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 Name: Denis Toner Age: 60 Born and raised: Brookline, MA Occupation/Job Title: Wine consultant for Commonwealth Wine and Spirits. Founder, President, Busboy, Nantucket Wine Festival. Tour guide for customized tours in Burgundy, France. Founder of Tanglewood Wine and Food Classic. Location: Nantucket Island, MA When did you first become interested in wine? I started working in restaurants in New York City and Boston in the 1970s. In 1976 I was a single parent and was asked to be a salesman for Ruby Wine Company. I traveled all over eastern MA and the islands selling wine. I knew right away I found something just right for me. The stories, history and traditions in wine really interested me, plus you are learning all the time. Who have you worked for? Ruby wine, I helped found Connoisseur’s of Boston, a division of United Liquors. I was Marketing director for Jekel Vineyards in the eastern half of the US. In 89 I became the sommelier at The Chanticleer in Sconset. I’ve also done radio shows for WMVY on Martha’s Vineyard and had 3 different programs. I occasionally contribute to the Phantom Gourmet. How many years have you been in the wine business? About 26. What brought you to Nantucket Island? I’ve been coming out to Nantucket since 1976 because of the wine business and fell in love with it as soon as I first laid my eyes on it. I moved out here in 1989 to start working at the Chanticleer. How did you come up with the idea for the Nantucket Wine Festival? I was working at the Chanticleer and I was standing in the garden on a foggy night dreaming. I thought there should be a wine festival here. I’ve been to many festivals and thought Nantucket would be a great place to host a festival because so many people love food and wine and there are so many great restaurants out here. What year was the first wine festival? The first year for the festival was 1997. We had to convince winemakers to come out here, it was an easy sell. Everyone had a great time and the winemakers and the community of Nantucket embraced it. It was heald in Sconset at the Casino. Yours partners in the Wine Festival are John Hayes and Frank Neer, how long have you known them? I’ve known John for about 20 years, he’s a wine man in Boston, a classic collector of wine and English editions of wine commentaries going back to the 18th century. I’ve known Frank about 5 years and he’s the glue that keeps us focused, *laughs* we tend to wander out of the corral. This year more than in the previous years seemed to include more food, was this a natural progression? Yeah, we have always loved food and we decided this year to bring in more chefs. We like the artisan approach and these chefs have an artisan approach to there cuisine. What restaurants/chefs from Boston and New York participated this year? Jody Adams of Rialto, Mark Allen of Le Soir Bistro, Anthony Ambrose of Ambrosia, Neil Annis of Compass Restaurant in NYC, Daniel Bruce of Boston Harbor Hotel, Jaime D'Oliveira of Mills Tavern in Providence, Ted Gidley of Clarke Cooke House in Newport, Gordon Hamersley of Hamersley's Bistro, Thomas John of Mantra, Ian Just of Les Zygomates, Amanda Lydon of Upstairs on the Square, Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park, Frank McClelland of L'Espalier, Marco Moreira of Tocqueville in New York, Mark Orfaly of Pigalle, Cyril Renaud of Fleur de Sel in New York, Ana Sortun of Oleana and Bjorn van der Horst of Picholine in New York. What about Nantucket? I know you like promoting island chefs/restaurants as well. Scott Enterline of Chancellor's, Jean Dion of Fahey & Fromagerie, Michael Farrell of the Summer House, Chris Freeman of Topper's, Steven Howard of Sweet Inspirations Chocolatier, Russell Jaehnig of 21 Federal, Peter Jannelle of Fifty-Six Union, Don Kolp of the Brant Point Grill, All Kovalencik of the Company of the Cauldron, Michael LaScola of American Seasons, Seth Raynor of The Boarding House and Patrick Ridge of Le Languedoc. What do you do to make the Nantucket Wine Festival different from other wine festivals? Have it on Nantucket! *Laughs* We try to give people a taste of Nantucket. We have tastings and food in historic island homes called Great Wine in Grand Homes and very popular. We offer the equivalent of graduate school in the form of winemaker symposium. We have cooking demos with top chefs from Nantucket, Boston and NYC and a chance to rub shoulders with some of the great names in wine in a civilized setting. We also try to have the wine makers represent the wine, not the wine salesmen. This year the festival moved from Sconset to town, what was the reason for the move? Well, it was difficult for the casino and difficult logistically. We also wanted people to be more centrally located downtown and not stuck out in Sconset. We also split up the tastings and people got to enjoy the tastings and downtown Nantucket. When is the festival being held in 2004? May 18th through the 24th with lots of surprises for next year’s attendees. Are you involved with wine festivals in any other locations? We just founded the Tanglewood Wine Festival, August 23 in Lennox MA. Come see and hear Yitsak Pearlman, eat good food and drink great wine. Do you travel to further your knowledge of wine and food? Where do you go? Every year we go to the great wine regions of the world. Over the last 3 years I have been doing customized tours for small groups in Burgundy. They are an intensive in depth immersion in wine, cuisine and culture of Burgundy. The name of my tour company is Belle Equip which means the great team. You can visit our website for more details, nantucketwinefestival.com and click on the tour section. What makes a good wine? The secret of a good wine is intensity, structure, balance and a finish that’s like a hammerlock on your pallet so the flavors keep on persisting. Great wine makes you quite. What wines are overpriced? So called American boutique wines because they don’t have a track record. The aging potential is problematical. They are more trophy wines, but they may not be trophy’s. What wine is a good value? There’s good value wines coming out of Australia, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand. This comes from the strength in the dollar, and increase in quality for those areas of production. They are making the wines from the US less expensive. Are there any new discoveries in wine world? Its all been discovered before. The wine makers are going back to the future and employing methods used by their grand parents. The philosophy is called bio-dynamism which refers to planting during lunar cycle, organic methods etc… What do you think is a good wine to order when you first sit down in a restaurant? Figure out how much money you want to spend and decide what you’re having for dinner. Remember a wine that you think would go well with that food and ask the sommelier if they have a wine that is compliable or superior and give them clues. That way you can help the sommelier give you a great wine you will like and goes well with your food. Be interactive. If there isn’t a sommelier ask to speak to whoever orders the wine. Do you feel that people’s tastes are widening, and that people are becoming more curious about wines of the world? I think people are and I think that’s great. Ordering wine should be fun. Use the sommelier as your Sherpa and let them take you to the top of the mountain. People traditionally serve white wines with seafood and fish, and red wines with meat; where does this custom come from and do you agree with it? Not really certain where it comes from. Really there are no rules. You can choose what you like with what your having for dinner. I suggest the book "Red Wine With Fish," by David Rosengarten. But if you want to start right away try Pinot Noir or a Burgundy with grilled tuna or salmon and it’s a very comparable match. Which is more important, the dish or the wine? You’re talking about harmony and balance. You want a seamless connection. Thanks for speaking with Nantucket Food and Wine, any last words? Invino veritas, in wine there is truth. For information on the Nantucket Wine Festival and Denis's Burgundy Wine tours visit: nantucketwinefestival.com For information on the Tanglewood Food & Wine Classic Visit: tanglewoodwineandfoodclassic.com  |
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