Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1037369
26 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 We've partnered with Chef's Roll and Somm's List, the global culinary and wine professional networks, to learn more about beverage experts from across the country. If you are a mixologist or wine professional interested in being featured here or want more information on Chef's Roll and Somm's List, please email featured@chefsroll.com. Kerrin Laz Wine Consultant and Buyer for K. Laz at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa, CA Tell us about your new venture at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia. We're bringing our existing wine-tasting experience at K. Laz Wine Collection in Yountville to the newly launched CIA Co - pia in downtown Napa. We will offer food- and wine-tasting experiences for one group at a time, as well as monthly inti- mate wine dinners co-hosted by local vintners to showcase wines paired with food by CIA chefs. We also will be hosting monthly pop-up open-house tastings like we currently offer in Yountville. I've learned through the years that the quality of wine and experience we provide is what makes us successful, and with both components what we offer to guests cannot be duplicated by any other business. What separates K. Laz from other wineries in the area, and how does this compare to other projects you've worked on in the past? We're a tasting venue open to the public and by appoint - ment. It is a curated tasting, so we ask guests where they're visiting and what winery mailing lists they're on so we have a strong idea as to what their palates are. We work with winer- ies few people know but should, and we also work with the old-guard cult wineries looking to expand their reach. It's important to talk about what the wines taste like, but we also discuss what's happening in the vineyard while guests are here, as well as trends in the wine business, farming, the stories behind the wineries, and other interesting facts and gures that help them get more macro-level knowledge on the industry as a whole. Brent Kroll Proprietor and Sommelier at Maxwell Park in Washington, D.C. What's your background in the sommelier com- munity? I became certied and received my rst job as a sommelier at Miami's Casa Tua in 2007 at the age of 22. Since then I've gone on to work for Alain Ducasse at the St. Regis as Wine Director.Most recently I was overseeing 15 wine programs in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., for Neighbor - hood Restaurant Group. I decided a little over a year ago that I would roll the dice on myself and open my rst and only project, a wine bar named for my childhood park in Detroit. What inspired you to open Maxwell Park, and what did it take to get where you are today? What inspired me was the diversity of jobs I had and a New York trip in the early "Summer of Riesling" years. I knew it would be the hardest thing I had ever done, but felt con - dent I could use everything I had learned to make this successful. What makes the Washington, D.C., area different in terms of its wine scene? The cultural diversity.There are so many ethnicities, so many millennials and working professionals. For the most part, guests come in and trust the house with getting them a great selec - tion. I think the city has completely changed for the better in the past decade. We also have some of the friendliest laws in the country for building a rare wine list. I believe the quality gap between us and some of the best wine cities in the coun - try will be closing more and more with each passing year. Q: Q: Q: Q: Q: PHOTO: MARISSA BIALECKI PHOTO: CELIA CAREY