Sunday, April 20, 2008
Food, "Behind the Bar"
The perfect pour
Gina Hopkins on acquiring Master Sommelier status
CREDIT:Spark St. Jude
Gina Hopkins
By Hope S. Philbrick
Gina Hopkins, who runs Restaurant Eugene and the newly opened Holeman & Finch Public House with her husband Linton, has studied wine professionally for 10 years. She first became a certified wine captain through the Washington, D.C. Food & Wine Society, then completed programs in Tuscany, Italy, and Burgundy, France, among others, and then, after moving to Atlanta, mentored with Master Sommelier Michael McNeill. Now working to become a Master Sommelier herself, Gina has completed the first two levels of the four-level program and is studying for the third-level sommelier test in August. The Sunday Paper caught up with Gina to learn more about her and her approach to wine.
Q Why bother with Master Sommelier certification?
A Ha! That is a really good question! I go back and forth with that all the time. On one level, it’s really an enjoyable hobby. On the next level, in my career I would like to become a Master Sommelier because part of what that means is becoming a wine educator. Becoming a teacher and showing people how great wine can be and to be on the level where you’re teaching other people is just kind of the full-circle of wine. Selecting a wine program is like selecting your college and this is my master’s degree. Becoming a Master Sommelier means knowing absolutely everything about wine, from vine to glass.
How different are the wine programs at Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch Public House?
The wine list at Restaurant Eugene has a lot of highly allocated (or very small production) wines. I look for things that are so unique that you wouldn’t find then in other places—not esoteric, just unique, like vineyard-site-specific wines. At Holeman & Finch, we’re looking to purchase enough product to stock a wine for three months. At Restaurant Eugene, the wine list is printed daily. Restaurant Eugene has about 300 wine selections; Holeman & Finch has 100. The price point at Restaurant Eugene varies from $30 to $1,000 a bottle, while at Holeman & Finch the range is from about $25 to $150 a bottle. So, it’s more approachable at Holeman & Finch. Still, at Restaurant Eugene if you dined there three times a week you can find something affordable, but at the same time if you’re there to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary and need something very special you can do that, too.
We have great representation of wines from around the world. At both places we’re pairing wines with Linton’s cuisine, so we look for wines that have balance. Wines have more bold flavors at Holeman & Finch and more finesse at Restaurant Eugene. By “finesse,” I mean there is balance between the terroir, fruit, acidity and oak—nothing that stands out, or as we say in the wine world, “no rough elbows.” By “bold flavors,” I just mean that we can experiment with a varietal that may have thicker skin, richer deeper flavors, more fruit in the glass.
You’ve recently gotten involved in winemaking?
I’m working with Joe Davis of Arcadian Winery. We’re doing a rosé for Holeman & Finch that’s going to be released in July. Rosé can be made from any red grape varietal, and he’s using Pizoni Vineyard pinot noir for us.
The following year for Restaurant Eugene, we’ll be doing a special pinot noir. I’ll go out and help with harvest and then go back six months later to help with selection, tasting and blending in the barrel. So that wine will be more complex and more expensive by the glass. It’s going to be really special and a unique thing for Restaurant Eugene. Joe is the winemaker certainly, but he wants feedback to make sure we get the right product in the glass and so that wine will be more of a joint effort.
It’s really super fun. Joe’s such great fun to work with. He really understands the process of growing wine and just really wants people to enjoy wine and talk about it in a way that’s easy for everyone to understand. SP
Restaurant Eugene is located at 2277 Peachtree Road as is Holeman & Finch Public House. However, they’re in different suites within the Aramore.
www.restauranteugene.com.
www.holeman-finch.com.