Alright guys, welcome to another episode of live with a cork in the road. And I'm Kelly. I'm your wine Explorer here in Atlanta, Georgia and I'm chatting with people who are shaping the southeast wine industry.
Hey, everyone, thank you for tuning in to a cork in the road Podcast. I'm Kelly. It is so great to have you here for today's episode, and I'm absolutely honored to take a moment to announce that the cork in the road podcast received the 2023 podcast of the Year Award at the hue society's wine and culture fest a few weeks ago right here in Atlanta, I'm still overwhelmed by this incredible honor. The energy in that room that day, though, is something I will never forget. And it is a privilege to continue to tell these wine stories with all of you. So thank you for the love the support the opportunity to highlight the 112 guests who have made the show what it is today. It was a beautiful moment all around to accept that award on behalf of everyone who has been part of the show. So thank you so so much, I will not stop smiling about it. My guest today is Anthony Panzica, the beverage director of the porchetta group here in Atlanta, even though we give him a little bit more of an appropriate title in this episode, he does oversee the beverage programs at the now five restaurants that are part of this Italian focused Restaurant Group whose values are instilled in community and culture and family which makes a lot of sense given what Anthony tells me about his upbringing and the early experiences that he had with food in his family. We talked about his love of wine, his approach to wine pairings, his fascination with vermouth, and we reminisce about some of the recent collaborations we've done together that have been rooted in uplifting the restaurant and hospitality industry here in Atlanta. He is also a master of balancing food and wine with a healthy lifestyle. So make sure you keep an ear out for some of his guiding principles, tips and tricks that he throws out at the end of the show. We close out the episode though with details about our upcoming collaboration on August 15, which if you're listening to this episode, when it's released, it's right around the corner, we are going to be teaming up to host a rooftop wine party and silent wine auction to support two women past podcast guests in fundraising for their upcoming WSET diploma journeys. So thank you, Anthony for being on the show getting me excited about this upcoming event and for such a fun recording session. You can find all the details and Ticket info and even a sneak peek the 90 auction lots for this August 15 event by heading to www.acorkintheroad.com. I will be emcee for the evening and we have about 100 Tickets available total but I heard that half are already sold out. So thank you to everyone who has bought a ticket and generously donated wine and wine experiences to this cause I get a little emotional thinking about the incredible support of not only the Atlanta wine industry for this but from our friends all over the country and even the world who have pitched in to make this possible. It's going to be quite the party. I'm so excited and looking ahead to other events on the calendar tickets just went live for the Fall edition of sip n style a wine and fashion pairing showcase happening on Saturday September 16, at the Epicurean hotel here in Atlanta in partnership with my leather wine pocket handbag co designer Donna of P Sherrod. This is her creation and the spring event sold out and featured five rounds of food and wine and fashion pairings. So we are inviting a whole new group of local fashion designers to showcase their fall looks with us for round two of this super special collaborative event. You can also grab tickets for my next wine tasting class at Limoges cellars in north Georgia happening on Saturday, September 9, where we will be geeking out about Cabernet Franc from around the world a grape very near and dear to my heart actually as one of the very first grapes I ever worked with during my time working at a winery in Virginia. So lots to look forward to including a trip to Spain, so keep an eye on a cork in the road on social media for those updates and adventured the first week in September. We'll be back with another podcast episode though at the end of the month right before I head off to Spain, so make sure you subscribe to the podcast to be the first to know when the next episode is available. And until then drink some Italian wine. Try some vermouth in Anthony's honor and I hope that you enjoy today's show cheers take care
But I just realized that if we started speaking in Spanish, it'd be very difficult for me to do the transcribing of the audio. No Espanol. Today. Luego - con vino
Thank you for having me. I am excited to be on here. I've been listening to this podcast since you started basically so it was really cool to be asked to be on here
like season one??
Kind of! when I started going down the wine rabbit hole but not too far. I was just more so like I have some extra money and You know, I like hip hop and ___ was talking about natural wine and all this stuff. So I was like, why don't we see what it's about. I tasted it first. And then I realized I was like, Okay, there's some more to wine than I thought there was besides like, going to the supermarket and grabbing, you know, a bottle of red. So after that, you know, I had 45 minute commute to school, plug in the podcast in the car, and you popped up.
After you found wine through hip hop, somehow Kelly was found. This has not been direct connection, but I'll take it.
It's good. Right?
Good. Somehow, there probably was some steps in between there. But I really appreciate that. And a podcaster yourself. Have you ever been a guest on a podcast? It's way harder to be a guest than the host, by the way
No, I don't think so. I don't know how you do it. Honestly. I'm sure it kind of, you know, was somewhat of a recreational thing for you. But then you, you became what you became. So
I don't know what that is Anthony. I don't know what I became. But we're good at talking.
Everybody knows a cork in the road. I mean, everyone that I talked to, at least in like the Atlanta wine community, when we first started doing events with you, and you know, things like that, I would say, you know, Kelly cork in the road. And, of course, I know her. And I'm like damn. Everybody knows her.
No, that blows my mind because we just started chatting like this with people on two mics. Like that's what it is. But I think it's a really fun outlet. Like you said, people in their cars, you can learn about wine, and you can learn about people's history in wine just by driving in your car. So we'll keep talking to people while they're on the go. So hello, people who are moving around right now. But before we officially start, an official congratulations to you on baby number two. You have a boy and a girl now. Yeah?
