018 - Winecentric - Troy Revell- raw copy
===
Matt: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the Wine Centric Show where we talk to the titans of the wine industry. And today I have somebody who. Is unique because he is the only person that I know of to run both of the elite prestigious programs in this area of the triangle of North Carolina.
It's a national show, but we're going local today. So this man in studio has been at the helm of the wine programs for both the Umstead, which is a five diamond award-winning resort, and now currently Helms the program at the Farrington House, which is a relay and Chateau. Two very prestigious programs.
This man is Troy Revel. Welcome.
Troy Revell: Thank you. I would I'd throw Bin 54 into that as well. It was my first job. Another important program in the area.
Matt: Sure. Bin 54. Great Steakhouse, great wine [00:01:00] program. And that is true. We'll get into all of that. Um, before we really get into it though, though, I don't know if you remember.
Our relationship actually got off to a rocky start.
Troy Revell: I don't remember
Matt: that. You don't remember that? Oh good. The connotation's about to change. Alright, so you'll, you'll let me know 'cause this is how we do it on the wine centric show. We put our guests on edge. Okay. So they're like hyperfocused. Yeah. Um, you were a part, we were all a part of a tasting group.
Yeah. I first moved here and I had sent an email that was sort of like. I don't know. Fishing for sales maybe? Or like, I was new to the area. Oh, I starting to remember this now. Yeah. You remember this now?
Troy Revell: Yeah. I, I did remember who it was. Okay. That was me. However people doing that. Yeah. Yeah. I dunno if you were the only one, but Yeah.
And I probably said something about that's not cool. Yeah. That's not why we're here.
Matt: Yep. Yeah.
Troy Revell: Yep. Okay.
Matt: Wonderful. Good. Well, we'll, we'll officially bury the hatchet now. Yeah. I mean, we've, we've since moved that, that was a long time ago, but it's, I always like to see if people remember that and draw up the, [00:02:00] draw, connect the dots. Um, yeah. But yeah, actually I think that's a good starting point. Like, you know, I started out as a wine director and ran many programs and then. Move to the sales side for reasons of being able to represent DRC in New York, which is like, if you're gonna go to do any sales job, that's the one, right?
Right. But, um, the lines get blurred. Right. Um, as far as like your sales person and your buyer, let's say, so I. Talk to me a little bit about that. Like what irked you about that? What was, what was, what, what were you trying to get across there?
Troy Revell: You know, the tasting group is, um, I mean we're, we're professionals, but we're also becoming friends in that setting.
I. So we were just meeting to, to further our own education, our own pallets. Um, and so we're, we're not doing business. Yeah. You know, is basically what it is. And, um, you know, obviously like we don't state those things [00:03:00] upfront. There's no agreement to come to a tasting group or anything like that. No waivers.
Um, but it's sort of a, it was an inherent understanding of, you know, we're just here. To, to taste and to learn wine. Yeah. And to not do business and develop relationships. And and, and if that continued, you know, that kind of path, then all of a sudden you have a bunch of salespeople coming to our tasting group just to network.
Just to network. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And which is never just focus on why we're there.
Matt: Yeah. Perfect. Well said. Okay. Let's get into who you are. All right. Um, first of all, I. What I left out in my introduction, this man is a two time world champion, ultimate Frisbee player for team USA. Right. Um, how does one become transition to ultimate Frisbee to becoming a wine professional?
Troy Revell: Um I'm one of few. I've, I've met maybe two other people that are. Good at both those things. Yeah. I'm sure there's more, but um, good on the level that you [00:04:00] are like, have become, right? Yeah. Okay. You know, playing at the national level and, um, you know, doing wine programs that are really important. Um, and of course we immediately bonded with those two people.
Yeah. Um, you know, there's nothing natural about it. There's not a reason that one led to another. It's just what I happened to do side by side. Um, restaurants were a convenient way to play sports. You know, it was a flexible schedule and, and quick cash. You know, I started serving, I was serving for a decade before I ever became a wine professional.
So a very long restaurant background that was flexible and you could do anywhere. And you know, so when I moved to, you know, I was in Asheville and I. The Chapel Hill, you know, it was a very easy transition. Just find a serving job. Yeah. Um, you know, and then, you know, the real for focus was training and traveling and and, and playing ultimate Frisbee at a high level and, and restaurants just fit that.
Sure. You know, and then eventually it became bartending and, and then eventually that became a wine [00:05:00] hobby first, you know, so, um, I was, had a collection at home and I became one of the people at the restaurant that other servers say, you know, can you. Answer this question and, and talk to these people.
And, um, and so you're then, then you're like, oh, shit, I should do this for real. Right? Right. And then at Ben 54, they had an opportunity in, you know, and, and I was already helping with the wine program and I said, well, I'll run your wine program. Yeah. And they didn't know any better. So they said, okay,
Matt: do you remember.
A pivotal moment, a wine selection that brought it home that you're like, okay, I can make this a career.
Troy Revell: Um, I, I do. And well, I don't know if it wasn't the moment where I said I can make this a career, but the first time that I had wine and said, you know, oh, you know, like, this is good. I like it, um, was, you know, pretty late for what is considered, I would think is considered nowadays.
