NYC Discover Aphrodise Sparkling Wine, You should taste Before Your next Party, Frank Schilling Reveals
Whether it’s a wedding, party, or just drinks with dinner. We want taste. Maybe we want a few drinks. We also want to protect ourselves from tomorrow’s hangover.
It’s hard to find a drink that can take day to night quite like a Greek rosé and Aphrodise wants to prove it to you.
Frank Schilling, Co-Founder of Aphrodise
Today’s conversation with Frank Schilling from Aphrodise has been edited for length and clarity. For the full, un-edited conversation, visit our YouTube channel here.
Joe Winger:
Our audience is foodies. We’re wine lovers. What’s the most important message today you want to share with an audience of foodies and wine lovers?
Frank Schilling:
I’m an Epicurean myself. I don’t have a lot of pretense around my love of food and wine, I just love great food and wine and I’ve tasted so many great things.
I’m a character who hasn’t had a meal at home in 22 years. As an internet entrepreneur, I used to work, literally seven days a week for many years and eating out was my escape from my work because it’s the one place my laptop and phone couldn’t rule the day, or the moment.
For me, eating out was that escape and that vacation of the moment.
I created a life around dining out probably like many of your listeners or viewers. And I have a deep well of respect for great food and wine and also for the people who admire it and chase it, it’s a, it’s one of the great things in life.
I’m always stunned by people who don’t truly love food. I feel like they’re missing something and leaving part of life on the table.
Discovering Aphrodise sparkling wine
Joe Winger:
You have this new discovery. Let’s talk a little bit about Aphrodise. Tell me about how you discovered the grape varietal?
Frank Schilling:
I’m a wine lover. I tasted my way through Bordeaux and Burgundy.
All the way through, I could never really tell a Merlot from a Cab. I’d be lying to you if I said I knew what a Nebbiolo or a Valpolicella was and how all those grapes differed from each other.
I do enjoy great brands of wine. I do understand the difference between years and what impacts a year.
But when I was building [my restaurant] it was COVID. I was doing some fingertip math and I realized we’re gonna have to start bringing over a lot of sparkling [wine] for mimosas and for brunch. It was 300 seat restaurant, two seatings, 600 seats on a brunch [shift].
You start to do the math and you realize, “Wow, 52 weekends a year, bottomless mimosas. I’m going to need about 3,000 bottles of wine per quarter of champagne. So let’s go out and get some. We live on an island and supply chain management wasn’t really an option.
So we started to taste through different varieties of champagne.
I came to discover what Tom Cruise did in [the movie] “Cocktail”, which is, champagne is like perfume going down, but like sewage on the way back.
It comes from a well meant place, not mean spirited towards the great region of Champagne.
Joining the Aphrodise sparkling wine party
It’s just the nature of Champenois produced wine and that Chardonnay grape that makes a beautiful champagne is such that you just can’t consume a lot of it in the heat or humidity in the sun.
Traditional Champagne vs Aphrodise Sparkling Wine
It just isn’t the type of forgiving libation that lets you function afterwards and you don’t feel good.
The yeast isn’t good for a lot of people. Not everybody’s impacted the same way but, a large portion of the population doesn’t do well with champagne and heat in sunlight as a day drink.
The recovery profile isn’t something that people look forward to.
Aphrodise from the grape varietal called Xenomavro
I discovered that I’d had that problem myself for years. The yeast wasn’t working for me.
So when I discovered Aphrodise, it was a grape varietal called Xenomavro.
A high altitude grape, Greece’s most noble grape.
It’s a very forgiving drink. In a sparkling format, it’s something you can drink in the heat, it’s something you can drink in larger quantities, I can tell you that the recovery profile, for me and for many others, is exceptionally good.
Meaning you can drink a lot of it and bounce back and go again.
As a wine producer, that’s music to your ears. But it’s also nice knowing I’m making people feel better. I’m not putting something in the market that’s going to make you feel sick after overconsumption.
At a party enjoying Aphrodise Sparkling Wine
Joe Winger:
Just to give a little backstory. Frank, I hope you’ll talk to us a little bit about one of your first adventures. You mentioned you’re an internet entrepreneur, you had some success with website domains.
Can you explain a little bit about that and maybe a lesson you learned from that journey?
Frank Schilling:
It’s a lesson that some of your listeners and viewers probably have some experience with.
I registered a domain name back in the dot com era. Then I registered 2 [dot com names], then 10 and I got some generic names like wine.com , cars.com. Names like those.
I started to realize, wow, these names have value.
I wound up registering a lot of generic names and then I had difficulty managing them because in those early days of the Internet, it was all very unwieldy. The infrastructure for managing those names.
So I created a lot of that management infrastructure. Then in the process, grew that business over a 20 year horizon and wound up selling the 3 companies that comprised that enterprise to a company called GoDaddy, which we’ve probably all heard of.
So some of their infrastructure was my infrastructure and is now their infrastructure.
To the extent you like the new GoDaddy offering for managing domain names, you’re welcome, for the small part I played in helping that become a reality.
In the old days, I was traveling a lot. I had an office in Manchester in the United Kingdom, one in Newport beach in California and my main office here in the Cayman Islands. I would travel between the offices, New York, Miami and many other cities, just for work all around the world.
Enjoying Aphrodise Sparkling Wine
At the beginning of COVID that all came to a grinding halt. I sold those businesses and decided that with my love of food, if I was going to stay in the Cayman Islands, I realized I’m gonna have to eat at home more and I realized, the offerings of restaurants wasn’t the depth was hoping for.
So I built the restaurant, as a result of that that then led to Aphrodise.
Joe Winger:
I love the full circle of it.
Since we’ve mentioned the restaurant once or twice. Can we hear more about your restaurant Mykonos Cayman?
Frank Schilling:
Sure. During COVID lockdowns, there was a new plaza going in on the beach and I had mentally designed a restaurant years ago, but sold the real estate for it.
So when I saw the plaza going up, I was crestfallen. These guys built my dream on their land. My fantasy of what a place would look like. But then I was happy to learn that the plaza was a strata titled affair. It wasn’t owned by one conglomerate.
So I bought into that plaza so I could control the real estate. Then once I had the real estate I did a sort of “money no object” fit out that left a very residential-looking restaurant really quite beautiful.
I love the culture of Greece and I love the idea of the long lunch and the lack of pretense in the party and [being] all welcoming, with children, grownups will dance on the table and get really carried away.
The kids are running around. It’s all very loving and family oriented.
Whereas, Ibiza is a little more drug fueled and party, ragey and a little more intense.
I loved the soulful day party of Greece. We’re on an island and the Greeks are on islands. So I thought how nice it would be to bring some of that to my reserved island here in Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman is more of a place you quietly go to escape and enjoy the beach and family.
It’s not really a St. Bart’s where you go to seek out a great party. I always hoped that there’d be room for at least one place like they have in St. Bart’s here.
So I built a really big place, 320 seats, super residential, relaxed, welcoming, But completely devoid of pretense. You can come in, flip flops and shorts, or you can come in a beautiful gown as we’d hope in the evening.
But we don’t have a lot of structure and posture around it. We want you to feel free when you come. So that, I built that venue here, and you can see it online.
It’s called Mykonos Cayman. We have an Instagram where people can learn about the restaurant.
When you come, please come for a glass of Aphrodise on me. Mention Frank said I could have a glass of Aphrodise
Joe Winger:
You introduced Aphrodise at the Las Vegas Wedding Show. How did it go? Why do you think Aphrodise is the best drink to have at a wedding?
Frank Schilling:
It’s the color of love. It’s a beautiful color of red.
We took it to the wedding show because I thought that wedding planners would share the same pain point that I discovered as a restaurateur. Which is, if you want to buy a bottle of great champagne, easy, you go to the liquor store.
