Meet the Boca Bacchanal Vintners: Swanson Vineyards - Purveyors of Things Fine...Mostly Wine!

The mission statement of Swanson Vineyards is pretty straightforward: "to celebrate the simple pleasures in life, made better with wine." What's not to love about that?

In case you were wondering, this is in fact the Swanson family that introduced the TV Dinner to the US in 1953, a groundbreaking innovation in the food business at the time. Following the sale of Swanson and Sons to the Campbell Soup Company in 1955, W. Clarke Swanson Jr. enjoyed a successful career as an entrepreneur in media and the community before planning a return to his family's agricultural roots. In 1985 Swanson purchased a 100-acre property on Oakville Cross Road in the heart of the Napa Valley.

He obtained the consultation services of André Tchelistcheff, America's most influential post-Prohibition winemaker and, in the bold business style long associated with the Swanson name, planted Merlot in the heart of Cabernet Sauvignon country. The result was a “Cab-lover’s Merlot” that was extremely well-received and the Swansons, along with their winemaking team, continued to experiment with other lesser-known varietals such as Sangiovese, Petite Sirah, Semillon and Pinot Grigio. 

The Salon at Swanson Vineyards

Winemaker Chris Phelps has been with Swanson since 2003 and brings with him an impressive and well-rounded pedigree. After obtaining his winemaking degree from University of California at Davis, Phelps trained with Christian Moueix at the famed Château Pétrus in Bordeaux. After returning to California, Phelps spent twelve years at Dominus and another seven at Caymus before joining Swanson.

Swanson Vineyards is also very much a family affair. Swanson's wife of 42 years, Elizabeth, is the creative force behind the family winery known for her warm and marvelous style of entertaining and her artistic sense of design.

Her title appropriately reads, “dream maker, tastemaker, opinion-maker, keeper of the most special fairy dust." In 1993 the Swanson's eldest daughter Alexis, the inspiration for their popular red wine of the same name, joined the family business as marketing director. Alexis is responsible for the whimsical tasting room the Sip Shoppe, a candy store for adults where visitors can sample a selection of Swanson's offerings in style. For this project, the Swansons collaborated with other purveyors of style including Kate Spade collection co-founder Andy Spade; renowned illustrator Jean-Philippe Delhomme who also did the fabulous illustrations for the Swanson Vineyards website; interior designer Thomas Britt; chocolatier Katrina Markoff of Vosges Haut-Chocolat; and singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton.

Clarke Swanson

Swanson Vineyards will be represented at this year's Boca Bacchanal by none other than Clarke Swanson himself. In addition to being a husband, father of three and founder of the family winery, Swanson is also Director of the Napa Valley Vintner’s Association, an overseer for Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Vice President and Director of the Friends of the Lincoln Performing Arts Theater in Napa Valley and the former president of the Oakville Wine Grower’s Association.

On Friday March 23rd, Swanson Vineyards will be paired with Chef Carlos Guia of The Country Club at The Wynn Las Vegas Resort for one of the six Vintner Dinners. You can also enjoy the fabulous wines of Swanson Vineyards at the Bacchus Bash on Saturday night and at Sunday's Grand Tasting. Hope to see you there! 
 

Cheers,

 

Meet the Boca Bacchanal Vintners: the Venetian Values of Masi Agricola!

Hailing from Italy's Veneto wine region and owned by the Boscaini family for six generations, the primary aim of Masi Agricola is to emphasize the personality of their wines while maintaining a distinct Venetian style. In addition to preserving the traditional style, Masi also maintains a focus on technological advancement and continuously seeks to integrate the two. 

In 1958, Masi was in the forefront of the work to identify the historic "cru" vineyard sites for Amarone, the rich, Italian dry red wine made from the partially dried grapes of the Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara varieties. Masi even updated Amarone's style using new appassimento and vinification technologies. Appassimento is the traditional method used in the Venetian regions to give wines greater concentrations of aromas and flavours. The grapes are laid out to rest for a long time on bamboo racks before vinification. Implementing their modernized version of the process, Masi produces five Amarone wines and three Reciotos, made with "100% semi-dried grapes" which gives character to a series of "double fermentation" wines, of which their wine Campofiorin is the archetype. As far as white wines, the Masi Masianco, a white wine made from pinot grigio and verduzzo grape varieties, is an example of the technique of "blending wine made from fresh grapes with wine made from semi-dried grapes." Masi has also taken its expertise in appassimento out of its origins in Italy to Argentina, with Corbec and Passo Doble. 