But, um, late You mean late in life? Late in life, yeah. You know, so I'm, you know, on the other side of 30. Um, I believe, no, I guess I was 28 ish or something like that. Um, but it was kamus, you know, [00:06:00] which I hate saying today 'cause Kamus isn't a great product. Um, but back then, you know, this is about 2003 is what it happens.
Yeah. Um, you know, so it was probably in oh one Kamus or something like that, you know, when it was still pretty decent. Um, and we had just a restaurant manager sit us down, you know, the whole group and say, you guys need to know what this is and, and know how to sell it. Um, and that was the first time, you know, I.
Sip quality wine and enjoyed it. Yeah, at a different level. I grew up my, my mom and she's gonna listen to this actually mom, I hope you hear this part. My mom you know, when I was younger, handed me wine coolers and Bartles and James and White Ziff Dale, and said, this is wine. And I said, oh.
This is not very good. And you know, so I, I jokingly say did
Matt: you honestly think it wasn't good or was there a part of you like, oh, that's cool, mom's letting me, like
Troy Revell: No, no. I, I just never, I was like, you just, yeah, yeah. I don't, I don't get this product. Um, so I, I've, I think I've told her, and if not, I.
Now she'll know does she drink [00:07:00] better Now? I tell people that she, she delayed my wine career by 10 years. Um, she drinks Rieslings and off dry stuff now. Okay. And it, you know, it's better than wine coolers. Yeah. You've left all her level her up, but it's still, it's still a little, you know, on the sweeter side type stuff.
Yeah. Um, I've handed her a few dry wines that she's okay with.
Matt: I wanna take it back to the Kamus moment because you said something, um, let's say controversial. Okay. Right, right. Um, because kamus by the. By the, by the. Relaxed wine fan is thought of as this like right pinnacle of wine. Right. They're like, oh, if you can get kamus, this is the greatest stuff.
Right? If I
Troy Revell: If I enough people understood the bumper sticker, I would have kamus sucks on the back of my car. Let's not get into bumper sticker shirt. Right, right, right. Yeah.
Matt: Um, no, but, but, um. So people think that that's the pinnacle of wine, right? Like, right, like people that are just getting into it or it's a showy product.
Now wine professionals, unfortunately, sorry, KAIST, Charlie Wagner family, if you're ever gonna come on the show, [00:08:00] we'll argue it in person, but, um, but we don't think it's very good. Yeah. And especially at one point it was probably good, just like a lot of those Napa Valley wines and then they become mass produced and they become thinner.
They're using less quality fruit, they're aging less because it's now become a commercial product. Right. And I just think like. There's so much better stuff out there. Right. So I just want to qualify what you're saying, but at the time when you drank it back in 2003. Not, and coming from drinking Bartles and James and Whites infidel is probably pretty damn good.
Troy Revell: Right? And I think you know, I, I don't have enough historical reflection of, of Caymus the product, but I think, you know, back in the mid two thousands, Camus was a different product than it is today. Correct. You can just look at the, the bottle and see the wine looks thinner you know, and.
Anytime not anytime, but I've had multiple occasions where people bring in a Camus and we sell them something else, and we have them drink it side [00:09:00] by side and they go, oh. Oh, this one? Yeah. Okay.
Matt: Yeah. The other wine's better. We're gonna move on from Camus after this, but probably when you were on Bin Bin 54 as the wine director, it was probably one of your number one sellers and you probably felt compelled to have on the list.
Oh, no, it was not on the list. It was not on the list. Awesome.
Troy Revell: It would, it would get brought in frequently. I. Oh, like people
Matt: would bring in their bottles, right? Yeah. Right.
Troy Revell: Okay. You know, or I mean, it still happens today. Both at Stead and at Farrington. People say, I like camo. What do you have? You
Matt: know?
Yeah. And
Troy Revell: then,
Matt: but I love that because that's a conversation starter. It's not just like digging my heels. It does tell you where they're at.
Troy Revell: Yeah. You know, as a drinker, um, unfortunately, like I try not to sell them Napa Cabernet because it's thinner than the rest of them. And I think they're gonna enjoy a Syrah or Ziff Dale, or, or something like that.
Matt: Sure. Yeah. What, so let's role play, a customer comes in, they want Napa cab or they want a CMUs or a big showy wine, you know, what are some of the lists? What's on the list at the Farrington house now that you would specifically direct them to?
Troy Revell: I would point them tell the people. [00:10:00] Tell the people yeah.
I mean, if I can keep them in in Cabernet Land, Washington or, or Napa some of my lighter styles. Um, but you have to be careful on, you know, the lighter style is not a Bordeaux esque style because now it has flavors that they're not used to. You know, so something that is still fruit driven. Um, if they're open to, and I immediately ask the question, you know, how do you feel about Syrah and Ziff Dale and things like that.
And, you know, a lot of them will immediately say, oh yes, I like Ziff Dale too. Yeah. And so then I sell them something that is more fruit forward and you know, does not have. A tannic backbone that they're not used to, because Kamus doesn't have that. Right. It's just all about happy fruit up front and that's all there is.
Matt: Yeah. Um, I think that's one of the best things is when people give you a jumping off point, I. Being on the floor, it's such an advantage because like you said, you know where they're at. You also have an understanding of their price point at that point, which is something that I wish people would feel more [00:11:00] comfortable with, of just saying like, this is where I'm at price wise, and, and I, I don't know.