But when you start getting up there and you need 100 cases for an event or a series of events, getting that quantity consistently and getting a good product is actually quite difficult. And expensive.
So we thought we’d introduce Aphrodise.
Knowing that we could go directly to the wedding planners and help their fulfillment and execution and deliver a better product.
Something that people could really lavish in the heat or at an after party where you’re really enjoying the bubbly and then feel better in the morning. That was really the goal.
My first champagne experience was at a wedding and I drank a little too much. For the next day or two, I was laid up.
So we try to bring something to market that is good for people or at least makes them feel good in the moment and helps them recover.
We had a line all day. I poured a 5,000 servings of Aphrodise that day. People loved it.
Let me tell you, that’s a lot of work, opening bottles. It looks very glamorous. But when you’re really going at velocity, my hands hurt at the end of the day.
We got a lot of upstart business out of that. People were like, “Wow, this stuff is actually quite good.’
Joe Winger:
Let’s talk about flavor profile.
Pouring out 5,000 samples, what’s the most common feedback we get about the flavor, aroma, the mouthfeel, what are we experiencing?
Frank Schilling:
So when you sip a drink and you talk about mouthfeel or we have a glass of wine or champagne and you have a sip and there’s a little bit of a yeasty, gamey after taste.
For some people in red wine, it can be somewhat desirable.
In champagne, unfortunately it stays with it as well.
When you’re having champagne, which is more of a celebratory libation, that’s not a desirable quality. You want to have something that finishes clean in your mouth.
If you have lots of sips, you’re going to get a good buzz. You want to be able to recover quickly and elegantly without that headache that comes from the yeast and all those elements that bring its flavor.
So the taste of Aphrodise is a very clean mouthfeel and it finishes with a light crisp apple or cherry. Some people taste strawberry.
It’s a small bubble. Very light charmat, produced in small vats, a naturally produced bubbly effect. It lives in tanks for 3 months and it gains its bubbly in a natural way.
A little more expensive to produce that way. Prosecco, for example, will carbonate. They’ll add carbonation just like you would to a can of soda.
We don’t carbonate. We allow the bubbly to form naturally through the fermentation process, which is how it should be.
Co-Founders of Aphrodise Sparkling Wine
Joe Winger:
When it comes to food and wine pairing. What would be your favorite dish to pair with a glass of Aphrodise?
Frank Schilling:
Aphrodise is literally the only thing that I drink, and I’m crestfallen when I can’t find it.
It’s a dark rosé so it goes nicely with meat – a burger or a steak. Chicken or fish. It’s also a great dessert drink.
I like Aphrodise as a warmup libation and as an after dinner, like celebratory drink if you’re having a party, there’s an after party.
Joe Winger:
You’ve done a lot in your life. You’ve had a lot of adventures, a lot of successes.
Any inspiration or lessons you can share with the audience?
Frank Schilling:
The answer is love for people and love for living your best life, love for conviviality. I have a lot of love for the people that I encountered that have helped me in my journey. Those who’ve just been a part of my life, there for a season or there for a reason, as the saying goes, I try to embrace everybody.
See the good in everybody. There are people you click with more than other people. I say yes to everything unless it hurts me. I have a real lust for life and a good energy level.
Joe Winger:
If you’re loving Frank’s energy and his positivity, you wrote an amazing book. Would you mind giving us a summary of the book and what it was like writing it?
Frank Schilling:
It’s called Omnia Vincent: the universe wants you to win.
I wrote the book as I’d sold my businesses. It was during COVID lockdowns and everybody was [going through a] “The end of the world” mood type thing at that time.
You write a book like this for your grandchildren. If one day they want to know more about grandpa and did our success come from or where did our financial wealth come from?
It’s nice for them to know a little about the person who tried hard and maybe you can see something in yourself. So I really wrote it for my future ancestors.
I want to be the guy who left something for the grandkids and great grandkids to understand a little about my brain. And it’s really just written in short micro chapters.
Joe Winger:
Because you’re an epicurean, if you’re going to have any plate for dinner tonight, what would it be and why?
Frank Schilling:
Tonight I’m actually feeling a Pittsburgh style steak, seared on the outside. I haven’t had good red meat in about a week, and we just got some A5 Wagyu at the restaurant Our chef is a butcher and he’s also a certified Angus ambassador. So he gets great cuts.
We do a beautiful short rib burger, which is really lean short rib again on the outside with a bit of a char finish. We have a charcoal grill inside the restaurant, which is beautiful.
Joe Winger:
Thank you so much for your time. If someone wants to learn more, what are the best ways to find and follow websites, social media for Aphrodise?
Frank Schilling:
DrinkAphrodise on Instagram and the website DrinkAphrodise.com
Jérôme Peschard Launches Art Exhibition at the Sofitel Saigon Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City
For the past 60 years, Sofitel Hotels & Resorts has epitomised the essence of French art de vivre across the globe. As 2024 heralds its Diamond Jubilee, commemorated with a series of exclusive events at Sofitel properties worldwide, Sofitel Saigon Plaza, the paragon of French hospitality in Ho Chi Minh City, proudly inaugurated an extraordinary celebration of art.
From Left- Betty Qiffe Pallard, Consul General Daniël Stork of the Netherlands to Vietnam, Nykky Do and Milena Padula- Spouse of Consul General of Italy to Vietnam / photos courtesy of Nick Middleton for the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.
photos courtesy of Nick Middleton for the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.
On the evening of June 21st, the Sofitel Saigon Plaza was the scene of a glittering event, marking the launch of a collaboration with the internationally renowned French Pop Artist, Jérôme Peschard.
French Pop Artist Jérôme Peschard Portrait / photo courtesy of Stephane Thierry
The hotel’s lobby served as an elegant backdrop for an array of Peschard’s stunning oil paintings on recycled corrugated metal, showcasing his inspiration from French Indochina.
From Left- Tracie May, Milena Padula- Wife of Consul General of Italy to Vietnam, Sofitel Saigon Plaza Hotel Manager Alistair Minty, Lindsay Nutley, Consul General of Australia to Vietnam Sarah Hooper, Simon Pugh and Michael Hooper // photos courtesy of Nick Middleton for the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.
The event attracted an illustrious group of attendees, including Mrs. Sarah Hooper, Consul General of Australia to Vietnam; Mr. Daniël Stork, Consul General of the Netherlands to Vietnam; Mrs. Milena Padula, spouse of Italian Consul General Enrico Padula; and Mrs. Lê Hạnh, CEO of TVHub Vietnam. Distinguished guests also included Michelin Starred Chef/Owner Peter Cong Franklin of Ănăn Saigon, totalling one hundred and thirty of Ho Chi Minh’s leading tastemakers.
photos courtesy of Nick Middleton for the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.
Guests enjoyed a selection of exquisite canapés, fine wines, and champagne while admiring Peschard’s captivating works. Adding to the allure, music by DJ Edge Pamute filled the space, and trendsetters Tracie May and Nykky Domodelled custom-embroidered Áo Dài, the national costume of Vietnam, designed by Peschard and couturière Giao Basson. A pop-up retail store showcasing Peschard’s merchandise collection also opened to the public, featuring a curated selection of home decor, limited edition numbered and artist-signed lacquer replicas of paintings, and an array of gift items. Both the boutique and the art exhibit will grace the Sofitel Saigon Plaza throughout the summer, concluding in early September.
photos courtesy of Nick Middleton for the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.
This premier event highlighted the vibrant intersection of art, culture, and gastronomy, celebrating a unique fusion that will enchant visitors throughout the season, encapsulating Sofitel Hotel and Resort’s world of prestige and luxury.
photos courtesy of Nick Middleton for the Sofitel Saigon Plaza.
