IN THIS ISSUE:
A. Feature:
Turn-Key Wine Programs for Restaurants
B. Event Highlights:
Upcoming Wine Tastings
C. Wine Elite Philosophy:
Sommelier Interview
This is
Sommelier Insight, the newsletter for wine connoisseurs, event managers and hospitality professionals.
In this issue of
Sommelier Insight, we are launching a comprehensive program suite that helps hotels and restaurants create (or upgrade) a stellar on-site wine program. Also, in this issue, we are inviting you to send a representative to any of our upcoming public tastings, as described below. Please read all sections of this newsletter and try out the links.
Further, we extend a referral appreciation (vintage bottle of top Bordeaux or Barolo) to any of our contacts who provide an introduction that leads to either type of business: corporate events or restaurant wine programs. Please take advantage of this referral
plan and share this newsletter with your peers in decision-making positions.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please write to
Joey@WineElite.org. We will swiftly reply to each email.
A. Turn-Key Wine Program for Top Restaurants
Hotel restaurants and stand-alone restaurants are trying to offer a more wholesome service that will earn an increased reputation and customer base. Wine can be the key to this goal. Our outsourced wine programs provide a complete suite of ideas that we have already implemented in several locations.
Please review our new
restaurant programs brochure. We can promise that you will find interesting features within.
Core components of our restaurant programs are:
1. Restaurant Attachment to a Renowned Sommelier Team
2. Creation and Maintenance of an Attractive Wine Menu
3. Monthly “Sommelier Fireside” Dinner Events on Property
4. Systematic, Ongoing and Effective Staff Training
5. Floor Sommelier Coverage and Special Event Hosting
6. Obtaining Public Visibility and Wine Spectator Award
You can open and review the brochure here.
B. Upcoming Wine Tastings — You are invited to join.
We offer top-quality corporate and private events nationwide through our strong network of Certified Sommeliers.
In addition to those private events, we offer regular wine tasting dinners and seminars in the greater Los Angeles and San Diego areas. We invite our business partners to experience one of these tastings, so that you can offer our services to your clients more intelligently. Come see us leading an
important wine pairing dinner at Pinot Provence this September
— just email
Joey for more info.
-
New Montly Sommelier Dinner Series at award-winning Pinot Provence, Costa Mesa, on September 25th. See event invitation here.
-
Sommelier's Fireside Dinner on October 5th at Newport Dunes Resort in Newport Beach. See event invitation here.
-
San Diego Wine Society Tasting on October 12th. See event description here.
C. Wine Elite Philosophy: Learning About Wine
Today we are interviewing Wine Elite sommelier Adam Edmonsond. Adam is among the youngest educators in the field of wine. He is currently working toward the Certified Specialist of Wine designation with the Society of Wine Educators.
Adam, you lead many of our sommelier-guided tasting programs, speaking in front of boards and executive teams from Fortune 500 companies. You are 23 years old. How did you learn about wine so quickly and so well?
I learned everything I know about wine first-hand, from attending hundreds of Wine Elite tasting events. I believe it is important to start by “collecting data” this way, then circling back to integrate it by reading the textbooks. Starting with the books doesn’t work.
The other important factor was my background in philosophy. If you want to know how to optimize efficiency in any learning process, it’s useful to know something about what knowledge is, how it’s acquired, and what that implies for your learning methodology.
The Wine Elite’s tastings were a great learning vehicle for me because they abide by sound principles of learning. It’s very possible and common for people to drink 10 times as much wine as I have, and to have learned only 10% of what I have -- not because of any innate talent or ability of mine, but because of our learning-friendly methodology.
What do you recommend to our partners in the hotel and event planning industry, if they would like to concentrate on wine knowledge that is relevant to their career?
First, I would point out the Pareto Principle -- that for most things, 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. What’s really important is to learn the essentials -- the key regions and grapes of the quality producing countries -- not individual producers, sub-regions, experimental blends, or particular vintages.
Today, the top quality wines are from France, Italy and Germany. In France, start with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Gewurtztraminer. In Italy, begin by studying Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. In Germany, stick to Riesling. (Key regions for these grapes and how their bottles are labeled can be easily found in any introductory text, or online.)
The best way to learn about wine is side-by-side comparison. Gaining any kind of knowledge is really just an incremental process of differentiating experiences from one another, isolating similarities, and then integrating your observations into generalizations. Having a knowledgeable guide organizing that process for you makes it much quicker.
Where can readers see you presenting one of your signature Wine Elite tastings?
The Wine Elite offers public, private and corporate tasting events. For information about custom private and corporate events, you can write to me at Adam@WineElite.org, and I would be happy to answer any questions.
Resource Links
