Over the course of my many years in the hospitality trade, whether it be in service, management or as a sales representative, one finds oneself in a variety of situations where you are able to see and experience things and people that don't happen every day. I'd like to share one of those times with you all.

Many years ago in the mid 80s, I was working as an on-premise wine representative in Charleston, S.C. We were a big company with a big portfolio, being the Gallo house and carrying Chateau & Estates along with dozens of private wineries that were relatively young at that time. We had meetings and tastings all the time for training purposes.

One of the best training experiences was when they flew 10 of us out to California for a one week tour of Napa and Sonoma. Our first stop was at Gallo's Modesto facility. It's hard to describe the awe-struck look on our faces as we saw their 37-acre warehouse stacked 20 cases high for row after row and learned that if they stopped making wine, it would be empty in less than a month.

We saw their bottling plant where they made all of their own bottles and screw caps on site, but the best was saved for last as we drove around the giant elevated soccer field and down the driveway to the underground aging facility. The massive doors opened to dozens of 100,000 gallon oak barrels for aging the wines – impressive. Surprisingly enough, after a tour like that, we were given a couple of tastes of chablis and hearty burgundy and sent to dinner where we could order some good wine with dinner. They only made jug wines there.

Over the rest of that week, we toured three wineries each day, usually sampling six or eight wines at each winery. One of the highlights of the week was our visit to Iron Horse Vineyards.It produced sparkling wines and pinot noirs, all highly acclaimed. They gave us a tour of their facility, showing us how they riddled the sparkling wine, and explained to us the effect of adding the dosage to the product. We were able to taste the bone dry wine before the sweetener was added, and we were taught how the difference between brut and extra dry was accomplished.

It was here that I sat down to a five-course luncheon prepared by two chefs brought in just for us. I sat with Claude Thibaut, the French winemaker trained in the champagne district as a young man, now the winemaker at Iron Horse. It was here that I received my first true exposure to all of the steps involved in the creation of a great bottle of wine, be it still or sparkling. He walked me through each wine, and we discussed how they paired with the different courses that we were served.

I was particularly impressed with the combination of his sparkling wines paired with veal sweetbreads sauteed in butter with chanterelle mushrooms. My first taste of this delicious offal was greatly enhanced when paired with the different wines. One item on my bucket list of things to do is to sample a bottle of Claude's new offerings from Thibaut - Janisson winery, his present venture.

On the last night of our trip, we were treated to a spectacular dinner at Scoma's on Fishermans Wharf outside of San Francisco. It was here that I was blown away by something that I had never had happen before. Our waiter took the three course orders for 10 men, each one with an appetizer, a salad with dressing and a steak paired with something, all at different temperatures, in his head – no pad and pencil, his hands folded behind his back, and everything came out exactly as ordered. To this day I wonder if he had a recorder hidden somewhere. I guess I'll never know.

As I've said, over the years, I have been lucky enough to have had opportunities like this on several occasions. Each time the experience proved to be exciting and educational at the same time. I hope that it never ends. Until next time ...

Chili Oil Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 24 oz. canola oil

• 2 oz. chili powder

• 1 tsp. chili flakes

• 2 small shallot, minced

• 8 oz. red wine vinegar

• 4 Tbs. Dijon mustard

• 4 Tbs. honey

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine oil, chili powder and chili flakes in a small sauce pot and simmer on grill top until oil is warmed through. Let cool. Combine the remainder of ingredients in a container, emulsify chili oil and season.