In addition to its experimentation with principal grape varieties, Masi is also a pioneer in the experimentation and use of secondary Veronese grape varieties such as Oseleta, Dindarella, Croatina, Negrara and Forsellina. Over the years, Masi has earned the distinct recognition of having "revolutionized the art of wine-making in the Venetian region," and garnering the praise of revered British author and wine expert, Hugh Johnson, who defines Masi as "a touchstone for Veronese wines."

Tony Apostolakos

The charming Tony Apostolakos will be representing Masi this year at Boca Bacchanal. Tony is the Director of Marketing and Sales for the United States and spends a good deal of time with the Boscaini family and Masi Technical Group and remains entrenched in their winemaking techniques and global strategy. Born into the tradition of winemaking, Tony’s family owned vineyards in Greece dating back to the early 1900’s before his family immigrated to Montreal, Canada. It was in Canada that Tony was first introduced to Masi in 1999 as he sold their wine in that market for over six years. Given his extensive knowledge of the Masi wine portfolio and family traditions, Tony was presented with the opportunity to work directly for the esteemed winery in the United States as the regional sales director and immediately accepted .

On Friday March 23rd, Masi will be paired with Chef Kevin Garcia of 'Cesca in New York City for one of the six Vintner Dinners. You can also enjoy Masi's fabulous Venetian wines at the Bacchus Bash on Saturday night and at Sunday's Grand Tasting. Hope to see you there! 

Cheers,

Meet the Boca Bacchanal Vintners: "Life is a Cabernet" at Silver Oak Cellars!

Who knew when Ray Duncan first visited the Napa Valley in the late 1960's it would have such delicious consequences!

Instantly smitten with Napa, Duncan immediately began purchasing land in both the Napa and Alexander Valleys; however, with a home and business in Colorado and no experience in viticulture he realized he couldn't go it alone. He reached out to a man by the name of Justin Meyer and asked him to plant and manage his vineyards. Meyer agreed on one condition: that they create a winery that would forever raise the standards of California wine. And so, in 1972 Silver Oak Cellars was born.

Named for its location at the intersection of the Silverado Trail and Oakville Cross, the partners of Silver Oak took an unconventional approach to their new winery. Rather than producing five or six different varietal wines like many wineries were doing, they decided to only produce one: Cabernet Sauvignon. They decided their wine would be a new style of Cabernet, drinkable the day it was released but one that could also age for many years to come. To achieve this, they decided on an extensive aging program for their wine of approximately 25 months in American Oak Barrels, and 15-20 months of cellaring in the bottle.

Silver Oak's first release in 1972 was produced from fruit from their Alexander Valley vineyards: the initial release price was $6 a bottle! Seven years later they produced their first Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and ever since, Silver Oak has produced two wines per vintage, the Napa Valley and Alexander Valley Cabs. Eventually they built two wineries, each devoted to producing just one wine. Despite a fire in 2006 that devastated their Napa Valley facility, they took the opportunity to create a new winery for Silver Oak's Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that officially opened for harvest in 2008. 

Tom Johnson of Silver Oak Cellars

In 1994, Justin Meyer selected Daniel Baron to succeed him as winemaker and sold his shares of the company to the Duncan family in 2001. The family continues to carry Ray and Justin’s vision forward, with Ray’s son Tim serving as Executive Vice President and his son David serving as the winery’s President and CEO.

 

Also, in 1999 Ray Duncan and his four sons created Twomey Cellars with the same philosophy he and Justin Meyer had for Silver Oak: to create food-friendly wines that are deliciously drinkable upon release. However, instead of focusing on only one grape variety, at Twomey Cellars they produce three: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Merlot.

