Welcome to the Wine Geek of the Week
Where I ask my favorite wine geeks shitty questions!
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Where I ask my favorite wine geeks shitty questions!
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This week's guest is Daniel Majid Mirzakhani @danielmajid
Tell us a bit about yourself. Why are you a wine geek?
Because enjoying wine is about appreciating beauty and it’s a more enjoyable way to experience the world than collecting postcards or beach sand, I got into wine while I was bartending at a swanky French restaurant in Chicago in 2014 and I never looked back. At the beginning of the pandemic I was the sommelier at a famous steakhouse in Manhattan. And now I work for myself, doing a bit of wine journalism, private cellar work, and wine education. www.danielmajid.com
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Extraterrestrials just landed on earth. What wine do you pour them?
Daniel Etienne Defaix Chablis Vielles Vignes, Two Hands Bella’s Garden Barossa Valley Shiraz, or Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir… depending on what’s for dinner and as long as the aliens haven’t evolved beyond the need to manually consume calories to supply their metabolic processes. In which case wine could be a good weapon against aggressive aliens using wine’s considerable calorie load to overload their systems. I’m not saying it’s a perfect plan but it’s the best we’ve got.
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What's your favorite scent you have ever smelled in a wine?
The last bottle I drank out at a restaurant before the pandemic was a 1983 Jordan Cabernet that smelled honest-to-god of zaatar (a middle-eastern seasoning blend).
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Any favorite music or podcasts you like to listen to while you drink wine?
All I hear when sipping is the ringing of bells and the crashing of waves.
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If you could visit any wine region in the world right now what would it be any why?
I had a trip planned to drive from Frankfurt over the Vosges mountains into Alsace and down into the Rhone Valley. I promised the mountains I would go.
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What do you think is the most exciting thing going in the world of wine right now?
Because enjoying wine is about appreciating beauty and it’s a more enjoyable way to experience the world than collecting postcards or beach sand, I got into wine while I was bartending at a swanky French restaurant in Chicago in 2014 and I never looked back. At the beginning of the pandemic I was the sommelier at a famous steakhouse in Manhattan. And now I work for myself, doing a bit of wine journalism, private cellar work, and wine education. www.danielmajid.com
.
Extraterrestrials just landed on earth. What wine do you pour them?
Daniel Etienne Defaix Chablis Vielles Vignes, Two Hands Bella’s Garden Barossa Valley Shiraz, or Brooks Willamette Valley Pinot Noir… depending on what’s for dinner and as long as the aliens haven’t evolved beyond the need to manually consume calories to supply their metabolic processes. In which case wine could be a good weapon against aggressive aliens using wine’s considerable calorie load to overload their systems. I’m not saying it’s a perfect plan but it’s the best we’ve got.
.
What's your favorite scent you have ever smelled in a wine?
The last bottle I drank out at a restaurant before the pandemic was a 1983 Jordan Cabernet that smelled honest-to-god of zaatar (a middle-eastern seasoning blend).
.
Any favorite music or podcasts you like to listen to while you drink wine?
All I hear when sipping is the ringing of bells and the crashing of waves.
.
If you could visit any wine region in the world right now what would it be any why?
I had a trip planned to drive from Frankfurt over the Vosges mountains into Alsace and down into the Rhone Valley. I promised the mountains I would go.
.
What do you think is the most exciting thing going in the world of wine right now?
Truly it's the explosion of access people are getting. If you have an internet connection and/or a smartphone, it has never been easier to immerse yourself in the company of other wine lovers, or pursue the exploration of wine. Also all our old structures propped up by whiteness and wealth are crumbling under the weight of their atrocities so that’s fun too.
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What would you like to see in the future of wine?
I’d like to see the culture of wine directed back toward a better connection with the ecology of the product. Fine wine branding gets so wrapped up in elegance and sleek sexy style, but the same product literally can’t achieve its quality without duck shit. It’s so incoherent to me to lose the connection to the cultivation of grapes that I get lost sometimes and nothing seems exceptional. When I have a good sense of how the grapes are grown, the story of the people who create the wine, and what life is like there, then wines become exceptional and unique and memorable. I want to see more of that.
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What advice would you give yourself looking back to when you first started working in the wine industry?
Stop buying so many shift drinks and save your damn money for the really good stuff. Also trust your gut and don’t be afraid to call out injustice when you see it.
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Who are some people that inspire you in the world of wine?
Belinda Chang, Rajat Parr, and Andre Mack. They inspire me to pursue my dream projects and they constantly teach me something new about hospitality with just how they operate.
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Anything in the works you'd like to mention or promote?
I have a website www.danielmajid.com where I post written work and have a list of private services I offer. I’m also active on instagram @danielmajid. My partner is also running an amazing platform on Instagram called Black Girls Drink where she focuses on centering the stories and experiences of black women and non-binary people in hospitality. @blackgirlsdrink
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What would you like to see in the future of wine?
I’d like to see the culture of wine directed back toward a better connection with the ecology of the product. Fine wine branding gets so wrapped up in elegance and sleek sexy style, but the same product literally can’t achieve its quality without duck shit. It’s so incoherent to me to lose the connection to the cultivation of grapes that I get lost sometimes and nothing seems exceptional. When I have a good sense of how the grapes are grown, the story of the people who create the wine, and what life is like there, then wines become exceptional and unique and memorable. I want to see more of that.
.
What advice would you give yourself looking back to when you first started working in the wine industry?
Stop buying so many shift drinks and save your damn money for the really good stuff. Also trust your gut and don’t be afraid to call out injustice when you see it.
.
Who are some people that inspire you in the world of wine?
Belinda Chang, Rajat Parr, and Andre Mack. They inspire me to pursue my dream projects and they constantly teach me something new about hospitality with just how they operate.
.
Anything in the works you'd like to mention or promote?
I have a website www.danielmajid.com where I post written work and have a list of private services I offer. I’m also active on instagram @danielmajid. My partner is also running an amazing platform on Instagram called Black Girls Drink where she focuses on centering the stories and experiences of black women and non-binary people in hospitality. @blackgirlsdrink