What's Going On in the World of French Wines

1. What is your earliest memory of the wine-making process?
My grandfather was a winemaker in Alsace and there have been winemakers in my family as far back as anyone can remember. They were still making Riesling and Gewurztraminer in manual basket presses when I was a little boy. I began picking grapes at 5-6 years old.

2. Tell us your favorite thing about being a sommelier.
I enjoy everything about being a sommelier. The best part of this job is surely the contact with people. I like helping a guest find the perfect wine to enhance their experience.

People always want to know how I got started in the wine business.  I always enjoy telling the story of how I used to sit in the back of the classroom at the International Wine Center, nervous as anything that I would get called upon to read my tasting notes.  A complete novice, I barely knew my Chardonnay from my Cabernet Sauvignon and I probably would not have gotten very far with my tasting notes were it not for the fact that two sommeliers who were sitting next to me decided to take me under their wings.  Luckily for me, one of those guys was Bernie Sun, one of …