Interview with Juan Muga from Bodegas Muga
November 5, 2010
Kris Chislett: Ok, so, let’s start from the top…name?
Juan Muga: Juan, Juan Muga, the same as the wine.
KC: Occupation?
JM: I’m on the business side. Me and my brother, we are the 3rd generation we manage the whole company as well as the export market, and my 2 cousins manage the technical part of the winery. Zach, my younger cousin is more into winemaking, and my other cousin Jorge is more into vines.
KC: Has wine always been your career?
JM: Yes. I have another brother and another sister, but they are in other companies, they are not interested in winemaking.
KC: Describe the philosophy of your winery, Bodegas Muga.
JM: My Grandfather founded the winery in a small village in the Rioja region of Spain. In the village, people used to consume a lot of wine! When he first started making it, it was all young wine. All the wines he made used to be make, were consumed when they were young, we didn’t do any aging. At that time, many families used to consume, like, 6-7 liters per day! Even children, they used to have wine as a toast, with a little sugar in it of course!
Posted in Interview | Leave a comment //Interview with David Espinar from Emilio Moro
November 5, 2010
Name?
David Espinar from Emilio Moro.
Job description?
I belong to the Board of Directors for Emilio Moro, which was formed by the four Moro brothers. I’m also the Managing Director of the whole group for both wineries and I’m the Director of the Emilio Moro Foundation.
Tell me a little about the philosophy of Emilio Moro.
We are obviously committed to the quality of our wines, even though we make a range of wines from the inexpensive through to the more premium. We also say that when our wines go into the market, we use the expression Prêt-à-Porter, ready to drink. We are also actively involved with the overall promotion of wines from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.
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Interview with Sparky Marquis from Mollydooker Wines
November 5, 2010
On September 22nd, The Mollydooker Team consisting of Sparky Marquis-Winemaker, Janet Gawith-Sparky’s Mom, and Bryan Janssen-Mollydooker Business Development, rolled into Jacksonville, Florida straight from Southern Australia. After a left-handed handshake from all 3 and an extensive lunch, I got time for some questions for Sparky.
Interview conducted at B.Bs Restaurant, San Marco, Jacksonville on Sept 22nd 2009
Kris Chislett: Name?
Sparky Marquis: Sparky Marquis from Mollydooker Wines
KC: DOB?
SM: 3/12/1962
KC: Occupation?
SM: Winemaker.
KC: Describe the philosophy for Mollydooker
SM: I guess the number one principle for us for Mollydooker is to create a “WOW” impact with all of our wines. Our main philosophy would be to have the wine in the bottle at two quality levels above the price on the outside. So no matter what price people pay, they get a “WOW” experience with all of our wines.
KC: How much of you success in the U.S. would you attribute to some of your reviews from Robert Parker and Wine Spectator etc.
SM: I think it’s always interesting in terms of reviews, and I would never knock back a review, I always take the benefits of those reviews, but it still has to be about the wine in the bottle. When we tasted with the Wine Advocate with Robert Parker in 2006, he said the wines were looking absolutely stunning, we were awarded best value wine in the world for The Boxer, 2 left Feet got 2nd best value wine in the world, and The Violinist and The Maitre’d got equal 4th.
Posted in Interview | Leave a comment //Interview with Wine Industry Pioneer Thomas Halby
November 5, 2010
So you probably haven’t heard of Thomas Halby (pictured middle in the photo), but you HAVE seen his wines before.
Halby is the importer responsible bringing into the U.S. everything from Moselland Zeller “Katz” Riesling to Santa Alicia wines from Chile and even Dragon Seal wines from China. Thomas Halby’s new project is a range of Napa Valley wines bearing his name, the Merlot of which was recently added to the wine list by Virginia Philip (Master Sommelier) at The Breakers in Palm Beach.
It could also be argued that Thomas Halby is partly responsible for the massive success in the early days of Kendall Jackson…read on for more!
How did you first become involved in the wine business?
Well after College I was drafted to Germany, it was peace time thank God! I drank a little wine over there, but Germany was mostly beer.
Posted in Interview | Leave a comment //My Type of Girl – Virginia Philip, Master Sommelier at The Breakers
November 1, 2010
“I like to end my day with sherry and head-banger music” Virginia Philip, Master Sommelier at The Breakers
Hilarious One-Liner Restaurant Reviews from Zagat.com
November 1, 2010The following list of one-liner restaurant "reviews" are directly quoted from restaurant customers quoted on Zagat.com. These are actual restaurant reviews, none are made up. Individually, many of these are pretty funny. Collectively, they’re hilarious. (My personal favorites are highlighted in bold). I actually started putting this article together over a year ago, and it’s a good job I researched them when I did as Zagat.com is now a paid subscription only service.
“The waiter repeatedly called my aging parents ‘Coach’ and ‘Darling.”
“Our waiter would have been better cast as an undertaker.”
“What they lack in quality, they make up for with butter.”
“The waiters are trained to bang into you.”
“Proof that there’s no shortage of people who want to eat bad food in historic buildings.”
“I’d love to go back – if you were paying.”
“I’m convinced that my salad was deep-fried.”
“They’re having siesta while you’re trying to fiesta.”
“Like putting a tiara on a street vendor.”
“I’ve been in prisons with better service.”
“The food looks like it was plated by toddlers.”
Posted in Funny | Leave a comment //← Older posts Newer posts →