Yeah I'm done. I think so. My wife keeps looking at me too, actually today. She has been like, you know, holding him and like, you know, being mom. And she's like, we make cute babies. You sure you don't want like four more? And I'm like, yeah, for right now. I'm pretty positive
you got one of each. I love it. But what an exciting time for you and your family.
It is crazy times. New restaurant was opening. We just closed on our house. Baby number two was born. Moving. Now we're packing everything getting ready to move. So it's been madness. But I like chaos.
At that point. It's like everything's out of control. So you might as well just go with it. Even in all the organized chaos, I still feel like I've seen you a lot lately, because we've done some pretty cool wine and food things this year. I will start with my favorite recent memory of working with y'all. But at this I didn't have to do anything. You all just came over to my kitchen and you cooked a multicourse meal. You did the pairings with Chef Pat which we will talk about the whole Restaurant Group in a sec. But your pairings? What was the thought process for the pairings for this particular private dinner at our house? Because you picked all new to me wines Anthony, none of those wines I had had before.
Yeah. So the first thing that went into my head for this one was, Oh, damn, I'm pairing for a bunch of wine people that I've never met in Atlanta. Well, or maybe like one or two that I met. Kelly, a cork in the road. I'm like, Oh, my goodness, I'm like, I How am I gonna do this? What am I going to do? I don't know. Like, there's got to be some wines that they don't know about. And then I was like, oh, okay, _____ wines. And so I wanted to do as much of those as possible. But it's also tough because those wines are so so Natty, that they can be flawed. And honestly, like, one bottle may be perfect. The other one could be flawed. And then sometimes you get the whole lot is flawed. And you're like, this sucks. So to me, it was more so of finding ones that you definitely hadn't tried before. And then on top of that, something that would come out of left field as well, which was the vermouth pairing. Because I know nobody does that.
When you told us to rub the orange on the rim of our glass. I was like What is he up to? It was crazy. It was like intermission but I loved it.
Yeah. So but my thought process is very simple. I mean, you know, Chef did - What was it- a beef tar tar. Right. And I thought it was a lamb tar or beet tar tar I misread the B=E=E=T for B-E-E-F. And I remember just thinking in the back of my head, I'm like, Oh my God. I just totally messed up this pairing. I don't have wines picked out for it. I can't do anything about it. And then I realized I was like, Oh, well the same reason that I would choose rose to go with lamb or beef tar tar is kind of the same reason it's going with this earthy beet tar tar because chef does a lot of lamb tartares which was also weird that I would have thought he did beef because we normally just say bye to beef and we always go lamb, but I love doing rose with tar tars with tar tar or with pork to me are my two favorite things except besides like sparkling rose with fried chicken. That's my absolute favorite.
Well that's like I mean that's just on a league of its own. So...
but because to me like people do you know white meat and fish with whites, they do red with red meat, but nobody goes in the middle, which would be pork, which would also be like rose. So nobody thinks about those. But I think pork and Rose goes great. And then I think also on the end of raw meat, not charred, already doesn't have any caramelization in the proteins or anything like that. Very subtle, but still obviously beefy in a way or BEET-y in this case. And to me that was that's always just something I love to pair with rose. So almost anytime there's a lamb tartare or beef tartare I will obviously change the rose depending on the accompaniments have additional flavor profiles is going for for for that specific tar tar, but to me, I'm always just like rose. So for that one, I knew we had this Barbera Rose, which is honestly kind of hard to find. In Georgia, at least, we have rose Barbera, but we don't have ones that are like a very deep, rustic Emilia Romagna type of Barbera, we have more than piemontese. And to me, the fact that we add a Rose when I was like, oh, it's gonna be damp, earthy, funky mushroomy that's going to cover everything. And I was like, Thank God, I said it would be tough because it ended up working out fine. So that was my that was my thought process for that one for the rest of them was more so trying to balance out the nuances of those wines. Because again, they are pretty Natty, but they're so, the ones that I picked for you guys, are so well made, that they're incredibly complex. So I just had to match the nuances with what I was doing. And then obviously the vermouth was, that was one where I knew could happen because Carpano/s vermouth specifically is very warming spicy. So to go with that dish that Chef did, which is very, you know, warm on the Middle Eastern spices and things like that, I believe there was Zatar in there as well. So to do all those things and the cheese and I was like, Yeah, I'm definitely hitting them with vermouth as a kind of palate cleanser type of thing. So that was that was definitely my favorite one to do. Because I always loved doing the vermouth ones because then I get to see everyone's face when the vermouth hits the table. And they're like, What is this dude doing with vermouth? And then after they tasted, they're like, Oh my god. So the rule was always my favorite Rose with with raw meat and then, or beets, and vermouth with kind of an intermission or even as the apertif is always my favorite thing to pair, beef or beets.
Now I'm going to make sure I read menus very thoroughly. So don't mess that part up. But hey, it worked for you for both ways. My reaction to that dinner that your whole restaurant group put on at our house was that it was very thoughtful and creative. Your pairings were playful. And I think that as all of us that were here that night that work in wine are adjacent to wine. That is exciting. So it was very entertaining to see what you did. It was so thoughtful. So where did this love of food and wine come from, Anthony? because you have a tangible passion for it that comes out in the way that you are pairing these wines.