The delightful Tom Johnson will be representing Silver Oak this year at Boca Bacchanal. Tom has worked for Justin Meyer and Ray Duncan since they were owners of Franciscan from 1976-1980. When approached by Justin Meyer to join Silver Oak, Tom agreed, because he knew that joining Silver Oak meant becoming part of a very special wine family.

On Friday March 23rd, Silver Oak will be paired with brothers and Chefs Erasto and Pablo Jacinto (of Jacinto's Kitchen in Santa Rosa, CA and the The Grill at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa respectively) for one of the six Vintner Dinners. You can also enjoy the wines of Silver Oak at the Bacchus Bash on Saturday night and at Sunday's Grand Tasting. Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

 

Meet the Boca Bacchanal Vintners: Burgundy's Maison Joseph Drouhin!

With the kickoff to the 10th Annual Boca Bacchanal just over a week away, I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce you to our wonderful vintners who'll be participating this year.

First up is Maison Joseph Drouhin hailing from Burgundy, France one of the worlds most renowned wine regions. Laurent Drouhin, one of Joseph Drouhin's four grandchildren, will be representing his family's wines at Boca Bacchanal this year. Laurent and his three siblings (Philippe, Véronique and Frédéric) represent the fourth generation of the family and are all involved in the operations of the family estate.

Laurent Drouhin

Maison Joseph Drouhin was founded in 1880 and is one of the largest estates in Burgundy, including over 182 acres of vineyards in Chablis, Cote de Nuits, Cotes de Beaune, and Cote Chalonnaise. More than two-thirds of the estate's vineyards are classified as Premier and Grand Cru and with close to 90 different appellations, the estate offers a very comprehensive array of Burgundy terroirs. Maison Joseph Drouhin is  known for crafting wines that are reflective of their individual terroir and vintage, and in a sincere effort to preserve the individuality of each appellation, the Drouhin firm constantly strives for wines of breed, finesse and elegance.

Responsible agricultural practices are also very important to the family, which subscribes to an organic and biodynamic approach. Only natural products are used in the vineyards and the soil which reflects the family's dedication "to bring natural answers to natural problems." In recognition of its ecologically responsible practices, Maison Joseph Drouhin was awarded Organic Certification for all grapes grown within its vineyards starting with the 2009 vintage. This certification comes almost twenty years after organic practices were introduced by Philippe Drouhin in the early 1990's, shortly after joining the family estate.

Laurent Drouhin and Me

I recently had the opportunity to meet Laurent and taste through Maison Joseph Drouhin's offerings from the 2009 vintage. Like many years ending in a "9" (1999, 1989, 1969, 1959 and 1949), 2009 proved to be quite exceptional. While not an "easy" vintage, the end result was wines with a lovely expression of fruit and great structure that beautifully reflected their respective terroirs. Although enjoyable now, the 2009's have excellent potential for aging as well. 

Some personal favorites of the 2009's were whites such as the Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir which Laurent suggested pairing with scallops or even tuna tartare with wasabi. For the deliciously creamy and divine Clos des Mouches Premier Cru Blanc he suggested the simple (yet decadent) flavors of grilled lobster with butter, salt and pepper. Among the reds, the Volnay was light and lovely and perfect for pairing with a selection of charcuterie while the elegant and seductive Chambolle-Musigny was a natural pairing for game. 

On Friday March 23rd, Maison Joseph Drouhin will be paired with Chef Ken Frank of La Toque for one of the six Vintner Dinners. You can also enjoy these Burgundian beauties and sample the stellar 2009 vintage at the Bacchus Bash on Saturday night and at Sunday's Grand Tasting. Hope to see you there!


Cheers,

"Foods and Fine Wines of the Rich and Famous" with Ariane Daguin & Andrea Robinson at SoBe Wine & Food Festival!

Presenters Andrea Robinson & Ariane Daguin

Last weekend the 2012 South Beach Wine & Food Festival descended upon South Florida like a hurricane of deliciousness! In addition to all the wining and dining, the festival devotes a large portion of the weekend to educational seminars featuring many respected food and wine personalities. These seminars are usually my favorite part of the weekend and this year proved to be no exception. Driven by my penchant for all things glamorous, I was especially drawn to a seminar entitled "Food and Fine Wines of the Rich and Famous" presented by Ariane Daguin, proprietress of D'Artagnan Gourmet Foods and Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier. Needless to say, I signed up immediately!

