Amazing Cuisine, Fine Wines!

[00:00:01] Speaker A: The Michael Hatfield re max team presents. [00:00:04] Speaker B: Real estate and more. [00:00:06] Speaker C: Bay area real estate is different than in all of America. And why? What's up with homebuyers? What's on sellers minds? How is the market and much, much more. [00:00:17] Speaker A: Now here's your host, Michael Hatfield. [00:00:20] Speaker B: Welcome to the real estate and more show. I'm Michael Hatfield, your host this morning. Wow. We have an interesting person this morning as our special guest, a great guy underlying all that talent. Our show today is about finding food to pair with great wine. That's it, right? Finding the food to pair with great wine. We're absolutely delighted to have with us well known sommelier miguel Garcia Ferrer to help us with the intricate questions of what fine food pairs with the finest of wines. So I guess what we're saying is find the wines first, and then we'll find the food kind of the other way around from what most people do. Anyway, welcome to the show. Miguel Ferrer. [00:01:04] Speaker D: Thank you, Michael. Happy to be here. [00:01:06] Speaker B: Oh, I'm glad you are. Miguel, can you tell us a little bit about growing up, your interests, then ultimately choosing hospitality for a career? What a crazy career, actually, right? [00:01:18] Speaker D: Absolutely. Sure. So I was actually born and raised in Lima, Peru. Growing up, my interest for hospitality started quite at an early age. My dad owned many restaurants while there, and one of his restaurants actually happened to be right next to our house. So that was probably the funnest and the coolest thing. Just waking up in the morning feeling a little hungry, going downstairs and going right next door for a nice fresh breakfast. So my interest to food started at around five years old, when, of course, there was a caveat to all of that free food. My dad will say, well, you gotta help out. So at the age of around five, six years old, we will help my dad. Prep will help my dad, whether we were shredding chicken or doing dishes or just chopping vegetables, whatever it was. I like to say I was probably my dad's favorite employee because he wasn't paying me. But that's where my love for food actually started. [00:02:16] Speaker B: I'll be darn. You know, it's kind of crazy. A lot of cultures have you starting wine at a young age. Age, too, which is kind of the topic of our conversation, finding the food to go with the wine. But you started out with food because you were only five years old, right? How long did you have to wait before you could drink? [00:02:37] Speaker D: Quite a few extra years. So my interest for wine actually started when I was about 27. I became director of beverage for this, one of the largest hotels known casinos in the east coast called Gaylord national. And to be frank, I did not like wine when I was 27. I had a bad experience when I was 21, and I told myself, never again. And so just being in the position, I kind of had to, quote unquote, force myself to enjoy it. And little by little, I just started discovering all this new world that I just found intricate and so intriguing, which is wine. And that's where my love of wine. [00:03:18] Speaker B: Started for several years now. And I know you're still relatively young compared to yours truly. You've been the manager of food and beverage at a prestigious country club, and you had to gain much more experience in fine food preparation there, all the more giving you the pot to draw from to know what foods will go with fine wine. And before I ask the question, I should probably say, why wine first over food first? And for me, I like to do the european kind of thing. You sit down, you enjoy a wine that you're thinking about, that you're really enjoying, and then think, what will pair really well with that? So tell us some about your experiences as the manager of food and beverage for prestigious country club. [00:04:07] Speaker D: Well, my experience there has been quite a roller coaster that I've highly, highly enjoyed when it comes to. Of course, I think you definitely hit it in the head. I personally, when I go out to restaurants, I like to order a glass of wine first. I want to take a look at the menu. I like to just kind of indulge myself into all the different options out there. Once I find a wine that I like, then it becomes the fun experience of trying to find a meal that will pair really well without wine. [00:04:36] Speaker B: I'm totally with you on that one. So you have a passion for fine foods. Obviously, you must, if you're overseeing a. [00:04:43] Speaker D: Staff of, I want to say, around 50 to 60 people. [00:04:47] Speaker B: 50 to 60 people now at this prestigious country club. And to select the foods that actually go on the menu, I guess you work with the executive chef. [00:04:57] Speaker D: We do. [00:04:57] Speaker B: You do. And so in your mind, you're thinking, well, I think I'll have a cabernet from nickel and nickel as an example. And I'm thinking about that. And what will that pair well with? [00:05:10] Speaker D: Well, of course, that easy answer would be a nice, fatty steak. But we don't like easy things here. We're gonna get a little more intricate. I would probably say a nice braised short rib. It really depends, to be honest with you, Michael, on the season, if