You tell me. Is that still, 'cause I always had this conversation with people that I feel like they would be intimidated and when the sommelier comes over, oh, that means I'm gonna. Undoubtedly spend more money. Right. Whereas that's not the case. Sometimes you might drive them down in price if it's more applicable,
Troy Revell: I assume.
When people don't talk to us, that is the number one reason. You know, obviously I can't survey those people 'cause Yeah. They're not talking to us. Um, but Right. I mean, if. You go into a restaurant and there's a sommelier, absolutely. You should be talking to them. Yeah. Because they know everything about their list.
You know, maybe you know more about wine than they do, or they're interested in educating you or something like that. But their list specifically, they can navigate you through the selection that is in front of you, better than anyone, because they're the ones that came up with it. So why not talk to them?
Um, and they. Equate. So a lot of times with [00:12:00] salesmen or you know, servers are always trying to upsell, that's important to them. Most wine professionals are, they're, they're making their money. In a larger sense through sales, or they're part salary, or they're just less driven by the moment of upselling you right then and there.
And they're more driven by, I want to get a quality product in front of you that you're going to enjoy. Yeah. You know, that's the goal of almost all wine professionals in the business. And and I think customers maybe appreciate that a little less than they could. You know, if you walk into a place and it has a sommelier, absolutely.
You know. Tell them. Right. Use them. That's why they're there. Yeah. Whether you're gonna spend $40 on a bottle or $400 on a bottle, they, they can get you to the right place.
Matt: I love how you said that because it's from the sommelier perspective, you're excited to share with them what you like or what you might think they like.
So yeah, ask, ask the question. Alright. As a sommelier, as a wine director, you, I mentioned it, are in a unique position in [00:13:00] that you've ran both of these. I'll say elite programs, for lack of a better word, but they are the most prestigious resorts in North Carolina. Certainly in the triangle. Um, Farrington House is one of three relay Chateau Relay and Chateau Properties in North Carolina.
And I believe the Umstead is the only five star Forbes five diamond award that there is in the state.
Troy Revell: That's right.
Matt: Yeah. What are some of the. What, what is it like to run both programs and having that perspective? Like what, what are the differences?
Troy Revell: Honestly, the, the biggest advantage of a program like that is you get to focus all your time on wine.
Most places don't have the clientele, or the finances to be able to just have someone who all they're doing is wine. Mm-hmm. You know, most of the restaurant programs, you're, you're having to be a restaurant manager and you also do wine, you know, or you're part bartender, part server and you're the wine smart person in the building [00:14:00] who does the wine buying, but you're not spending all your time on the wine program.
And in both Armstead and Farrington, it's not just that, it's a team. You know, we had multiple sommelier, you know, with the wine director, so. Um, you really are all wine all the time. Mm. And that expands you as a professional and it helps you focus on really a big picture. You know, what are we doing in this department, in that department, and are we buying the right things?
And, you know, you can, if you're asked to drill down on the sales numbers and the margins and get 'em right where you you want them to be. Um, and so it, it. It has its own return for the business because wine is definitely profitable when done properly. Yeah. But you know, you also, when you have that much volume, you have a lot of logistics as far as ordering and storing the wine and.
Making sure deliveries are right, which is a, a big problem. You as distributors are are short staffed everywhere. And so, you know, I I nobody wants to work in a warehouse, [00:15:00] right? And nobody wants to be a driver. And and that creates issues on our ends. And I, I wonder for those programs that are smaller, that have a wine buyer who's also doing other things, and especially places like the Chef is the wine buyer.
They don't have time to, to pick through their deliveries. Yeah. And see what came in right or wrong. So what happens, they're, they're losing money through product loss or they just have the wrong thing on the list and they don't realize it. And, um, you know, mistakes like that get caught by actual, you know, you have somebody who's a wine director and, and sommelier is on property and Yeah.
You know, we get everything. Style down, you know, everything on the list is right. Correct. You know, all those, all those i's and t's are, are crossed and dotted. Um, and that, that helps, you know, the overall experience of the guest when you were at, when the guest comes in and knows that everything that is on the list is, is there, is there, there's legitimate, there's no mistakes there.
Yeah.
Matt: Yeah. When you were at bin 54, were you a manager as well, or were you I was. You were? Yeah. Okay. So you had both those, but you were still able to [00:16:00] receive the wine, I'm assuming, or at least train somebody to receive the wine correctly? Like it
Troy Revell: was, it was a little both. Yeah. Like
Matt: I, I'll just speak and you know that in my day job, I'm still a distributor and I still work for a company.
And yes, they make mistakes, but also I will say, at least have the receiver count the bottles. Right? Like some, some people who are receiving the wine, they're not even counting the bottles and they're just signing the sheet now. Like, that's just a personal problem, like taking people, taking their jobs seriously.
Like if you're the receiver, you should at the very least count the bottles. I don't expect you to know wine, but Right. Like, right. It says, I'm buying 20 bottles. Are there 20 bottles here?
Troy Revell: You know, and at at stead it was a little easier because there's a, a receiving point in the building, right? So everything is coming through looting dock and someone is there, and, and they, they understand they need to count things.
At Farnon, the drivers are finding just the. Random people that are there at 9:00 AM and it's a, a morning breakfast tea server. Right. You know, and I have had them sometimes notice, you know, this doesn't look right, but they don't, they don't know [00:17:00] wine, you know? Yeah. And they're doing other things and they're literally going to a table and a driver's, you know, asking the sign for something.