Ariane Daguin, Founder of D'Artagnan

Ariane Daguin is the founder of D'Artagnan Gourmet Foods, the leading purveyor of organic poultry, game, foie gras, pâtés, and wild mushrooms to the United States. Born into a world of good food, Daguin's father, André was chef-owner of the Hotel de France in Gascony, and is known throughout France for his artistry with foie gras and other Gascon specialties. In 1985, after pursuing a degree from Columbia University and working part-time for a New York pâté producer, Ariane launched D'Artagnan which, at the time, was the only purveyor of foie gras and game in the United States. She named her company after the character immortalized as the fourth Musketeer in Alexandre Dumas' novel "The Three Musketeers" who she described in her charming, thick Gascon accent as, "a good guy who did the right thing."

Co-hosting the seminar was one of my favorite women in the world of wine, the sprightly, energetic and imminently knowledgeable Andrea Robinson. Robinson is one of only 17 women in the world to have achieved the coveted title of Master Sommelier and also graduated with honors from the French Culinary Institute where she later served as Dean of Wine Studies. She was also the first woman ever chosen as Best Sommelier in the United States by the Sommelier Society of America, was named Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional by the James Beard Foundation in 2002, and was selected by Bon Appétit Magazine as Wine & Spirits Professional of The Year in 2004. Robinson has also authored many fabulous books and is a true master of food and wine pairings. Yet, despite all of her impressive credentials and accomplishments, Andrea is about as down to earth and approachable as they come. You gotta love that!

For the seminar, Daguin provided an assortment of decadent specialties from D'Artagnan including:

1. Foie Gras Medallion with Black Truffles

2. Black Truffle Butter and Duck Prosciutto Tartine

3. Pâté de Campagne, Classic French Country Style Terrine with Cornichon

4. Venison and Dried Cherry Sausage (not pictured)

5. "French Kiss" - Armagnac-marinated prune filled with  creamy foie gras mousse

Robinson countered with an equally fabulous lineup of wines including:

1. Krug Grand Cuvée Brut Champagne NV

2. Veuve Clicquot Rosé Reserve 2004

3. Domaine Faiveley, Mercurey 1er Cru, Clos des Myglands 2009

4. Dela Frères Côte-Rôtie, Seigneur de Maugiron 2008 

5. Emilio Lustau East India Solera Sherry, Andalucia, Spain

Me & Andrea Robinson

After we were introduced to the food and wine, the pairing adventure began! Through a guided and extremely enjoyable trial and error process we came across some spectacular matches. The richness of the truffle mousse paired beautifully with the texture and acidity of the Krug Grand Cuvée as well as the sweet, nutty flavor of the Emilio Lustau East India Solera Sherry.

The Black Truffle Butter and Duck Prosciutto Tartine was a spot on match with the '08 Dela Frères Côte-Rôtie. The raspberry, smoke and spice notes created a beautiful synergy with the earthy black truffle and flavorful duck.

The Pâté de Campagne and the '04 Veuve Clicquot Rosé Reserve made a lovely couple. The red fruit notes and creaminess of the Champagne really complemented the flavor and texture of the pork beautifully. 

The Venison and Dried Cherry Sausage went remarkably well with the '09 Domaine Faiveley Burgundy. The synergy of the pinot noir, venison and dried cherries was a crowd favorite. The sausage, which also contained some pork, was also quite enjoyable with the Veuve Clicquot Rosé.

 

The pièce de résistance of the tasting involved the "French Kiss," a culinary gem the likes of which I had never tasted. Who knew a prune soaked in Armagnac and stuffed with truffle mousse could be so positively delicious? Paired with the sweet, caramel notes of the Emilio Lustau Sherry, this was definitely a "kiss" I will not soon forget.

A big thank you to Ariane Daguin and Andrea Robinson for such a fun and educational seminar. It was a lovely afternoon experiencing the "high-life" through food and wine and learning some deliciously decadent pairings as well!

Cheers,

From Bordeaux to Christie's: an Interview with Wine Industry Pro Robin Kelley O'Connor - Part 3!

