Château Belle-Vue, Lebanon

Posted By Ronan on August 4, 2011 in Blog, Tastings, Wine trips |

I recently went to Lebanon and visited Château Belle-Vue in the mountain village of Bhamdoun above Beirut. I had been hearing some good things about their wines for some time but was not expecting the incredible story behind their creation.

It was named after the Hotel Belle-Vue, built in 1860 and subsequently destroyed during the civil war in 1983 when the village was literally massacred during the fighting. The town had never truly recovered until the arrival of Naji and Jill Boutros in 1999. Naji was a successful investment banker working for the likes of Merrill Lynch and Colony Capital – Bhamdoun was the town where he was born and after a moment of epiphany decided to move back and begin the renaissance of his hometown.

The top 10 things that really annoy Sommeliers

Posted By Ronan on July 29, 2011 in Blog |

10) Having to send your commis home at 10pm because they have done 8 hours work.

9) Wine merchants who telephone at 12.30, 1.30, 2.30 or 7.30 (?)

8) Wine deliveries at 12.15

7) Staff not charging for bottles of water

6) Managers over-pouring champagne

5) Managers taking wine orders (!!!)

The Importance of Terroir

Posted By Ronan on June 20, 2011 in Blog |

I recently sat down with the Academy of Food and Wine Service for an interview on the importance of ‘terroir‘, that is the importance of geography, geology, climate and environmental factors in the quality of wine.

Q. Ronan, why is terroir important to the character of a wine and why is an appreciation of it necessary for a top sommelier?

Ronan Sayburn [above]: Terroir is vital to making good wine as it’s a combination of a lot of small things that add up to an overall level of perfection – like making great food it’s a combination of ingredients, technique and seasoning.

Becoming a Sommelier

Posted By Ronan on May 19, 2011 in Blog |

In the UK we do not have any formal exams for Sommeliers to take provided by catering colleges. Unlike France, Italy or Spain where students will spend an extra year specialising in wines and wine service.

Although in the UK the Wine and Spirit Education Trust do a range of excellent courses that focus more on wine styles and regions and less on service or food considerations. They are the industry standard for anyone pursuing careers in the drinks industry. Read More

Danielle Meenagh our scholarship winner from Michel Roux’s Service

Posted By Ronan on February 15, 2011 in Blog |

It was such a rewarding experience being involved in the recent BBC2 series Michel Roux’s Service. To see 7 youngsters develop both personally and professionally before your eyes in such a short-time frame was something extremely special.
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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.

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.