Yeah. It's a
Matt: tough thing. Um, what about your buying habits, the taste of the clienteles in those two prestigious properties? Were there differences? Did you buy different, did you have different buying habits? Did you see different drinking habits there?
Troy Revell: Absolutely. I mean, stead is, is unique unto itself.
And the, they have out of town guests bringing out of town money, and so there's a really a top I. Slice of your wine list, the top 1% of your wine list, that does still move. Yeah. You know, whereas most places, Farrington included, you know, you have high end wines on your list, mostly for show. And because wine is a great product to invest in, you know, it doesn't matter if you don't sell that, you know, a thousand dollars bottle for five years, it's just gonna get better.
And potentially you can charge more for it five years down the road. Yeah. And that's okay. But it's also there just to say, you know, look at our prestigious wine list and you know, [00:18:00] a lot of people will look at a wine list and not buy the most expensive thing. They'll buy the next thing down. So you might as well make your most expensive thing higher, right?
You know, so that they don't look at the $400 bottle is the most expensive thing. Um, but at stead, those things actually sell you know, so it's a, a little bit different in, in the people that are traveling through that property by very expensive wine. Yeah.
Matt: You have,
Troy Revell: like
Matt: you said and we can name them.
Dave Matthews was hanging out at the bar there and Yeah. Usher comes through and all the people that play at PNC or what's now Lenovo Center and Right. Or athletes who are coming. Um, what about specifically styles? Like did you find that people drink more, you know, Bordeaux and Napa or Burgundy or are open to like, what's, what do you, are there differences there?
Troy Revell: No, and the thing that that makes that hard to answer is the size of the wine list, you know, and so people ask us, you know, what do you sell the most of? Or What are you, you know, what are you doing the best at? And when you have a 70 page wine [00:19:00] list and you know it. We had 1200 selections at Umstead, and they're higher than that now, and we have 1100 at Farrington.
Nothing moves fast. Hmm. Because there's so many choices, you know, and even down to, you know, you have, if you want to categorize your wine into, you know, if Napa Cabs one category, you still have 80 categories, you know, give or take. Um, of countries and grape varietals and all those things. And so people make all kinds of different decisions which is great, you know, that's why it's there.
We wanna share a wide range of everything with everyone. Um, but you really don't have, you know, oh, I sold six of these in a week. Yeah. Because it's just a variety. There's so much variety. Um, and so there's, there's nothing on your list that is necessarily. The absolute top seller you go to. You know, there's usually, you know, there's some obvious ones in Napa cab that's you know, $120.
Yeah. You know, that sells, you know, Oregon Pinot, that's, you know, a hundred, $120. Of course that sells, but I. You know that, and you have four [00:20:00] or five choices on a list that size, in that price range. And so there's not a single one of those that is constantly going, that moves more than the others, right?
You're just kind of selling a lot of everything. I
Matt: wanna take a quick break and then we're gonna talk more specifically about Farrington. But um, speaking of taste. Speaking of stuff that should move. I made a coffee, well, I didn't make it, but, um, I partnered with Carbo Coffee and we did this Taste Maker series.
This is a single varietal coffee, single origin coffee from Peru from a single farmer. And, um, it's delicious. And I'm gonna share it with you. You're gonna go home with a bag, okay? Um, and maybe one day pour it at the, at the Farrington house is your coffee selection. You don't need to make
Troy Revell: friends with my wife and ask her opinion, oh, she's the coffee drinker.
Matt: Please bring this home to your wife. Yeah, she will enjoy trying that. So they do also. So this is a woman farmer named Edith Meza, and not only is it this single variety called Pacamara, but it's, um, a natural processing. So they do this way with the [00:21:00] bean before they even get the cherry. That's really difficult because it's like imagine whole cluster fermenting or wild yeast fermenting wines and grapes.
It's similar to that. So Right. I give you that.
Troy Revell: Excellent. Enjoy. Thank you.
Matt: Alright, so, um, Farrington, it is not just an inn and a wonderful house, but it is. A unique property that is the Fitch's, the Fitch family, RB and his wife, um, brought, bought the property and it was a farm, and they had the vision to show, oh, this could be a magical place for great food, great wine, and just a great gathering place for the community.
Do I have that right?
Troy Revell: That's right. That's well described.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. A lot of people think, oh, well we go to the Fearrington house once a year for a celebration 'cause it's expensive and it's, you know, fine dining and stuff like that. But what you've created there is now this village where you have Galloways a really [00:22:00] cool wine bar that's, you have free tastings every Saturday.
It's there's, there's no pomp and circumstances there. You come in there and like. You know, jeans and a t-shirt, whatever. You have the roos with beer and pizza for a few nights a week, and all these user-friendly moments to experience the village. Now, that also sets you up in such a cool way about how you build the wine program there.
I. Talk to me about, um, how you've changed it from previous buyers and there's been prestigious buyers there, right? Like Maximilian Cast, who is a master sommelier, was the wine director there. You had Paula Deano who worked at EMP and now has a great shop. Um, talk to me how, though, how you've changed it since you've been there and kind of upgraded, I won't say upgraded to despair, what those folks did, but, but, but made it, I will say more user friendly.
