 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||
May 8, 2006 Today, the most ideal situation has unfolded before me. I learn that I have been hired as Production Manager at Napa L' attitude which is the winery where I also make Modus Operandi. My dream of making wine full time is now fulfilled. Hanging up your waiters apron for life... priceless.
A side note to my original message regarding mentors: With my current position at Napa L'attitude I can easily add a few names to my mentor list since I see them almost every day and speak to them about common concerns, ideas, and philosophies... (in no specific order)
|
 My Beginning dallas waiter - relenting to passion: My path started in Dallas where, by day I was a student, real estate agent, and at one point wine consultant, and by night I was a waiter in many of the cities fine dining restaurants. Visibly unhappy with the direction of my life, my wife helped me to realize that I needed to make a change and do something that I truly loved. She and I both know that I have a deep passion for, and love everything about wine so it seemed to be the obvious answer. It was. Six months later we were moving to California. My Middle touring Napa - meeting my mentors... Once here, I did the obvious thing any wine lover would do and went on a wine tasting spree in Napa. After a few days of tasting I started to notice a pattern in regards to the ownership of these prestigious estates... just about every winery was either corporate or was owned by a proprietor who had made their millions in some other industry, settled to Napa, and later started their retirement project. You hear the adage "it takes a large fortune to make a small fortune in wine". I felt like David in a valley of Goliath's since I was a waiter by trade with close to nothing in my bank account, and given my goal of owning my own winery, the task seemed insurmountable. Now I'm not saying that I have anything against deep pocketed / corporate wineries, because quite frankly, I very often enjoy their wines. All I'm saying is that the smaller more intimate wineries off of the beaten path really grabbed my attention, admiration, and respect. Places like Pride Mountain, Lagier Meridith, Poloma, Viader, Gemstone, El Molino, Siduri, Elyse, and Ladera just to name a few. These are the people that I aspire to be like and sought out to learn from. my ongoing end... mentors and everlasting learning... Years were/are spent teaching myself about winemaking mostly through books. UC Davis and Napa College classes were used to supplement my knowledge and fill in the gaps that books can't fill. However, true learning when it comes to such a stylistically artistic, yet mind blowingly organic and mystifying thing such as winemaking can ONLY be accomplished through MAKING WINE. There is absolutely no substitute. Luckily I recognized this early and dove right in... finding free grapes from local growers and making wine from any and every grape I could procure. Mistakes were made and the lessons learned were invaluable. The greatest of which was the realization that we all come to very quickly in our quest to make great wine, and that is the reality of great wine can only come from great grapes. It is my belief that historically, winemakers were not exclusively born out of Universities, but rather were the result of decades worth of knowledge being passed down from mentor to apprentice. I have chosen to take this more traditional approach in my ongoing quest for knowledge. I have had many mentors along the way and I am sure that I will have many more for the rest of my life since the world of winemaking is always changing thanks to the brilliant scientists working hard at places like UC Davis, Roseworthy, and CSU Fresno. In the restaurant business young chefs will travel to restaurants that they respect and wish to learn from for a short learning experience called a stage (pronounced stashe). I have taken the same approach enjoying stages with Siduri & Novy Wines, El Molino, Lagier Meridith, and was on the winemaking team at Viader Vineyards & Winery in 2005. Modus Operandi Cellars is born... Modus Operandi was started with our first vintage in 2004 by winemaker/partner Jason Moore, and business partners Akira Higa, Steve Vargas, and Robert Rogel, all of whom invested in the vision and passion of a Dallas waiter turned Napa Valley winemaker. my dual life... I have been a waiter in fine restaurants for over ten years now and for the past three years, worked proudly at a restaurant which I consider the pinnacle of my service career... La Toque Restaurant in Rutherford, CA. I have never enjoyed working anywhere quite as much as I enjoy my family at La Toque. The wine passionate Chef/Owner Ken Frank, the General Manager (and your best friend the moment you walk in the door) Julia Wilson, and the most talented Sommelier I have ever met- Scott Tracy, have all been so relentlessly helpful and supportive in the path to my winemaking career and in the development of my palate. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for these people as well as the entire staff of La Toque. The life of a waiter is somewhat conducive to the schedule and life of a young winemaker. I work with the vineyards and winery tasks during the day and in the evening I drink world class wine, serve people who are in Napa because they love wine and dining, and I get to meet winemakers, vintners, and vineyard owners. Thankfully, La Toque is always accommodating to my winemaking schedule, should I need a few extra hours for racking, topping, or even a day off for harvest. As much as I like the restaurant business, I can't wait to hang up the apron forever and focus on winemaking full time. |
|||||||
|
||||||||
