The Great Wine Seminar - almost here!

When I first moved to the Palm Beach area almost five years, I was searching the internet to find out what local wine events were available in the South Florida region. I came across 'The Great Wine Seminar,' read the listing of wines that were being presented and immediately called to offer my free sommelier services of opening, decanting, pouring, etc. for the event. I have heard of this before - wine events where the sommeliers do not pay or get paid to attend, but they get the honor and privilege of tasting all the wines for you (just like the court jester) and being there at 7 am in order to do so (worth it!). On the other end of the line was Arlette Cataldo, financial advisor by day, wine connoisseur (and other titles) the rest of the time. She and her husband Bob had been organizing this one-of-a-kind wine event for almost twenty years at this point. While she was gracious enough to chat with me at the time, she also explained that this was not that type of event - there were no sponsors, everything (including the wine) was bought and paid for with nothing donated and they already had someone to handle the wines. Therefore, my sincere offer was declined.

Bob and Arlette Cataldo

However, I was not completely deterred from the situation. Since that time, I would like to think that Arlette and I have become wine friends. On several occasions, she and Bob, who live in the Stuart area, would gather a handful of friends (some stretching as far south as Miami) and they would all meet at a central location with bottles of wine in every hand! This meeting place just happened to be at Cafe Boulud, where I was the sommelier at the time. Here it was that I was able to taste some of the treasures that every one had to share, and it was also here that Arlette was able to see me in action as a sommelier and gain the confidence in me that she needed for us to move forward in our relationship with wine. Was it a test on both sides of the coin? Perhaps, but good food, incredible wine(!) and fellowship were all shared on enough occasions that this was the year that I got the call!

Arlette knew that I had left the restaurant to pursue my own business in wine called Pour Sip Savor. I had spoken with her on a handful of occasions recently, one of those times was to invite her to the Drink Ribera Vega Sicilia seminar recently held at The Setai in South Beach. Tempting as it was, she declined since Pablo Alvarez, owner of the winery, was not going to be in attendance. The one time that Arlette and Bob did attend a wine dinner that I facilitated while at Cafe Boulud was the 'Fete de Bordeaux,' featuring the wines and proprietors of Cos d'Estournel, Chateau Leoville & Langoa Barton and Chateau Lynch-Bages. You see, Arlette, as someone who is not 'in the business' as we would say, has made herself so well connected in the world of wine over the years, that she already knew the guests of honor at this dinner. Clive Coates, Master of Wine and a leading wine authority, is not only acquainted with Arlette and Bob (they have brought him in for dinner at Cafe Boulud as a guest before!), but he stays with them at their house when visiting South Florida. Therefore, each property that is invited to participate in 'The Great Wine Seminar' is in direct correlation to the relationship that Arlette has cultivated with the winery over the years of her connoisseurship. She gets the response from the wineries to participate due to the genuine hopes of creating a wine tasting event that for the consumer is more intimate, passionate and personal than what you would possibly experience at a larger style event.

So, about that call that I received...unfortunately for him, but one of the two wine handlers, who has been doing this seminar for years!, was not able to commit to the dates for the seminar this year. Therefore, I was honored when Arlette called and asked me to fill his place. I am thrilled to not only be able to taste the wines being featured this year, but also to have the opportunity to personally meet the proprietors of the wineries in such an intimate setting.

'The 25th Annual Great Wine Seminar' is being held April 30th-May 2nd, 2010, at the Eden Roc Hotel in South Beach ( previous years have been held in West Palm Beach) and being moderated by Roger Bohmrich, Master of Wine. Wine personalities in attendance include Pierre Lurton of Chateau d'Yquem and Chateau Cheval Blanc, Eric Rousseau of Domaine Armand Rousseau, David Pearson of Opus One and Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger pouring his Comte de Champagne. Saturday's gourmet dinner will be prepared by Chef Olivier Saucy of Cafe Maxx - yum!

Because of the greatness of this event (therefore, the name of it), and I realize that this event may not be affordable for many, I do encourage anyone that could possibly afford it to attend - the price you would pay for such an experience I truly think outweighs the cost. For more information about the event or to register, click here. I hope to see you this weekend!

See what the experts have to say about Ribera del Duero

As some of you may know, I was fortunate enough to take a month long adventure to Spain last September. I saved all my pesos/euros/pennies/whatever and mapped out a wine, food and cultural adventure for myself. I rented a car and drove from the Atlantic to the Adriatic and numerous stops in between. To say that this trip changed my life is not far from the truth.

