An example of all the reasons why is a bottle of 1969 DRC La Tâche which I tasted a few weeks ago. I started exploring Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux be- fore I found my next epiphany: Burgundy and Pinot Noir.įor me now, Burgundy will always be the ultimate fine wine region. Most of the big names were yet to come along, so the wine scene I was exploring was still very Europe focused. I had never tasted anything like it, and I knew I immediately needed to learn more.Īt that time in the early 1980s, the American fine wine industry was still in its infancy, with only a few of the producers we know today like Heitz and Mondavi on the scene. He showed me how to taste and appreciate the wine, and it was a real wow moment. We had a very suave French maître’d from Nice who served a bottle of 1959 Lafite to a table one evening and saved the dregs for me. I was the only non-French waiter working in a formal place in San Diego which sadly doesn’t exist anymore. ![]() At that time, drinking early harvest Gewürtztraminer was the height of sophistication. Were you always focused on wine, or was there an epiphany moment?Īs you know Virginia was not really a wine state in those days and so I didn’t discover the world of fine wine until I was about 20. You’re famously a lover and advocate of incredible wines. I had first written a business plan in the mid 1990s around the idea of offering small, luxurious boutique hotels and restaurants in California wine country, and being based in Carmel I was fortunate to be in the perfect place to finally make it happen. I was working in a ‘dream job’ at the time but I wanted to be more entrepre- neurial and put my home in Carmel, my family, and doing what I loved first. I wanted control and to create some- thing truly special. However, when 9/11 hit the United States, it was shocking on so many levels and led to a huge re-evaluation of what I wanted and what was important. I worked for many different companies throughout California in the first part of my career. Not only was it great bang for the buck in terms of pay (for a teenage boy, at least) but I also discovered a natural love for hosting which has now been my business for over 40 years. My mother made sure to imbue that approach to life into all her children whilst we were growing up.ĭuring high school, all I wanted was to date the most beautiful girls I could … but for that, I needed money, so I started working hospitality jobs as a waiter. ![]() I grew up in Virginia (my English and Scottish ancestors first settled there in 1621) a state which just has the most incredible sense of true Southern hospitality. My journey started with my mother and my Southern background. How did you find your way into the world of luxury hospitality? Your company, the Mirabel Group, is known for its portfolio of outstanding boutique hotels and restaurants. With so much to talk about, it was therefore a great pleasure to catch up with David to find out a little more about ‘Mister California’ himself. ![]() This excitement and passion is David in a nutshell, bringing a level of joy to his world of ultra-fine wine and hospitality that is so infectious it’s impossible not to get swept up in the moment.ĭavid’s stories are peppered with entertaining anecdotes, fascinating people (he counts Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti amongst his close friends, for example) and the recollections of many, many bottles of incredible wine enjoyed in a dizzying number of amazing settings through the years. ‘Look at that fill!’ He gives the bottle a proud kiss and returns it safely to its home. ‘You’ll like this’ he promises, producing a pristine magnum of 1999 Armand Rousseau Chambertin Grand Cru. David Fink grins as he reaches into the wine rack beside him.
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