Young Blood Sommelier: Rich Healy

Both in celebration of Australia Day and in the third of a fourth (and wildly popular) series, we interview some of the most talented up-and-coming Sommeliers in Ontario… and occasionally elsewhere… as you’ll see today.

A few years back I was flicking through the pages of a locally published periodical and noticed that when it came to Sommeliers it was the same names that seemed to pop up over and over again. I was also becoming gradually cognisant of the fact that we more established wine folks were well and truly “losing our edge” to these young blood Sommeliers.

Being well aware of the depth of new talent that was out there I finally decided to get together with a couple of fellow Toronto Sommelier “Old Guard” (Anton Potvin and Peter Boyd) to assemble a line of questioning that would give us an entertaining insight into the minds of these rising stars.

Once again we cast our net just a little bit further… this time all the way to Sydney Australia, to catch up with a prize bellend named Rich Healy.

A good few years back Rich spent some time working in Toronto, so we felt it was time to catch up with him…

…

Good Food Revolution: So Rich, what is it that you do down in Australia these days, apart from still having a laughable man-crush on Drake?

Rich Healy: I’ve just taken the role of General Manager and Beverage Director at Rockpool, Neil Perry’s flagship “three hat” restaurant in downtown Sydney.

GFR: And what kind of experience and training did you have before this position?

RH: Wine wise I completed the WSET diploma and CMS certified studies and did some travelling here and there. Obviously lots of tasting perpertually.

Experience-wise I just completed three years at Rockpool Bar and Grill in Perth as Head Sommelier. That was a truck load of fun and somehow we managed to snap up a bunch of awards for that winelist.

I also opened up a small bar with three good friends in Perth (which just won best small bar in Western Australia) called Bar Lafayette.

Before that I worked in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre, Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, and a few other spots.

I also worked at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Melbourne; when it was still up and running.

GFR: And how would you explain the wine program at Rockpool Sydney?

RH: Right now it’s undergoing a bit of a change with me taking over the reins. I want it to be a real beacon for Australian wines (particularly emerging labels) but still offer the “classics”. I don’t do a heap of orange or super natural wines but I will have a few.

The clientele seem to want lots of Burgundy, southern Rhône and some Bordeaux but we sell everything else also. Champagne is big here.

Overall I am trying to gear the list to make sense with the super cerebral food with things like sake, crunchy whites, and medium to light reds.

GFR: If my memory serves me well, your boss, Rockpool Chef/Owner Neil Perry is known for having an exquisite taste when it comes to his wines … does he have any input into your wine selections? And what is his favourite wine style?

RH: Neil drinks well. Neil drinks very well. He really likes Piedmont and Burgundy but he is open to suggestions.

He lets me do pretty much what I want to but I always respect his opinion. I’m working with him as much to learn from him as anything else; he is a bit of a hospitality guru.

GFR: How many wine agents/merchants do you deal with?

RH: As many as possible… 60 plus currently.

GFR: That’s refreshing as I am sick fed up of lazy Toronto Sommeliers sticking with less than a handful of suppliers. Well done.

What makes a good agent in your mind?

RH: Having a great portfolio first of all, that always helps. Keeping your pricelist up to date and available. Sending out just enough emails/ updates but never bombarding my Inbox.

Making sure that you deliver the right wines with correct invoicing and on the correct days. That makes life more easy. Turning up to appointments on time and not turning up unannounced during service.

Being selective or smart with where else you are going to sell the wines. I usually ask where else the wine is being sold or being offered to before I purchase.

GFR: How aware of wine were you whilst growing up? Were you around wine from an early age?

RH: My family always drank wine so it was always in the house. The dinner table would usually have wine on the table but it was never for my sister or me.

My father purchased a vineyard in South West Australia and still produces wine to this day. We would go on what seemed like epic drives to get to huge tin shed where we all would stay on the vineyard. I didn’t get there as often as I should have but I guess my exposure to wine was pretty high for 12 year old.

GFR: Can you remember your first taste of wine?

RH: I recall tasting some Lindemans Bin 65 in my childhood garden when I was about 11 or 12. I didn’t really like it then and it probably didn’t help push me towards wine.

GFR: When do you feel children should be introduced to the wonderful world of wine?

RH: That’s probably dependent on the family and their household situation but if the world should ever have to endure a junior Richard Healy they will be exposed to wine pretty early; just due to my lifestyle and fascination with wine.

GFR: When did you first decide that you would like a career in wine?

RH: Around 2000. I was half way through my business degree (which I hated) and was working a decent bottle shop in Perth, Western Australia.

I enjoyed work so much that my passion for wine took off and I started to attend some classes. Luckily at that time Stephen Charters MW was teaching and I took all of his classes.

Moreover I would visit my Dad at his law firm and just see the piles of work that he would be subjected to during the week and then on the weekend he would race to the vineyard. I guess I kind of figured out that a business career would put me in that sort of position so why not surround myself in something that everyone else seemed to be racing towards.

GFR: What a terrific answer.

So who or what gave you your first insight into the world of wine?

