Ep 26: Purveying Fine Wine with Sommelier Thatcher Baker-Briggs of Thatcher's Wine Consulting

Welcome back to another episode of The Everyday Wine Aficionado Podcast, today let me introduce you to Thatcher Baker-Briggs of Thatcher's Wine Consulting

Founder & Sommelier Thatcher’s Wine Consulting Thatcher Baker-Briggs has made a career of stepping outside his comfort zone, always pushing himself to learn and master something new. His professional trajectory boasts key positions in kitchens and dining rooms of some of the most influential restaurants in the world including then three-Michelin starred Saison under Chef Joshua Skenes (2014-2017), the highly regarded Takazawa in Tokyo, and at two-Michelin starred COI in San Francisco. These distinguished training grounds have given Thatcher the knowledge, tools, and reach to curate highly specialized wine services for collectors around the globe.  Thatcher says, “I think that’s the important thing about a service like mine—providing individualized care for each client.”

Let’s dive into his wine story!

[00:01 - 10:23] Opening Segment 

• I introduce our guest for this episode
• • Bio
• Thatcher shares how he got into the wine industry at the age of 9
• What to know about Michelin Restaurants

[10:24 - 21:02] Michelin Stars and Wine Sourcing

• How the food and wine environment influenced Thatcher’s life
• • How to Get That 3-Michelin Star Rating
• Thatcher’s Consulting Company
• • How his company started 
  • Making their love and passion for wine accessible for the whole world
• Wine Sourcing is Everything
• • Working with great relationships and acknowledging the great changes
  • Working with the next generation winemakers

[21:03 - 36:11] Purveying Fine Wine

• Looking into wine collecting? Thatcher shares where to start
• • Taste the bottle and maybe give it three chances
  • “The biggest misconception in wine is probably champagne.”
• Qualities of People in Wine
• Importing wine is a challenge and it’s exciting
• Thatcher’s Biggest Setbacks with His Consulting Business
• What’s New for TWC in 2022

[36:12 - 41:04] Closing Segment 

• Favorite Wine
• • Champagne
• Go-To Pairing
• • Seraj and dry-aged steak
• Wine Resource
• • The Wine Bible
  • Guild of Sommeliers
• Connect with Thatcher
• • See links below 
• Reach out to me for more wine conversations through the links below 
• Subscribe and leave a review
• Final words 

Tweetable Quotes:

“Wine is for everyone. It's not about how much money that you have, it's just about drinking something and appreciating something really delicious.”  - Thatcher Baker-Briggs

“Just because it's done this way doesn't mean that's the way that I have to do it. ”  - Thatcher Baker-Briggs

“Champagne is is a wine, that's maybe the most versatile wine there is.”  - Thatcher Baker-Briggs

Connect with Thatcher through Instagram (@thatcherbakerbriggs, @thatcherswineconsulting), Facebook, and LinkedIn! You can check out his website at www.thatcherswineconsulting.com. 

Let’s continue the Everyday Wine Conversations and connect with me through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected]. You can also check out my website at ​www.​klevywineco.com.

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