At Island Prime & C-Level I have created a wine club Prime Cru in which members get a chance to take part in special events. I conduct tastings, wine dinners, seminars and wine sales. It’s easy to register for the club and it is completely free.
FEBRUARY 4th 12-2pm, I WILL BE HOLDING A SEMINAR AND TASTING ON SYRAH
I like to talk about wine education and how it relates to my work. I strive in trying to keep my staff well-informed. Sometimes I succeed and other times I don’t. Understanding each employees needs and interests is the most difficult part. If everyone was open to wine education , my job would be a breeze. Unfortunately, that is not the case. (more…)
Meet Tiffany Gillespie and Josh Grimes, two of the people behind your dining experience.
Who are the people behind your dining experience? How often do you get to know your server? Everyone has their own idea of what the dining experience should and shouldn’t be. There are those diners who want a talkative and vivacious server and others that prefer a more aloof server. Some people consider medium rare as red center with a little blood while an others pink in the center. Some guests look at the menu by reading the right side first, the prices. Others read the descriptions and order according to what sounds good. Some people come to the restaurant to find something wrong and others expect to be blown away. It takes a special individual to meet the expectations of the general public.
The restaurant business is not for everybody. It takes a special person to have the humility to serve others with a smile no matter how good or badly he/she is treated. A restaurant worker needs to be able to multitask and make quick decisions on the spot. A restaurant worker has a diverse personality and has the ability to change their personality according the moment. They need to work under pressure and keep up an appearance of control. Restaurant employees have so much more going on than just their work. Many have chosen this career path because it allows them the flexibility to pursue other interests. (more…)
WINE EDUCATION II
Evolution of the wine novice
“Wine is confusing! Wine is complicated! I will never understand wine!”
photo credit: LaPrimaDonna
“Wine is confusing! Wine is complicated! I will never understand wine!” That is the mantra of every wine novice. It almost seems impossible to fully understand it all. It all starts pretty innocently, drinking wine. It takes a while to get used to the taste, and the next thing you know you start drinking wine without really thinking too much about it. Then somewhere down the road things change.
1. You start to drink more wine and become interested in knowing more about what you’re drinking.
2. You surround yourself with people who begin to talk about wine as if it were poetry, and to not be left out, you too begin to take an interest.
3. You start to work with wine, a bar, restaurant, shop or wholesale. Now you are also forced to know more.
4. Lastly, the one I wish was my introduction. You inherit millions of dollars and don’t know what to do, so you start buying wine. So that it seems as though you know how your spending your money, you start to learn more about wine.
Whatever the reason is, you are now reading this because something, somehow or somewhere drove you to learn more about wine. And at first you said, “Wine is confusing! Wine is complicated! I will never understand wine!” Look at yourself now, I bet you know much more now than when you first went to the store and asked for a Cabernet Sauvignon because it sounded more sophisticated than asking for a red wine. And as time passed, you started to ask for a less tannic wine, or a fruitier or a drier wine. As you started to understand your palate you started to develop the language that would allow you to articulate your likes and dislikes. You knew that you enjoyed a Cabernet Sauvignon because it had “a bite to it”, and it had a “full bodied mouth-feel” but that was about it.
Then one day you are at a dinner party and the host decides to “decant” a prized bottle from the cellar, and its FRENCH! So much French written on the bottle that all you get from the label is the word “Chateau”. Everyone is oohhing and aahhing over the label, the vintage, the magnificent garnet color, the aromas and flavors. And all the time you are trying to see if you can pick out a cassis aroma that someone gawked over. Of course you remain silent and act like you totally pick up on the smoke and leather, all the time wondering why everyone is so mesmerized. You taste it and it’s nothing like the Cabernet Sauvignon you had from Vons the other night. In fact you don’t really understand why it’s supposed to be so good, it just tastes dirty. But as an aspiring wine connoisseur, (and someone who wants to be in the “in crowd,”) you need to find out why that bottle was so praised. So on to the internet. Whoa! You learn that you drank a bottle of 1989 Chateau Haut Brion, one of the first growths in Bordeaux. You go on to to read that Bordeaux uses primarily 5 grapes, and one of them is your favorite, Cabernet Sauvignon. You are in a state of shock, all this time you thought Bordeaux was a grape. (more…)
December is a busy month at the restaurant. It is a time of many holiday parties, so my regular tastings are very limited. Below is a quick review of my wine tasting notes for December 20
Very much enjoyed. Melon, Apples very aromatic with a lime and lemon flavor. Small concentrated bubbles, minerals, high acidity and low dosage.
Retails $36
Mirror is a project of Jeff Smith from Hourglass and ex-NFL quarterback, Rick Mirer. Yellow apple, grass and candied citrus. Made with Muscatelle clone which gives a rich, fleshy roundness. There is a little use of oak and the acidity is medium.
Retails $22
I more so enjoyed the Cab than the Sauvignon Blanc. 50% new French Oak. Aromas of Black fruits, dust, Cassis and espresso. In the mouth is has a burst of red fruit, raspberries and chocolate. Finishes with nuts and mild tannins.
Retails $65
Made at Chateau Boswell by Luc Morlet. 50% Semillon & 50% Sauvignon Blanc, whole cluster, native yeast and 35% New French oak. Aromas of Peach, citrus and ripe pink grapefruit. Rich, petrol and honeyed texture. Acidity is low, but this wine is about texture and fruit and it is well-integrated.
Retail $36