I have had the good fortune recently to join up with some other wine professionals in the Raleigh-Durham area for a monthly tasting group. One of my fellow tasters is Max Kast, the sommelier at Fearrington House, an inn and restaurant located in Pittsboro, North Carolina. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend checking out Fearrington House – it is an amazing place and they have an incredible wine list. Max was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions. I think you will enjoy reading what he has to say. Cheers!
1. How did you get into the wine business? And tell us a little about Fearrington House…
My parents are from Germany, Franken to be specific, and growing up everything revolved around the kitchen. The smells of homemade sausage, spaetzle, and bread and bacon dumplings with a Franken Silvaner are some of my earliest memories. We also went to Europe every summer traveling through the Loire, the Rhône, Languedoc, Jura and Savoie, all of which created vivid images of the vine and the table, how a whole world existed focused on the production of something beautiful. In college I studied History and played bass guitar in bands hoping one day to be the next Jaco Pastorius. It was the jobs I worked at restaurants that shaped my future. My first position running a wine list was in my senior year of college, I had a hard time studying for school because every moment I had I was studying wine. It was the perfect combination, taking all of the amazing memories I had about food and wine from my youth and putting it together with an artisan beverage, which includes the continued study of history, culture, science, politics, and aesthetics, and most importantly it is fun and you get to meet great people.
The Fearrington House is one of the oldest Relais & Châteaux properties in the United States. We are the only Five Diamond restaurant in North Carolina, and the only Green Certified Five Diamond Restaurant in the United States. We have a 35-room country inn, the Fearrington House Restaurant, the Old Granary Restaurant, which serves Lunch and Brunch, the Belted Goat, which is a Coffee and Wine Shop, and Roost a Beer Garden in the center of Fearrington Village. We have received the Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence since 2004, and have over 800 selections on the Fearrington House Restaurant Wine List. We are celebrating our 30th year this year, so keep an eye out for special events that we are planning, I can’t say anything yet but we have some cool things in the making.
2. Tell us your favorite thing about being a sommelier.
Really, my favorite thing is the chance to make people happy. I already love wine and am passionate about it, and would be if it was my career or not, but the privilege to get to recommend new wines to people everyday, to help find guests the perfect wine, to perhaps help create a special moment they will always remember, that is just amazing. In addition, the chance to try new wines everyday is a great luxury, as well as travel, and meeting all of the different great people in the food and wine business.
3. What is the most challenging thing about being a sommelier?
When it comes down to it, everyone has challenges in their respective fields. I make a living doing what I love, that negates all challenges.
4. What is your favorite French wine region and why?
My favorite French wine region is the Rhône valley, north and south. The one theme that is predominant from Côte-Rôtie in the north down to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the south is rugged elegance. I love the differences in syrah that you see from St. Joseph, to Hermitage, to Cornas, to Côte-Rôtie , showing how much influence just little changes in location have on the expression of a grape (not forgetting that a lot of that has to do with the winemaker too). I love Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Lirac, and Rasteau, the red wines just remind me of warmth, you can feel the landscape that they come from. For me every time I smell a southern Rhône red I get transported to Avignon, to images of Provence and I start craving olives, rosemary, garlic and lamb. I also love the white wines from the Rhône, Francois Villard’s Condrieu, Jean Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc, and Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc are some of the most memorable wines I have ever tasted.
5. What French wine first got you excited about discovering the wines of France?
Honestly, I do not remember the producer, but it was a bottle of Madiran imported by Kermit Lynch. It was unlike anything I had ever tasted before, it had depth, complexity, and personality, I can still remember exactly what it smelled and tasted like. I was hooked on French wines ever since.
6. What is your favorite food and French wine pairing that might surprise people?
Good question, the other day I had Alex Gambal Chassagne-Montrachet, 2007 with a pulled pork sandwich, and to be honest it was an amazing pairing. At the restaurant though Domaine Bongran Viré-Clessé, 2004 with braised Lamb Shoulder, Capers, Garlic, and Lemon. The combination of the waxy, citrus notes, and the hint of botrytis on the Bongran with the rich savory lamb, the lemon and the capers is just awesome.
7. What three French wines would you have to have with you if you were stranded on
a desert island?
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé 1996, Château Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1989, Didier Dagueneau Silex 2004.
8. Say you are having people over for a cookout – what wines would you serve?
Olivier Cousin, Anjou Pur Breton, 2007 – Amazing Cabernet Franc, Demeter Certified, natural wine at its best, perfect with Steak.
Delaporte, Sancerre, 2007 – Great Sauvignon Blanc, everything you want in a Sancerre, perfect for summer evenings.
Baumard, Crémant de Loire, Carte Tourquoise – Really nice bubbly, lots of minerality and fresh citrus and herb notes.
9. What wine trend do you see your diners embracing right now?
They are reaching out to lesser known grape varieties and regions. It is easier to have guests explore things like Cot (Malbec) from the Loire Valley, or Vermentino from Corsica than before, guests really want to try new things, and do not want to spend an arm and a leg for it. That is one of the great things about French wines, there is so much diversity and so much value to be had.
10. If you could be a French wine, which wine would you be and why?
Let’s say I strive to be like Chinon, versatile, happy, hard working but not taking itself too seriously. That is a hard question…
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