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magic actMagic Act
I saw vineyards in breathtakingly beautiful settings, and dreamed of picking grapes one day. I saw wine everywhere, families, even children, enjoying wine as an integral part of their meal. I wanted to learn everything I could about this drink, this sophisticated beverage. I wanted to know how the wines and foods were paired, and even how the grapes were made into wine. There was just so much to learn! My curiosity was peaked, and I could tell this was not a finite, a.k.a. boring, subject. When I returned to "reality," to Manhattan to find an apartment and a job, I didn't want the magic to end. I was determined to work in the wine business. My first few jobs were in Restaurant Management as I had graduated from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. I remember quite vividly the wine representatives coming in with bottles of wine, and presenting them to us. I remember thinking, "do they actually get paid to do that?" Here I was unlocking the kitchen at 5:00am and sometimes locking it up again after breakfast, lunch, and dinner service were over at 2:00am. No magic there. So I started asking questions, and reading the wine trades to see what was going on. I learned that Kevin Zraly had turned out a stable of successful and well-respected wine professionals from the famous Windows on the World, so I sent my resumé. I called. I called again, and again, and again. Finally, one day, I actually got Kevin on the line, and was able to convince him that I was serious about getting into the industry. I wanted to be a Cellar Rat at Windows on the World. I wanted to train with the best. And yes, I was willing to work for peanuts. Ah, but how serious was I? Would I take classes at the International Wine Center to prove my interest? No problem. Would I take the famous Harriet Lembeck Wine & Spirits Course? Why certainly! I guess Kevin was impressed when I took top honors at the graduation ceremony, and he finally offered me a job. But, he wanted me to work for him as his Wine School Coordinator, not a Cellar Rat (Cellar Master is the "official' title). So we compromised. I worked full time running the wine school and part time as Assistant Cellar Master. I was the first to do this. I set the precedent. I wanted all the experience I could get. And what an experience this was. Kevin was the quintessential professional. He was very hard-driven and demanding, but he always rewarded hard work. I saw genius in action, a perfectionist, a role model, and a teacher. He was the best boss I have ever had. No one has ever measured up to his standards, and I, as one of his many disciples, have matured into a hard-driven, demanding perfectionist. Unfortunately I did not walk away with his panache for entertaining while educating. I did, however, walk away with a palate well versed in the benchmarks of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Rioja, and other classic "old world" European wine-producing zones, as well as in the "new world" wines from California, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. One of my dreams, nurtured quietly during those unending winters in upper New York state's snow belt-Cornell University is in Ithaca-was to live in a tropical paradise. My experiences rambling through Europe and northwest Africa taught me to respect the freedom of being American, so I quickly eliminated any tropical paradise that was not a part of the U.S. Hawaii seemed the logical choice, so I moved to Oahu, and began working part time as a Sommelier at the New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel, and full time as Wine Manager for the state's largest distributor, Paradise Beverage. By that time, I had begun studying to become a Master Sommelier. I found a few colleagues to study and taste with, and completed the preliminary exams by early 1993. I still had the dream of working the harvest in Europe, though. Being a pushy New Yorker, while not very useful for settling into Island life, helped the cause, as I finally was able to convince Seagram Chateau and Estates to make the necessary arrangements. I was to work the vendange (harvest) of 1993 with Jean-Michel Cazes and his sister Sylvie, as well as with the AXA technical director Daniel Llose at one or two of the AXA properties, including Chateau Pichon-Longueville-Baron, and at the family-owned Chateau Lynch-Bages. I was to stay with the stagieres-those who stayed for several months in order to learn the tricks of the trade-and to work in the fields as well as in the chai (the cellar). I did expect, even embrace the hard work. But I didn't count on all the rain. Instead of shopping for sunscreen and work gloves, I should've been shopping for an industrial strength slicker and galoshes! The crush of 1993 was a wet one. The best properties are located along the riverbank with deep, well-draining gravelly soil. Flooding was common in the lesser sites, the extra water bloating the grapes, leading to wines of less precise character. Anyway, what made the greatest impression on me during those two weeks was the spirit of the workers, many from northern Spain and Portugal. Despite the inclement weather, and the long days of backbreaking labor, these people were having fun! In fact, one day, they decided to inaugurate me, the silly American girl who was actually doing this for free, into the equipe (team). Little by little, throughout that day, they would tease me by perhaps stuffing a bunch of grapes down the back of my boots, or into my turtleneck. They became brasher as the day went on. I was called up to the Table de Tries, or sorting table. This was considered a promotion, because you got to stand upright, and you got to throw the reject bunches of grapes at the other workers in the field. You were no longer the target, or so I thought. I was impressed by the number of hands involved at all of these preliminary levels of production. We may have been joking around but the work was carried out with the utmost of professionalism and with an eagle eye for quality. Picking grapes for a top Bordeaux house was something like putting together a Rolls Royce. I mean, there were twelve of us there, sorting the grapes by hand as they came up off the backs of the pickers. This was a very labor-intensive business. No mechanical harvesters here. By lunchtime, after several hours of labor in damp and chilly conditions, we had worked up lusty appetites. Aside from the deeply satisfying peasant food, the body-warming fire, and the soul-warming camaraderie-singing and merrymaking were common-that day the divine Mrs. Julia Child graced us with her presence. I recognized her immediately. I set down my glass of 1983 Chateau Lynch- Bages-yes, this is really what they served us-and gasped for air. What a thrill! By the time I had regained my composure, she had been whisked off to continue her tour of harvest luncheons. Towards the end of that day, I noticed that the renegade grape clusters were going into my ears, down my back, and even into my mouth. I sensed that something was up-New Yorkers grow eyes in the back of their heads for day-to-day survival-but I didn't really care, because we were having so much fun. Well, they finally got me. They hoisted my body up onto the sorting table, bombed me with grapes, and sent me, along with some suitable grapes, of course, into the vat of what was to become Chateau Lynch-Bages 1993. It was official. I was a member of the equipe. These days, as a Master Sommelier and wine writer, I am most satisfied when others follow my path, reaching for their dreams, pursuing their goals. I love what I do for a living, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes when skies are gray, I sit back and remember the harvest of '93, and I bask in the warmth and magic of it all.
Book Catherine for your next event What People are Saying about Catherine Fallis MS, CWP
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