“I’m deeply grateful to Sofitel Saigon Plaza for granting me such a fantastic platform to showcase my art. Although I am French, my heart is Vietnamese, and I’m thrilled to share my homage to Vietnam with their guests and visitors during the 60th Anniversary celebration of Sofitel Hotels and Resorts.” – Jérôme Peschard
“Marking 60 years of exceptional hospitality, we take pride in being a part of a legacy that consistently sets the standard for excellence in Asia, providing a unique experience for all modern travellers to explore Ho Chi Minh City through a French-inspired perspective.” – Mario Mendis, GM, Sofitel Saigon Plaza
ABOUT SOFITEL SAIGON PLAZA:
Sofitel Saigon Plaza harmonises the sophistication of French art de vivre with the vibrancy of local Vietnamese culture, delivering a luxury hospitality experience enriched by genuine heartfelt service. Conveniently located in a tranquil enclave on Le Duan Boulevard, Sofitel Saigon Plaza places you in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City’s business, cultural, and shopping district. The hotel boasts 286 rooms and suites adorned with refined décor and deluxe amenities, a fitness centre featuring advanced exercise equipment, and an outdoor swimming pool with breathtaking city views. Sofitel Saigon Plaza also features five dining establishments serving local and French cuisine, seven polished meeting rooms, and an opulent ballroom equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, making it the ideal destination for business, leisure, meetings, and gatherings.
ABOUT JÉRÔME PESCHARD:
Dubbed the “Gauguin of Vietnam,” Jérôme Peschard is a self-taught artist whose work reflects a life richly lived and creatively charged. His art bridges the past with the present, blending East and West, while drawing profound inspiration from his adopted home of Vietnam. Characterised by the use of oil on rusted corrugated iron sheets salvaged from local construction sites, his pieces reflect the very essence of Saigon – its history, development, people, culture, and vibrant spirit. Peschard’s unique fusion of Western pop art with Asian influences, inspired by comic book legend Jack Kirby and modern art icons like Basquiat and Warhol, continues to evolve as he explores new themes in his storytelling. In the dynamic energy of Vietnam, Peschard not only found his place in the world, but also his distinctive artistic identity.
Join Us for An Incredible Prosecco Experience: Taste and Discover with Wine Expert Alan Tardi Wed June 26th at New York Wine Studio
Prosecco has gone from a little known mountain fizz to a vinous superhero, overtaking Champagne (and every other sparkling wine out there) and enjoyed by wine drinkers throughout the world, as the base of a cocktail or an everyday quaff.
But despite its huge popularity, most people don’t know much about it.
And there is much more to Prosecco than many people are aware.
”My objective is to
clarify the critical differences
between the original ancient Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco and
the DOC Prosecco that was enacted in 2010.”
Alan Tardi
New York Wine Studio
Prosecco is produced only in Italy, in the Northern regions of Veneto and Friuli, and there are three official Prosecco appellations.
Prosecco DOC
One of them, Prosecco DOC, was created in 2010. It occupies a huge, mostly flat area encompassing almost two entire regions and accounts for most of the 700+ million bottles of Prosecco produced each year.
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG is a tiny area in the foothills of the Dolomites consisting of 15 small municipalities in the province of Treviso. This is the ancient winegrowing area where Prosecco was born and made a miraculous comeback in the aftermath of World War II.
New York Wine Studio’s Alan Tardi
Besides its pedigree, there are numerous factors of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene enclave that distinguish it from any other winegrowing area in the world: complex and diverse topography, variety of soils, native grape varieties, distinct sub-areas, ancient history, and varied typology—bubbly, fizzy, and still; secondary fermentation in tank or in bottle, leaving sediment in the bottle (known as Ancestral Method) or removing it (Traditional Method).
In this class—which takes place right in the middle of National Prosecco DOC week—we will discuss the origin and evolution of Prosecco in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene area. We will also examine the two additional Prosecco appellations created in 2010.
But most of the time will be devoted to exploring and tasting Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco through a lineup of 8 exceptional terroir-driven wines, in a variety of styles, that demonstrate the unique characteristics, complexity, and diversity of the original Prosecco.
Participants will also learn how to say “CONEGLIANO VALDOBBIADENE” like an Italian!
Alan Tardi has arranged a fantastic lineup of unusual and exceptional wines (half of them are coming directly from Italy) which demonstrate the various factors that characterize the complexity and uniqueness of Conegliano Valdobbiadene: Different production methods (“Tranquillo” i.e. still, Martinotti, Classico/Traditional, Ancestral); frizzante, spumante; single vineyards, Rive, native grape varieties; diverse, soils, terroirs and topographies.
MC Petey Majik hosted the 2-day Vietnam Cocktail Festival 2024 June 14-15 celebrating with flavor, masterclasses, magic, competition. Tracie May captured it all.
A spectacular 2-day summer celebration, welcomed over 1000 cocktail enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike to the iconic Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel.
The vibrant cocktail carnival featured a dazzling array of over 130 cocktails from 36 premium global spirits, liqueurs and mixer brands.
Fernet Branca poured at Vietnam Cocktail Festival 2024
A gathering of Vietnam’s top mixologists, innovative concoctions were expertly mixed by a combination of the country’s most respected bartenders and up-and-coming talents.
Cocktail Carnival part of Vietnam Cocktail Festival 2024
At the heart of the festival was a showcase of Vietnam’s craftsmanship and creativity, where seasoned mixologists flexed their skills to craft tantalizing libations.
The Botanist at Vietnam Cocktail Festival 2024
From classic cocktails with a Vietnamese twist to avant-garde creations pushing the boundaries of flavor, each drink was a testament to the artistry and innovation within Vietnam’s ever-growing cocktail scene.
For guests inspired to continue the cocktail adventure at home, Mercantile Vietnam provided the option for attendees to purchase a bottle of their favorite brand from the event and have it shipped directly to their door.
Entertainment Extravaganza
The event’s charismatic MC Petey Majik led the carnival atmosphere and captivated the audience with a spellbinding magic show accompanied by igniting cocktail flaring performances from the talented Chương and Phước.
Tracie May with Clase Azul at Vietnam Cocktail Festival 2024
On Friday, the stage was taken over with a charismatic live performance from Vietnam’s premier DJ and saxophone duo Omar and Pierre. The party continued Saturday with the contagious energy of DJ PIA.
Interactive Masterclasses and Exclusive Tasting Room
For spirits connoisseurs the festival also offered a wealth of knowledge with 4 optional interactive masterclasses hosted per day, where industry experts from Lady Triệu, Bruichladdich, Jose Cuervo, Highland Park and Lý Gia Viên shared their craft and insights with eager participants.
Tracie May with Michelin Star Chef:Owner of Ănăn Saigon Peter Cường Franklin
Luxury spirits aficionados could enhance their experience further and purchase tickets to enter the event’s Exclusive Room, featuring personalized tastings from 8 of the world’s super and ultra-premium brands, with a combined retail price of over 600 Million VND.
Competitive Spirit
One of the highlights of the festival was the highly anticipated Best Cocktail, Best Bartender and Best Brand Competitions with guests encouraged to vote for their favorites.
Bartenders from across the country battled it out for top honors.
With precision, flair, and a dash of showmanship, contestants dazzled spectators with their signature creations, showcasing the ingenuity and talent within Vietnam’s cocktail community.
Shanky’s Whip at Vietnam Cocktail 2024
On Saturday 15th June, the 2024 winners were announced: Mai Thanh Phong’s “Banh Mi Saigon” cocktail, made with Matusalem Rum, won Best Cocktail.
Nguyen Tuan Cuong, who works at Yugen Bar and is sponsored by Shanky’s Whip, was named Best Bartender. Also, Jägermeister was awarded Best Brand of the event.
