Introducing Wine Intelligence Unit member John Stepanski, venerable manager and buyer for Bauer wine and Spirits. John is approachable and amazing and a long time friend of the Second Glass, so make sure to give him a shout at the Riot!
How and when did you first get into wine?
In the far distant past, when I was a kid (admittedly not quite of age!), there was a wine called Whine Garten. It was supposed to be German, but I'm not even sure if it was. Anyway that's what we drank behind the school house back in the day! The bottle was shaped like grapes, and it was really cheap. That was my first experience with real wine - a super sweet riesling for $2.98 a bottle!
When you're not drinking copious amounts of wine, whats your drink of choice?
This may sound boring, but I'll definitely be drinking water. Got to stay hydrated!
What's the worst wine-induced mistake you've ever made / under the influence?
Oh God! How to choose... there were certainly a lot of, how do I put it, miscalculations along the way! (Laughs). I seem to remember an incident of drinking somebody's home made wine in substantial quantities... something I fortunately lived to remember!
If you could live on only one wine for the rest of your life, it would be....
Côtes du Rhône Syrah.
Name your drunken munchies.
What I occasionally enjoy, since I seldom get that inebriated, is a nice Amontillado sherry with Hunt butter popcorn. No really, it works! The nuttyness in the popcorn and sherry go so well together...
What's something great that you see in our generation of wine drinkers?
Curiosity. Paired with knowledge and great enthusiasm.
In your opinion, which country rocks wine the hardest?
I'm going to have to say Italy. Just the multiple varietals, the surprises and the blends they produce, and the real passion they put into wine production.
Whats one of the biggest misconceptions out there regarding wine?
Well there are certainly quite a few! The one I hear most often that its only for wealthy people, and that it is sort of an elitist thing. In my daily work I do whatever I can to dispel that notion.
