Somm Session

Virtual

June 25, 2020 – 12:00pm PT

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first ever Somm Session as we chatted about the current state of the restaurant and wine industries. Your hosts, David Amadia, President of Ridge Vineyards, and Michael Torino, VP of US Wholesale, were joined by two Somms from the industry, Brent Kroll and Jon McDaniel. If you missed out, be sure to view the recording below!

Somm Session Recording

Meet The Somms:

Brent Kroll – Proprietor & Sommelier, Maxwell in Washington DC

Brent was named a 2018 Food & Wine Sommelier of the Year. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washingtonian, The Washington Post, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator and more, and was named a Rising Star by StarChefs.com in 2014. Prior to opening Maxwell in June 2017, Brent oversaw 16 wine programs for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group where he designed the wine program of the newly re-opened Iron Gate, a historic landmark that was once the longest operating restaurant in D.C. In 2015, Iron Gate was awarded Wine Program of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington and Top Wine Program in the D.C. region by DC Modern Luxury, and was also recognized as one of the Best Wine Restaurants in America byWine Enthusiast. In addition, Brent wrote the wine lists for other local restaurants, including Hazel and The Partisan. Brent attended Ridge Vineyards’ Somm Symposium in 2015.

Jon McDaniel, Sommelier, Second City Soil

Jon McDaniel – Owner & CEO Second City Soil and Board Member of United Sommeliers Foundation

Jon is Founder & CEO of Second City Soil, Jon works with restaurants around the country on menu development, training, operations and better profitability. He also consults for wineries, suppliers, distributors and various global marketing agencies on growth and brand strategy in the Chicagoland area. In 2018, Jon was named one of Food + Wine Magazine’s Sommeliers of the Year. He has been recognized as one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Tastemakers”, awarded International Sommelier of the Month by Riedel Crystal, a winner of multiple restaurant awards from Wine Spectator, featured in Forbes Magazine and in 2017 & 2018 received more stars from World of Fine Wine Magazine than any sommelier in the world. Jon has been knighted in both Piemonte and Valpolicella, Italy, and is a Professor of Hospitality and Economics at Roosevelt and Harvard University. Jon attended Ridge Vineyards’ Somm Symposium in 2016.