Cultural Fusion
Beyond the cocktails themselves, the festival served as a social celebration of cultural fusion, from modern Vietnamese influences to global trends, the event highlighted the diverse tapestry of brands and the pioneering people shaping the country’s dynamic cocktail scene.
Vietnam’s Cocktail Revolution
As the final glasses were raised and the last drops were savored, the Vietnam Cocktail Festival 2024 left an indelible mark on the hearts and palates of all those who attended. With its vibrant energy, innovative spirit, and unwavering passion for mixology, the festival has undoubtedly cemented its place as a must-attend event on the global cocktail calendar, promising even more excitement and inspiration in the years to come.
Cheers to the next chapter of Vietnam’s cultural cocktail revolution!
Awards were announced on Saturday, June 15th, at 8 PM
Best Cocktail of the Event 2024
Cocktail Name: Bánh Mì Sài Gòn
Bartender Name: Mai Thanh Phong
Brand Name: Matusalem Rum
Bar Name: Madam Kew Bar
Best Bartender of the Event 2024
Bartender’s Name: Nguyen Tuan Cuong
Brand Name: Shanky’s Whip
Bar Name: Yugen Bar
Best Brand of the Event 2024
Brand Name: Jägermeister
Participating Brands:
Large Exhibitors: Lady Triệu, Jose Cuervo, Cointreau
Joe Wehinger (nicknamed Joe Winger) has written for over 20 years about the business of lifestyle and entertainment. Joe is an entertainment producer, media entrepreneur, public speaker, and C-level consultant who owns businesses in entertainment, lifestyle, tourism and publishing. He is an award-winning filmmaker, published author, member of the Directors Guild of America, International Food Travel Wine Authors Association, WSET Level 2 Wine student, WSET Level 2 Cocktail student, member of the LA Wine Writers. Email to: Joe@FlavRReport.com
Languedoc Wines bring flavor and French history to NYC, led by Advanced Sommelier Erik Segelbaum, with the goal of more restaurant exposure and happy diners.
Langeudoc is a postcard perfect area of sloped hills, lush ocean views and deep horizons in Southern France nestled along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the famous Rhone river and Provence in the east.
Curious wine drinkers eyes just perked up. Why? Those who understand, know the area has a lot of magic.
While the land is not as known as illustrious neighbors Bordeaux and Rhone, its quality is competitive and its price tag is far more attractive.
The Languedoc region produces conversation bottles.
It’s the bottle someone reaches across the table for – because it’s different, it’s more of a mystery – and that person’s palate is in the mood to investigate a playful pairing.
All these curious reasons led me to NYC’s The Winery for a masterclass of learning and tasting.
Advanced Sommelier Erik Segelbaum
Luckily we were led by Advanced Sommelier Erik Segelbaum, who has more than 30 years of experience, was named Food & Wine Magazine’s 2019 Sommelier of the Year and 2020 Wine Enthusiast 40 and 40 Tastemaker.
Beyond the credentials, what makes Erik great for today’s class is his unique approach.
See, Langeudoc hopes to get their wines in more restaurants: in today’s class more than half the people in the room work in NYC restaurants and wine bars and Erik understands that territory very well. He has been Beverage Director, Head Somm, Wine Director at restaurants around the country – so he knows how to explain to the restaurants how to get these bottles onto their wine lists and how to sell them – smart move by Languedoc!
The History of Languedoc Wines
Languedoc has a robust and varied history with winemaking proving their villages keep innovating and the world follows.
The story starts back in the 1200s (when they were discovering wine fortification) and fast-forwards to the 1700s when a twist of fate forced the vineyards to move up the hillside – which became an unexpected blessing as the grapes flourished even better in their new, windier climate.
We keep going and in 1903, the area was a pioneer launching the world’s first organic expo. Something that even today, over a 100 years later, many competitors around the world are still behind on.
Some wines with bold, chewy tannins? Yes. Others with refreshing acidity? Yes.
We’ll get to tasting shortly.
But let’s spend a brief moment understanding the area that’s creating such vibrant flavors.
Languedoc Land
Five large areas with over 20 AOPs and those twenty are grouped in three very different climates: Mediterranean Coast, Atlantic Coast, Hills and Mountains.
Mediterranean, as you might imagine, offers long, warm summers with heavy sunshine and mild winters harvesting grapes Piquepoul, Bourboulenc, Clairette and Muscat.
Atlantic is quite different with consistent chills and cross-winds that deliver Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Chardonnay grapes.
Pacific, as you’d expect from the pattern emerging, is even more different. It’s intense. Dry and hot in the summer, cold in the winter. Warm days, cool nights. And this vigorous energy delivers rich, tannic reds like Mouvedre and Syrah.
Languedoc Wines Future
Much like the wines themselves, Langedoc’s future continues to open up more and more showing a sense of depth, complexity – while, yes, also being ready to go today.
Nine of their wineries are less than 20 years old. They are a leader in the “Old World” turning toward organic and eco-friendly treatments. They’re excited to reach a new generation of younger wine drinkers with their message and their culture.
So, let’s have a taste.
There were over 20 wines being poured, showcasing varieties from sparkling to light white to big, bold reds. Everything from pairing with fresh oysters to gamey pheasant.
Here are my tasting highlights:
Domaine Saint-martin D’agel Le Pèlerin 2020
On the nose: juniper and fresh spices rise from the glass.
Mouth: soft, supple mouth feel, with relaxed tannins
The finish had an invigorating acidity.
Delicious to pair with grilled herbs.
Gerard Bertrand AN 825 Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose 2019
On the nose: effervescent, gushing with red fruit
Mouth: gush of strawberry;
Finish is crisp and refreshing.
Pair with citrus-dressed salads or even spicy BBQ,
Villa Noria La Serr Picpoul de Pinet
Nose: zesty, floral and refreshing
Mouth: lemony and citrus aromas with a lovely texture
Winemaker Malek Amrani’s The Vice Wine is about as personal of a brand as it gets. Each batch is crafted from single grape varietals sourced from hand selected Napa Valley vineyards that best express the grape varietal and the region.
Passionate labor, sustainable farming, a long expertise of the wine industry and a current understanding of the consumer’s wine trend.
The Vice Wine’s Winemaker Malek Amrani
Today I sat down with The Vice Wine’s Malek Amrani for a conversation about luxury sales, Napa Valley’s legendary grapes, following your passion and inspirations and the future of wine for the next generation.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. The full conversation can be found on our YouTube channel.
I just want people to understand how busy you are sharing your wines with the world. Can you share a little bit about your average calendar week?
Sure, thank you. First of all, thank you so much for having me today. I just literally just walked in three minutes ago I was in Miami. So I landed in San Francisco a couple hours ago and just got in here So speaking about travel, a lot of what we do is travel because you can make the best wine in the world, but it’s really the ability to go out and sell it that makes us successful or not.
It all comes down to sales. On average, for me, for the last eight years, I average about five, six nights a month at home. A lot of my time has been spent on the road. Although this year I’m trying to shift gears a little bit and spend more time here in Napa Valley and less time on the road.
Got it. So what inspired you to get into the world of wine? Any memorable celebrations?
What inspired me to get into wine was my love for it. I was fortunate enough to start tasting wine at an early age with my father. And I graduated high school at 16 in Casablanca, Morocco.
Went to Senegal, West Africa for med school. I did a year there and realized that it wasn’t for me. And speaking of celebration, I really wanted to do something that was quite celebratory on a daily basis and fun. I moved to New York and the first six months in New York I really just tried to survive and bounced around and did all types of jobs.
