Sommelier or Wine Geek?
March 27, 2008
Family, friends, co-workers, Blacksmith patrons… Salute! This is my first post ever in my first blog ever. I have been blessed to work with talented individuals who have the knowledge that allows me to express my love and passion for wine and deliver it directly to your computer. For my first post I just want to talk a little about what I want to accomplish in this blog as well as introduce myself to those who don’t know me, and introduce myself further to the people who do.
My name is Kevin Gilman; I am the General Manager and Sommelier at The Blacksmith Restaurant. I am a certified second-level Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, which is headquartered in Bordeaux, France. There is a chapter in London, England as well as Napa Valley, California, where I have studied and am currently studying.
I have been working with wine for close to 10 years. My resume includes experience in restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, and distributors. I have worked “crush” and made wine in three different vintages in three different AVAs (American Vinicultural Areas). I can honestly say that my passion for wine grows each and every day. It is something that always excites me and always stimulates my mind and my desire to learn.
My title is Sommelier, but those who know me know that I am more comfortable being called a wine geek or cork dork, because that honestly does better describe me. Sommelier seems too uptight to me, although I am honored to carry the title, and it is something that I take very seriously. There is nothing I enjoy more than talking wine with customers and turning them on to new things, as well as listening to them and learning and being turned on to new things myself. It may sound corny but when I turn someone onto a new food/wine pairing and see the look of satisfaction and gratification in their eyes, it is like sharing a piece of my soul with them. I learn something about wine every day and will continue to do so in order to satisfy my need, want, and desire to be the best.
Enough about me, let’s get to the blog. First and foremost I want people to have the ability to write to me and respond to my posts and address me with any and all questions about wine. I want to make sure that you all understand that to me there is no such thing as a stupid question. I am happy to answer all questions wine, no matter what the topic or difficulty level.
I will be reviewing at least one wine a week. I know there are people out there with much more name recognition than me who make their opinions easily available for all to read. I can offer reviews that are a little more personal, because anyone can come into the restaurant and pick my brain. I want people to get an understanding of what I like and what I enjoy, and that will allow me to make the best suggestions to my customers.
I will also be posting educational segments in which I am open for opinions and suggestions for topics to write about. It is fun for me to stimulate the minds of people who are hungry to learn, or just a little curious about a couple of things. So please feel free to fire away with questions.
I hope everybody has as much fun with this as I will, and I will look forward to sharing my mind and palate with all of you.
Cheers!
Kevin
P.S. Stay tuned for details about our Wednesday night tastings, retail wine prices, and member only wine club for the true wine geeks out there!