Yeah. It's definitely my family, my upbringing. I mean, my father's Italian, my mother's Puerto Rican and Jamaican. So there was no shortage of good food in my house. Growing up. Sunday dinner was always the thing Sunday sauce on the stovetop, you know, you wake up smelling the garlic and the tomatoes. I had the quintessential Italian grandmother downstairs in the basement. Anytime I was hungry, I could just go down there and she would cook. There'd be times when my friends and I were just drunk, took uber home. And we don't want to make the noise in the kitchen downstairs so my parents hear us. So we go downstairs to the basement try to be quiet. Then of course my grandmother couldn't hear anything without hearing aids. So we were like, Yeah, that's okay. Mimi won't hear us. Three in the morning. All of a sudden, she just opens her bedroom door. And she goes, Anthony, is that you? And I'm like, You have no hearing aids on when you sleep like how do you hear us? So we're trying not to wake her up. But then I'm like, Yeah, that's us. And she's like, What are you doing? I was like, I'm just, I'm just making food. Don't worry about me. You can go back to sleep. She's like, are you hungry? And it's just like, very stereotypical, doesn't matter. She's like, No, no, let me get let me get my glasses on. Let me put on my hearing aids and it was 3:30 in the morning. And she would make whatever we wanted. We wanted pasta wanted chicken cutlets, she would start poudning out chicken at 3:30 in the morning. If it was simple, we just wanted, you know, a replacement for Waffle House. She's like, you just want to eggs and waffles and we're like, yep, we'll take that too. So it's a way of showing our affection towards each other and a form of sustenance too, because my grandparents grew up during the Depression. And my father and my mother, they weren't, you know, silver spoon fed either. So it was always about how good the home cooked meals tasted. And while they were sustenance, flavor was definitely an important part. So I saw that unfold in front of in front of my eyes a lot as a kid, and it didn't really do anything for wine for me. It more so obviously made me love food. And that's why I love food. And that's why I love working out because I have to like working out.
because you like eating food.
Yeah, but that was also the other thing was my parents and my grandparents always even if it was more so sustenance in a way and the familial gathering around the food. It was also always a matter of having food for me in the house because I was like the first athlete my family ever had. So they were like he has to eat he has to eat. They thought I was going to the NBA. granted, I wasn't even going to be six foot but the NBA. So they would always have me there, make sure I was fueled, you know, things like that. So I just saw how all that unfolded into the grand scheme of food is love and love is food and food is family and this and that and, and one thing led to another, and then my first glass of wine was at six years old. well, my first sips were, my first sips were definitely earlier, but my first full glass was allowed to have at six years old,
I just had a whole group of Italian winemakers on a few shows ago, and all of them had Yeah, sips at like four or five, whatever it is. So yeah, I don't think you have to explain anything here. I think it's a wonderful way, your whole impression of food early on was love and family and gatherings, and all of that. This makes a lot of sense to me now that I know where you currently work, and I know what you're bringing to that role. So let's talk a little bit about that current role, because people may not know about this restaurant group. So how would you describe the work that you do right now and your role with them?
Oh man, busy, but in a good way. So I'm the beverage director for the porchetta Group. We are a group of Italian restaurants, we have five now. And they are all Italian, they will never be anything else. I mean, even like to the point where we have a fish shack concept that we have thought about, we're gonna figure out a way to make it italian, you know. So I'm basically in charge of everything beverage, I try to let my bartenders have creativity behind the bar a lot, because I was a bartender once and I hated when, you know, they would say no, we can't do that. We got to do this, we got to do that. Or just, they wouldn't even let you try to make a cocktail.
you learned early on. You're like, I gotta give people a little bit of autonomy with this.
Yeah, exactly. So it's a lot different in our industry than when I grew up to when I was growing up bartending, craft cocktails weren't a thing if they were, they definitely weren't in Georgia yet. And you were just hearing about Dave Arnold and things like that, like the people in San Fran in New York City. And they were just starting their journeys with all that. So to me, it wasn't really a thing. And then I stopped bartneding and I started serving. And then I realized I was like, Man, you know I'm going to a lot of these places. And these cocktails are pretty crazy. I started working at higher end restaurants, I realized craft cocktail was a thing, and how much autonomy the bartenders had. So I always remember that even though I was done bartending, I always respected their craft, because they basically the chef of the bar, they come up with the cocktails. And some of these guys literally, are chefs like Nick white bull, I call him a wizard, because he just does things where I'm just like, how the hell did you even think of doing that, you know, then the same with Leo, who was once with us, like we've had some great bartenders with us. And you know, they sous vide, they cook down, they make every all these different things that you would never chemistry basically put into a cocktail. So seeing that I promised myself I would always let the bartenders have it. here and there, I may put on a cocktail, especially if there's, you know, a product that I get a good deal on, because in the end, numbers are my thing, I got to make sure everybody's everybody's making their their marks, and then they're gonna keep food on my table, and chef's table as well. So that was always important to me for that. And then regarding the wines, I do all of the wine, I definitely lean more towards wine as far as my knowledge and my enjoyment overall, I like cocktails, and I love the craft. I appreciate them, like I was just at a restaurant the other night in Florida. And it was some of the best cocktails I've ever had off a menu. I was really impressed with it. But in the end, I still went back to the wine list and I was like what's on this wine list? Let's go look at it. So yeah, I mean, I I kind of do everything beverage, you know, I implement different things like white bull's vermouth flight. As soon as I got I mean, I did that before I was even the beverage director I got there. I became gm of there before I became the beverage director for the group. And one of the first things I wanted to do was implement a vermouth flight because I love vermouth so yeah, I mean, I'm kind of all over the place too, like I get olive oil from all the wineries we deal with from Chef. I've taken beverage director and I've changed it to liquid director because...