But then I quickly realized that I needed to get my hands on wine and not have to pay for it and then meet people as well, because I was new to New York and I had no friends, no family. So I wanted to meet people. I realized that working in the wine industry, wine bars, and restaurants would be ideal to fulfill the two needs that I had at the time.
I dove into the wine industry early on at the age of 18. And between 18 and 21, I worked in the restaurant world a lot. I was working 2-3 jobs consistently. I was fortunate that when I was 21, I got a job in distribution representing Diageo and Moet Hennessy Brands in Manhattan to on-premise accounts, basically restaurants, bars, hotels, and whatnot.
And during that time, I also got inspired to start importing small batch boutique wines to New York and selling them too, selling them to people I knew and make a name for myself in the industry through imports as well, beyond the territory that I had at my first job.
Then in my mid twenties, I was doing it. I realized I had done it all in the wine business, except to make wine. The wine region that I’ve always been a big fan of was Napa Valley. So I looked for a brand that kind of was a solution to what I was looking for one, a Napa Valley winery that made wine for that everyday occasion that I can afford accessibly and to a winery that made more than the classic three or four varietals: Cabernet, Sauvignon Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and there aren’t many really.
And lastly a winery that kind of broke down Napa Valley to the sub regions that there are because Napa has such a very diverse terroir and sub regions, 16 in total today. Wow. So I couldn’t find one. So I decided to make one, start one, create one.
You worked at the biggest wine company in the world. How did you go about getting that job?
And then what kind of lessons did you learn while being there?
It was out of luck. I was a buyer for a restaurant on Park Avenue in Manhattan. And I was talking to my sales rep. I asked him if he liked his job and I really didn’t think about applying or anything. He thought that I was interested in a similar position and out of luck, they had open positions and he spoke to my first manager at the company and she called me and she asked me to meet with her.
I honestly didn’t know what she wanted to meet about. I thought she wanted to meet about the restaurant where I was working; and work on some program or something. And in less than 48 hours, I had a job. So I was quite lucky.
But how intense and how it is working at Moet Hennessy or LVMH is a big umbrella.
It’s the number one luxury company in the world. They certainly do a lot of things, they are number one for a reason. And at the same time, I was with the sister company that also owns part of the Moet Hennessy Diageo. Diageo is the biggest liquor supplier in the world and at the time they had wine as well.
So in a way it is easier to walk in anywhere and say I have Johnny Walker or Veuve in my portfolio. But at the same time, from a sales perspective, it was very not aggressive, but very goal-driven. And I found myself that out of 116 months of employment, I was a top quarter performer for 112.
So it was extremely competitive and I wanted to be the best at what I did. All the time. A lot of it really has to do with building relationships and working harder than the competition and doing a lot of things right and never promising something and not delivering.
Is there a major lesson that you learned while working at that global luxury company that has helped the Vice wines?
Yes, I think, many things. My first, probably my most important lesson was to intertwine your personal life and your professional life in this industry. You can’t really separate them and be successful at it. I think it’s just making it work. It is a fun industry, we do go out a lot and get to enjoy a glass of wine during the day or two or three.
At the same time it is work and finding the balance between the personal and the professional and making one feed the other in a sense. It’s one of the biggest advantages that one can do to succeed in this industry.
I think you fulfilled two fantasies that a whole lot of wine people dream about doing. One being rockstar salesman at these amazing companies. The other becoming a winemaker.
Any advice for someone who wants to be who you were a few years ago?
Advice? Yeah, absolutely. One, it takes time. You have to be patient; and persistent and consistent.
To build relationships and establish and build a territory and build certain sales revenue. It doesn’t happen overnight. You first gotta establish relationships and relationships come down to trust. The second thing is it really comes down to being patient and consistent.
Outlasting the competition because there’s such a huge turnover in the industry. So if you trust the process that if you stick around long enough and do certain things right for a long time, people will turn over in the industry and there will be opportunities that will pop up left and right and they will be yours for you to capture.
Personally, one of the things that really made me successful, and a lot of people may not do it, is that for 10 years in Manhattan, I commuted on a motorcycle 12 months a year. The subway was fast, but I never wanted to miss a phone call.
When the average salesperson is probably seeing 5, 6, 7 accounts a day, I was seeing consistently 15 to 20. So I was able to have a bigger territory and see my clients on the regular without appointments. I was on a motorcycle. I was the guy just going to show up and just say hello and I was in and out, just checking on you, see if you need anything versus I have to make an appointment, find parking, all that kind of stuff.
The work ethic definitely, 15 in a day is a very deliberate choice with time and energy.
Your wines are called “Vice”. Was there a “Vice moment” where you knew it was time to move on and become a winemaker?
That moment probably lasted a couple of years. There was a lot of self questioning and self doubt on the daily because I had, at one point, two very successful businesses.
One, I worked my job on a W-2 and the other one, my own business, my imports business. And I was doing pretty well at the time in my mid twenties and, within three, four years, I may have paid a little bit over a million dollars in taxes. How do you let all this go and jump into the vice and, basically not have a revenue?
Especially in the beginning stages, it took me a couple of years to really decide what to do but The Vice, the idea started in 2013.
Winemaker Malek Amrani
We really became a business in 2016. And I let everything go for The Vice in 2018. It took some time. At one point I was having three businesses happening all at once, and it was very stressful.
So that “Vice Moment, it wasn’t like sudden. It wasn’t quick. It was a long vice moment.
Tell us about the regions that The Vice grapes are sourced in and equally important, how the heck did you get grape sourced from these in-demand areas?
So I chose Napa Valley because Napa, one, is their vice to me, hence the name of the Vice Wine, name of the brand. My vice is wine, but their vice is Napa. And I’ve always been a huge fan of Napa.
And Napa is the apex of the American wine industry is what set the tone for us, what opened, it’s what really led this American wine revolution in a sense. It all started really with Napa back in, in the 60s and 70s. So I wanted to shoot for the top because of that aspect.
And also, it’s just part of the American dream. As an immigrant, there is nowhere on the planet, I can’t imagine myself going to France, Italy, or Spain, and walking right into their top wine region and say, I’m going to do what I do today. I have no doubt I wouldn’t be welcomed.
Napa did just the opposite and welcomed me and gave me an opportunity, not just as a wine region, but as a community.
The second thing, how I got into having access to these grapes, a lot of it is street work. Putting in the time, coming a lot to Napa and hanging out at a lot of places where winemakers hang out for lunch or dinner and talking to the bartenders and doing my due diligence and investigating on my own and really networking and knocking on doors. Not being afraid to knock on doors and introduce myself to people and tell them about what my plans are and see if they’re willing to sell me some grapes.
In this industry, when you buy, when you contract to somebody, you pay a little bit of what the grapes are worth when you first pick the grapes and then the rest within time in the new year or so.
A lot of what I’ve done in the beginning was pre paying. So I pre paid for the grapes while they were still hanging on the vines. It’s almost like buying the fish while it’s still swimming in the ocean. So in that sense, they owed me versus I was at the mercy of a lot of the growers to sell me grapes. They already had the money, they already got paid.
So they had to work with me in a sense and again, being honest, not being late on payments and having good relationships with the growers goes a very long way.
Can you share your Napa Dream with us that you put on your bottles and let us know what that means to your family?
Yeah, so I’m sipping right now batch number 100, the Napa Dream. So we make our wines in batches. Every single wine, and I made a little bit over 130 wines to date. Every single wine has a number.
It started with number one, which was a Chardonnay 2013 vintage. And when I first started The Vice, I had this long term vision, but I didn’t envision myself to be here today with batch number 100. So batch number 100 is an homage to batch number 1.
I named it The Vice and not my last name. As you see, most of the wine industry, it’s someone’s name on the label. I didn’t want to do that. The Vice to me is what wine is: a Vice. Napa is my vice. So it’s very personal.
