![]() I was able to set everything up to run while I was gone … It wasn’t exactly easy, but I was happy we set it up.”įor Gomez, the decision to work harvest was made easier by the fact that Walla Walla’s restaurant community is surrounded by hundreds of wineries. ![]() That was why I did the split timing-one week on, one week back. “My boss is a sommelier as well, and she wanted to be supportive of what I’m doing. “My employers are people who respect the sommelier side of things,” she says. She spent one week at the winery, mostly harvest, then a week back in the city at Californios, then went back to Peay for a week of winery work. Shoemaker’s harvest internship was done in intervals. “The Peays do an annual lovefest for somms,” she says, “which includes camping in the vineyards, tasting library wines, and spending time the vines.” During the retreat in 2018 she talked with the winegrower and vineyard manager, Nick Peay, about the possibility of working harvest and wound up with a few weeks of work at the winery-and a guesthouse to stay in while she was there. Wendy Shoemaker, the head sommelier at Californios in San Francisco, found her harvest opportunity during an annual somm retreat at Peay Vineyards in Annapolis, California. Creating Work-Work Balance During Harvest Coane no longer works at Saison, but he continues to represent Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey’s wines as the wine director at Prime Cellar, an online rare-wine retailer. Coane also says that Colin told him he thought it would be a good idea to bring on someone who already represents his wines-he felt that bringing an American stagiaire to Burgundy would result in a stateside ambassador who could promote his wines as well as help people understand the domaine. The wines sommeliers choose to represent on their wine lists can help pave the way for opportunities to work harvest at wineries around the world, and this was true of Coane’s time in Burgundy during the 2018 harvest. Nicolas Capron-Manieux reflects on his stage at Domaine Hubert Lamy-and its test of his endurance “We have a big collection of wines at Saison,” he says, “and have been supporting him ever since he was splitting his time between his father’s domaine and his own.”Įssay What a NYC Somm Learned Working Harvest in Burgundy ![]() To me, there’s no better way to gain an understanding of wine than to make some.”įor Coane, who was working as the head sommelier at Saison in San Francisco at the time, the decision on where to do harvest was easy. “ Harvest is hard,” says Robert Gomez, a lead server and bartender at Saffron in Walla Walla, Washington, “but it’s highly rewarding work. But for some sommeliers, the backbreaking work of turning grapes into finished wine is invaluable. You’re going to spend that time away from your job, and you may also need to make certain sacrifices, such as taking a pay cut for the duration of the stage. You’re committing to at least one week at the winery, if not three to five weeks or more. It’s a lot to ask of the producer who’ll be hosting you, too, as you’ll need to be trained on the spot for every task, so it’s important to apply yourself and perform your duties earnestly. Coane was able to express to the winemaker his love for the domaine’s wine-and for the region-in an enthusiastic way that was both friendly and direct.īut anyone choosing to work harvest should keep in mind that it’s hard work. “I told him I was going to work harvest with him, and it turns out he was cool with it.” That’s what it took for Coane to get a coveted spot on the harvest team at Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, one of the most revered domaines in Burgundy. “I literally cornered him,” says sommelier Max Coane of meeting with Pierre-Yves Colin at an event in San Francisco. ![]() To mark the end of harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere, SevenFifty Daily spoke with three somms who this year made the effort to take time off from the floor to participate in harvest work. Like a restaurant stage, most of the compensation consists of knowledge and experience. ![]() It can also be four to six weeks of hard, intense labor. This can be a day or two of fun, engaging work. Producers often host sommeliers or other aspiring winemakers for parts of the harvest and crush season. Taking time out to do a stage also helps somms develop a more nuanced understanding of winemaking processes and a deeper appreciation for the level of work-and labor of love-that goes into making wine. Talking to guests about the soil type of a vineyard is nice, but having had that soil under your fingernails is a far more powerful testament to your experience. Working a stage, or harvest internship, is a unique opportunity for somms to interact with the product they sell on the floor. There is no substitute for hands-on experience, and this is especially true for sommeliers whose business it is to know the wines they serve inside and out. ![]()
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