it's cold outside, I'm definitely gonna go for a nice stew, something hearty, beefy, that just compliments the rich, cavernous from nickel and nickel. If it's summer, of course, you could easily just go the easy route and go for a nice ribeye, something fatty, nice side of mashed potatoes, or fondant potatoes as well, with a nice, rich demi. There's your marriage right there. [00:05:49] Speaker B: I'll be. How do you decide about which wine goes best with an amazing prepared pork chop? [00:05:56] Speaker D: Oh. So going back to seasonality again, you could easily pair a pork chop with a pinot noir. Now, the question is, from where? Do you want to do something from France, do you want to do something from Willamette Valley, Oregon, or do you just want to stay local and do something from napa? It really depends on the pork chop preparation. If you're telling me we're gonna have pork chop with a nice, rich demi with rosemary, I want to find a pinot noir that's gonna be earthy. So I would probably go for something along the lines of russian river. If you're telling me a nice pinot noir with, I'm sorry, a nice pork chop with a cranberry sauce, a nice light cranberry sauce, I would probably go for something along the lines of a burgundy or Willamette valley, Oregon, because they tend to be nice, lighter, a little bit of earthy mushroom, something that just not going to take over the wine. But again, if you're going for something rich, I would go for russian river, something just jammy, something that just has bold flavor. [00:07:05] Speaker B: So you are a sommelier. Did I say it right? [00:07:09] Speaker D: So that's correct. [00:07:10] Speaker B: You're not just level one, you're level two. And you probably functioning at level three and four around there. Can you explain how all of those levels work? I mean, what, what do you got to do for one? [00:07:24] Speaker D: So, of course, quartermaster sommelier, you have level one, which is the introduction. Level two, which is the one that I took. It was quite a, it was about, it took me about six months to get to level two. And level three is going to be advanced. Level three, you have to write thesis. You just have to prepare yourself for over a year. Plus, after that, you get into to the whole master sommelier, which there's only about 130 master sommeliers in the world. [00:07:54] Speaker B: Wow. And most of them are in Europe. [00:07:57] Speaker D: Most of them. [00:07:59] Speaker B: Now. It's kind of crazy. You said you didn't really like wine at the beginning, and then the more you got involved with it, the more you started to think, hey, this is pretty good stuff. [00:08:09] Speaker D: My love started just each bottle of wine has such a unique story that I truly, truly enjoyed listening about. And then, of course, when it came to the flavor profiles, I started realizing that this is just kind of like an enhancement for your meal. And that's what kind of made me love wine more and more and just pursue this Somalia level that I now have. [00:08:36] Speaker B: When are you gonna go to three? [00:08:38] Speaker D: I don't know. That's a great question. It's definitely on tv right now. [00:08:43] Speaker B: I gotcha. A big question. In your opinion, are there differences between how a restaurant develops their menu and how in a prestigious country club develops their menu? [00:08:55] Speaker D: Absolutely. Yes. There is, of course, when it comes to freestanding restaurants or even hotels, you could just go ahead and create menus pretty much whatever you like. When it comes to country clubs, especially the one where we work at, you want to try to please as many people as you can. So, of course, there are items on our menu that we cannot touch because they are top favorite. So the one challenge that we encounter as a country club is trying not to hit plateau. You never want to get stagnant at a country club because then it kind of loses the whole fun of going in there. So we're always thinking of ways outside of the box to entice our membership to keep coming back. Not just once a day, but actually two to three times a day. So we're always doing specials. We're always doing this special events and just looking for ways to just keep them to keep coming back. [00:09:53] Speaker B: Now, Miguel Garcia Ferrer, can you enlighten us on the top five things that typically set country club dining apart from a normal, normal, typical nice restaurant? [00:10:08] Speaker D: I would say number one, in my opinion, would be service. Service needs to be top notch as any other, of course, establishment. I think the goal is always the same, but service for us needs to be a little bit more personable. Not personal, personable, because you are creating those special professional relationships with the membership, and you want to make them feel like at home. As I mentioned, they're not here once or twice a day. Sometimes they're here three times a day, every single day of the week. So they do. So our goal is for them to feel like at home. So service for me is extremely important. Always welcoming everyone with a big smile, big arms, and just help them have a great experience. [00:10:57] Speaker B: You do that so very well. I have to give you an endorsement for that. Not because you are in charge of the key to the wine cellar, but it's because you have that joy in your heart. I do