What attracted you to the Auction World and the position at Christie’s?

I was in London in that first summer before my Eurorail pass ran out and I went to a Christie’s Auction at King Street, beautiful amazing Christie’s Auction House on King Street in Saint James. I sat there all through a morning and afternoon auction and I was mesmerized! Michael Broadbent, one of the great figures of the wine world, Master of Wine, Head of Christie’s, Chairman of Christie’s wine department is up doing the auctioneering and a gentleman says “You’re a patient young man, you’ve been sitting here all day but I haven’t seen that you’ve bid,” and I said, “Well, I don’t have any money, I’m a student,” and he said, “What do you want to do?” and I said I wanted to learn about wine. Then he said, “You see that man up there? That’s who you have to meet. If you can wait around until the end of the auction I’ll introduce you to Michael Broadbent.”

After the auction he took me up and introduced me to Michael Broadbent…and he said, “Young man, be at my office at 11am on Tuesday.” So I went to visit him and he said “Well, what do you want to do?” and I said, “I want to learn about wine.” Then he said, “Well you have to take all the courses of the WSET, but you’re too late for the summer courses. What I suggest is work a harvest, stay in Europe, come back to London in January and begin the courses.” But the greatest thing he said, he said, “Son, what are you going to do?” and I said I got a Eurail pass and he said “Get the hell out of my office, get on the first train and get in those vineyards in France and go to Burgundy and Bordeaux and Loire and Rhone and Spain and Italy and go to Germany. Go to all the vineyards you can possibly go. This is the greatest opportunity of your life and I’m not going to waste another minute of your time. When you get back in January call me and we’ll have lunch.”

When I went back to London in January of the following year, I stayed for two years and I was at Christie’s every single week for wine tastings and of course saw Michael all the time. So I fast forward to 2011 and I was offered the job at Christie’s…to take over as Head of Wine of the Americas and of course the first person to call me was Michael Broadbent and he was like “Good job, Lad! It’s about time you joined Christie’s!” How great was that?

What was a typical day at Christie’s like?

It’s easier if I do it by calendar year. Christie’s America holds eight sales a year in New York. Generally…March, April, May, June, September, October, November and December. The process of putting a sale together takes months and months of preparation…the process includes getting the consignments, inspecting the wines manuscripting the wines and developing the catalogue. All the wine is appraised, inspected and picked up by the specialists and sent to Christie’s temperature controlled  New York warehouse. Every bottle accepted for sale, once inspected receives a Christie’s seal that is placed on the back of the bottle, even if the wine is in wood case that’s never been opened. The wood case is carefully opened and all bottles are inspected, no matter the wine or the rarity. Everything is noted about the condition of the wine: if there is a nick on the capsule, a tear or stain on the label, the level of the fill, will be written down in the manuscripting process and thus go into the catalogue. There is a lot of work involved. There’s this amazing laborious process that goes into every single sale.

You’ve accomplished so much during your career, is there anything else that you would like to do?

That’s a great question, I’m always toying with the fact that I was in the Master Sommelier program and…I think I very much would still like to do that. I don’t know if it’s in the realm of possibility because I’m so incredibly busy and it takes just a tremendous amount of study. I have to say that it has just been so great, it’s been so rewarding, so gratifying that probably the answer is, I just want to continue doing more of what I’ve been doing, I think I’ve been lucky enough. I’d like to write more and there’s certainly a book in the making or two that I’ve written outlines [for]. I’ve gotten some fundamentally good ideas particularly I think first I’d tackle Bordeaux but in a totally different light then other books that have been written on the subject. But you know my passion continues always to teach and lecture. I love getting up in front of students and interested consumers and people who share the same passion.

What is your favorite food and wine pairing?

