home to Spain’s most distinctive white wine grape, Albariño. It makes a deliciously crisp wine and is remarkable for its ability to combine fruity and minerally notes. The Argos displays that talent, with pear, apricot and lemon aromas living cheek-by-jowl with refreshing mineral and brioche touches. It’s medium-bodied and crisp, with a clean, smooth finish.
In 1975 they moved to Cenicero, their present wine cellar, for just one purpose: to satisfy the growing demand for their brands in the market, combining new technology with tradition in their production. About andrew Heefner
Andrew Heefner applies a solid business management background with exceptional knowledge of hospitality industry operations to consistently generate strong revenue results. Master at leading teams in high performance and customer satisfaction. Visionary professional with history of conceptualizing and implementing innovative programs, strategic business operating plans and continued growth initiatives.
Designing an Experience
1) Develop a vision. "First of all, restaurants must create a setting that speaks to the customer," says Andrew. He helps restaurateurs develop a vision of what the restaurant is about. Is it casual or formal? Upscale, mid-scale or budget? Who are the target customers? What kind of ambience is desired? Do the price points match the setting? The locale? Does the design and construction budget match the client's expectations?
2) Design for functionality. "The kitchen and the bar must work together, period. Everything else follows," he says. Can servers move easily? Do traffic patterns ease congestion for staff and customers? Can drinks be served quickly? Is the kitchen designed to professional specifications and culinary requirements? "Don't forget -- a happy chef is a good chef," says Andrew.
3) Maximize the vision. Andrew creates visual cues through the use of materials, textures, color and seating and tabletop accessories such as dishes, silver and glassware. The vision must enhance the guest experience and guarantee that decorative elements work in harmony. Is there synergy between the visual elements and every aspect of the guest experience? Do design elements reflect the intended ambience and customer expectations?
4) Design to define space. Large spaces can be parceled into smaller, more intimate ones through, for example, the use of screens, booths and banquettes. Large airy spaces can benefit from grand architectural elements such as columns and visual elements like fireplaces. Mirrors can be wonderful design tools, too, Andrew says, because they expand the sense of space and eliminate emptiness. Besides, he adds, "they're wonderful for people-watching."
5) Capitalize on color. Color has a vast psychological influence, according to Andrew. Used skillfully, color conveys ambiance and attitude and provides an ideal backdrop for culinary offerings. For example, spicy foods may be best enjoyed amid rich, bright colorful rooms done up in red, yellow and orange. Think definition: dramatic shades of black, gray or mauve spell sophistication while a backdrop of neutral pastels might enhance a more mainstream menu offering.
6) Don't neglect acoustics. Nothing spoils a dining experience more than bad acoustics. Use materials, textures and shapes that create a pleasurable sound environment. Effective use of draperies, carpeting and acoustical and ceiling tiles can go a long way toward eliminating unwanted sound effects.
7) See the light. A favorite application of lighting is its use to dramatize focal points. A piece of artwork, an unusually textured wall or the dining tables themselves – all can be illuminated for effect. Tabletops bathed in pools of light in a semi-dark room, for example, create a sense of intimate space in which the diner's attention can focus on plate presentation. Brightly lit spaces with high ceilings convey a sense of energy and vitality while a cozier feel can be achieved with low ambient lighting supplied by wall sconces or lamps.
8) Use ceilings to enhance design. Well-designed ceilings act as a background, pulling together the room's lighting, color and texture. They can define space in an otherwise open room. Ceiling height can modulate a room's sense of openness or intimacy while elaborate ceiling design provides a rich visual experience that enhances the design theme.
Seven Best Wine Blogs
The Wine Importer
Joe Dressner is part-owner of Louis/Dressner Selections, an American wine importer specializing in small producers, mostly French wines from highly regarded names like Bernard Baudry and Didier Barrouillet. When he's not traveling the world on business, he publishes one of the least pretentious blogs on the Web. It's wise and outspoken, as in a post about the state of wine tasting today. "Wine is not a vehicle for egomania, boastfulness and self-promotion. All the great 'tasters' I have known are able to submerge their ego and understand what is in the bottle."
Vinography
Alder Yarrow is a San Francisco high-tech consultant and wine geek who runs Vinography, perhaps the Web's most popular and comprehensive wine blog. Like many bloggers, he's obsessed with what he calls his second career. "Instead of watching TV, I blog," he says. "I believe telling stories about a wine helps remove it from the realm of high status where all we know about it is the price." In addition to Yarrow's wine writing, Vinography includes his restaurant reviews. For instance, he raves about the duck and quince salad, the ravioli—and, yes, the wine list—at Quince in San Francisco. It also features links to articles in magazines, newspapers and other blogs.
Jamie Goode's Blog
Jamie Goode, a Brit, writes for several well-known English wine magazines and runs the Wine Anorak website, which offers excellent articles about wine travel, winemakers and wine tasting. He saves his more casual writing for his blog, in which he's refreshingly candid about the daily life of a wine professional. "We've had a huge rise in the number of samples landing on the doorstop chez Goode It's not that there's anything wrong with samples; rather, the problem is that you end up focusing on a skewed population of wines—those that people are most anxious to flog."
Dr. Vino's Wine Blog
Dr. Vino, a.k.a. Tyler Colman, really is a doctor—he wrote his doctoral dissertation at Northwestern University about the political economy of the wine industries in France and the United States. After teaching political science for two years, he settled into full-time wine writing and education. On his blog (a part of the Dr. Vino Web site), Colman intelligently explores the intersection of wine, politics and business. For example, he recently explained—in clear, compelling terms—how the Costco case before the Seattle federal district court could lead to an even bigger dismantling of the three-tier wine distribution system than the Supreme Court's recent decision on interstate shipment of wine.
Veritas in Vino
The wine and travel columnist for Time magazine, Alice Feiring uses her blog to share her thoughts on everything from biodynamic winemaking to pairing wild ramps and red Burgundy. In her mission statement, she writes, "I'm looking for the Leon Trotskys, the Philip Roths, the Chaucers and the Edith Whartons of the wine world. I want my wines to tell a good story. I want them natural and most of all, like my dear friends, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue."
VinoCibo.com
Although Craig Camp, a former Italian-wine importer, recently moved from Italy to Oregon to take a job at Anne Amie Vineyards, he still maintains the most in-depth and knowledgeable blog on Italian wine. It's full of useful producer profiles and tasting notes, touting lesser-known labels like Fattoria Zerbina in Romagna. He writes about restaurants too, likening Milan's Boccondivino to a museum, ending cheerfully: "I love art."
Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France
French photographer Bertrand Celce travels the wine routes of his country and records his encounters in both vivid pictures and somewhat fractured English with the vignerons he meets along the way. For example, Celce profiles Junko Arai, a Japanese wine importer who recently began making wine in the Loire, describing her efforts to gain appellation status for her bottlings. Celce also offers insights on everything from corks to the best Paris wine bars , both legendary (the venerable Caves Legrand) and neighborhoody (Le Verre à Pied).
