Don't get me wrong, I have met some really nice guys as well. With some, I became friends, some I can't stand, some I respect for their knowledge, and some I just take an order from. It is amazing to see the transformation they go through once they become sommeliers. You have to make an appointment weeks ahead, confirm it three or four times, and once it gets closer to your allocated 10 minutes to see the guy, you are sometimes told that he has no time. Really people? You are not saving any lives, or putting people on the moon, you work in a restaurant!
Since moving to Texas, I met a buyer with a different system. Let's call him John. What John does to see his reps is brilliant. Once a week, all the sales people, their spouses (if they want to come), get together for dinner at a BYOB restaurant. Everybody brings 3-4 bottles, John passes them around, and we all taste them. You are not allowed to bash somebody else's wines ( if you don't like them, keep it to yourself, is the first thing John tells a newbie), taste, enjoy or not, learn something new every week. Spit cups are provided, everybody is pretty tipsy by the end, John picks 2-3 new wines every week. How awesome is that? nothing fancy, no stuck up sommerlier ( even though John is one), bunch of people enjoying and learning about wine, the way it should be.At one of these tastings, a salesman brought a bottle of Edge Napa Cabernet. Since I used to sell the wine in New York, this was like meeting an old and dear friend. Since he doesn't like to put his name on the label, I am not gonna tell you that it is made by Ray Signorello, one of my favorite Canadians. Ray also owns the Signorello Vineyards which produces The Padrone, wine that has been in my Top 5, ever since I tasted it, about 6 years ago.
Edge is 100% Napa grapes. Big, Napa cabs command a big Napa price, but not this one, it will cost you around $20. I once poured this wine in a $80 bottle of Cabernet, and actually had a client buy a case at that price. It's that good. Wine Enthusiast gave it 91 points (they give it over 90 every year), and according to them it tastes like blackberries, blueberries and cedar. I don't know, I never ate cedar before, but to me it tastes like an excellent Napa cab should, big, round, lots of fruit, not crazy tannins. Go get a bottle and send me a line, I would love to see what you think.
Pairing? Since it was one of my favorites, I used to take a "sample" at least a couple times a month. So, I had it with everything from pizza to steak. And it delivered every time. If I have to choose a meal, I am gonna say veal. Big, milk fed veal chop, grilled with some portobello mushrooms, big bowl of broccoli rabe, mmm.... Slap your mamma good!
Edge is 100% Napa grapes. Big, Napa cabs command a big Napa price, but not this one, it will cost you around $20. I once poured this wine in a $80 bottle of Cabernet, and actually had a client buy a case at that price. It's that good. Wine Enthusiast gave it 91 points (they give it over 90 every year), and according to them it tastes like blackberries, blueberries and cedar. I don't know, I never ate cedar before, but to me it tastes like an excellent Napa cab should, big, round, lots of fruit, not crazy tannins. Go get a bottle and send me a line, I would love to see what you think.
Pairing? Since it was one of my favorites, I used to take a "sample" at least a couple times a month. So, I had it with everything from pizza to steak. And it delivered every time. If I have to choose a meal, I am gonna say veal. Big, milk fed veal chop, grilled with some portobello mushrooms, big bowl of broccoli rabe, mmm.... Slap your mamma good!