I love Asian food, I’m an Asian food fanatic, and I really am! I love Japanese, love Chinese so I personally I think we’re so lucky here in New York…for this plethora of great Chinese restaurants particularly down in Chinatown, that’s where I go. I always take wine every restaurant I go to, and of course Japanese as well, I think Japanese cuisine is so exquisite. Where do you begin? I love red, I love white but I am certainly a Riesling fanatic so I drink a lot of Riesling from Germany, Alsace, and Austria. To be fair we’re making very good Rieslings in Washington State and certainly the Rieslings in Clare Valley [Australia] are well undiscovered. I drink a lot of Riesling at a lot of different sweetness levels and age categories. I think with Asian food Pinot Noir is a natural, I think it just goes so well; however, I never stop there because I was in the Bordeaux business so what do you think I own a lot of? I own a lot of Bordeaux! So I’m constantly bringing Bordeaux to prove that there is no such thing as red wine with meat, and white wine with fish. Interestingly enough Bordeaux sells very little white wine in Japan…the majority of everything the Japanese import from Bordeaux is red and of course I’ve been to Japan a lot and what do you think the Japanese do? They drink a lot of red wine with fish, which just proves that there are no rules. 

What’s your favorite everyday wine?

Riesling Grapes

This is going to sound redundant but I always have Riesling in the refrigerator! I do like easy, unoaked white wines from Alsace, Loire Valley Northeast Italy, Campania in Southern Italy, Gruner Veltliner of Austria, then I’ll progress on and drink white Burgundy or occasionally a California Chardonnay or … when I'm home I want light, I want low in alcohol or at the very least something medium-/moderate-alcohol in nature. I want to sit back, feel that acidity brace my inner soul, brace my mouth, feel the tingle and the tangle and get my day unraveled and help me to relax – it’s really important! If it’s red I immediately want the red equivalents of the whites a tingle and a tangle I want Dolcetto or Barbera I don’t want anything over oaked. I want something really simple and you know even a lighter style Pinot Noir that has a kiss of oak but not too much.

Tell me about your wine collection.

I’m not a collector, I’m a gatherer. I guess it comes from my Irish Scots heritage that I can’t throw anything out. I’ve gathered a lot of wine and I truly need to get drinking or I’ll just have to share a lot of wine with friends and family. Right now I probably have somewhere between five and six thousand bottles somewhere in the universe.  Most of it is here in New York City. I’ve got a little farm house in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley where I keep a thousand bottles or so. In my humble little piso in the West Village in NYC I normally keep about two or three hundred bottles of ready to drink wines. In France I still have two or three hundred bottles mostly in Bordeaux that I bought and never moved. As well I have a caché of wines in a storage facility in the Presidio in San Francisco.

What’s your favorite beer?

Well, my favorite beer growing up was a local beer called National Bohemian which is beer from Baltimore. I love National Bohemian for the nostalgia point, brewed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. I can’t get National Bohemian in New York so I’m partial to Sierra Nevada. It’s a beer that is friendly and most delicious. I try other beers of course. I’ve been a partner in several pubs in New York City that are all strongly micro brewery oriented. The only pub I’m still involved in we have twenty beers on tap and one beer is more exciting than the next but Sierra Nevada always hits that sweet spot. 

A big thank you to Robin Kelley O'Connor for sharing his fascinating story and helpful advice for those pursuing a career in the wine industry. To read the previous installments, please check out Part 1 and Part 2 here on The Glamorous Gourmet.

Cheers,

From Bordeaux to Christie's: an Interview with Wine Industry Pro Robin Kelley O'Connor - Part 2!

What accomplishments are you most proud of at this point in your career? 

Robin Kelley O'Connor & Kevin Zraly

When I took over this job at the Bordeaux Wine Bureau for the Americas, I needed to establish an education program [so] I went to the number one wine educator, in my humble opinion, in North America, Kevin Zraly who was [the founder of] Windows on the World Wine School and the Wine Director. In the year that I started in 1989, I went to see Kevin and said, “I’ve got a budget and I need to take a program and put it together and we need…to go around North America to educate the trade.” We started with the Wholesale-Distributor-Import network…all these major players…and within 4 years we went to about 80 cities a year doing these distributor seminars and Kevin became my tutor, my mentor, my inspirational guru. Kevin really taught me the art of presentation, the art of communicating because that was another skill set that was completely different than learning to prune vines in the vineyard and making Pétrus in the cave. 

