Position: Sommelier

Year started at Bluebird: July 2007

Favorite beer currently at Bluebird and why: definitely the Brasserie Duyck ‘St. Druon’ (Jenlain, 11.2 oz/$8); it strikes my palate with the perfect balance of malt & sour – that’s what I tend to look for in a beer – and it still manages to feel cleansing after a day of tasting wine.

Favorite wine currently at Bluebird and why: the Kir-Yanni ‘Akakies’ Rosé from Greece.  This rarity has been out of the market for a few years, and it’s a huge pleasure to offer this again just in time for summer.  This current vintage is deeply colored, slightly spicy and utterly quaffable.

Other Interests: American washed-rind farmstead cheese, philosophies of freedom (Deleuze, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Bergson), the Atlantic ocean, anything in D Minor by Bach, French literature (especially Balzac and Beyle), Bob Dylan, Cézanne, schist, Ralph Stanley solo vocals (love that bluegrass!), Hawthorne’s short stories, histories written by Simon Schama, OYSTERS, Tallyrand’s ingenuity, Beaumarchais’ plays, the history of Jerez, the writings of Henry James from 1885-1901, Cappellano’s Chinato, Muscadet in magnum, Ed Behr & The Art of Eating, local produce, the wines of Gianfranco Manca, the writings of Chuang Tzu