Dustin Wilson is a Master Sommelier. At the time of this recording, he was the Wine Director at Eleven Madison Park.
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Currently, he is the Co-founder of Vallin Wine & Anvil Wine and an advisor to the PerUs and Mason Pacific. You may know him from the wine documentary, Somm and Somm: Into The Bottle, where we witnessed part of his journey to becoming a Master Sommelier.
In this episode, we talk about: -Currently the wine director of Eleven Madison Park (EMP) -He loves wine because it is one of the most interesting things to dive into in the world. It is so complex -Wine is history, geography, geology, and much more. -A lot of the great wines of the world draw on history -You can never know everything about wine, but that is the fun of it. -You have to fully immerse yourself in the Master Sommelier program to master it. -The MS is like a general practitioner. You have to know a little bit about a lot of wine. -The MS exam is broken into three pieces: Knowledge, Service, and Tasting -It took Dustin five years to go through the program and pass the MS exam -He would spend 3-4 hours of studying before work -On days off, he would spend 8-10 hours studying -Less than 10% of participants in the MS program actually pass -To become and MS it is all about discipline -It has changed his life by affording him more opportunities than a non-MS sommelier -At EMP, the wine program is challenging, but a lot of fun! -Their wine program involves classic wines and wines from off-the-beaten-path -A good wine program should have perspective and voice -They try to make wine service fun -They serve New York wine on glass spoons -Vallin, Dustin’s personal wine label, is the name of a street in Cote Rotie -They wanted to make sunshine in a bottle -You can find Vallin in California, New York, Florida, Colorado, Boston, Hawaii, D.C., Maryland, and Delaware -Justin Willett is Vallin’s winemaker. Justin also owns Tyler Winery in Santa Barbara -Working in the wine industry, you have to maintain yourself. Watch what you eat and exercise. -Dustin’s favorite wine -Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage: His family started making wine on their property in the 1400s -The sign of a great winemaker is one that can make great wines year in and year out
Learn more about Dustin here, EMP here, Vallin Wine here, Anvil Wine here.
Dustin Wilson, MS
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Hey, I'm Chappy
I'm a Sonoma County, California based award winning sommelier, podcaster, wine marketer! I've personally sold tens of millions of dollars in wine, been nominated for Wine Enthusiasts Wine Star Sommelier of the Year, been selected as a 40 Under 40 tastemaker at the ripe age of 26, and helped restaurants get Michelin stars.
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Hey, I'm Chappy
I'm a Sonoma County, California based award winning sommelier, podcaster, wine marketer! I've personally sold tens of millions of dollars in wine, been nominated for Wine Enthusiasts Wine Star Sommelier of the Year, been selected as a 40 Under 40 tastemaker at the ripe age of 26, and helped restaurants get Michelin stars.