What Kevin taught me was how to synthesize, fuse, and bring together all that I had learned and deliver the message to the trade, to the public, to the consumer, to the press. I so credit those first four or five years as laying the foundation for future accomplishments when I was with the Bordeaux Wine Bureau. Having the chance to travel with Kevin and witness him bring his magic to every single seminar that we ever did, whether it was for 25 people or 1,500 people was a great, great opportunity, but then…he started having children…and he just wasn’t really able to travel. 

I [also] had the occasion to have the great British wine authority, Clive Coates MW, whose seminal books on Bordeaux and Burgundy, travel with me around the United States when Kevin was unable, to deliver Bordeaux seminars over a couple of years period. Clive was a great mentor; however with budget constraints and geographic barriers, I had to take over that speaking role. I kind of looked at myself the first five years as the producer and the director and Kevin the actor, artist and performer. However I had to become the producer, the actor and director. So from that point on, I did all the seminars around the country and I did that for the next 15 years.

What are some of your most gratifying experiences?

There’s so many but I would certainly say, Kevin and I probably would agree, that as much as we love the trade and the SWE, there’s nothing like getting in front of a group of young people like at the CIA or Cornell where both Kevin and I had these lasting relationships. Now those same people we taught who were in their early 20’s are now running restaurants, own their own restaurants maybe [they’re] Chefs maybe now they’re Masters of Wine or Master Sommeliers, that’s what I call gratifying. When they come up to you and say, “it’s because of you, it’s because of what you taught me in that course, I was so inspired,” it gives you goose bumps. It is a wonderful feeling every time someone comes up to me and says, "thank you very much, you don’t remember me but you gave me a path, you gave me inspiration."
In 2003 Kevin began collaboration with the great New York based retail wine merchant Sherry-Lehmann creating The Sherry-Lehmann/Kevin Zraly Master Wine Class which features the best wines in the world tasted with the winemakers and owners with vertical tasting of at least 10 different vintages. I had the great fortune to be invited by Kevin to decant the wines (Ch. Haut-Brion) at the very first Master Class. Since inception in the fall of 2003 I’ve been part of the nearly 50 master class seminars with the top wines of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, California etc.
Also, in 2008 and part of 2009 I went around the world with Kevin to assist him in the 25^th anniversary edition of his “Windows on the World Complete Wine Course." We visited over 15 countries, 80 wine regions, 500 appellations and tasted more than 7,000 wines. With a stroke of luck when we returned from the world wine trip, I was invited by the Sherry-Lehmann partnership to join them as Director of Sales and Education. I had over two wonderful years working with the oldest family owned retail wine business in the United States which dates back to its founding in early 1934 right after the repeal of prohibition. Sherry-Lehmann was honored in 2011 as the Wine Enthusiast Magazine Retailer of the Year. Sherry-Lehmann’s commitment to wine education is second to none.

What advice would you give to an aspiring wine educator?

It’s a very simple formula, you must get out there and expend as much energy as you possibly can attending wine tasting, lectures, visiting vineyards, wineries, and winemakers. Take advantage of every opportunity no matter where you are in this great earth of ours. Find out if winemakers are coming to town and be a sponge, absorb everything you possibly, possibly can. You can’t be sedentary, advance yourself with determination and it's important to read everything that’s out there and take advantage of all that’s on the web. Find the pace that works for you; however you have to really take a huge initiative. I became an obsessive wine book collector, I must have 5,000 wine books…I have wine books going back literally to 1800. Ok, I got a little over-obsessed but I read French and most of the older books I have are in French, it’s unbelievable and I just became a sponge.

The other thing to do is to try to teach, even if you start out with three people, your family, your six best friends, try to give them a lecture! Start with 15 minutes, start with half-an-hour, build up to 45 minutes or an hour. Get yourself in front of a small group or larger group whatever you can do, but you can’t be a Wine Educator without presenting yourself. I always laugh, they say the greatest fear in the world is public speaking and the second greatest fear is dying. Kevin did all the speaking for me in the early years so I was experiencing stage fright [in the beginning] when it came to my turn and I had to get over it, because I [eventually] had to become that person. 

Please stay tuned for the third and final installment of my interview with Robin Kelley O'Connor wherein he discusses his experience at Christie's Auction House, his favorite food and wine pairings and plans for the future!

Cheers,