Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1061132
114 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018/2019 "Pay attention to your clientele and their taste: It's easy to want to sell what you want to drink, but that's not necessarily what people want. You're not always selling wine to other somms, and you're not always right about what the best wine is. It's up to the person who's drinking it." —P. Bingo Wathen WHILE THEY MAY not face the same pressures of those born into a royal family, the descendants of winemaking clans often feel forced to carry on their relatives' name and legacy in lieu of pursuing their own dreams. Perhaps this is why P. Bingo Wathen, son of Foxen Vineyard founder/winemaker Bill Wathen, wasn't initially on board with the family business. "I remember going to work with my dad starting at 5, 6 years old," Wathen recalls. "I'd then work on and off for him through my teens whenever he needed a hand, but I never really saw wine or restaurant stuff as a future." After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in global studies, Wathen spent a few years working harvests in Spain before spending time in Bordeaux and Burgundy. "That was kind of life-changing being in the old country making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—seeing the family heritage passing from father to son," he says. Inspired, Wathen returned to the U.S. to work with his father and finally fell head over heels for wine. He also took an introductory course with the Court of Master Sommeliers, which "opened [his] mind up." "I was always interested in geography, history, and agriculture," Wathen says. "I realized being a sommelier was kind of all of that in one." In 2013, Wathen began working at popular Italian restaurant S.Y. Kitchen in Santa Ynez as a bartender. While roughly half of the wine list is Italian, the other half represents the best of the local wine scene in Santa Barbara County while complementing the thoughtful farm-to- table cuisine. After alternating between the winery and the restaurant, Wathen made the decision to pursue the service side full-time. Shortly after he passed his Certified Sommelier exam two years ago, the wine director of S.Y. Kitchen moved on and Wathen took over the role. "I've learned more in the last two years doing this than I have the rest of my life, particularly the business side of things," he says. Despite the transition, Wathen has made sure to keep one foot in the winemaking world. "I started making one barrel; now I make three to four every year. I never knew anything about the marketing and sales side and now I'm doing that all myself with my own label, Barieau. If I ever want to go back into it, I know a lot more now." P. BINGO WATHEN APPLIES A LIFETIME OF EXPERIENCE TO HIS ROLE AS WINE DIRECTOR AT S.Y. KITCHEN IN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY by Jessie Birschbach The Prince of Santa Ynez PHOTO COURTESY OF ROB STARK PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY ADVICE