But at the same time, the craft beer industry really had a boom in 2008 – 2020. What made it really successful were the names. Craft beer has some really wild names. You look at the name and packaging, and it’s what probably draws you to open the can, you buy it and try it.
At the time in 2013, there weren’t many un-conservative names in the wine business. It was still very conservative names and people’s last names. There was 19 crimes and there was The Prisoner.
I thought The Vice would be a very good name, One, because it meant something to me and Two, it’s very edgy and it’s borderline bad.
It’s not bad. It’s not bad unless you do too much of it. That’s what vices are. If you overdo it, then they become bad. They become addictions, a lot of things, and it’s an easy name to remember.
I’m going to assume almost every wine lover knows Napa Valley. Touch a little bit on the region of Napa, the soil your vineyards are using, and how that influences your aromas and your tastes as we actually get into the bottles themselves.
When people talk about Napa Valley, most of the time we talk about how this perfect Mediterranean climate that we have here, its location about 35 miles east of the Pacific Ocean, the Bay, San Pablo Bay, which is an extension of San Francisco Bay, the microclimate.
We talk a lot about the microclimate, but one thing that I think makes Napa the best wine region in the world, in my opinion, is that Napa has half of the world’s recognized soil.
It’s a paradise for someone who is really into soil because there’s so much diversity here. More than anywhere else when it comes to soil diversity, we make wine from 14 out of 16 sub regions of Napa, but within the same AVA. Within the same sub region, we have different soils.
So a lot of the wines that we make are single vineyard wine You do get to taste the purity of the terroir from a specific soil type. It’s something honestly that we can talk about for days and it’s fun for most people.
Going a little deeper in that for a moment.
We picture you in Manhattan, probably very well-dressed at that old job. Now you’re working a farm. What was it like the first time you stepped onto that vineyard.
What that experience was like for you?
For me, honestly, I always felt that my calling was to be in the countryside. Although while Napa is the countryside, it’s like the Hamptons of the West. It’s still probably the most expensive agricultural land in the world.
It’s very beautiful. But being in touch with nature and being a little isolated from the hustle and bustle of civilization, which is usually in the cities. I find a balance when I’m here in Napa because I do travel a lot. I’m on the road and I’m back to the cities trying to sell wine across the U S and also across the world.
Vineyard life, farm life, it’s my balance. It’s my happy place being in the vineyard. I’m sure you can’t picture me, but I do wear a lot now. I never thought I would ever be wearing cowboy hats a lot. But I do wear them because it covers my head pretty well from the sun.
Walk us through your favorite wines. Let’s talk about aromas and flavors and color and what you love about them so much.
First thing, I don’t have favorites. All my batches are equal to me. Every single batch has a story; is a labor of love. But the wine of the moment right now is my orange wine.
So I started making orange wines in 2020. Orange wine is the oldest winemaking style in the world. Five, six thousand years ago, when they started fermenting grapes to my knowledge, they were white wine grapes.
Today, all white wine, we take the varietals, we press or break the skin of the grape and capture the juice immediately, discard the skin. Orange wine is basically pretending to make red wine with white wine grapes. So there’s skin contact.
So we basically ferment the juice out of the grapes with their own skins and what you get in return, you get some type of orange hue in the wine. The wine I’m opening right now is my Orange of Gewurztraminer and it’s called Brooklynites because that’s where I got the inspiration out of Brooklyn. And we’re doing really well with it. It’s just been very successful for us. It’s up and coming.
This wine, Orange Wine, reminds me of Rosé of 15 years ago when Rosé just started to make a comeback or just started to grow in sales and popularity.
I also feel like with orange wine, I feel like it’s a generational thing.
If you look at Sauvignon Blanc, for example one of the top white wine varieties right now, 20 years ago, no one was really drinking Sauvignon Blanc, but it was really the Gen X that made it popular.
Same thing with Rosé I feel like Orange is just at its infancy stages right now, and it’s having it’s moment. Driven by millennials and Gen Z’s also Gen X and boomers when they see it on a wine list and they see it in the store, they get curious, maybe a little embarrassed that they haven’t had an orange wine.
They’ve been drinking wine for decades already. So there is a little sense of curiosity when it comes to orange. So it’s doing really well for us. It’s 3,000 case production right now. Our total production of The Vice is 27,000.
And Gewurztraminer, the varietal means spicy. I won’t call it spicy. I’ll call it flamboyant. Because it just pops out of the glass with so much roses, lychee, peach, apricot.
It’s a really pretty varietal and this orange wine of Gewürztraminer is certainly a treat. Very well said.
The 2020 Chardonnay. The mouthfeel, the balance, when you were creating it, how did you decide what it was going to be like?
It is an homage to batch number one, Chardonnay.
So I really wanted to create something almost like there’s a legacy and a celebration for reaching that milestone of making a hundred wines. I wanted to go back to very traditional winemaking. The birthplace perhaps of Chardonnay is Burgundy. And in Burgundy, a hundred years ago, they were not bottling every single year.
They bottled when they needed to. They had good vintages, bad vintages. So it wasn’t this cycle.
Now, the majority of the industry doesn’t age Chardonnay for more than 12 months in oak. Most people have a misunderstanding of oak and malolactic fermentation in wine.
I hear it all the time, people saying, I hate oaky chardonnays because they’re too buttery, too oaky. There’s two different things. Oaky and buttery are two different things. So the malolactic fermentation, the conversion of malic acid into lactic acid, is what gives you that creaminess in Chardonnay.
And predominantly, all red wines go through it. But in white wines, Chardonnay is the only one that goes through malo. And it is a style that’s fading. It’s boomers who love the buttery Chardonnays.
But when it comes to oak you really don’t find anybody aging Chardonnay for 30 months.
It’s a little bit crazy to do, but this was my vision as a celebration. And the funny thing is that I just came back from Miami and the joke, everybody that tasted it. They’re like, wow, what a delicious wine and how did you get the idea? And I was like the joke here in the cellar in Napa was when I was making this wine, everybody here was like, who’s going to drink this wine?
And the joke was Florida will drink it because they love big oaky Chardonnay. But the reality now in the valley and other markets too. The younger consumer is actually loving this wine because it doesn’t have much malolactic fermentation. Only 25% of the wine went through malo. So there is a little kiss of butter.
Almost like buttered popcorn, but without being too buttery, without having greasy hands. And then the oak flavor here is just amazing. Because it just pops with butterscotch and vanilla and full spices and it’s a super long finish. You take a sip and five minutes later, it’s still sitting in your palate which is quite unique for a Chardonnay.
You had a vision before you produced the bottle. How close to reality did it become, and what were the challenges to get it there?
To explain that I have to give you the background. Everything I do is not out of just because I decide to.
Everything I do is it backed by the marketplace. Most winemakers, they have an idea, they go apply it. I have so many ideas. All my ideas actually are based on creating demand that’s already in the marketplace or about to be. So a lot of what I do is research and development.
I’m not going to wait to get a market watch article last year to tell me that this varietal or this segment is trendy. I’m seeing it live in the marketplace. I’m seeing it live with the consumer. I am doing tastings in stores. I’m doing tastings at restaurants, hosting dinners, and seeing what the consumer wants.
So I’m seeing it before the rest of the industry. Everything I do is based on where the trend is going before it even becomes a trend. And it is a gamble because not everything comes to fruition. But that’s the basis of what I do is based on the wine enthusiasts, people that drink wine, their interests and what they want to have in the, what they wanna see.
Let’s talk about your Pinot Noir.
This is my house Pinot Noir. We call it the house because this is what I envision to be the house Pinot, basically a Pinot Noir that you open and whether you drink a glass or finish the bottle. If you drink a glass, you can put the cork back on it and it will be good for at least four or five days.