that hitch in your get along so to speak. And that's always a pleasurable thing. And also, it'll go down to your staff, because you lead by example through example. [00:11:21] Speaker D: And I gotta say, I got that from my mom growing up, we would host a lot of events at the house, and I would just see her being the best host ever. I would bring friends, ex girlfriends, enemies, whatever, you name it. And my mom will just open up the doors and she'll be making fresh coffee for everyone, or she's making lunch for everyone. And just growing up is something that really, I felt passionate about. [00:11:45] Speaker B: I did the same. My mother was the same way. You know, somebody could show up on our doorstep at 07:00 in the morning, her hair would be in those big mushy curlers with a hairnet on there, and she'd answer the door, oh, come right in, make you some breakfast. It was hospitality. That's the old school of hospitality. And today it is not dead. Actually, it is. In my view, it's one person's view. I would say that that's what I look for when I go to a nice restaurant, or I want to go to have a nice meal out with Nance. So let's imagine for a moment that we had a video camera and we go into your country club and film a dining experience. What would we see on that film? [00:12:34] Speaker D: I would say a lot of smiles, a lot of friendly faces. The club is not just a place for you to have dinner or conduct businesses. No, it's a place for you to hang out, not just with your peers, but also with the team in a professional level. We want to welcome you back home. Hello, mister and misses Lipshit. Hello. Welcome, mister and misses Smith. It's great seeing you both. How was your vacation in Europe? Those little things, I want to say is what sets up, sets us apart from different contra clubs out there. In addition to that, to me, attention to detail is key. [00:13:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it's interesting. I know that there's interchange agreements with other country clubs, and they can come and they can dine at your. At your facility as opposed to the one that they're domiciled in. And I know of several people that belong to other country clubs that have that connection, and they come to see what Miguel has done, what Miguel has on the wine menu, as well as what Miguel has on the cuisine menu. And they've been pleasantly surprised. And we see them more and more often. Give us your personal thoughts about the changing landscape of fine dining or in dining overall. [00:13:50] Speaker D: So I want to say fine dining has changed quite a bit. I feel like it has become more of an Instagram moment, to be honest with you. Whereas back in the day you could be extremely happy with a plate of mashed potatoes and a steak. Now you're getting into all this innovative ways to capture not just the taste of the food, but just the vision, the visual aspect of it. And I feel like it has gotten much more difficult to not just develop a menu, but to execute a menu where it's not just about the flavor profile anymore, it's about the presentation. It's about the techniques that you're using. Are you sous vide? Are you do using dry eyes? Are you just thinking outside of the box? And does your kitchen look like a science lab? It has changed quite a bit. I see. One of my favorite dishes is called cocoven and it is one of those ugly, delicious dishes where it's just stew and it doesn't look the best. But I think simplicity is the key to success when it comes to that aspect. And I think we should probably start going back to those old basics. [00:15:04] Speaker B: You like those? [00:15:05] Speaker D: I love those. It just reminds me of home. And if you're able to captivate me with a dish that reminds me of home, you have my heart. [00:15:13] Speaker B: We're gonna take a short break. Be right back. With Miguel Garcia Ferrer, sommelier and food person extraordinaire. [00:15:25] Speaker E: Welcome to the real estate minute with re Max expertise, Michael Hatfield. Michael, what traits should we look for in selecting an agent? [00:15:32] Speaker A: Look for a deal maker with a positive attitude who will work tirelessly for you. An agent who is adept in multiple offer situations, drafting contracts, marketing and advertising. A client's home is familiar with multiple cultures experienced in mortgage financing, inspections and escrow is a huge asset to his client. [00:15:53] Speaker E: What can you do as a plus for clients? [00:15:55] Speaker A: Your agent is your eyes and your ears. One who works behind the scenes on your behalf. A great attitude, working well with others and keeping clients priorities. Number one is a given for us. [00:16:06] Speaker E: Call 925-32-2775 now to schedule an appointment or complimentary home analysis. For excellence in real estate. Call the Michael Hatfield remax team at 925-32-2775 or go to Michael Hatfieldhomes. [00:16:23] Speaker B: And now back to our show. Absolutely. Let's consider for a moment the focus on environmentalism and self care, leading people to care more about the food and where it comes from. I was in the grocery store with Nancy the other day and I reached over to grab some carrots and she slapped my hand. She says, those are not organic. You need to be eating only organic. You know, she's trying to protect me. If she knew what I grew up and did what as I