Troy Revell: Right. Well, it's, it's great taking over the program from both of them. They're both mentors of mine and they're still wines and cellar that, that they bought. Hmm. Um, and it, and it's great to, to be that the next [00:23:00] step in that lineage. The, you know, as far as changes I, I think the addition of of the wine shop and a wine bar.
Which they've done retail wine before in the past. Um, but it's been a separate business essentially. You know, there's a shop on the other side of the village, right. Um, but I think of it all as one wine program. So, you know, in the wine shop now we have things that came out of the restaurant cellar.
Thinking, oh, we have a lot of this product. Let's sell some of it retail, you know? And then so then you have back vintages and high end wines that other shops don't have. Yeah. And, and we only have a few of, you know, but we're sharing them in a different way. So finding different ways to move wine. I. To different guests.
As far as you know, you have your retail clientele, they buy differently than people that are sitting in a restaurant. And then you have a, a place like roost roost has a draft and wine by the glass. You have some retail wine in there. Yeah. So you [00:24:00] think about, well, what can I move in the setting of a, a pizza, beer garden on a, you know, Friday afternoon outside?
So you have a different way of selling wine there. The retail shop has the wine bar at night, and so you sell different wines during the day as a retail than you do at night in sort of a wine bar setting. And all that ties into where Pittsboro is headed and where Chatham County is headed. All the growth that's happening around Farrington and what we're going to look like in five years.
As far as our clientele getting hopefully younger and more savvy in the wine business and asking for, for different products we will be positioned right there and say, well, yeah, we've established wine program, whether you're in the restaurant, whether you're in the wine shop, you know, we have something for everybody essentially.
Matt: Yeah. What I love is you go up to roost and um, it's this live music playing. You smell the pizzas. Um, but like you could get a glass of Arna for $9,
Troy Revell: right?
Matt: I know very few restaurants, even good restaurants that are [00:25:00] pouring arna by the glass and definitely not for $9. By the way, Arna is a great varietal from the Piedmont region of Italy.
That is, um, the white. Si sibling to nelo, essentially, right? Because it grows there and it's just beautiful. Like it's rich, it's got high acid and all types of different stone fruits and pitted fruits. Um, but I love, like that's, that's just one great example of what's available there
Troy Revell: and everywhere we go as wine professionals when we go to other restaurants that don't have.
Had experienced and, and you see the $9 placements and you know, the $12 placements and they're just completely unimaginative and, and you immediately go, I wanna improve this. Yeah. You know, like almost every, I don't wanna say corporate, but you know, restaurants that, that don't have interesting wine programs and there's so much opportunity for all of them to make good $9 by the glass decisions.
And there's. Hundreds, if not thousands of options out there. Yeah. In the wine world to [00:26:00] discover. And so being able to, to know that, that my guests when they come to Farrington have intelligent decisions at all price points and all locations that, you know, even, even at the pizza, beer garden, you know, we have smart wine decisions.
Take us
Matt: to the people that are fans of yours or fans of sommelier and great wine programs and. Bring us behind the scenes of how you're finding those wines and how you're sourcing them.
Troy Revell: I think it's experience, um, as a buyer it's, I. Willingness to try new things as a buyer and, you know, not just stick with the brands, you know, and the tried and true.
Um, people ask sommelier probably number one question, what's your favorite wine? Yeah. And I, I stopped answering that question a long time ago. And and my current answer is the, the next one I haven't tried yet.
Matt: Yeah.
Troy Revell: Um, because there's so much out there how can you latch on to just one of the thousands of wines in the world?
Um, so being willing to, to [00:27:00] keep it fresh and, and try new things as a buyer. And so, you know, we have tasting appointments and, and we. We try things and we don't necessarily buy all the things that we taste, but I keep a digital set of notes, you know, so six months later I'm thinking, okay, what can we pour Is our, you know, medium bodied white wine in the wine bar next week, you know, and I'll start looking through my, I can filter the notes that way and be like, oh, I remember that one.
You know, that was a tasty wine. I couldn't buy it at the time, but I can buy it now. Um, and so I think just having both the knowledge base and the willingness to keep it fresh.
Matt: So the knowledge base and the willingness to keep it fresh, are you regularly tasting with suppliers and sales reps and
Troy Revell: as much as we can, it's not regularly to the frustration of, of the reps. Sure. Because shale reps if you let them, they would come to you every week. Sure. You know, oh, we have a weekly tasting appointment and we just don't have time for that. [00:28:00] Um, and so a lot of times it's when they have a wine maker with them.
That's interesting. Depends on the wines that, you know, they're selling that week. Most of the time it's, it's us reaching out, saying, we have an opportunity. This placement, you know. What's do you have that would fit that? Bring some op, bring some things by, you know, so our, our lightbody red in the wine shop.
You know, I'm, I'm a little bit, sometimes you get writer's block as a, as a buyer. Yeah. And we've already poured this wine and that wine and that wine but we're interested in, in something else. What do you have? Yeah. And then, then it's up to them to bring it to you. And then they bring some stuff.
And if you like one of them then, then you. What,
Matt: what is currently the light-bodied red in the shop right now?
Troy Revell: The Jo la glit tot which is a blend of eight different things. I can only name gui. I think there's Ziff, Dale and Trusso, and there's some fun stuff in there. And that's part, the reason that's that is because we have the same wine at roost and so it's a good pizza wine.
