Once a sommelier, always a sommelier. Even if a former sommelier no longer works on the floor of a restaurant, there are still sommelier characteristics that remain.

For one, it is impossible not to be continuously aware of every aspect of service when one dines out. A former sommelier always scrutinizes a wine list. A former sommelier can be extra critical about the serving temperatures of wines. A former sommelier can never quite sit still at a dinner party and feels personally responsible to pour the wines. As a former sommelier myself, I recognize that part of me will always be a sommelier.

My wine career, however, has made a shift. I am part sommelier, part consultant, and part wine salesperson. The funny thing is, as a sommelier, you are at the same time all of those things. Perhaps the shift isn’t as significant as I thought.

I am now managing a brand and selling an incredible wine. The wine, Tenuta di Trinoro, is stunning. It is an IGT from southern Tuscany, based on Bordeaux varieties. It has garnered huge praise in the wine press over the years, and is a wine that is sought after by serious international collectors. The winery has a “second wine”, Le Cupole di Trinoro, that is also all estate fruit and an unbelievable value.

The fun part for me, is not necessarily selling the wines to those who already know and admire it, but showing it to those that have never heard of it or tasted it before. Telling the story of Tenuta di Trinoro is moving, and describing its proprietor, the indefatigable Andrea Franchetti, is always interesting.

Franchetti learned to make wine in St. Emilion, Bordeaux. Fifteen years ago he bought a wild, rugged property in Tuscany. He started planting things and he simply could not stop. He planted high-density, low-yielding, finest-clone vineyards. He planted fig trees and pomegranate trees and giant vegetable gardens. Herb gardens, chestnut orchards, almonds, peaches, pears, apples, and more. The 500 year old olive orchard was already on the property, so, of course he makes his own olive oil. Then there are the animals: chickens, geese, ducks, sheep (yes, Spring lambs), goats, pigs, and the happy winery dogs. Indeed, Trinoro is a sustainable farm, vineyard, and winery, unlike any property I have ever seen anywhere.

In the wines I taste Franchetti’s vision. The wines reflect the beauty and the naturalness of the property. They are intense, singular, and of the highest quality. It is with a genuine sense of pride that I show and sell these wines to fine wine lovers. Trinoro was created not only from Franchetti’s love of great wine, but also from his equally profound love of the land.