Running the Marathon du Médoc 2009

Posted By Ronan on February 12, 2011 in Blog |

The annual Marathon du Médoc is always on the second Saturday of September about 10-12 days before the harvest begins. So as all the picking and triage machinery is brought out and washed down, chaos descends on the normally sleepy town of Pauillac. 6,000 runners with friends and family from all over the world arrive – the roads are packed, the hotels full and the restaurants booming.

I have run the marathon here 5 times before and its quite an unique event that keeps me coming back for more. Usually done in fancy dress, this years theme is the Circus so I am running as a clown. I have done it previously as a bunch of grapes; running 26 miles as a bunch of grapes is not easy.
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Wine Complaint

Posted By Ronan on February 9, 2011 in Blog |

The other day we had a complaint about wine service in one of our hotels, to be honest this is quite rare but I rang the customer to find out what had happened. He told me that the sommelier was opening bottles of wine and then taking and drinking some of the wine, and that it was a disgraceful practice that he had never see anywhere in the world and that he had eaten for years in the best restaurants in the world (you know the type).
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Bistro Hotel Du Vin – Coming Soon!

Posted By Ronan on February 8, 2011 in Blog |

I am very excited to announce the first ever Bistro du Vin in London. This will be the first of many that we hope to create in local neighbourhoods around London. Our first will be close to Farringdon Tube station and Smithfield Market in the site of the old East Side Inn. There is a fantastic space here with a big open plan kitchen and separate cocktail bar area.
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Michel Roux’s Service Sommelier Winner Danielle Talks About Ronan Sayburn

Posted By Ronan on February 4, 2011 in Blog |

Following the screening of the final episode of Michel Roux Service on BBC2, Sommelier scholarship winner Danielle Meenagh talks about the impact Ronan Sayburn has had on her being awarded the scholarship and how much she is looking forward to working with Ronan in the future.

A Master Sommelier From Germany Stops By To Talk Wine

Master Sommelier Hendrik Thoma from Germany stops by and chats german wine.

Decanter: Brian Julyan MS

Brian Julyan, Master Sommelier and CEO of the Court of Master Sommeliers, talks to Decanter about what makes a good Sommelier.

Ronan Sayburn Interviewed by the Academy of Food and Wine Service

Last week I did an interview with the Academy of Wine and Food Service about being a Sommelier.

Ronan Sayburn Interviewed by Robert Giorgione

I recently sat down with Robert Giorgione to do a quick interview at Vagabond Wines in London

Basic White Wine Tasting

Learn how to judge a white wine using tips in this video, including how to understand the colour of wine, how to taste properly, and which food white wine is the ideal to accompany.

Wine List Mark-Ups

Posted By Ronan on December 15, 2010 in Articles, Blog |

It is known to most customers that wines, coffee and water are three of the most profitable items sold in a restaurant. What they may not realize is how little profit is made in other areas of the business. The overall costs are huge compared to the final selling price of the dishes on the menu when taking into consideration the staffing costs, depreciation of equipment, gas and electricity, constant refurbishment of front of house areas, replacing glassware, cutlery, linen (items that are often of very high quality) the cost of fresh flowers, business costs – including marketing, printing costs, refuse disposal, etc, etc.