All our wines are made in a traditional style and they’re exposed early on to oxygen. So they’re oxygen resistant compared to conventional wines. When you open the wine; conventional wine by the second or third day, they already flatten out and turn into vinegar cooking wine. The Pinot Noir here is for the everyday occasion and it doesn’t require any food, although this pairs well with everything.
This is the only red I’ll probably pair with any type of fish. It really is a very good wine on its own. Doesn’t really require food. I make a lot of big Cabernets and big heavy varietals like Petite Syrah and certain Malbecs. Very good. You drink a glass and you start begging for food because some wines really require that.
The House Pinot is my go to wine for that everyday, anytime occasion. It is from Carneros, so it’s Southern Napa, and it’s made in a traditional Burgundian style.
What makes this wine actually unique is that a huge amount of of Pinot Noirs now in California are laced with something else to be a varietal on the label, like Pinot Noir or Cabernet. All you have to be is 75% to 85% based on the county. So there is a lot of blending and we’ve seen a lot during the past few years.
The emergence of jammy Pinot’s. It’s all cut with something big and heavy. Pinot is supposed to be lean. A beautiful aromatic varietal with high acidity. It’s supposed to age really well. So we’re going back to that traditional burgundy style.
The wine next to it is a red wine blend.
We make 14 different cabs, so many different red wine varietals. All these wines I make are 100% single varietal. I don’t like to blend. I just love to showcase the true expression of the varietal from the terroir that it comes from of Napa Valley.
I made this wine and I called it Millennial. This is batch number 96 Millennial. And this wine is a blend of different varietals. It’s like a world blend almost. It’s 63% Petite Syrah, 22% Malbec. 8% Tempranillo, Spanish varietal, 7% Primitivo, an Italian varietal, and 1% Charbonneau which is a very rare varietal that we have here in Napa. So multiple varietals, I called it the Millennial because, I found that the millennial consumer is looking more for a style when it comes to a red wine, something that’s medium body, fruit forward, softer tannins. And they’re not really much into what vintage is it, what’s the region, what’s the AVA, they are still very price conscious.
So the retail price for is $29. It’s our least expensive red wine that we make. And it’s a really mouthful of a wine. It’s very juicy. It’s like lava cake in a glass. Although it’s dry, it’s got no residual sugar. It’s still so fruit forward. And there are so many flavors from lava cake to blueberry compote to raspberry jam.
We did not put anything. No vintage, no AVA, no nothing. We just wanted to focus on the blend itself and, that’s a red wine, it tells you exactly who it’s made for.
I’m not sure if you see yourself as a foodie. Any food pairings that you recommend with your wines?
Yeah, I certainly consider myself a foodie. Half of my time alive is spent going from one restaurant to another. Granted, I don’t eat at each one of them all the time, but I do try to eat a small dish everywhere I go and try different things, different cuisines, and I love, as someone that was born in Morocco, I love flavor.
Maybe part of my success in winemaking has to do with my palate. And my taste for my open mind, the taste for food also, and being willing to try different flavors.
When you say Napa, people think Cabernet right away. No one would ever think of orange wine first. Maybe not anytime soon, hopefully one day, but as of now, everybody thinks Cabernet. And. Cabernet to me or some red, big red varietals I think the best friend for our big wines.
My favorite pairing right now is this orange wine. I find myself drinking a lot of Orange lately. And this orange gewurztraminer, favorite companion to Southeast Asian cuisines like Thai, Vietnamese does really well with it. I’ll say Indian cuisine with curries and or even Middle Eastern cuisines. The orange gewurztraminer does really well with them.
I really like to keep it simple. I love to cook with a lot of herbs and spices.
You don’t want to overwhelm it. You don’t want to ruin the taste. You want to enjoy it by keeping actually the food that goes with it simple. Just 1, 2, 3, 4 herbs or spices just to enhance the dish. and bring out the flavors of the wine.
Talking about the Vice team, you have a world class CMO and you have a genuine superhero. Can you talk a little bit about your team?
We met in 2008. We actually worked together and we’ve been together now since 2008. We’ve been married 10 years. Tori is my partner, but life partner and business partner, of course.
Her background is fashion. So she was a creative director at her last job. And she went to Parsons in New York for fashion. Her entire life she knew she wanted to be in fashion.
I wouldn’t be here today, The Vice would not exist if it wasn’t for Tori. She was crucial, especially for the creation of The Vice, the label, the marketing aspects of it. And today she’s 100% on board with The Vice. She has no other job. She’s the CMO of The Vice.
My assistant winemaker; he’s the joy of every day life. His name is Bruce Wayne and he’s an eight year old Tibetan Terrier. He’s got a better nose than any of us. He loves to be in the cellar because of the cool temperature. And as I said probably in the beginning, intertwining personal and the professional. Having him around most of the day when I’m here in the Valley, or just having him come with me, he’s a very good boy. It certainly adds a lot of happiness to what we do and it, it helps with the craft of The Vice.
You mentioned that Tori has a fashion background. What was the transition from fashion to to wine like?
Her transition was similar to mine. It was more of a hobby, part time fashion project and part time helping The Vice. And then last year, we had a baby, our first baby. After she went back to work after her maternity leave, she realized that she wanted to focus on the baby a little bit and also full time on The Vice.
Where do you see The Vice in 5 years? What can we look forward to?
Thank you for asking. The vision since day one was to be an international brand. Today we are in four international markets and 14 states in the U. S. But this secret fantasy that I’ve had since day one about creating The Vice was for the French to drink The Vice.
The French don’t drink American wine. In fact, if you are from Burgundy, you probably don’t even drink Bordeaux, or you don’t drink Sancerre, or you don’t drink Provence. They’re into their own wine regions.
Globally where we will be 5, 10, 20 years, I don’t like to really put deadlines and time limits because the passage of time does things that, it’s very subjective.
The last three years were great for our business. If anything, it spurred us to grow more than we expected. Our long term goal with The Vice is to leave a legacy in the valley and for the brand to inspire the next generation of people to be the voice for a fresh voice in Napa.
From a sales perspective, we are at 27,000 cases. We want to be at 100,000 cases. We want to be in a million cases. But most importantly, we want to maintain the quality and the integrity of the wine that we make.
Younger audiences are booking for healthier wines
There is a lot of formula wine. Wine that has probably 30 ingredients you and I can’t pronounce because it’s not FDA regulated and you know they make it taste consistent year after year and there’s a lot of chemistry that goes into it.
Our wines are very simple. There are two ingredients, grapes and a little bit of CO2 to maintain stability. So long term for us is to continue to be a true craft wine, real wine that’s good for you if you drink it in moderation.
How can we shop your wines? How can we find you?
Thank you for asking how you can help. I see myself as an ambassador of Napa Valley, so I encourage you to please discover Napa and keep it as the leading wine region in the world. We are a one stop shop for Napa Valley. We have the most diverse portfolio of Napa Valley wines at a great price point.
Please check us out, www.TheVice.com. Please follow us. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. Fun fact is that our corks have my phone number on them. You can text me, call me, DM me, FaceTime me. If I’m not in an awkward situation, I’ll pick up. But I’m very accessible. I’d love to I’d love to hear from you.
I’d love to answer your questions. I’d love to help you discover the wine industry, but specifically Napa. I’d love to help you not only discover it and enjoy it as well.
That is incredible. So thank you. I really appreciate your time.
92NY presents Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Richard Egarr and Reginald Mobley: Garden of Good & Evil Jan 25 2024
The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY), one of New York’s leading cultural venues, presents Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra with Richard Egarr and Reginald Mobley: Garden of Good & Evil on Thursday, January 25, at 7:30 pm at the Kaufmann Concert Hall. Tickets start at $30 and are available at https://www.92ny.org/event/philharmonia-baroque-orchestra.
