Reds Sommelier - Part 1

Ange: All right, so we all know that you can order wine by the glass but what is that really mean? Is the wine great? Is it good? What exactly is it? What if it’s old? We have no idea. We’ve got Taylor Thompson of sommelier Reds here to go through some key things to know when you’re ordering wine by the glass. Now Taylor maybe you can give us a rundown of why do we order wine by the glass. What are the benefits, really? Taylor: Okay, well especially in a place like the Reds Bistro, the benefits of ordering wine by the glass is that it gets the amount of wine you’ll be able to try, the amount of experience you’ll be able to have. Now I'm offering 77 wines by the glass and often serving them in a 3 ounces, 7 ounces portion gives you a chance to really taste a lot of different wines. Also, it lets me use a lot of different methods of wine preservation. We have a nearly established medic wine system, we’ve be using Vacu Vin to protect our wines for years. So I guess ultimately when you’re at Reds experiencing wines by the glass, you know you’re going to get something fresh and it’s always going to be something different because the menu is always changing. And you can try out whatever size you like, whatever fits your pallet. Ange: Well that’s a nice thing too is that people are always stuck Oh I’m pass or it’s just a glass wine you’re going to stick with. The glory about ordering a 3-ounce glass wine is that you can order 3 3-ounce glasses of wines. Taylor: Exactly. Ange: For instance we have this huge coterie plate here but there’s some wines that will go with the cheese, the meats, the preserves, and it’s really bringing out the food and wine components at the same time as a key messaging this way for ordering by the glass. Taylor: Yeah. And if you don’t know how to get started and if you’re a little intimidated by the 77 wine glass selection, that’s certainly understandable. All the dishes, the coterie, main courses, appetizers are all served with a wine suggestion. So a lot of people will come in and they don’t know what they’re doing, they’ll pick a wine from the list that won’t go great with a lot of foods. But if you like a suggestion, there’s one right on the page. And if you like a human suggestion then myself or one of the waiters are more than happy to come and drop a little knowledge in the table. Ange: Exactly, that’s what you’re here for, right? Taylor: Yeah. Ange: The wine guy at Reds. So that’s interesting, 77 wines by the glass and you’re at 77 Adelaide Street West, very interesting. Taylor: I was going mention it but… Ange: Quite ironic. And I know that you have a great selection of ice wine by the glass as well. Taylor: Yeah we always try to keep about 10 ice wines by the glass and represent this many vineyards as we can with the ice wine. Ice wine is a very Canadian thing so I’d like to push Canada, Ontario, as much as I can, Ontario and BC LA’s. Ange: Nice. So we sort of brought about earlier that you have a new machine that you’ve been dealing with for wines by the glass. So you can actually, people can order wines by the glass that are more expensive. Taylor: Yeah well it’s a, it’s more than that. It’s the Enomatic wines that’s really exciting. Basically by preserving this wine is not only by taking the oxygen out of the bottle but by replacing the space with argon gas. You could preserve these wines for up to 60 days. So it’s not only a chance to come and try a wine that expensive, it’s a chance to try something that you might storing in your own cellar. It’s more of an opportunity than a chance because these wines are never be open by the glass anywhere. And if they were, it will certainly be a pour out 2 or maybe 3 glasses of the wine. Just be able to come and have a single ounce of the wine and see how your own wine is doing in the cellar and just see how it’s doing in comparison to other vintages. It’s a great chance to be able to do that. Ange: Well and there’s less wastage so there’s absolutely no wine waste. We never ever want to waste wine when it comes down to it. So I mean it’s fabulous from a restaurant perspective because you can offer great wines by the glass and the quality is always there. Taylor: Exactly, exactly. And a lot of type of people, people know big names like Penfolds Grange, Sassicaia and 00:03:34 and they want to be able to try these wines but to buy a bottle is often over 300 dollars. But to try an ounce, and to say that you’ve tried it, I think is a great thing. Ange: So you obviously have some pretty high-class wines. We have a lot of glass here at Reds. What’s an average price going for some pretty great expensive wines? Taylor: Well, the wines are range here from 8 dollars to 110 dollars now that’s the Enomatic. Ange: A glass? Taylor: Yeah. To try something from the Enomatic you can get a 1 ounce, a 2 ounce, or a 5 ounce portion and those range anywhere from 10 dollars to 110. Ange: Wow. Taylor: So you just got to put an average right in the middle if it’s a little difficult but— Ange: That’s a good range. So what’s a 110 bottle? Taylor: That’s a, that would be a glass of Sassicaia, and for a glass of Penfolds Trange 2000 is only 100 dollars; now only a hundred dollars per glass of wine. Ange: For a 5-ounce glass. Taylor: Yeah, this is the wine that people are paying 300 dollars for right out of the LCBOs, so, it’s really, really an opportunity to try a wine that you would never, ever find at that price or in that quantity. Ange: Well like any wine, there’s obviously restaurant mark up, right. So when you’re buying glass, it’s the same sort of thing, adding it all in the equation when you are buying wine by the glass. So people come in, you obviously recommend wine by the glass, and you talk about your different wines that you have in Enomatic, we should go over, you should pour me a glass of wine. I want to try, I want to see this new thing. Taylor: I’ll be more than happy to show you. Ange: Excellent, cheers so let’s check it out.