No not liquid director - We decided the other day we come up with a new title for the business cards.
King?
Yeah, king of liquids. For your next business card.
Yeah, I kinda I wear a lot of hats. But in the end, I'm the beverage guy everyone knows me is that, people mostly know me as the wine guy, but I still know my I know my spirits. I can tell you the difference in a bourbon and rye. I can do all that stuff. I like my spirits too. But in my palate, I lean more towards Mezcal and rum. I think those two are very much terroir driven kind of like wine is for Italian restaurants. We tend to have a really good selection of Mezcal and rum and people don't understand why. And it's like, that's me, guilty.
And that's so fun because you do get to work with so many different types of concepts like yes, you mentioned that this is the Restaurant Group. But what's really interesting for your role then is that you are looking at the clientele the types of cuisine And it's pretty diverse. Yes, Italy. But Italy is very diverse when it comes to the cuisine. So regionally, you get to play around with even the wine list for that, because you told me that you only work with Italian wines, is that correct?
Correct. It has to be an Italian varietal, it can be from anywhere in the world, but it has to be an italian varietal.
Oh that's a loophole that I didn't know about. Okay,
only at white bull though. You'll see Australian Italians, things like that. Australia is killing it right now. And I really love what they do out there.
So if we want to know what you are enjoying right now show up at White bulls list and get those Italian varieties from other places.
Yeah, if and if not, white bull honestly, I think Alici has the next best one. I prefer white wine over red. You know, to me, Alici is really fun, because I can go white heavy there. And I can really, really show off some some whites. And I mean, I know people can give me some slack. But I think Italy has the best whites hands down. So the fact that I can put a whole country's list of whites on a menu is just like, This is great.
Just throwing it out there heard it here first that's on record now that that's how you feel about italian white wine. But each concept is different. So are there any wines that are on Let's say all of the menus? How do you decide what goes on each of the wine list? Because here in Atlanta, you're working with reps or portfolios. So is there any crossover? Or is each restaurant its own entity?
Yeah, there's a little crossover, mostly with Sicilian wines, because I'm Sicilian. So I have a sweet spot for Sicilian wines. But also because I think Nero d avola is a very just good overall table wine. And Grillo as well, I think grillo is very underrated, obviously. But it's kinda having a little come up Renaissance thing in a way, but not big time. So I like always keeping a grillo and nnero d avola on the by the glass menus at any of the restaurants. And the two that I'm running right now are ___. I think those are at the price level they are. They're very, very good. They're very well made. And I liked the Nero a lot because it's concrete. So when they ask like, why does it taste this way? Or like it's kind of very, like, tingly, and Zippy and like flinty. And I'm like, oh, it's the concrete. And they're like, What do you mean concrete? Like, it's aged in concrete. They're like, what? Like so. So I love concrete. So to have a BTG on there is really fun.
Your BTG list is actually so exploratory. And I think it helps people taste Italian wines that they wouldn't normally pick off the shelf or wouldn't know, to even seek out. So has it been fun to work with the distributor portfolios here in Atlanta, because I'm guessing they know that Anthony only buys Italian wine. So are you getting some fun things from your distributor reps?
Yes, at first, it was hard. At first I just felt like I'm young, like, I'm not even 30 yet. And I'm still learning this role. I've never been a beverage director before even Pat was like, Hey, I've never been a beverage director either, obviously, so like, you're gonna have to learn this too. And we're gonna learn this together. But like, you're, you're gonna basically start the whole systems for the group by yourself. And I'm like, okay, whatever. That's fine. So once I did that, at first, I just hit the ground running with all this fun, funky, weird stuff. And then I realized I'm like, hi, not everybody wants that, got to like, humble yourself and settl down a little bit. So I'd hear about a grape. And I would see that it's from the same importer that somebody already deals with. And I'd be like oh, kind of, I mean, they gotta have it. And then I, you know, inquire, and they're like, No, we don't carry that I'm like, but it's from Rosenthal. And they're like, Yeah, but like, we don't deal with Rosenthal like that much. I'm like, I have five skews of Rosenthal wine from you in my restaurant, right? What do you mean, you don't deal with that? And they're like, Well, you know, it's allocated that I didn't even understand allocations, really, at that point. They're like, well, it's allocated. And we'd have to order a minimum of 20 cases. So unless you want to commit to 20 cases, and I'm like, I'm like, Alright, what do you have in house? Like, what can I do? So luckily, I have really good reps. And when I was getting started, I had to be picky. But really, now lately, now that we are five restaurants deep, I realized a lot of people bring in stuff for us, which is really cool. For instance, a distributor a couple of months ago, when Alici was just first opening. They had these pet nets, and a couple I think they're like ligotti and pet nets, and they brought them in to me, and they were like, Hey, we're thinking of, you know, bringing these into the state. What do you think, like, they were consulting me in a way and I was like, I was like, damn, I made it. And then I realized I was like, wow, people are doing this a lot, actually. So, you know, people would text me later. And they'd be like, hey, just got a new drop of, you know, 20 different Italian wines. We thought of you guys first and I'm like, you would have never done that like three or four years ago. So but I also do think like, I don't want to give all of us the credit because we talk S-H-I-T and have fun. And we still we still are humble at heart. And I don't think it was all for us. Obviously. I do think especially in Georgia, it's already there in other parts of the country but in Georgia But I would like to think we helped with that in a way a little bit. But yeah, I've realized the Italian wine selection has definitely brought in almost to the point now where I don't have enough menus to place stuff on, then there's a lot of wines I taste, and I'm like, Man, these are really good. Can't really do that right now. And it might be like six months, and hopefully, it's still in stock by then, because I try to make my menus, at least two seasons out. And I make prior commitments to people. And, you know, I think it's a lot of relationships, you know, and in life, anything but especially in business, so I don't want to piss off anybody. So when I tell you, I'm going to put a wine on my menu, so long as you keep your end of the bargain, I'm going to keep my end of the bargain, you know, people will get a new thing in or something maybe that I asked about, and I totally forgot. And we're like, hey, it's finally here. And I'm like, since four months later, and now I've already picked out two more wines in front of it, you know. So it's, it's been tough, it's but it's been really fun at the same time. And I think, now in Georgia, we've definitely gotten to the point where we've got some really good juice from Italy that we can choose from, and it's doesn't seem to be slowing down either.