And it helps us from a both inventory and what we're offering the guests to have the same wine [00:29:00] at roost that's available in the wine shop because we don't wanna send people, oh, we, we have the wine for you, but it's over there. Yeah. Or you can go down to the wine shop and get this because we don't have this.
So, so we pour the same thing at the roost and, and the wine shop.
Matt: Yeah. And the other thing that I like that you let me in, and I don't think this was done previously, is you're, you're sommelier team. I think you have two under you, right? Right. Jules and, um, Kaylin. Kaylin. Right. Both British.
Ironically, I don't know if you have an affinity for British people, but it was seem that I do, but.
Troy Revell: So Hannah Stead hear I didn't hire her. That's right. But was my assistant the whole time I was there and not the whole time when I started, but we worked together the whole time I was there. And that's right.
Who now runs the program over there? Yeah, that's right.
Matt: You really gravitate towards that. Um, but what I like about it is. They are cross-trained to work on all properties that are wine serving. Right. They're not just at the house. And previously it was separated,
Troy Revell: right? Yeah. Right. Part of that's one of the bigger changes you [00:30:00] know, that I've done there is the, both the wine and the people go back and forth between retail and restaurant.
I wasn't sure how new candidates would take that. Um, and, and we tell them right in the beginning, you know, when we're interviewing people and, and everyone likes it, you know, even some of the people that, that we haven't hired say that that appeals to me to, to learn a little bit of retail and to also be restaurant smart.
It makes them better professionals moving forward. You know, that opens up maybe some, some avenues later in their career to say, yes, I have done retail. Right. You know, and I have worked in a fine dining restaurant and I. Um, it, it keeps things fresh. Also for, for, for all of us, you know, you can, you don't have to work.
Fine dining floor, which is a high pressure environment, you know, four or five nights a week every single week. Yeah. You know, you go in the retail shop which is a different conversation with guests, and it makes us a little smarter working in different settings.
Matt: Yeah, absolutely. And like you said, the, the conversations are [00:31:00] different right.
Than you're having when you're. Applicably pairing with a specific dish or whatever, versus maybe they're just coming in and it's a vibe, wine or whatever, you know? Right. And it's very different. Um, how does that happen at a place like Farrington? Is that when they bring you in there, do you sit down with the brass and like Theresa, who's the GM of the property, has been there for 25 years really?
Is driving the Fitch's dream? I, I think at this point, right. Do you, do you sit down with them and collectively say, Hey, how do we get this wine program to be a little bit, not area diet. Right. Like a little bit more user friendly. I'll keep using that word. Or is that something that you brought to the table and like, this is my vision for it?
Troy Revell: Farrington, there's, it's very laid back. There's not a whole lot of oversight in that regard. The wine program belongs to the wine director, and that's both a function of. Barrington is a very laid back place to work in general. Yeah. Being family owned and being out in the [00:32:00] country, the whole feel of the property is just very, it's very easygoing, but that's also a function of, I think, wine directors in general.
I. Because they know more about wine than anyone else in the building. So even on up to whether you have a GM or an owner, you know, or if it's a, a executive chef or whoever is in charge of you, the wine director, they have to trust you that you're making smart decisions from a wine buying perspective.
Because, because you're the one that knows. Yeah. Well, that's, so you get a sense of autonomy. Sure. That comes with this specialization that you have.
Matt: But that's an interesting point because if you're. A GM or you're an owner and you're looking at numbers. Now, I don't know if they get paid differently versus where they're working, but if you're thinking like, oh, I'm paying this highly trained sommelier to now go work retail in slang glasses and beer at the, at the wine bar, but I'm paying them the same money, I could see somebody having like a different opinion about that.
Troy Revell: Right? It's ownership matters, um, [00:33:00] to a wine director. I think the most of what their demands are financially, I. Do they want you to hit certain sales goals, you know, and margins. Or not. Yeah. You know, are they just happy with you selling a lot of wine?
Matt: Yeah. I think that's something that the general public who's not a wine professional misses, is that being a wine director doesn't mean that you just know all the grapes of Bordeaux and the first gross.
It means that you're actually running a business, like you're running a program you're responsible for, for the costs and the goods of, of, of your restaurant or your, or your place of business, which is I think is really important. It's like. It's like a, it's like a, on the job finance training,
Troy Revell: right?
Yeah. And you have so many guests that, that look at us and they get that five minutes of us describing wine to them and, and presenting wine, and they go. Your job is amazing. I would love to have your job. I just couldn't do it. And you know, first you'd say, well, you could do it right. You know, because I used to think that, I used to look at wine drinkers and go, I don't have that pallet.
You know? And then once I got into it, you know, you can learn it. And then, [00:34:00] and then secondly, yeah, it's not all just bringing wine to the table and, and and, and sipping. It's a lot of logistics in, in business and restaurants in general. There's the skillset that's required to be good at restaurants is incredibly.
Buried all the things you have to be good at and people skills and finance skills and just common sense. Yeah. That, you know, when, when restaurants don't do well, it's because it's hard in, in the wine program reflects that you, you end up being good at a lot of different things. I've picked up spreadsheets that I'm very good at.
Um, almost every place I've been, I've had edit control of the website to change the wines. And so I, you know, you start learning things like HTML and you know, and that was. You know, no longer as relevant as today, but you know, you know, you could get a WordPress and, you know, all these random skills because wine is a good program.
