Marin-based Cabernet Corporation is not your typical wine importer.

Its name is certainly different - and perhaps a bit misleading. While it sounds like a faceless corporation, the company has been privately owned by the Axelsen family since its inception in 1980.

And, while it imports other varietals in addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, it also ships many other wonderful varietals, including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Torrontés, Carmenére, Petit Verdot, and most recently, 100-Year "Old Vine" Malbecs.

Cabernet Corporation also owns Viña la Playa vineyard and winery in Colchagua Valley, Chile, and produces a large majority of the estate-bottled wines it brings into the U.S.

For nearly 30 years, the company has focused on what makes it unique: a relatively small, extremely focused portfolio emphasizing the finest balance of superior quality and value.

Besides its own wines from Viña la Playa, Cabernet Corporation imports a select few fine wines from Argentina, plus from a very special project from Spain. That includes Don Rodolfo, from Cafayate Valley in Argentina (at 6,000 feet, one of the world's highest altitude viticultural regions), Belasco de Baquedano (an exclusively 100- Year Old Vine Malbec property in Lujan de Cuyo, the "Napa" of Argentina's Mendoza region), and Proyecto Cuatro (from Catalunya, Spain).

Originally a vineyard owner on the Central Coast of California, Soren Axelsen was "ahead of the curve" recognizing Chile's potential to produce excellent wines at reasonable prices.

Soren had lived in Chile in the '50s and recalled the great wines he was drinking there even back then. His attraction to the area was simple - Chilean geography and climate really is a mirror image of California.

In 1987, when the Chilean political climate opened up significantly, Soren went to Chile as one of its first foreign investors. In fact, Cabernet Corporation was the first to export Chilean wines in bulk to Europe after the country's rebirth.

After several successful years, Cabernet Corporation formed a joint venture equity partnership with two Chilean partners - the Sutil and Errazuriz families. The venture owns and controls 600 acres of vineyards, a state-of -the-art winery facility, and a boutique hotel in Chile's Colchagua Valley. The venture most recently added an additional 200 acres in Chile's cool climate Limarí Valley where it will focus on its reserve and premium level Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and eventually Syrah and Pinot Noir.

Moving ahead, Cabernet Corporation is focusing on South America, with the recent addition of Argentinean wines:

Don Rodolfo - "High Altitude, High Attitude" wines, including Malbec, Torrontes, Pinot Noir, Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Belasco de Baquedano - Exclusively 100-Year Old Vine Malbecs.

Cabernet Corporation's mission is clear: Superb Quality Wines at Superb Value.