grateful for the relationships he’s built with various small natural wine distributors, like Arash Selects, who allow him to test a few bottles before committing to larger orders.

As these small-batch bottles sell and awareness of natural wine grows, its availability is likely to keep increasing. The reason Rozani was out of stock on that Bichi pét-nat is that he can now order only one case instead of the five he previously could; the rest are allocated to local restaurants and shops. Just three years ago, finding wines from California producers like Scribe and Les Lunes, or Maryland’s Old Westminster, outside New York City was quite a challenge. If the rise of these wines into mainstream markets is any indication, their presence in gas stations is a noteworthy development worth celebrating.

Naya-Cheyenne is a multimedia illustrator and designer, originally from Miami and currently based in Brooklyn.