grew up, she probably would faint. But what do you. Let's just consider for a moment the focus on environmentalism and what people are looking to eat nowadays, as opposed to before. In prior years, growing up in a. [00:17:04] Speaker D: Third world country, it was farm to table. Because we had a farm next door, and it would literally just go to our table. Nowadays, it has gotten very. It has gotten very difficult to acquire ingredients or vegetables that are better quality. Better quality. Exactly. To that point. [00:17:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I totally understand. Let's get to it. If you're like me, I'm going to choose a wine. I'm going to sit around. After I've chosen that wine, we're going to critique it. My friends will be there. We're going to sit and we're going to talk. This one, you know, it's fruit forward. What are some of those terms that you like to use, mister sommelier, too? [00:17:44] Speaker D: Medium, light body. [00:17:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Or heavy or big. [00:17:48] Speaker D: Exactly. [00:17:48] Speaker B: Napa Valley cab. What do you see is the difference in the grapes between one of the valleys, say, napa, as opposed to Sonoma? [00:17:57] Speaker D: That's a great question. When it comes to Napa, I gotta be honest with you. I prefer Sonoma over Napa. I think Sonoma has a lot of great hidden gems out there when it comes to the actual grapes of it. I feel that Napa tends to overproduce because of its name and because of reputation. They're very, very well known. So they do go through a lot of harvest quite a lot. Whereas Sonoma, they do have the name recognition still, yet they still remain and keep intact all of these great characteristics that a wine has or possesses. [00:18:34] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Now we have a special, or you have a special event. It happens two times a year. And can you just tell us about what is done for members in this very special wine cuisine event? [00:18:51] Speaker D: Yes. So it is called our wine tasting event. We have a fall and spring edition. It is an opportunity for our membership to come in and get to enjoy wines from all over the world. I reach out to distributors and wineries, and we have about, I want to say, 45 to 50 tables, about six to 700 different wines displayed. And our membership just gets to come in and get to try as many different wines out there as possible. With the opportunity, of course, to purchase wine at wholesale price. Not only do we offer incredible wine and a huge variety out there, but we also like to create such an abundant food to just hit everyone's palates. We have massive charcuterie tables set up. We have massive hors d'oeuvres. We even sometimes like to think outside of the box and do different entertainments. [00:19:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. I've been able to attend a few of those. And I have to tell you, this is the opportunity to pick your wine and then be able to try it with foods. I don't like to buy wine and if I've never tried them before, because somebody else might have a little bit different taste than myself. So I like to choose the wine, get the great wine, and then choose the food that goes with it. And these semiannual events allow us to do that. And you just gotta have to admit that is amazing. And I know that you have, have been the actual steering committee and the person that herds all the kittens to make it happen. And it's just been a wonderful, wonderful event that we've been. Pleasure to go there, actually. We normally take owners of a restaurant there to see more wines, try more wines, and actually pair them with foods. And they go back and I'm just wondering if they don't set their menu a little bit based upon what the experience of pairing the wine and the food, where they've learned from these events. [00:20:57] Speaker D: I hope so, because we see those events as a white canvas. It's just opportunities everywhere. [00:21:02] Speaker B: Yeah. In Peru, do people sit around in the evenings and talk about life experiences and turn their phones off? Obviously. [00:21:11] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:21:12] Speaker B: And then they enjoy the wines to a great degree. Do they do that same way that they would in a country like Italy? [00:21:21] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, of course, it probably wouldn't be much with wine, but more with pisco, which is fermented white grapes. But growing up, I would see my parents enjoying a nice bottle of wine with this delicious dish that they would just make. Of course, there were often times we would just sit down around the table and have rice and liver. That was not fun. But oftentimes they would also have these incredible dishes and I would just see them just having such a great bonding experience between them and with us and just sitting around the table is definitely something that I. I love doing. Not just at my house, but I also hope for all of our memberships that go into the club to also do. I feel like that's when you get to know each other better and you get to just exchange stories and just have such a great time. And it's definitely something that I love and enjoy doing too. [00:22:16] Speaker B: Just a quick question. What is the drinking age in Paru? [00:22:19] Speaker D: It's 