It's everywhere. Right. And so you have, it's integrated part of this, of the whole program, right? Part of the whole program, yeah. And so you end up, you know, helping here and there and making sure that, [00:35:00] you know, everything is straight in multiple departments and in multiple ways. Yeah.
Matt: What, um. Who are some of, what are some of the books you're reading or some of your favorite, like wine reads, either now or all time?
Troy Revell: I wish I had time to read. I, I'm not a reader. Okay. I, you know, I, I probably phrased that wrong because even if when I do have time, I, I would not be a reader. But wine Bible Carrie McNeal is an amazing book and it's my first recommendation to, to anyone who asks, um. And that's, that's the one that I can name windows on the world which is here, right there, um, is, is definitely a, a go-to.
Um, but today with with what's online and when you're trying to teach yourself and a answer a question or learn about something and we can just, you know, look at Google and Wikipedia and now ai, um, it's. [00:36:00] And it depends on, I think there's a generational shift that maybe my generation is, is on the edge of one way or the other.
You know, people older than me would tend to be more like book readers and people younger than me, you know, are going Googling everything. Yeah. Um, and so there's just a lot of ways to learn and that are quickly accessible that probably keep us out of books to maybe a little bit of a detriment and, and certainly to the detriment of.
The whole book industry. Yeah. You know, they, us just Googling and AI and everything doesn't do any good for the, for don't tell. Picking up a book over at McIntyre. That would be like,
Matt: talk about, by the way, another reason to go to the Village is one of the best bookstores in the region. McIntyre's.
McIntyre's amazing. And ki is just super passionate about the books there and, and the whole thing. Um. I, I it's an interesting point you make and certainly information is more accessible than ever, but I like to think, or I like to believe, and maybe that's like the old guy in me talking, is that even for you [00:37:00] to applicably use, um, chat, GBT, Google, all these AI things, you have to have some base of knowledge lit, or at least you have to read the background story, right?
Like, like you can't just go and understand that Nelo is what Nelo is, right? Like. I think you have to have under some understanding about wine making, about why these, why Barolo is so special about the soils that are there. About just the ma like, and I think so many wine professionals, I have to say, I'm gonna call out our fellow, get this wrong, um, in that they're, they're gonna do a wine dinner.
They're doing a wine presentation to, to people who are not wine professionals. And they'll just start going into the soils and they'll start going into the grape types and it's like. You didn't even start with the fundamentals about why soils are important, the fact that grape is an agricultural product, and let's understand that first because everybody can understand, or anybody who's ever like planted something in a garden or bitten a piece of fruit, understands that, oh, well I like balance in my fruit, right?
I'm, I want my [00:38:00] fruit sweet. I don't want my wine sweet, but here's why you need your fruit. Sweet. Because that's how grapes start out. Right? Right. And so I think we miss that in a way. My whole point in saying that is I think there's. A real miss that if I were teaching my young Psalms, I would tell them, like, maybe you don't have to read the whole book, but go read the chapter in Kevin's rally or in the Oxford landing about RNA or about nebia, right?
Like, and then ask all your questions because it'll just fill it, fill in your questions more. Because AI's only as smart as the prompt.
Troy Revell: And the other half of that is whether you're a professional or you're just learning about wine, is, is taste. Yes, you can read all you want about Nelo, but you have to taste it.
Yeah. And, and that's one of the best ways to study you know, open a bottle and, and then. Find the chapter in the book that pertains to that bottle, and then you'll remember so much more as you're reading about this region and this grape, and then you're sipping on it in the [00:39:00] glass and then you'll re probably forever.
You'll then remember, you know what this region represents and tastes like.
Matt: Totally. And also like even working in the cellar and you're just like categorizing bottles, right? You need to know where they go based upon the list.
Troy Revell: Right?
Matt: And then you're reading about it and then you're like, oh, that's why this goes here.
And Oh, burgundy. If it's white, it's Chardonnay. Wow. I didn't even realize that before. I mean, hopefully you knew that level by working, but, well, that's the interesting that
Troy Revell: you mentioned that because my, my first actual wine job was categorizing people's cellars. Mm. And it, this is in Chapel Hill in our, um.
Forget who it was. Yeah. So the gm, the time of N 54 put me in touch with Chapel Wine Company. They had a couple buyers that said, we need help. We have a lot of wine. And so you go to their house and just do a little side job. And I learned so much just sitting in a high-end cellar. Yeah. And looking at the labels and going, what does that word mean?
And where does this go? And you have to start paying attention to, this one's a single vineyard and this one is [00:40:00] not. Otherwise you're categorizing them wrong and the price is different.
Matt: Yeah.
Troy Revell: And you learn, I learned a lot just sitting in a cellar moving bottles around and starting and ask questions of what am I looking at?
What And
Matt: what did you use as your reference point at that? Because there was no. Google or chat GPT at that time
Troy Revell: there, there was enough to look, I mean my wine career is not that long. You know, so we're still talking 2011. Okay. Um. But yes, you're, you're just looking things up basically that, that you, the words you don't recognize.
Yeah. And, and starting to understand that, you know, if, if this word is not on the label, that means something versus this other bottle sitting right next to it has a certain word that I don't know. You know, go learn what that word is because it's a different wine. Yeah.
Matt: Um, talk to me about what it means to be a relay in Chateau property.
