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Here’s my second profile of a star Ottawa sommelier from the current issue of Ottawa Magazine<\/a>, the sister publication of Toronto Life. You can read about the first sommelier, Grayson McDermid<\/a> here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Janet Fraser What made you decide to become a sommelier?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was lucky enough to get a job bartending two nights a week at Beckta Dining and Wine in 2005. I always had a great passion for wine and food. I realized quickly that I was completely out of my comfort zone and how much I wanted and needed to learn.<\/p>\n Did you get special training or education to do so?<\/strong><\/p>\n I signed up for the Sommelier program at Algonquin College with my good friend and co-worker Kristy Getts. I took the compressed course and graduated in June 2006. I am currently looking at signing up for the sommelier advanced course offered at the Vendage Institute, again with my friend Kristy. The more I learn, the more I realize how much there is to know!<\/p>\n How long have you worked as a sommelier?<\/strong><\/p>\n About 3 years now.<\/p>\n What do you enjoy most about being a sommelier?<\/strong><\/p>\n I enjoy tasting wines on a regular basis, working closely with the winery sales representatives and continually improving my wine list. Most of all, I love sharing my passion and information with the staff. It\u2019s very encouraging to me when I introduce a new wine, get them to taste it, we talk about it and suddenly they\u2019re selling it with confidence.\u00a0 This is so gratifying and makes me feel so proud.<\/p>\n Least?<\/strong><\/p>\n Pinot Grigio.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What difference does it make to a restaurant to have a sommelier?<\/strong><\/p>\n Having someone who loves wine and can encourage the staff and give them confidence by talking about wine is very beneficial to everyone including the guests.\u00a0 It\u2019s also great to have a go-to person who knows the list intimately.<\/p>\n Tell me about the most memorable customer you\u2019ve served?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was 2006 when I worked at Beckta.\u00a0 I was serving the National Capital Sommelier Guild in the private dining room. There were at least twenty members present.\u00a0 The theme of their dinner was Champagne.\u00a0 It was a bring-your-own-bottle dinner, but it was up to me to open every bottle and taste them. I was very busy and must have missed tasting a bottle. Of course, with my luck it was corked. I managed to top up almost every single glass in the room with corked Champagne. This was also the night that James Bertrand introduced me and let everyone know that I had won a National Capital Sommelier Guild scholarship.\u00a0 This was a great lesson in humility.<\/p>\n What are the best food and wine pairings you\u2019ve ever had? <\/strong><\/p>\n For me, texture and acidity are the huge deciding factors, but I also love contrast. Foie gras au torchon with Cave Spring special select late harvest Riesling. Seared scallops with Thirty Bench Riesling from Niagara.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the worst food and wine pairing you\u2019ve had?<\/strong><\/p>\n Seared big-eye tuna with Gruner Veltliner.\u00a0 It caused a metallic reaction in mouth that was worse than a fork to a filling.<\/p>\n How is Ottawa\u2019s wine scene changing?<\/strong><\/p>\n It seems like more restaurants are into wine, pouring at the table, interesting varietals, more by the glass, house wine isn\u2019t cool anymore.<\/p>\n What do you notice about Ottawa diners in particular when it comes to wine?<\/strong><\/p>\n They are actually asking for wines by varietals, asking questions and looking for recommendations.<\/p>\n Which wines are most popular these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n Pinot Grigio or Shiraz for the guest who\u2019s less into wine. It\u2019s hard to say really because we make recommendations with every dish and like to talk about wine so it seems to me like the meeker guests are becoming a little braver and trying our suggestions.<\/p>\n How is being a sommelier in Ottawa different from being one in Toronto or New York?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ottawa\u2019s definitely more conservative in pricing, so sales alone would make a difference. I would think my wine list would have a lot more big titles and prices in the bigger cities.<\/p>\n What tips would you give to diners on choosing wine from a restaurant list?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ask your server what he or she is enthusiastic about.\u00a0 Don\u2019t choose the least or the most expensive, stay mid range.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here’s my second profile of a star Ottawa sommelier from the current issue of Ottawa Magazine, the sister publication of Toronto Life. You can read about the first sommelier, Grayson McDermid here. Janet Fraser Allium Restaurant 87 Holland Avenue 613-792-1313 What made you decide to become a sommelier? I was lucky enough to get a job bartending two nights a week at Beckta Dining and Wine in 2005. I always had a great passion for wine and food. I realized quickly that I was completely out of my comfort zone and how much I wanted and needed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-restaurant-wine-lists"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/993\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAllium Restaurant
\n87 Holland Avenue
\n613-792-1313<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/html\/uploads\/image\/scan0011.jpg\")
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