Corrigan’s
WLC extract: “Jolante Dinnadge turned water into wine. A former professional swimmer, Dinnadge’s career in hospitality began aboard prestige cruise liners. “Do you like Miami Vice?” she asks, referring to the portrayed beauty of the beaches she would explore on days off from being a cocktail waitress on cruises from Miami to Key West and the Bahamas with Apollo Ship Chandlers. Compared to the fallout of Communism in her native Szczebrzeszyn in Poland, home to an Orthodox church, Synagogue, and fewer than 6,000 inhabitants, the famed hotels of South Beach and opportunities to Scuba dive were “seventh heaven”.
She recalls an encounter with a ship sommelier called Jean-Luc. “I couldn’t believe his passionate speech about Châteauneuf-du-Pape,” she says. “It was the first time I became interested in wine. Before that, I thought rosé was a mixture of red and white wine!” Fortunately, Dinnadge’s budding interest was spotted by her bar manager. “Americans are very demanding,” she says of the clientele she was charged to look after, “so you had to have the knowledge to pass through to the guests and make targets…”
WLC ranking: 84
Address: 28 Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair, W1K 7EH
