Becoming a coveted sommelier requires years of education and delighting in the world of wine. Therefore, he expects the adaptation to begin at an early age. But Carlos Solórzano-Smith, founder of Aspen Cellar Consulting and director of wines and beverages at Matsuhisa Colorado, never drank wine until he was 28. In fact, he never spoke a word of English before emigrating to the United States from Guatemala at age 22. Since then he has trained at world-renowned restaurants Eleven Madison Park, Marta, The Modern, Maialino, RN74, Blackberry Farm and more. In addition, it is not only a coveted wine sommelier, but also a beer and sake sommelier.
Solórzano-Smith’s adventure with a sommelier is unlike any other: He started out as a waitress at Little Nell in Aspen and has so far worked to build basements for some of the world’s biggest CEOs and host prestigious events like Pebble. Beach Food.
Q: What was your experience as a sommelier?
A: My experience was different from that of my peers, in April 2004 I arrived in Boston from Guatemala, was 22 years old and did not speak English, had about $100 (which I borrowed) in my pocket. I’ve never tasted a drop of wine in my life, I’ve never had an era of alcohol.
Before my life as a sommelier, I painted in many works in the United States and Guatemala: landscaper, house cleaning, car wash and painting. He was also a butcher; I call him, I did. I had a strong ethic of painting, and developing with very little, I knew I had to be humble and settle for all kinds of jobs to keep food on the table. for me a variety of reports running with all sorts of people.
When I was nevertheless hired at Marriott Hospitality, I felt at home. Working in restaurants and hotels, especially when you start from behind as a waiter or valet, is rarely very glamorous. However, I learned very temporarily that hospitality is a component of who I am. It’s at the center of my personality. So many memories are created around the table with other people we love. I enjoyed providing those reports and discovered that I have a skill that customers appreciate. When I learned about wine and everything it takes to become a sommelier, I felt like the end of hospitality. It’s for the best. I tried to chase him.
Q: What were the demanding situations you faced?
A: At first, being informed in English and all family expressions was difficult, every day I spent my adventure reading the newspapers I discovered on the train, translating articles with a Spanish-English dictionary. I saw sit-down comedies like Seinfeld to be informed about American culture and stick to conversations. It’s just a component of the immigrant experience. Whether I serve, cook or love wine, I learned that communication and interaction are an integral component of the hospitality industry.
Q: What prompted you to be a sommelier, especially if you’ve never had wine before?
A: What encouraged me to become a sommelier was the narrative aspect, every bottle, every label has a story. They have characters wrapped in winemakers and terroir, and it is the sommelier’s job to help their clients bond with wine in this way.
Q: What turning point for you in your career?
A: Without a doubt, my time at The Little Nell has been basic and educational. I started there as a back-end server on November 6, 2009 (another vital component of being a sommelier is remembering dates). The mentorship I earned is invaluable. Master Sommeliers Dustin Wilson, Brian McClintic, and Jonathan Pullis piqued my interest, developed my skills, and graciously welcomed me into their world. They took me under their wings. I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the cellar, sorting the bottles, finding the other labels, and exploring the wine.
Another wonderful moment my first wine tasting. Dustin Wilson passed a glass and said, “Try this. I did not know what is White BurgundyArray The only wine I had heard of what I saw in the supermarket (Yellow Tail). But I felt it first and I knew it was something special. It is like a cool rain. And less than a year later, I read for my Level 2 Sommelier.
Q: What made you need a sake expert too?
A: It is part of the preference to offer the most productive in hospitality. I have enjoyed Asian food and in Matsuhisa, where I am the Manager of Wines and Drinks, we serve the most productive. Chef Nobu Matsuhisa makes his own sake (Nobu TK40). As consumers have been asking for another type of sake. I wanted to be informed, I needed to be informed, what it was about. Like wine, sake has been history for thousands of years. Part of what I appreciate about Japanese culture is the culture of being informed of the bureaucracy of multiple art but mastering only one. It takes years to become a toji or a master sake brewer. Again, it’s a lifestyle; it’s a component of who you are and every bottle has a story. I was very attracted to it.
Q: What is your wine?
A: Without a doubt, Domaine Francois Raveneau. Much of my global experience right now focuses on the amazing food served at Matsuhisa. As a result, Chablis is the best accompaniment to many sushi dishes. Raveneau is the undisputed king of Chablis. He has the best acidity and a distinct but sophisticated salinity. If you make a stopover in Chablis, the soil is almost white and even consists of seashells as it was underwater 60 million years ago. The roots of the vine have to paint very hard to succeed at the water table. In doing so, they scramble and extract all that flavor from the earth. It becomes a component of the grape and component of the wine. Raveneau is a wine I can drink every day. It’s a little obsession for me. The Raveneau Montée de Tonnerre Magnum 2014 is a memorable recent bottle.
Q: What wines are consumers investing in?
A: Burgundy is your maximum productive bet. It has been and will continue to be a forged investment that will accumulate over time. In a way, you are making an investment in real estate. Burgundy is widely regarded as the greatest region for wine lovers. From a purely economic point of view, it is also just a question of origin and demand. The most prestigious Bordeaux manufacturers produce at least ten times more wine than their Burgundian counterparts. my clients in Burgundy Rouge like Domaine De La Romanée Conti, Domaine Armand Rousseau, Domaine Georges Roumier, Domaine Dujac, Domaine Leroy, Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier and Domaine Jean-Frédéric Mugnier. For White Burgundy, take a look at Domaine Lafon, Domaine Roulot, François Raveneau, Coche Dury, Domaine Leflaive, and Domaine d’Auvenay – stable and recession-resistant investments.
Top-notch California wines also deserve to be an investment. Warehouse overrun costs add up every year and continue to have no sales challenge. I advise consumers that the most productive producers, like the most productive stocks, will triumph. on the pitfalls that the vintage, the region and recessions can present.
I also hope that Barolo will continue to attract foreign investment and attract the interest of collectors, especially those who get everything they would like from Burgundy.
Q: How has wine tasting been in the middle of the pandemic?
A: Quarantine the pandemic has caused many others to be without an option yet to celebrate special occasions at home, which has led others to realize how fun it can be to open valuable bottles in a more intimate environment with a circle of close family and friends. Too often, other people sit in the jewels of their wine collections waiting for the “perfect” opportunity to open those bottles. The excitement of wine is amplified through the company it’s with, and a smart bottle rarely reaches its potential unless it’s shared with other people you care about.
For this reason, the quarantine, we saw many creditors stock up. We have also witnessed a commercial boom with the advent of Zoom-based tastings. We have a variety of wonderful complex sommeliers who do wine tastings right at home. , hiring catering services, and even ordering your favorite take-out meals are wonderful accompaniments to your prized bottles. Zoom and other virtual media have made it even less difficult to get your own sommelier on call when a pandemic doesn’t allow them to serve you at your dinner.
Although I’m now a qualified holistic fitness coach and editor, things haven’t started exactly like this. For almost 10 years, I was an entertainment journalist.
Although I’m now a qualified holistic fitness coach and editor, things didn’t just start that way. For almost ten years I was a show journalist. Yes, my life revolved around red carpets, fancy parties and Kim Kardashian. I will not lie; it was a laugh for a while, but I looked for more. I was tired of writing about other people’s lives instead of living mine. So I gave up my job as a gossip journalist, started and graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Since then, I have traveled to more than 30 countries on all continents (including Antarctica when I was five months pregnant) and have written for media such as Count Nast Traveler, Travel Leisure, New York Times and more. I have also given the impression on TODAY, MSNBC and E!because of my experience. Follow me on Twitter (@jordilippe) and Instagram (@jordilippe).