Upon my return from Spain, I decided it was time to branch out from the restaurant world and discover new opportunities for myself in wine. A friend of mine recommended me to be the Brand Ambassador of Ribera del Duero wines for the South Florida region. Why not? I had just been to the region, I speak enough espanol (Tu eres muy guapo...) and I have good relations with many of the wine industry peeps here. I knew it would be a positive challenge, as this is the first time ever that RDD has done a promotion in the United States and they had a lot of goals they want to achieve.



In January, I traveled to NYC for the Ribera del Duero Grand Tasting event that was held at the Puck Building. I was accompanied by the other Brand Ambassadors - Rebecca Chapa of San Francisco, Megan and Brian Wiig of Chicago, Roger Kugler of New York, and April Cullom, the National Brand Ambassador based in NYC. This tasting event featured over 100 producers from the region - again, the first time that an event like this had ever been done by the Denominacion de Origin outside their own region.


This week, I will be visited in Miami/South Beach by April, the team from Gregory White PR who is managing the campaign, and Eduardo Uribe Cane, Director of Communications for the Consejo of Ribera del Duero. Looking forward to that Vega Sicilia seminar, hasta pronto!


To find out what the experts are saying about Ribera del Duero, click here.

Return to Boulud

After working as the Sommelier at Cafe Boulud-Palm Beach for four and a half years, I decided this past November that it was time for me to strike out on my own. My new life as a sommelier without walls has been fabulous, but it is always nice to return to the comforts of a place that was once your home. Having been invited to experience my alma mater as a guest this past week, I jumped at the opportunity.

I first met Cory and Debbie Lipoff, who live in Chicago and have a home in Palm Beach Gardens, while working at Cafe Boulud. They are lovers of good food and even better wine. Since that first meeting, we have shared many o' bottles of wine and good times together. For their visit this spring, the Lipoffs graciously invited me (and two of my friends) to join them for an evening at Cafe Boulud.

Cory carefully selected the wines he wanted to share with us for this dinner and what am amazing line-up it was! Upon our arrival, we were greeted by our charming hosts at a beautiful outside table pre-set with wine glasses everywhere. Already poured was the 2004 Vincent Dauvissat Chablis, 'Sechet' (one of Cory's favorite producers). We chatted for a bit to catch up and got settled into our cozy corner of the courtyard. And then, the wines began...

Being lovers of Burgundy all around, we did a comparison tasting of Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru 2000 (amazingly open and generous, according to Cory) and 2001 (more acidity and complexity), followed by Roumier Bonnes-Mares 2001 (I believe 'sexy' was the word used to describe this one). Next, we moved on to classic wine icons: 1978 Chateau Mouton Rothschild (brought in honor of my friend's birth year) and 1986 Penfolds Grange (I did not know that Frederick Wildman was their importer back then). But the 'piece de resistance' for me was the 1996 Vega Sicilia 'Unico.' While I agree with Cory that the wine will drink better in ten years, this was the highlight of my evening. I was fortunate enough to visit Vega Sicilia on a month-long trip to Spain this past September and am currently the Brand Ambassador for Ribera del Duero wines in the South Florida market. Thanks for sharing, Cory!

All of the wine service for the evening was professionally attended to by Sommelier John Mayfield (NOTE: Mariya Kovacheva is the Chief Sommelier there since my departure, but was not working this particular evening). And I would be remiss if I did not mention the incredible food we shared that was prepared by Zach Bell, Executive Chef (three times nominated for a James Beard Award), and his amazingly talented team. Negotiations were made around the table to ensure we ordered different items in order to maximize our tasting experience. Appetizers consisted of Rillettes de Porc, Crispy Octopus Basquaise, Cleanseas Hiramasa Sashimi and Bruce Gore Wild Coho Salmon. Mid-course was a small portion of Risotto Primavera for everyone. Main courses were chosen to pair with our wines - Pistachio Crusted Jergowitz Duck and Lamb Chops a la Greque. The grand finale (and my favorite course, besides all the wine...) was under the direction of Matthew Petersen, Executive Pastry Chef. Profiteroles, White Chocolate-Coconut Haupia (Hawaiian dessert), Chocolate Hazelnut Bar and more were passed around the table.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all! Thank you, Cory and Debbie, for your kindness and generosity of orchestrating such a memorable evening. And thank you to my extended family at Cafe Boulud for welcoming me back home, this time as a guest.