And you're filling the list with it. So what you're saying is you need more restaurants, because you have more wine than you have room for on your list. That what I just heard you say?
Yeah, sure. I'll take more restaurants
I would say let's give a little bit of credit to any restaurant group that is really focusing on a topic or a region because it does help in terms of quantity in terms of frequency of sales to have that coming into the state so you can give yourself definitely a little credit on that. I think yeah, a little pat on the back. Yeah. And that makes me think the another recent event that I got to team up with you it was quite extravagant as well. But this was our truffle and wine pairing dinner. But I got to step in and talk about these wines. Chef Pat got to design a menu littered with truffles and caviar, it was pretty amazing. But you poured all of the wines for us. You made sure our cups were full this entire dinner. Do you enjoy that? tableside service
I do, it is bittersweet. You guys are eating all this really good food and I'm pretty hungry myself and it was very hot outside. I'm sweating.
The honesty This is amazing.
No but like it was it was it was fun. Don't get me wrong. And it's again it goes back to like my roots as who I am like it's people I like I respect and you know, we're friends things like that. That's fine. I don't mind it. Like you were more of the Somm because you were the one talking about the wines
I didn't pour one ounce of liquid that evening Anthony that was all you
I guess. But you know, I enjoy them. It's a nice refresher, right? Like, I moved on to beverage director so I can get out of the restaurant every night. And so I didn't have to be tableside every night putting out fires even though even though I put out fires every single day, it's nice to go back to the roots in a way. And I think it just depends on what the setting of the event is. But now when it's events like that for you guys. I love doing that stuff. It's always good vibes. It's good people. Like I said, it's back to my roots. I'm serving and taking care of people that I care about. So like, I just wish I got to eat more.
You did a great job. And I know there was lots of good food on that table. So thank you for providing that experience. But I do think about this in terms of the restaurant world and you are leading so many different sides of this. But you have this one key partnership and we've been skating around this. Let's talk about how you work with the mastermind himself. Chef Pat Pascarella. The wine and food combination it's up two, so how do you work together - you're beverage? He's food? How do you guys work together?
I wouldn't say I work on the food side. I will say for as good of a chef has he is and even his cousin, Sous Pat, that's on his name. His name is Pat. But for those listeners, he's always been chef Pat's sous. So we call them Sous Pat, but they're both named Pat. Confusing. People always come in the restaurant. They're like, Hey, I'm here for Pat. And we're always like, which one. But no, I would say I don't obviously work in the kitchen or do anything like that, unless we're doing like the sandwich pop up, things like that. But what I do love about them is, you know, Sous Pat will make a new dish. And he'll be like, hey, what do you think about this? And I'll try it and I'll be like, it's good. But you want my honesty opinion? And he's like, Yeah, and I tell him and he's like, cool. And then he does that and we taste it and he's like, damn, yeah, it's a lot better. Cool. You know? So we have moments like that. Pat, he's so much doing his own thing that we don't have those moments as much. But he also does when we're hiring new new executive chefs and things like that. He'll let me sit in on the tastings that they're gonna run them through. And, you know, he'll be like, What do you think? Or he's like, I think he needs acid. I'm like, Yeah, me too. You know, so we agree on a lot of things that we do that, but we don't necessarily work together especially towards the menus, all the restaurants in the end, until we have a wine bar one day, all the restaurants in the end are food focused. And that's what people are coming for, which is fine. So in the end it's my job to match the wine up to the food, which is fine. It's cool. It's a good dichotomy. Anyways, I think we are awesome teammates, all three of us and And our other chefs in the company as well. But no, I wouldn't say I work directly with them. and even then like the pairing I had with you guys and other pairings and offsites we've done, he just sends me the menu and he goes, have at it. And I don't even get to taste the food, which is crazy sometimes, but I always make it work. Somehow.
