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| CELLAR RATS: Drew Hendricks (left) and James Tidwell think Dallas can do better. Photo by Allison V. Smith |
Philip Natale can’t recall whether he waited on Dame during his exam. The only thing the young sommelier from Sense does remember is that it was a disaster. “It was a greatest hits,” he says. “I kept screwing up.”
His table of two inquisitors wanted a wine from the Rioja region in Spain. They asked what vintage Natale preferred and from which producers. He fumbled for an answer. They wanted a Sauternes but not Chateau d’Yquem. Natale drew a blank. Then they ordered two bottles of wine, but Natale only brought one set of glasses. The low point of his one-hour ordeal came when Natale was asked to balance six Champagne flutes on a tray while he dodged potted plants and other obstructions. A haphazardly placed napkin caused a flute to tip over. That’s when he knew he’d bombed.
“It was one of those situations where you’re just happy they were grading on a curve,” he says.
The oenophilic masochists behind the exam were Drew Hendricks, of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, and James Tidwell, of the Four Seasons. The two friends had discussed the health of the wine community in Dallas, and, last spring, they decided to improve it.
Today, anyone can call himself a “sommelier.” As a result, Dallas restaurants are staffed with sommeliers who are often educated by wine distributors. So they are more focused on pushing inventory than the fruity bouquet of a Beaujolais.
Hendricks and Tidwell set their sights high—the Master Sommelier designation, of which there are only 138 in the world. Most are sprinkled in Las Vegas, San Francisco, and New York. But Boulder, for instance, has four. And Dallas doesn’t have any. (Guy Stout, of Glazer’s Distributors in Houston, is the sole Master Sommelier in Texas.) In four months, Hendricks and Tidwell organized the first Texas Sommelier Conference, featuring two days of seminars, with the exam as the centerpiece. The top scorer would win the title of Texas’ Best Sommelier and a $2,000 scholarship toward education courses with the Court of Master Sommeliers. The theory was simple. “A rising tide raises all boats,” Tidwell says.
Dame says, “Instead of sitting around and whining and complaining that there are no Master Sommeliers in Dallas, they’ve said, ’We as master students are going to take a proactive stance and we’ll build a network of masters in Texas and Dallas.’”
Hendricks, Tidwell, and the Mansion on Turtle Creek’s Paul Botamer have all passed portions of the Master Sommelier exam. If Dallas is going to get a Master Sommelier without importing one, chances are it will be one of those three.
“This has been a movement in the major dining cities for a long time now, and we’re just getting caught up,” says Sharon Hage, York Street chef and owner and two-time James Beard Award nominee. “Guests are becoming more wine savvy. Our sommeliers have to stay ahead of that curve.”
Last summer’s exam showed that Dallas sommeliers have work to do. Natale wasn’t the only one who had difficulties. Jonathan Nicholson, sommelier at Kirby’s Steakhouse, choked on questions about vintage Champagne. The 23-year-old admitted he wasn’t familiar with any vintages older than about 1980 and was told that he was required to know every single declared vintage of Champagne back to the 1880s. The best score by a local sommelier was turned in by Rudy Mikula, sommelier at Nana and recent import from Per Se in New York.
Houstonians took the top two spots. Kim Wallace from Brenner’s Steakhouse came in first, and Dave Poss of Vic & Anthony’s came in second. Both are from the Landry’s group of restaurants.
“Of course we’re irritated about Houstonians winning in our backyard,” says Darryl Beeson, wine educator with the International Sommelier Guild and former sommelier at the Mansion and the Gaylord Texan. “We’ve got to take the title back.”
That’s exactly what a group of Dallas sommeliers has been working to do since last summer’s debacle. Natale and Nicholson are part of the group that also includes D’Lynn Proctor and Ben Darrow from the Drae, and Hunter Hammett from Goody Goody. They christened themselves Partners in Wine, and they’ve been meeting twice a month on Monday nights for grueling four-hour study sessions. All have applied to take part in this year’s competition. (Check out their blog at partnersinwine.blogspot.com.)
It’s a formal affair, with table linens and Riedel stemware. One recent night begins with a gourmet meal in the dining room of Natale’s home, followed by a written test on the wines of Spain. (They take turns each week preparing the test.)
Next, they blind taste five wines. Each member of the group then has to offer an analysis—alcohol content, body, rim variation, sweetness, acidity, and so on. They argue interpretation and move on to the reveal. They are rarely dead-on but come close geographically and in wine style.
The highlight of the evening comes when they torture each other with service practice. They pull out a deck of cards, and Hammett draws high card, landing him the sommelier’s role. Proctor draws captain and Natale draws party host. The remaining two of the group and two visitors play guests and take notes. They strive to create the table from hell.
Then the grilling begins. One of the guests throws out: “We’d like a sparkling wine, but we don’t like Champagne. Can you suggest an Italian sparkling. Not Prosecco.” They have flashcards with prepared questions designed to trip each other up.
Hammett answers: “Would you enjoy a nice Brachetto?”
They would. “Can you suggest several producers and explain the differences?”
Hammett does well under pressure but needs to consult the wine list for help.
“We want a Dallas sweep for the top two spots this year,” Natale says. “We’re not going down without a fight this time.”
The Texas Sommelier Conference runs August 27-28 at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas. Go to www.texsom.com for details.
