I am in the process of doing the wine program for a new steakhouse in New York City.
Not being a big frequenter of such restaurants I have immersed myself in lunch and dinner at every steakhouse in town to understand the mindset of the steakhouse client...

This New Years Eve there were only four of us for dinner at our apartment. This is the first New Years Eve that my husband and I haven't had to work on the floor in a restaurant. Like many New Yorkers, this night is not our favorite holiday and we tend to stay home or go out to a low-key evening.

Just back from a fabulous Jadot wine luncheon at Restaurant Bouley in Tribeca.

A selection of barrel samples from the 2004 vintage were previewed. Many of the leading Sommeliers and Wine Directors and (especially from French restaurants) were invited to the lunch held in the private room. As we stood and sampled the 04's including a crisp Chablis never seen in the US, we snacked on deluxe "Chef Canape" being passed by formal waiters.

Now that we had a working list for the US Tennis Open we now had two weeks of intensive service ahead of us. The logistics of transforming the vacant facility into one of the world’s major sporting events are mind-boggling. Literally thousands of people are employed in packing, trucking and then preparing five major eateries, hundreds of private boxes, five hundred concessions, employee cafeterias (1500 meals a day!), security stations, a fully equipped surgery, the list is endless. The net result is effectively a small satellite city. In the middle of all this was the tiny portion known as the Wine Program.

This year I consulted as the Wine Director at The US Tennis Open which is held in New York in early September. I started working on the project in early January. The format for the food and beverage at the Open is reviewed and finalized by the end of January, over seven months prior to the event. Not surprisingly, I approached the notion of formulating a list that would be carved in stone for months with some trepidation! I knew all too well that despite the best intentions of suppliers, that this was somewhat unrealistic. With vintages expected to change, sketchy availability, and unknown quality, I expected anything to happen in seven months in the crazy wine world! Not to mention the sheer volume of wine sold in the two weeks of the event far surpasses what most restaurants move in a year’s business!

I recently was asked to review some Non-Vintage Champagne for a holiday issue of a magazine. The editors informed me there would be about 25 different producers being delivered to my door over a period of about 3 weeks. My doormen all know what I do for a living and delight when I get a truckload of wine delivered, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day, snickering what a "tough job" I have.

I was lucky to be one of three New York sommeliers flown to Germany by the German Trade Counsel to attend the VDP trade fair in Mainz, and to visit wine regions nearby. Joining us were sixteen sommeliers from Europe, Canada and a rather large and jovial man from Russia! This was in contrast to the “domestic” sommeliers, mostly from the east coast, that I get to meet and work with at events in the United States.

Having once more survived two grueling weeks of Restaurant Week in New York City I am amazed to see such a change in the sales and change in the variety of wine! Restaurant week, now two weeks in fact, is a celebration in New York that offers diners the opportunity to sample food from many of the top restaurants. With lunch at $20.05 for 3 courses and dinner at 35.05 it really is a temptation!

I am amazed and amused when I reorder Merlot and realize I am only selling a third of what I would usually sell each month. On the other hand, my Pinot Noir sales have certainly increased, in fact, more than doubled. Can a movie like Sideways be that influential?

Why, oh why, is it that I order a bottle of red wine in a restaurant in the United States and it is delivered at 75 degrees? In New York City, where so much revolves around the sophisticated Manhattanite, greater emphasis is placed on fashionable design than on proper wine storage. I can't count how many times have I seen wine storage over the bar or cleverly hung on the walls with intense lighting heating it far above room temperature? With wine accounting for such a healthy portion of profits, why is it treated so shabbily?

Ever notice how good food tastes and how sublimely the wine pairs when visiting the country of origin? I have just returned from traveling in Spain on a fantastic wine trip and wanted to share some of the experience.

We landed in Jerez de la Frontera, and toured the famed sherry houses. Such an amazing history to this area, going back as far as the early Phoenicians! To finally see the solera system demystified. Endless rows of barrels stretching off into the cool dimness of the bodega. The freshest fino and manzanilla were perfect with the local, crisp, fruity olives, the jamon, the incredible shellfish, the langoustines and shrimp.