What is the proper wine etiquette for a business dinner? Choosing the proper bottle of wine? What about clients that don’t drink? The GrapeRadio crew and our guest help sort out the answers to these tough questions.
Our guest is Sommelier and Wine Educator Marlene Rossman. Marlene is President of Manhattan Wine Seminars, head of wine studies at UC Irvine and formerly taught wine education at New York’s French Culinary Institute. She develops custom wine education programs for Fortune 500 corporations and is the managing editor for Wine Country International Magazine.
To find out more about todays guests:
Wine County Magazine: Click Here
Manhattan Wine Seminars: Click Here
UC Irvine, Corporate Wine Studies Program: Click Here
Sponsor: Quality Price Ratio Wine Buying Guide: www.qprwines.com
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Click Below to Play the Show:
(46:29 min 22 MB)
I have always read that the pronunciation of Haut-Brion as “Ho Bryan” is from a passage in Samuel Pepys’s diary on 10th April 1663. I’ve never read where Thomas Jefferson is credited as having said the same over 100 years later. Please advise.
As you know I have been listening for quite some time and this was one of the more entertaining and educational podcasts I think you have done. I enjoyed Marlene’s style and appreciated her knowledge and candor as a Sommelier.
Once again thank you for a great show. I learn more and more about wine everything I go to iTunes and listen to the podcast.
John
The Jefferson story is apocryphal, but here is his written quote, “Thomas Jefferson, then an envoy from the United States to Paris, came to Haut Brion on May 25, 1787…In a letter to John Bondfield, honorary American consul in Bordeaux, Jefferson wrote: ‘Haut Brion is a wine of the first rank and seems to please the American palate more than all the others that I have been able to taste in France.’ His correspondence shows that, thanks to his gifts and counsel, the wines of Haut-Brion were served at the White House not only by Jefferson when he was president, but by Presidents Washington, Madison, and Monroe as well.”
Jefferson may have gotten his spoken corrupted pronunciation from Pepys.
__________
Cheers!
Marlene Rossman, MBA, MA
Consultant, Corporate Wine Studies
University of California, Irvine
John, we hope to convince Marlene to guest host shows with us. I am pleased to see that you like her as much as we do.
Jay
Marlene quoted a spanish saying, what was the saying and translation?
My wife and I met two other couples, both of which are also into wine, for dinner at an average-at-best Italian restaurant. We intentionally left our wine at home so that the table would “represent” properly and buy at least some juice from the house.
It turned out that only one bottle was brought into the restaurant. It was a 2001 Paraduxx. Never in a million years would any of us have guessed that this place would have it on the list…but they did, right down to the same vintage!
In fact they had a great selection, from ideal vintages, and at somewhat reasonable prices. Maybe that’s a reward for eating their food.
Anyway, what the heck do you do in that situation?
The Spanish toast is as follows: Salud, Amor y Pesetas, y el tiempo para disfrutarlos. Which means: Health, Love and Money and the time to enjoy them!
__________
Cheers!
Marlene Rossman, MBA, MA
Consultant, Corporate Wine Studies
University of California, Irvine
Steve,
I think I understand the comment/question. One of the other couples brought a bottle of Paraduxx into the restaurant and the place HAD the wine. Solution: Put the bottle back into the car/purse/shopping bag and buy off the wine list.
__________
Cheers!
Marlene Rossman, MBA, MA
Consultant, Corporate Wine Studies
University of California, Irvine
It the case with Steve, he could have opened his botlle and bought a different bottle off the list.
Jay
I really enjoyed Marlene’s show. It was very approachable and educational. Thank you Marlene for taking the time to share your weath of knowledge.
Hi to all
I Roland Lundall am a sommelier in Sweden and I am studying for my masters sommelier exam.My girl friend found out about your show and since last year October I have downloaded so many and it has been such a great help for me.Your shows are great and I hope in the future in could have more indepth shows about Italy and Spain.These are hard regions to learn and I have already enjoyed your shows about the Piedmont area.Also if you could have a show about Chilean wines and its regions.
I will email you more in the future as I now download all your shows.Keep up the great love for wines have a grape day.
Roland Lundall
Nikki, IMHO, Marlene is way cool. I just love her energy. Trust me, we get her back in the studio.
Roland, thanks for the kind words. Master Sommelier? Perhaps we should sign you up for GrapeRadio-Sweden.
Jay
Hi Guys, I enjoyed this show too. I am a winemaker in the Clare Valley, South Australia. Before I started winemaking I was a Sommelier. I find the idea of taking your own glasses to a restaurant pretty interesting, I don’t think I could do it. If the restaurant was worth its salt I think they would be insulted.
Also, the notion of the business lunch or dinner and the role of the Sommelier and wine choice is hard, I agree. However, I find that if the restaurant is good enough to have a Sommelier then I really enjoy just letting them choose everything. Tell them you don’t want menus or wine lists, tell them any allergies or dislikes you have in terms of food and wine and perhaps quietly a guide to how much you want to spend on wine and food and let them do the rest. Some of the greatest dinners I’ve ever had have been like this.
Anyway, keep up the good work… the sound is loud and clear down here!
Sandy
sandy, are you the winemaker for Tim Adams? I like your wine. I will visit a restaurant first before I bring stems. I want to get the lay of the land.
I like your approach of talking to the sommelier. Very open.
Jay
Jay, No I’m not the Winemaker. Tim is the Winemaker. I’m his Assistant Winemaker. I’m glad you like the wines. I spend alot of time in my car and I use the time to listen to the show. I like it alot.
I spent much of my time as a Sommelier working in Sydney and I spent much of that time encouraging customers to trust me to make the decisions. The rewards were always excellent.
Thanks for the quick response.
Sandy