Well, thank goodness that he's very descriptive on his menus as well. So at least he gives us because he did that for the truffle dinner, he gave me a very detailed description of each dish. So we rolled with it. So I kind of got a little sneak peek into how you guys do work. But it is creating this atmosphere of food and wine together. You say people come for food, but I bet you now there's gonna be people coming for this vermouth flight to white bull. So you say that...
there are some there definitely are some people that love it that you know, they'll write a review about it on Google or whatever. And they'll shout it out, which is always cool. Same with the amaro flight and things like that. But I think people think, at least in our profession, don't get me wrong, there are some people who are perfectionist and true professionals. And I respect everything they do to the highest level. But I also think, for the general population, sometimes people take wine pairings too serious in a way. And I think people have to remember that, whether you think of it that way, you're not that person that's eating it, unless it's again, someone who's a professional, you know, whatever, that wine is a complement to the food. And very few times, you can actually make the wine the star, and the food makes the wine taste better versus the wine making the food tastes better, right? So I think that's there's a fine line where you have wine pairing where you have to do that, and where you can do that. But it's very hard. And for the general palate of the general population, it is even harder. So that's why I say I more so have to wait on them to come up with the food because in the end, I know I'll knock that pairing out of the park. I don't have any sweat towards it at all. But I think for the guests experience, they more so care about the flavor of the dish, and then hopefully, to them, they're thinking, Oh, this wine goes good. I just paid for a wine pairingt, you know, so I always want my wines to accentuate the dish because in the end, that's how they're thinking about wine pairings. But for you guys, things like that. Like your favorite thing was the vermouth one because the way you explained it you were like the vermouth gives it what it's missing. And it's you weren't explaining it necessarily that it was accentuating the dish. You were showing that it added to it. And really the vermouth became the star on that course even though Pat's dish was obviously bomb and incredible. But in your mind. The vermouth was the star, of course, and that's what I go for if I can, especially when it comes to vermouth, because vermouth is so complex with all the botanicals and everything that it's just such an eye opening moment for most people when they do
it filled in gaps in the dish. And not like, I said, not that Chef Pat's dish had gaps. I'm not saying that
but on the record
Maybe I did say that, but I don't mean it. The vermouth was just really the star in terms of leading the flavor profile. And that doesn't always happen. WIne sometimes takes a complementary role or supportive role or it you know, it feels it's like the the background and lets the flavors in the dish shine. And it was really opposite. It was a very unique combination with the vermouth. So I think you've got something going there with understanding how people are exploring both food and wine. So don't sell yourself short on this because you're doing a really good job. And you guys have been recently pretty cool connectors and especially the Atlanta hospitality the food and beverage industry. I know there's a lot of respect for your fellow beverage and food professionals. And you've been doing these hospitality hang. Like Monday, Tuesday night, come over, first drink on us. We'll put some food and like everyone chat. So where did where did that idea come from?
So I can't take much credit for that. That's definitely Pat's idea. Atlanta is such a young city as far as a booming, bustling city. Yes. Like people are moving here, this and that. We've got great food and great people here. But I think the culture, the industry as a whole is just not as tightly weaved as it can be. Like you think of New York, you think of you know, San Fran, Chicago, all those places. Everyone knows each other, because that's the industry. I mean, even here, like a lot of people know each other. But Pat would always say that, like, if a restaurant was down, a cook or something, and the restaurant next door happened have an extra line cook on that night, they'd be like, Hey, I've got so and so, do you need a hand? I can send them over there. They just made it work. And they always were there to help each other. If you know, there was, you know, a leak or something they would all the chefs would get together and team up and patch the leak so they didn't have to pay someone to come out and do just all those things. Kind of like neighborly love type stuff. And I mean, I'll be honest, I haven't done a good job of getting to know people in the industry. Like there's a lot of people I don't know, especially in the wine sector and beverage sector. I know names I know faces, but I've never formally met them. And even it gets to the point where sometimes we're in the same area and I won't even go up and shake your hand or like introduce myself. So I'm at fault for that too. But I've seen it firsthand where a lot of people look at other People as a threat, even though that shouldn't be it, like, people are going to eat it all the restaurants no matter what, nobody wants Grana every single day. Nobody wants Alici every night nobody wants white bull every night as good as they are. Nobody wants them every single night, they're gonna go to other restaurants, you know. So I think people just look at each other as competition a lot. And it doesn't need to be that way. We're all in the same industry, we all want the same thing for everybody. We all want to put out good food, put smiles on people's faces, make them leave full, happy. And I think that's what we're trying to achieve with the Hangouts is like, Hey, there, we can be neighbors that are cool with each other, or, you know, I think it's good that we're doing it. And, you know, it's, it's just another way to kind of get the industry tightly knit, because I think we saw with COVID. And everything, too, was just a lot of people that were in the game for so long, just all of the sudden disappeared. And they even like cut all ties, like there was some people where, I knew were there for forever. And next thing I know, I see on Instagram, that they moved to the other side of the country, they didn't tell anybody. And they are not even in the industry anymore. And it's just like, a lot of it fell off, especially with COVID. It definitely came back tighter. I think that's what we're trying to achieve, is just kind of knit everything together. And at some point, competition is good, but like, it doesn't have to be day in and day out. 24/7 You know, just make good food make people happy.
I've already seen some great ideas come from the people that have been gathered, while we're drinking our Campari spritzes.
Typically history has proven if you get people like minded people in the same room with a positive attitude. Cool. Shit happens.
It's been really fun. So thank you for creating that energy. And every time there's someone new there.
The last one I heard it was really good.
Yeah, the circles keep getting wider and wider. Well, I mean, you were, you know, busy or something like there was like a child being born or something like that.
Yeah, something like that...
something else was on your calendar. But thinking about the Atlanta food and wine scene, and really that hospitality sid, How are you pursuing your own education in wine? are you connecting now with resources in Atlanta to keep learning? Like where are you getting your knowledge about Italian wines.