America’s premier Baroque ensemble joins with music director and harpsichordist Richard Egarr and countertenor Reginald Mobley, bringing their compelling program performed to acclaim in the UK. Centered on the creation story, Garden of Good & Evil pairs Handel arias with modern works for Baroque forces by celebrated composers Errollyn Wallen and Tarik O’Regan – jointly commissioned to write new music exploring an aspect of the Biblical creation story. Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra’s blend of authenticity and innovation and juxtaposition of old and new is beautifully illuminated in this musical examination of the most profound of themes.
Handel, Overture to Orlando
Handel, “Al lampo dell’armi” from Giulio Cesare
Handel, “Orride larve … Chiudetevi miei lumi” from Admeto
Handel, Concerto Grosso in A Minor, Op. 6, No. 4, HWV 322
Errollyn Wallen, The Forms (New York premiere)
Tarik O’Regan, The Golden Measure (New York premiere)
Handel, “O sacred oracles of truth” from Belshazzar
Handel, “Se in fiorito ameno prato” from Giulio Cesare
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Richard Egarr brings a joyful sense of adventure and a keen, inquiring mind to all his music-making—whether conducting, directing from the keyboard, giving recitals, playing chamber music, or indeed talking about music at every opportunity. After a successful career as Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music for 15 years, where he succeeded founding director Christopher Hogwood, he joins Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale as Music Director.
Richard also holds responsibilities as Principal Guest Conductor of Residentie Orkest The Hague and Artistic Partner at The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in Minnesota, after having served as Associate Artist with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. As a conductor, Richard straddles the worlds of historically-informed and modern symphonic performance, making him an ideal fit for PBO’s parallel commitments to early and new music. Richard is already well-known to the musicians and patrons of PBO, having guest conducted the orchestra four times since 2012 in both regular season offerings and the PBO SESSIONS series. In addition to his conducting genius, he is a brilliant harpsichordist and is equally skilled on the organ and fortepiano.
Richard is a beloved teacher and has been on the faculty of The Juilliard School for eight years in their Historical Performance division, has conducted major symphonic orchestras such as London Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Center Festival Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and regularly gives solo harpsichord recitals at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian, and elsewhere.
Born in Lincoln, England, Richard trained as a choirboy at York Minster, was organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge, and later studied with Gustav and Marie Leonhardt in Amsterdam, where he makes his home.
Under the musical direction of Richard Egarr in his second season as Music Director, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) is recognized as “America’s leading historically informed ensemble” (The New York Times). Considered the most versatile ensemble of its kind, and performing on period instruments, PBO presents repertoire ranging from early Baroque to late Romantic, as well as new works and major operatic productions. The ensemble engages audiences through its signature Bay Area series, national and international tours, recordings, commissions, and education programs. Having celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, PBO was founded by Laurette Goldberg and led by Music Director Laureate Nicholas McGegan for the past 35 years. Philharmonia is the largest ensemble of its kind in the United States.
PBO’s musicians are leaders in historical performance and serve on the faculties of The Juilliard School, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Harvard, and Stanford. It welcomes eminent guest artists including mezzo-sopranos Susan Graham and Anne Sofie von Otter, countertenors Anthony Roth Costanzo and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, violoncellist Steven Isserlis, and maestros Jonathan Cohen and Jeannette Sorrell. PBO enjoys longstanding artistic collaborations with The Juilliard School, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC), and appears regularly at Disney Hall, Lincoln Center, Norfolk Chamber Festival and Tanglewood. In collaboration with Cal Performances in 2017, PBO produced a fully-staged period opera, Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire, and produced a fully-staged, reimagined production of Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo directed by Christopher Alden and featuring countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and soprano Lauren Snouffer in eight sold out performances in January 2020. “Aci” was named Best Operatic Performance in the Bay Area by San Francisco Classical Voice in 2020. PBO also co-produced “Aci” with National Sawdust in Brooklyn, Cath Brittan and Anthony Roth Costanzo in 2017.
Among the most recorded orchestras in the world, PBO boasts a discography of nearly 50 recordings, including a coveted archival performance of mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Berlioz’s Les Nuits D’été, and a GRAMMY®-nominated recording of Haydn symphonies. The orchestra released the world premiere recording of the original version of Rameau’s Le Temple de la Gloire with the unedited libretto by Voltaire in 2018. In 2020, PBO released three groundbreaking recordings: a full collection of commissioned works by Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw, a selection of arias sung by rising star contralto Avery Amereau, and Handel’s Saul with countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen.
Noted for his ‘shimmering voice’ (BachTrack), GRAMMY-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley is globally renowned for his interpretation of baroque, classical and modern repertoire, and leads a prolific career on both sides of the Atlantic.
An advocate for diversity in music and its programming, Reginald became the first ever Programming Consultant for the Handel & Haydn Society following several years of leading H&H in its community engaging Every Voice concerts. He holds the position of Visiting Artist for Diversity Outreach with the Baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire, and is also leading a research project in the UK funded by the AHRC to uncover music by composers from diverse backgrounds.
His American concert schedule includes solos recitals (New York at the Miller Theatre, Chicago (Collaborative Arts Institute)), concerts with orchestras performing Handel’s Messiah with, this year, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia and Minnesota orchestras and Carmina Burana with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as regular appearances with the most prestigious baroque ensembles: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Collegium San Diego, Seraphic Fire, to name but a few. Recent and future highlights include his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood Festival (Andris Nelson), with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki.
In Europe, Reginald has been invited to perform with Orchester Wiener Akademie, Balthasar Neumann Chor & Ensemble, Freiburger Barockorchester, I Barocchisti, Bach Society in Stuttgart, Holland Baroque Orchestra, Dutch Bach Society, Monteverdi Choir and English baroque soloists, as well as the City of Birmingham Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra for a series of performances as Ottone in L’incoronazione di Poppea. He has also engaged in a few projects together with the Academy of Ancient Music in Cambridge, singing the role or Disinganno in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno and devising a new programme, Sons of England, supported by UKAHRC, which reflects his research under their umbrella, which will be touring in April 2024. Reginald gave a Purcell, Handel and Sancho programme for his solo debut recital in Paris, which he repeated as part of the Bayreuth baroque opera festival in September 2023.
His first solo album with ALPHA Classics was released to great acclaim in June 2023 to coincide with a major series of concerts with pianist Baptiste Trotignon in Paris, York and Liverpool as well as part of both the Aix-en-Provence and BBC PROMS festivals. In addition, Reginald features on several albums with the Monteverdi Choir, Agave Baroque and Stuttgart Bach Society.
Highlights of the 2023/24 Tisch Music Season include:
Joshua Redman Group release concert of where are we featuring Gabrielle Cavassa
NY premieres of new work by Tyshawn Sorey and COTTON by composer Damien Geter
New York concert debuts of the Isidore String Quartet and pianist Tony Siqi Yun
Pianist Conrad Tao returns to 92NY as part of the global celebration of Rachmaninoff at 150
Ongoing partnerships continue with concerts from the Curtis Institute of Music, the New York Philharmonic, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with special guest artists
Art of the Guitar Series with Beijing Guitar Duo, David Russell and Manuel Barrueco
2023/24 Lyrics & Lyricists series celebrating Howard Ashman, Laura Nyro, Stevie Wonder, andSheldon Harnick in a special event led by Ted Sperling honoring the legacy of three-time Tony Award winner, and Broadway legend, Jason Robert Brown, featuring a one-night-only appearance.
Expanded American Songbook offerings including exclusive concerts by Audra McDonald, Joshua Henry and Stephanie J. Block
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