People hear "I used to work the floor at a Michelin-starred restaurant group" and immediately picture something very glamorous — crisp suit and tie, perfect postur e, maybe a little swirl-and-sniff theater for the table. And look, there WAS some of that! But there was also a whole lot of controlled chaos happening just out of view, and today I want to pull back the curtain on what that life was actually like. The glamorous part people imagine is the tableside pour — presentin

Can you smell that? That's not just the crisp autumn air rolling through DC & Virginia Countryside — that's crush season happening right in our backyard! Right now, Virginia's vineyards are buzzing with pickers, sorting tables, and the sweet, slightly chaotic energy of grapes coming off the vine. It's my favorite time of year to be a sommelier, and honestly, it's the perfect excuse to start thinking about what's landing in your glass alongside what's landing on your plate th