Troy Revell: Relay Chateau. It's it's a great network to be a part of. Because of how their values, because of what makes a re relat chateau. So all the re [00:41:00] chateau. Are one-off properties. There's no corporate, there's no chain version of Relat Chateau. They are family owns and then they are focused on being a retreat, a place to relax, a place that's out of the way.
So you won't find Relat Chateau, you know, in a high rise in the middle of the city. They're very similar to way Farrington's set up. Mm-hmm. They're all kind of out there in the country. A place where you just kind of drive up and go, ah, you know, and you feel. Less stress just being there and you know that you're at a kind of a place to get away from it all.
Um, they all have that feel, and that's, that's by design. That's what they're looking for when they designate Relat Chateau. And so being a part of a, a network that's focused on that, and I mean that's, there's a wellness aspect to that. Um, you know, there's just a happiness and a, a joy to those properties and, you know, giving people that feeling when they come to Farrington.
Um, it feels great and it's, you know, you can see it on people's face when they come in. [00:42:00] And, you know, when we're having wine conversations with guests they're, they're in a very good mood. Yeah. You know, for sure, you know, guests at Farrington are, are generally in a very good mood which in a restaurant business can be the exception.
You know, many times in a, a high stress, high end restaurant that's bustling, everybody is a little tensed up. And we just, we don't have that
Matt: yeah. Where we're at. That's so true. Having experienced it this past weekend was in a very good mood all weekend and felt very relaxed. Um, right. Are there standards, you know, like.
Michelin guide, which is coming to North Carolina, right. You know, may, maybe you guys will get some stars. Um, they put out a list of like, oh, this is like, you know, how your, your, you have to have flowers or you have to have your forks have to be this level of quality. Is there a relaying chateau code of conduct list of standards that you have to,
Troy Revell: there are relat chateau inspectors, but I do not know what necessarily detail wise, what they're focused [00:43:00] on and, and what they're looking for.
We've never had a conversation about, you know, we're going to lose our status or anything like that. So it's, it's a lot different than say, like, at Stead we were focused on, on Forbes, and Forbes is in very detail and it's very, um part of the Steads personality and everything. It's very important to them.
And that's the way Forbes operates. Um, so I mean, relat Chateau, it's not something that we necessarily need to talk about on a day-to-day basis. Just, you just live up to your standards and you are right. Love it. We just are one and they send somebody, you know, I don't know how often, but that's somebody who's always, I.
Happy enough that we don't have to talk about it.
Matt: Alright
We're almost at time here, but I want to know you. I wanna finish off why people, you're doing all of this education and special wine dinners. Last night you had zoi Blanc there, one of the greatest sparkling wine producers of Spain. Do a great dinner Unbelievable by [00:44:00] Chef Gya.
It was like unbelievable pairings and the whole thing. Why should people come to that? Why should they know more of that?
Troy Revell: Our, yeah, our monthly events, both the classes and the dinners. They're both everything we've talked about as far as it's a great place to come and just relax. It's also a great way to learn about the products that are on the table.
We frequently have winemakers in town. Our next dinner July 24th, is a wine maker dinner. To sit there. Who is it? Michelle Dupree. Oh, okay. Um, who has family in Pittsburgh? She's from New York State, but she's working in France. So she's the only American woman making wine and Bordeaux and, um, she's, she's great.
Her wines are great and to sit there and taste the wine and to be able to ask the person who made the wine specific questions about why is he doing this. And what changed for you this year and what decisions and what goes into it? I mean, picture. If you were at an art studio with the artist who painted the painting, and you got to ask them why they [00:45:00] did this and that.
Yeah. That is what a winemaker dinner essentially is, is sitting there with the artist and the product at the same time. And then the wine classes you know, it's. Again, it's, it's laid back. It's fun. It's just an hour of, here's six wines. You know, I do a slideshow, but I, I joke about the slideshow is more for me to keep me on track.
Sure. You know, if a guests wanna Sure, yeah. Keep you organized. Follow the slideshow, that's fine. But we just talk wine and, and taste things and we have little bites from the kitchen, which are different every time Chef comes up with little things to do for our wine classes. And and that's a continuing story and conversation.
About what we're learning about as far as wine. And we've talked about there's so much out there to explore. Um, and that's what we do with, with our classes and our dinners, really is, is trying things that hopefully you haven't had before. And, and you can decide, I. Now I love this and you know, I have something new to, to take home and put in the, your cellar or with dinner the next night or however you consume wine.
Nice. How do you find out about these classes? They are or [00:46:00] dinners ton.com. Go to the bottom of the page and, and enter your email is the best way. Yeah, so all email marketing we do things on, on social media. Also the emails come out first and sooner when we send out events. So, and you can pick and choose whether you want to hear about food and wine events or, or spa events or other things that are McIntyre's.
When you sign up for the email, you get to pick which emails you're getting from us.
Matt: Yeah, Google Farrington House, even if you're watching this or listening to this from outside of the area, like Troy said, it's an unbelievable place to come and relax. I, there's it. It is world class. Troy, thank you so much for being here.
Thank you. Um. I'll recommend everybody to go first. Follow you on Instagram. It's fri freezes som like fri frisbee friso, right. And follow Harrington House wherever you are on the socials or on on the web. And go there and you will eat and drink deliciously.
Troy Revell: Thank you. Thank you so much.
[00:47:00]
