From laws to pours, the assistant head sommelier of Dinings SW3 talks to Douglas Blyde about how a passion for wine became a vocation, winning sherry pairings, and a dream to sing in a full symphony orchestra.
Was hospitality your first love?
It was not on my radar during my two years in graduate school where I focused on children’s literature and legal research before law school. That said, I always loved to spoil my family and friends with good food and warm hospitality – later with matching wines. Later, outside of my day job, I started “The Legal Gourmet” to host dinners locally in Florida, cooking and pairing dishes. This was before I studied wine and subsequently cuisine professionally, though my guests seemed to have a great time.
How did you move into restaurants?
In 2018, having practised law in Chicago for six years, I decided to take a break in favour of the “Wine, Gastronomy and Management Diploma” at Le Cordon Bleu, London with Master Sommelier, Matthieu Longuère, who became my mentor. Shortly after starting this, I realised wine was my true passion and so I told myself that I would have a career in the industry. After a three-month sommelier internship at the Little Nell in Aspen, I kept on studying, passing the Certified Sommelier exam with the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe, and began the WSET Diploma in late 2020. Post-pandemic, in spring 2022, I returned to London to take the D3 exam, while also interning at Le Gavroche. Coincidentally, Angelo Altobelli, then Beverage Director at Dinings SW3, asked to meet me. After a casual chat about my journey into wine, I was offered my first paid job in hospitality. Voilà!
Does your legal background ever follow you into your role as a sommelier?
Logical thinking from legal training is certainly useful when I manage the wine programme; critical thinking helps me to put the restaurant’s goals and our customers’ needs into consideration; communications once with clients and now with guests are crucial on the floor – not to mention that my “past life as a lawyer” can sometimes be a good talking – and laughing – point when chatting with our regulars.
What competitions have you won?
My chef colleague, Ge’er Li and I won the UK national final of Copa Jerez in October 2022, exactly three weeks after I started as a sommelier at Dinings SW3. We then advanced to the International Final in Spain the following year, representing the UK. Although we didn’t win the ultimate award, we took home the prize for Best Starter and Sherry Pairing with our cured red snapper, shiso emulsion and yuzu koji vinaigrette served with Manzanilla Pasada Almacenista Cuevas Jurado from Bodegas Lustau. I am also the sommelier winner of Gosset Matchmakers 2023 where my partiality for Champagne and fried seafood was transferred into the winning pairing of Gosset Grand Rosé and turbot and scallop puff. I am now very excited about the opportunity to ask all my viticulture and vinification questions on an awarded trip soon to visit the house. I also had the great pleasure of being one of the winners of the 2023 Golden Vines® Wine Scholar Guild Scholarships and am working on the Italian Wine Scholar® program.
Are you studying to be a Master of Wine?
Yes, an extremely difficult long journey and a tremendous commitment for any wine student, particularly when faced with long hours on the floor.
Describe your list at Dinings SW3?
We offer iconic names such as Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Petrus, Billecart-Salmon and Sassicaia for those who prefer classics. Meanwhile, we are constantly searching for high-quality wine from smaller producers and lesser-known regions and varieties. Our by-the-glass menu is constantly improving with approximately 25 labels including low-intervention wine options. This approach usually initiates conversations between guests and sommeliers which helps us to find a bottle which suits their palate. I am always excited when a guest who originally asked for a popular Champagne brand later tells me that they thoroughly enjoyed my recommendation of Champagne Eric Rodez, for example, or that they were impressed by the value of Chablis Premier Cru Beauroy from Laurent Tribut. I am happy to see the smile on their face after their first sip of Hoffmann & Rathbone English Bacchus when Sancerre seemed to be over their budget. I enjoy the challenge of introducing Xynisteri to those who never tasted any wine from Cyprus and specifically ask for something fruity and less acidic to pair with seafood. Creating a better experience is just as important – if not more important – as selling in the restaurant business.
How important is sake to the programme?
