THERE ARE MANY memorable moments in the new documentary "A Year in Burgundy," but one of my favorites takes place early on. Wine importer Martine Saunier climbs into her Deux Chevaux, that quintessential French car, and snaps open a window. (Deux Chevaux windows are unfastened, not unrolled.) She is on her way to visit her winemakers, says the narrator. Ms. Saunier gives a cheery but brisk wave and departs.  When I told Ms. Saunier that I thought this scene captured her perfectly, she seemed surprised. But the qualities that made her one of the most successful wine importers in the U.S.—decisiveness, determination and extreme efficiency (even if she did grind the gears a bit as she drove away)—were clear in those few frames.  According to Ms. Saunier, she was "the first woman in America to own a wine importing company" when she founded Martine's Wines in 1979 with "$80,000 and a second mortgage" on her house. She introduced Americans to many of the finest wines from France, not only from her native Burgundy but also from the Rhône and Loire Valleys, and less famous regions like Jurançon. She believes excellent wine can be found in any appellation—or country, for that matter. Her list of producers reads like a roll call of the greats: Château Rayas, Domaine Leroy, Domaine Denis Mortet and Domaine du Pegau, to name a few.  She's had a hand in making them stars. When Ms. Saunier started out more than 30 years ago, Americans weren't drinking many wines from the Loire, save perhaps for Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre, and they certainly weren't chasing after Châteauneuf-du-Pape. That has all changed thanks to importers like Ms. Saunier, who visited the region over and over and brought back some of the very best names.  Ms. Saunier is also the first female wine importer to star in her own film. Currently, she is at work producing a third, entitled "A Year in Portugal." (Her second documentary, "A Year in Champagne," will debut at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival next month.) "A Year in Burgundy," out this month on DVD and available on iTunes, follows some of Ms. Saunier's producers through the year, from bud break to harvest.  In the film, Ms. Saunier tastes and talks with producers, including the famously intense and private Lalou Bize-Leroy, creator of some of the best wines in Burgundy. It's a beautiful film. In fact, it may be the best wine movie I've ever seen; it's certainly the only one I know of for which a winemaker provides part of the soundtrack (Thibault Morey playing Erik Satie on the piano).  I had arranged to meet Ms. Saunier at Lafayette, as it was one of the few French restaurants in New York that she had never visited—though her wines seem to be on every great list in the city and all over the States. Ms. Saunier was on her way to Portugal from her home in California and had a couple of days' stopover in New York. "I have two weeks of filming to do in the Douro Valley," she said.  When I arrived, Ms. Saunier was examining the Lafayette list. The only wine from her company was a sparkling Crémant by the glass, she pointed out, in a tone that was more disbelief than distress.  Ms. Saunier sold her company last year to Gregory Castells and Kate Laughlin, who have retained the name Martine's Wines. But Ms. Saunier remains a consultant and continues to travel all over the U.S. on the company's behalf. It was hard to believe she would soon turn 80—she had more energy than most 40-year-olds. "Why do people always ask how old I am?" Ms. Saunier wanted to know. Probably because you look two decades younger, I replied. What was her secret?  Yoga, said Ms. Saunier. And wine, of course, every day. She had taken up yoga when she stopped fencing because she was traveling so much. As for the wine, she might have a glass with lunch and one or two with dinner. Needless to say, it is always good stuff.  Although Ms. Saunier grew up in a winemaking family, her first job after college was in marketing. She was the first woman ever to work in the Swiss Air press office in Paris. "And on my very first day at work there was a crash. What are the odds of that?" she asked.  She later moved to San Francisco, after marrying an American (they've long since divorced). Most people in San Francisco drank French wines in the 1960s and '70s, recalled Ms. Saunier. There was not much wine made in Napa back then, nor many people visiting the region, though Ms. Saunier went there a few times and was even befriended by the legendary André Tchelistcheff, winemaker of Napa's Beaulieu Vineyard.  Ms. Saunier left the airline industry to work for a San Francisco-based wine broker, and she traveled to France to scout producers. Though the business was dominated by men, she never felt discriminated against. Perhaps it was because she came from a winemaking background, or perhaps it was simply because she was French.  Her nationality helped secure the trust of notoriously shy producers like the late Louis Reynaud, of Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, who, legend has it, once hid in a ditch to avoid a wine critic. Ms. Saunier recalled their first meeting, in 1969, on her first buying trip. Mr. Reynaud was "having a siesta," so Ms. Saunier waited outside until he woke up. Eventually he appeared and led her to a rather dirty cellar to taste the magical 1959 and 1961 wines. "It was a shock how good it was," she recalled. "I bought 25 cases of the 1959 and 25 cases of the 1961."  She paid the unheard-of wholesale price of $2.50 a bottle—the standard retail for Châteauneuf-du-Pape at the time. The owner of the import company she was working for told her if she didn't sell the wine she would have to buy it herself. Ms. Saunier sold it all and later decided to start her own business.  A great deal has changed since, in both wine production and sales. The former has become much more sophisticated—there are now laboratories in even the most humble Burgundy domaine, and the vineyards are more meticulously maintained—and the latter has become more crowded. There are many more importers scouting for producers in France. And the buyers have become much more sophisticated, too, noted Ms. Saunier. Now American retailers and sommeliers also travel to taste wines in Burgundy and other parts of the world.  Would it be possible to start a company like hers today? Is there another Rayas out there, another Bize-Leroy to be found? "You'd need a lot more money now," said Ms. Saunier. But there is always someone new to discover—even within the same winery. She has worked with three and even four generations of winemakers at some of her Burgundy domaines.  As we were preparing to leave, Joshua Nadel, wine director of Lafayette, stopped by our table. "We can't get enough of the Crémant," he told Ms. Saunier, who nodded knowingly and pointed out that his cognac selection could benefit from the inclusion of her producer A. Edmond Audry.  I suspect the next time I visit Lafayette, there will be Audry Cognacs on its wine list.  See wine videos and more from Off Duty at youtube.com/wsj.com.  Write to Lettie Teague at lettie.teague@wsj.com
Martine Saunier pioneered an import business that's brought Americans some of the greatest wines of Burgundy and the Rhône.