18 years. [00:22:20] Speaker B: 18 years. Okay, here. 21. So my friend, you know him, Tullio. And he's the guy that helped me come out of the boone's farm apple wine type of taste to something that is really amazing. He had a restaurant and, you know, recently retired a couple years ago. But he was always having these big family things at their home, he and his wife. Amazing. And I know that in the adults italian culture, you know, the kids grow up with wine and food from a very, very young age. And it's just expected in Italy when you visit. It's the same way over there. So I imagine it's a little bit of the same in Peru. [00:23:06] Speaker D: Absolutely. And it's definitely something that I still carry. Perfect example. This past Sunday, we just did a friendsgiving at the house, and we invited about 20 people to come over to the house. [00:23:16] Speaker B: I missed the invitation. [00:23:18] Speaker D: It was left in the mail. [00:23:19] Speaker B: I'm sorry. I could not make it. I could not make it. [00:23:22] Speaker D: We had about. We had quite a bit of wine, and there was just always wine on the table and incredible food. So, yes, it was such a great experience. [00:23:33] Speaker B: One question. What to look for in a fine wine as an average person? Because an average person doesn't want to go out and spend $150 for a bottle of wine. I'm always looking for the values. And you mentioned earlier that in Sonoma, you're liking Sonoma wines. We have a gentleman that produces. It's a micro wine. It's called muscardini. Michael Muscardini is a very great, in my view, winemaker. And he produces some of the best italian varietals anywhere. And the prices are very reasonable. So what would you say would be a couple really great choices for people that are in the $50 range for a nice bottle of Cabernet. Can it be done? [00:24:18] Speaker D: Absolutely. There's quite a bit out there. So just to get back Muscardini, I had had, but I've had the chance to try it, and it is fantastic. I love the reserve Cabernet. It's really good. And it's probably one of the wines that I love to pair with nice meaty, nice meat, steaks, etcetera. When it comes to wines that are over $50 and $50 and more, I would probably go for this one little hidden gem that I've encountered, which is actually from Napa, not Sonoma, is called kale. And it's kale stagecoach, broken axle, that is the name of it. And it is a blend between a Grenache and a syrah. And that is the type of wine that I take anywhere with me. And I really hope that they don't increase the price just because I'm talking about it. But it is a type of wine that I love bringing to every gathering that I go to, because it's a type of wine that you could pair with light meats, you could pair it with chicken, you could pair it with steak, you could pair it with pork, pasta, you name it. That's been my personal favorite to enjoy. When it comes to wine as well, if you're just starting in the world of it, I would say you could find fantastic, incredible wines between the range of. [00:25:33] Speaker B: You remember when I met you? [00:25:35] Speaker D: I do. [00:25:36] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. We were sitting around the table. There was, I guess, six people, and we were all talking. I mean, that is one of the cool things about the location where you worked. We occasionally get to visit when we're invited by members. And we were all sitting around and we had brought some wine, and it was gone before dinner. And you introduced yourself, you had the big million dollar megawatt smile. And I said, well, let's see how good this guy is. [00:26:05] Speaker D: Correct. [00:26:05] Speaker B: And so this is what we're drinking. What can you do for us? And Miguel? [00:26:10] Speaker D: I brought in a bottle of 2013 Laurel Glen, and I think that's where our friendship blossomed. [00:26:18] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It was. I'm aficionado of older wines, ever since Tullio got me by the ear and said, you know, drink some really great wines, find the foods to fit with them. [00:26:31] Speaker D: That's correct. [00:26:31] Speaker B: And you came through like a million, million dollars. Now, I asked Nancy, that knows you well. How would you describe Miguel Garcia Ferrer? And she came back with some words, and she said, passionate, joyful, a person that cares and a person that does a great job because it means something. And I thought those were really great words because I don't think she would say those about me. [00:27:03] Speaker D: I really hope my wife is listening to this, too. [00:27:05] Speaker B: Yeah, well, who knows? So what a great time. We're out of time now, but, gosh, what a great time I've had today with Miguel Garcia Ferrer, food aficionado, wine sommelier extraordinaire, manager of food and beverage services at a prestigious country club. Great guy. Thank you, Miguel, for sharing with us and being on the show. It's time now for a short break. You've been listening to real estate and more interesting people like Miguel. Topics of the day like what Miguel does, and of course, we do talk about real estate. You can listen to archive real estate and more shows at michael hatfieldhomes.com slant radio. That's Michael hatfieldhomes.com Slant radio. I'm your host, Michael Hatfield. We'll be right back with our next special guest.