RH: I started working in that bottle shop when I was about 17; too young to buy alcohol but a good age to absorb lots. So I worked basically as the young kid who would do what he was told and lift and shift 5 pallets of per day in the 35 degree Perth heat. 12 hour days became the norm…good preparation for a life in hospitality!

So I guess it would be a chap called Terry Timms, a friend of my fathers, who actually employed me and started it all off. Terry was a bit of a battleaxe but he was fair. I still recall the times we run massive Shiraz tastings and that really help me to understand what was required for large scale tastings.

I also recall the time he made me clean the communal toilets (for 10 or so men) three times because I had done such a poor job on the first try…

GFR: The Sommelier world is notoriously full of pretentious twats… do you think that is slowly changing?

RH: Ohhhhh. The generation of stuffy, suited up 1st Growth slinging Sommeliers may be gone just due to time pushing them out but maybe.

That being said I’m sure many people have called me a twat… let’s be honest here.

GFR: Which wine regions have you had the opportunity to visit?

RH: Lots in Australia, lots through Europe, some in America and a few in South America. I’m dying to get to Austria and South Africa

GFR: Have you ever thought about making your own wine?

RH: Yes, but I think it would be insulting to the people who actually do. Plus I think I would make absolute slop.

GFR: And where would you like to make wine (in a pipe dream)?

RH: Piedmont maybe but I do love Margaret River; it’s a pretty amazing part of the world

GFR: Is your role purely that of Sommelier or do you have managerial duties also?

RH: My role has expanded a lot recently. I now oversee all aspects of the restaurant from rubbish collection to the buying of private cellars to organising the rostering. Previously it has just been managing bottles with a team of sommeliers.

GFR: So do you prefer to manage people or bottles and why?

RH: I like working with likeminded people; so a team pushing for the same goals. Aside from that I enjoy bottle management as they tend to not talk back so much…

GFR: What have been your career highs and lows?

RH: I’ve been on a run of career highs for the last 4 years so currently I am on a career high. Low? Working for a maniacal restaurant manager somewhere in North America. That’s all I’m saying.

GFR: Ha… I think I know who you are talking about…

Do you ever have nightmares about working as a Sommelier? I do… regularly… and it usually involves being unable to find bottles in a cellar…

RH: Yes, perpetually. Most of the time it’s about a section that keeps getting bigger that keeps getting sat with VIPs and reviewers.

GFR: Sommeliers famously have Sundays off… What’s your idea of a perfect Sunday?… or perhaps you have Mondays off?

RH: I usually have Sunday off. Yesterday I went to the Domain Park and drank some Riesling and Chablis with some friends over a picnic with a view of the Opera House. That was decent.

Perfect Sunday? Beach & Riesling followed by lots of eating and sleeping… and some Riesling.

GFR: Where are your favourite places to dine and drink in Sydney.. perhaps tell us a hidden treasure of our lovely city?

RH: There are lots of great places to visit here. To be honest I haven’t got out much due to my work load but I do love:

Rockpool, Sydney – This is the encyclopaedia and the wine team are guns. (Ha… thought you may say that! – JD)

121BC – Giorgio is a complete madman and has a huge knowledge. He focuses on tiny production Italian wines that he brings in himself. The place seats about 20 max.

10 William St – Matt does an amazing job here with a big focus on sake and orange and beige wines. The food is very smart also.

Love Tilly Devine – Matt does a great job here with a focus on Riesling.

Tapavino – Not many other people talk about this place but it lists about 100 plus sherries. I could live there.

There are dozens of others; it’s a great city to drink.

GFR: Do you cook yourself? What’s your favourite dish to cook these days?

RH: I used to cook all the time but currently I spend so little time at home its actually more time and dollars efficient to eat out. I tend to buy groceries and end up throwing them out.

GFR: And have you had any cooking disasters?

RH: Not really… I‘ve never set the house on fire or anything like that. However one of our commis waiters recently sent a friend to hospital with an allergic reaction to his cooking. That’s the closet I have been to disaster.

GFR: How do you feel about Canadian wines? Have you had the opportunity to try any recently actually? When were you last here?

RH: I love Canadian wine but they are really hard to get here. I poured the Cave Spring Riesling by the glass a few years back in Perth and people loved it.

I guess I was in in Canada about four years ago but I do miss it every day.

GFR: Is there a good Sommelier community in Sydney?

RH: Yes; if you engage into it. There are lots of events, tastings groups and classes going on. I’ve been really lucky and they have all embraced me quite quickly; which is super nice.

GFR: How do you feel about Sydney as a wine city? How does it compare to your memories of Toronto?

Where do you go if you need to get your wine on?

RH: Sydney has a few parallels to Toronto. I think what strikes me the most is the community of wine and food folk here… and back in Toronto.

There are young Sommeliers really pushing it, there are Master Sommeliers for people to reference and learn from, there are quirky wine bars that focus on certain regions and certain styles. It’s a very dynamic scene.