For the most part, I'm just a very curious individual. So I'm the type of person where I find something I like, and then I just dive headfirst into it. I kind of want to be like, kind of a renaissance man in a way. So like, I like the idea of knowing a lot about a lot of things. Not a little about a lot of things that seems pointless to me. So how do you know a lot about this, but you also know a lot about this that makes they don't tie together? And I'm like, I know they don't I just liked those two things.
Oh, but that makes a lot of sense. Because I think that the very first time I ever connected with you maybe years ago, I don't know. But it wasn't about wine. It was about exercise. It absolutely was like our first conversations or something about like health and wellness. So I know that you have a passion. And we were talking about balance of wine, and healthy lifestyles together. So I can't help but ask you any tips for those of us in this crazy beverage industry. how do you how do you find balance with your health and your wellness and living and breathing alcohol.
I'm gonna try not to make this too complicated because obviously I can go down a rabbit hole. But Rule number one is I really don't drink throughout the week. I only drink on the weekend. Now basically, every single tasting I have during the week, I spit I don't allow myself to swallow any of it. And then I basically chug a glass of water after each tasting sort of I have like two or three tastings in a day back to back basically figuring out a way to chug two, three glass of water to balance out because like say I don't eat breakfast that day. I'll realize that if I do two tastings, just from swishing and tasting things that alcohol absorbs through my saliva, I start feeling like a little like, my eyes will get a little heavy and you'll start feeling it a little bit. And I'm like, Okay, I gotta drink some water. So I know at that point, my body's absorbed some alcohol. The other biggest thing is always getting sunlight. I step outside a lot to get sun at the restaurants, I'll work outside. the sun is vitamin D, and all those things that the sun can give you is very important. And then probably if I have to pick the third thing, I always force myself to work out no matter what. I think the mind is more powerful than the body is. So for instance, the truffle dinner. So the truffle dinner, I had some sips of wine, I just tasted everything, for the most part didn't have a full glass of anything. Because I knew I wanted to go work out. I wasn't able to drink as much water as I wanted to. I didn't get to eat much. I still drank a little bit so further dehydrated my body. We left at one in the morning, and I was just I was still somewhat amped up from from the experience. So I got home and I was like, I'm gonna go workout. So I just I wouldn't allow myself to not get a workout in that day because it was also like it fell on the Tuesday or something like that. So I was like, There's no way I'm messing up my consistency this early in the week. If it's a Friday, maybe, but there's no way on a Tuesday. I'm not going to let myself not get a workout in. I mean, it's like anything and you know, you start strong and then all of a sudden you stop here you miss one workout and you miss two then you miss a week and then you get back on it for a week and then you miss it. And then you don't go to the gym anymore. So for me, I think that's the most important thing in the restaurant industry, especially because for some industries, I wouldn't say it's the healthiest industry, like, we eat a lot of good food, but like, sometimes those good foods are deep fried, and things like that, and then the alcohol, that's just part of the culture. And whether you know, you're that type of person that goes and gets plastered after work or you're the type person that just has a beer after work, or a glass of wine, there's balance you need in your life. And I think the balance moreso comes with discipline. And it's just, the discipline is what's mostly lacking for a lot of people. So I think if you could find that balance and discipline and enjoyment, it'll be good,
you get so much benefit from finding that balance. Like for you, personally, I'm sure you can identify a day that you don't feel balanced versus a day that you do. And you're going to be better at all aspects of your life when you have that balance. And I've just watched you really help people with this and finding some ways to integrate that discipline that regimen, into your day, even around food and beverage. So cheers to that I go for walks every single day. I don't talk about it very often. But I I feel strange if I don't break a sweat during the day, I feel strange. It's a weirder day, when I don't have a workout than one that I do.
I'm the type of person that I believe in be comfortable being uncomfortable type of person. And I think people are so comfortable in the air conditioning, and you know, not sweating, that that's when you know, health becomes a downfall for us as humans, because naturally we're movers. That's what we do. And I think the same thing goes with your podcast, for instance, I'm sure when you first started, it was a little weird, and it was a little hard. And you were uncomfortable. But eventually you just got comfortable doing it. So I think the same thing needs to go with health, especially in the restaurant industry. Like to me if I could find a way to teach people how to balance out the restaurant industry and being healthy that would be ideal. I'm just still trying to figure that out.
Well, you're telling me and I guess, whoever's listening right now. So that's amazing. It's just important to have it as a priority. So thanks for always bringing that conversation to the forefront. I think it's really important. And I'm very excited to continue combining forces with you. And we have a pretty big event coming up. And I'm saying this because as of the day that this podcast is out, we're less than a week away from this big event that you know, I think is going to be pretty epic. Should we should we talk about it? Should we plug it a little bit?
Absolutely.
A little shout out to rooftop at Grana on August 15. What's happening on the rooftop at grana on August 15, Anthony?
we are having a - I wouldn't even - how would you even I don't want to call it an auction because it's more so like a whole full fledged event.
Like it's more than just an auction. I know.
We marketed it like, hey, there's an auction going on. But it's like, it's definitely more so like, it's also for you know Marvella and Jade. And you know, the young up and comings in Atlanta that are gonna hopefully do what we were talking about earlier in this podcast by bringing more knowledge to the Atlanta wine culture and the beverage culture, and putting Atlanta on the map with the other great cities like you know, New York, LA Chicago, yada, yada, I think us being able to support them, in that sense is going to kind of be the catalyst. Yeah, so we are having an event, an extravaganza, a party a fiesta. I mean, we're definitely celebrating, but also just helping two people in the industry in the Atlanta industry that are definitely doing their thing. And they're killing it while they do it. And get the creme de la creme of all of all the certifications you can get from that society. So I think helping them out and having this extravaganza on the rooftop is going to be a blast. I really hope the weather's a little cooler. I hope it's not too bad.
