{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Tasting Notes Toronto by Insider Wine","title":"Sommeliers Aren't Supposed to Sit Down. — Bruce Wallner, MS","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2668,"description":"Should a sommelier ever sit down while the rest of the room is working?\n\nBruce Wallner is a Master Sommelier and the founder of Sommelier Factory, Toronto's wine school. He built the wine program at Palazzo Versace, worked under Gérard Basset at Hotel du Vin, and ran the cellar at the Trump Hotel Toronto, now the St. Regis.\n\nWe talk about the $140,000 cellar Versace told him to ignore, why a bottle should reach your table in three minutes (he once waited 45), and whether a sommelier should ever taste with an importer on the restaurant's time. Plus: Gérard Basset's rule for whoever walks through the door.\nWe also get into the closet of tinfoil-wrapped bottles behind his Master Sommelier exam, the dawn walk home that made him quit, and why Jancis Robinson was always staring at him during exam prep.\n\nIf you're a sommelier, you're studying to become one, or you just want the story of one of Toronto's most influential sommeliers, this episode is a must-listen.\n\nSommeliers Aren't Supposed to Sit Down. — Bruce Wallner\n\nTimestamps:\n00:00 The $140,000 cellar Versace told him to ignore\n04:14 Tall poppies: the Australians who trashed the place\n06:28 Skipping a level: \"a terrible mistake\"\n10:15 Hotel du Vin: a Michelin-star wine list on a bistro\n12:41 Gérard Basset's rule: put down what you're doing\n16:23 Why chase the pin? \"It's not the destination\"\n18:31 Four hours' sleep and a closet of tinfoil bottles\n21:08 \"Must be Etna\": the wines that still trip him\n24:07 The Trump Hotel: clearing out the grower Champagne\n25:46 Walking home at dawn, two weeks before his first child\n27:07 Australia gave 100%. Toronto: \"meh\"\n29:35 Three minutes to the table — or 45\n32:42 Tasting with importers on the clock? \n39:14 $25 an hour, half the staff\n43:06 What he drinks with his own money\n\n🎧 Enjoyed the episode? Follow, rate, and review Tasting Notes Toronto on your favourite podcast platform — it really helps others discover the show. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/qu6sl5IgAAe55ng9ARpyYSW-PPfIZ_6b8pSn9asQ7QY/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS81ZTNh/NGU4YjQ5YmQ5ODk4/NTdiOGYwNGZhNDM1/ZjZmZi5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}