50% of our guests ask for sake to pair with their dishes. They often tell us that they don’t have a lot of knowledge about sake but would like some recommendations. In these circumstances, our extensive list of sakes by glass and carafe allows us to suggest more than one for guests to taste. If they wish, we also help the guests to put together flights of the sake of different body, intensities and style to pair with the food. So far the feedback has been positive! I now have the chance to learn to manage our wine/sake program by “getting my hands dirty”, from purchasing, pricing, stock controlling to wine list planning and event wine pairings.
What has been a startlingly good food and drinks match at the venue, and why did it work?
There have been so many “Wow” moments at Dinings SW3, from pairing Salon 1997 with shaved truffle and caviar chawan-mushi (Japanese egg custard) to warm “Three Dots” Shusen Junmai Ginjo from Kamoizumi served with an English wagyu steamed bun. Personally, I am most proud of our chocolate nemesis and Sancho pepper with Apostoles Medium VORS from Gonzalez Byass. This unusual cream sherry enhances the nemesis cake with nutty and raisin notes, and balances with the bitterness of the dark chocolate. The aged Palo Cortado in this blend brings in layers of savouriness and umami, adding an extra dimension to the dessert. Ask for a dust of sancho pepper for a fun kick and the lusciousness in the wine will soothe the most delicate palate, if needed. After all, this is our winning dessert at the 2022 Copa Jerez UK Final.
What drinks does chef-patron, Masaki Sugisaki best enjoy?
Chef Masaki treats himself to a barrel-aged Negroni after a long and busy week.
What is your “most fun” pour available via Coravin?
The 2013 Bibi Graetz Testamatta. It is deep, intense, evolved with silky tannins and abundant complexity – not to mention all the stories about Bibi Graetz. This is a wine that “if you know, you know” and got some of our guests very excited when seeing it offered by glass.
What is your favourite seat in the house?
The sushi counter is the best place to witness the art of sushi-making before indulging in fabulous sashimi and sushi.
What wine style could you happily live without?
Too oaky, overly extracted and too alcoholic.
What aspect of English life do you prefer to America?
The access to wines from different countries, regions, and varieties, trade tastings, masterclasses, and other learning opportunities makes London an incomparable place for my development in the industry. I also find the English accent very charming.
What ingredient do you love?
Seafood! From sea urchin to oyster, smelt to halibut, crawfish to blue lobster…the list goes on and on. And stone crab claws in Florida, when I am home for Christmas, are always a special treat.
How do you hire, and keep hold of, sommeliers?
I favour genuinely nice people who are eager to learn so we can then pool, and work on our wine knowledge.
What has been an embarrassing service mistake?
Taking the wine from the ice bucket and starting to top up a glass with the neighbouring table’s bottle. Thankfully I immediately realized the mistake. And the guests at both tables had enough sense of humour to laugh about this “Jiachen Cuvée”.
Is the guest always right?
The guest is always right about whether they like the wine or sake, and how they like to enjoy it, including temperature and type of glass. But whether the wine is faulty, or one variety/region is absolutely better than another, is subject to discussion.
What music is played at the venue, if applicable?
I always have something other than music in my mind when on the floor…
If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
Turning 24 hours a day into 48 hours. There is so much more in life I want to experience and enjoy besides working and studying. Time is my enemy!
What is your motto?
“Don’t start unless you mean it.”
Tell us something surprising about yourself?
My biggest dream is to play Mozart’s No. 27 Piano Concerto, or sing “With One Look” from Sunset Boulevard with a full symphony orchestra.
Who, from history, would you like to sit down to lunch with?
Dom Pérignon. I’d like to know how he’d feel about his name being associated with the bubbly wine which he once tried so hard to avoid making – over a few glasses of Dom Pérignon, of course.
Dinings SW3 – Walton House, Lennox Gardens Mews, Walton Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 2JH; t. 020 3597 9706; [email protected]; diningssw3.co.uk
This article originally appeared on the drinks business.