But I should just tell everybody right now dress accordingly. Because we will be on the rooftop.
Even if it's like I slightly have to work this event or not. I'm not wearing pants. I might actually wear tank top and basketball shorts, you might see me
and you'll be the most comfortable person at the party. But it is it's going to be such a fun event regardless of the fundraising aspect of it, which is really cool because we've had so many people donate by giving a little, we're going to raise a lot. So I think Chelsea just posted from oenophile Institute, I think she posted 90 or more auction lots available. The total value of everything is like $23,000 that's been donated. So if we get anywhere even close to that, we are sending these ladies to the moon with their wine education.
That's so cool.
I'm so pumped. What are you serving though? Because all drinks and food is included in tickets. If we're plugging this we got to tell people
I'm not gonna lie. I don't know what the food's gonna be. Because that's Pat
you're the king of the liquids. Why did I ask you about food
We're going to do some Prosecco for the people that like their bubbles, and then we're going to have a Sauvignon Blanc by the glass for these hot days, and then the red, we're going to be doing a Montepulciano.
Because I would love to put a medium body light red on, but everyone would be upset if there's not a full boded red, despite 100 degree weather. So I just put it on there to make them happy.
We will be very, very happy. That's awesome. So three wines and a whole selection of food. On the roof.
And it's all you can drink or you can eat.
I'm already saying it's going to be my favorite night.
I really hope I don't have to work this one.
I want you to party with us
Like I missed the last one. So now let me party.
I think you've earned it, my friend. Well, this is coming out on August, let's see what day is it? 10th. And so if you're listening on the day that it releases, there are still tickets, but obviously, that is dwindling. So. but it's gonna be really fun. So thank you all for partnering with this and being up for it. It's one of those ideas that maybe even came up at a hospitality hang?
No, it was at your dinner at your house. I walked outside and Marvella's crying and I'm like, Oh, what did I just walk out into? And she's like no no, it's okay. And I was like, oh, okay, what's up? She's like, Chef Pat just this and that. I was like, oh, that's incredible. I was like, I thought I walked out on like some awkward time of you crying Because I was like, dang, I gotta be here for this.
This was happy tears because he offered support this cause by hosting this party for us.
I haven't told Marvella yet but I don't know if she remembers but the first time she ever met me was when Bastone opened. I had a Coda di Volpe by the glass. And she pulled me aside. She was like, Is this your wine list? I was like, Yeah. And she's like, I just want to say, I'm so excited. And thank you for having Coda di Volpe by the class because I've always wanted to try it. And I've never tried it before. And I was like, Oh, you're welcome. So I was like, Damn, that's actually someone who knows about Coda di Volpe and then I realized she was she was, a wino, like us. And but I just laughed, and now I think about it. I'm gonna tell her when I see your next time and be like, Just remember when you get famous and you become big, who gave you your first glass of Coda di Volpe
Well that's just one moment that you know about, think of how many people are excited about what you have by the glass and don't tell you how fun it is. So that's just one of many I'm sure. So fun. Well, how can people connect with you and learn more? You guys are growing. You just opened a new spot? Grana two. So there are lots in the works. How can people keep up with you and find out what you're doing?
I'm mostly on Instagram. It's @thatmanant. You can try to find me at any of the restaurants I bounce around all the time because I'm basically like Mario, and bounce around all over. and porchetta Group's website, you can catch me on there and also on our Instagrams as well. So each restaurant has their own Instagram, so grana ATL, Allici Oyster Bar, Bastone ATL, and then we also have White Bull ATL and then you have the porchetta group on Instagram as well. So lots of ways to find me, I would plug in juice boys podcast, but it has sadly come to an end. So that's okay. But if you want to go back and listen to episodes, they're still up. So we do have some really fun and good episodes on there as well. But if anyone ever needs to get a hold of me Instagrams the best way, I get a lot of DMS every day regarding wine health, how to balance them out, you know, anybody who wants to learn or better themselves, whether it's financially, whether it's healthfully, whether it's in wine, or beverage or anything in general food, I love cooking, we can talk about grilling meat all day. Yeah, just reach out to me and DM me, I always check my requests.
I believe you about the grilling meat because I just remembered that Chef Pat's birthday party, you were the one manning that whole pig roast. So I'm not surprised. It makes sense to me.
I actually have beef short ribs on the grill right now just cooking low and slow.
I can't keep you from that. I'm so thankful for your time. And I do believe you that if people reach out that you're more than happy to start conversation. So thank you so much for what you're doing here for hospitality and for the beverage programs. Really fun to have you on the show, Anthony!
Thank you. It was an honor. I was excited to be on here. When you asked me I was like, I'm gonna be on it, it's so cool. I appreciate it.
We'll party, we'll drink. It'll be a blast. Thank you. Thanks for tuning in to the a cork in the road Podcast coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia, and interviewing people who are changing the wine world in the southeast and beyond. You can find more about a cork in the road at @acorkintheroad on Instagram and make sure to check us out on www acorkintheraod.com See you soon. guys Cheers.