One issue, much like Toronto, is the huge amount of tax applied to wine. In essence each bottle is roughly 40% tax, so a $100 bottle of wine represents $40 going to the government. Add on shipping costs, storage costs and so on and the wine gets pretty pricey.

GFR: What would you be doing if you were not a Sommelier?

RH: I think by know I would be involved in the wine business but perhaps in a more commercial side of it maybe importing but I used to really like education so perhaps teaching role.

GFR: What does your Mother wish you were doing?… I know that mine probably wishes I were a Doctor…

RH: My mum told me when I was about 19 “Richard you can do anything but never be a real estate agent”.

GFR: Do you have a favourite food/wine related scene in a film/movie or show?

RH: What springs to mind immediately are the many scenes in Sopranos of food and wine.

GFR: I’m know that you have non-industry friends… how do they feel about what you do for a living?

RH: My good friend (who does insanely well in finance) asked me how I was settling in to the role here in Sydney. I told him about the duties and the hours. He didn’t believe me; he doesn’t believe me.

I think if you’re not in the industry not much of it makes sense.

GFR: What are your thoughts on blind tasting?

RH: It’s an essential skill. I certainly have to practice more but it’s an essential skill to have as a sommelier.

GFR: Are you a better blind taster with or without a bad hangover? I’m definitely the former…

RH: I’m good for nothing with hangovers. I’m an absolute liability when I have a hangover so I do much better sober than not.

GFR: What’s your current favourite wine region?

RH: Etna somehow has crept up and my good friend Michael has invigorated my love for Chablis. However Victoria, in Australia, is produces amazing wine all over the place.

GFR: What is “hot” in the world of wine right now at Rockpool?

RH: I guess those three that I’ve just mentioned but we seem to boom through older vintages of anything and everything.

The team really gets involved w the sake program, which is fun, and we are really focusing on digestifs; particularly calvados and cognac

GFR: And what’s not so hot? What has fallen out of favour at Rockpool?

RH: I really don’t like Viognier or Albarino.

GFR: If I recall correctly I don’t think you ever did? Now what is it exactly that turns you off these two varietals?

RH: I liked Viognier for a minute but I usually find it to lactic and yoghurt-y. It;s almost the opposite to riesling but I understand why some people would enjoy it; it’s just not for me. Albarino just taste of anything really to me. It tastes like a wine that was made from grapes that was made somewhere.

GFR: Are you sure you’re not referring to Australian “Albarino” AKA Savagnin?

RH: No, the examples from Galicia, Spain. I do distinctly re-call you pouring the Tscharke Albarino years ago before the whole Savagnin/Albarino debacle.

GFR: Fairplay!

Moving swiftly on…

When it comes to wine is there anything that you feel is currently overrated?

RH: Expensive, high alcohol Shiraz.

GFR: What is your favourite wine pairing right now? A dish on the current Rockpool Sydney menu?

RH: Phil does this amazing Lobster on a Dashi Chawan Mushi with Tenax and Ocean Trout Roe that goes really well with Sake for example the 2011 Fukuchiyo ‘Nabeshima’ Junmai Daiginjō works neatly.

He also does this great Rich and noble Balmain Bug Congee, Almond Tofu, Star Anise Peanuts and Chinese Fried Bread which I put up with an off-dry Chenin Blanc, the 2011 Brunet ‘La Folie, Demi- Sec’ Vouvray

The kitchen also makes the most amazing dessert which is the Vacherin Pandan Custard with Coconut Parfait, Jasmine Sorbet, and Lime Granita. This goes supremely well with the 2009 Clos Guirouilh, Jurançon, Moelleux.

We’re lucky here as the menu changes almost daily so we are always playing with pairings.

GFR: Okay… three pairings with me on the spot?… but with… famous and infamous Australians… guessing what they would enjoy wine-wise… and why?

1: Bon Scott (AC/DC)… well I guess he’s Canadian/Scottish.

RH: Soupy high alcohol Shiraz followed by Emu Export beer and warm American whisky.

2. Nick Cave (Australian dark,dark  Songwriter/Grinderman).

RH: Nick Cave!

Does Nick Cave even drink wine?

I couldn’t picture him in some backroom of an art gallery in northcote sipping on Pinot Grigio. If he was drinking wine it would have to be the stuff that the hipster sommeliers would froth over. It would have to be Australian, tiny production, super exclusive and most likely turbid and bretty. So lets say a super long skin contact Riesling out of Tasmania.

Otherwise…Bandol Rouge. I can imagine him drinking that along with a long black with a camel unfiltered cigarette as he politely declines phone numbers from pale girls in tight black jeans in Abbotsford.

I rate Nick Cave rather highly.

3. Angela White (Australian Actress  from “Le Cinema” and judging by the above pic a true winelover).

RH: I have no idea who that is.

GFR: Sure you don’t…

Do you often drink beers or spirits?

RH: Yes. Somehow I’m a gin martini guy now, but I love whisky. I would drink a beer after every service. I like drinks…but the best drink I can have.

GFR: What is your least favourite part of your job as Sommelier? For me it was doing inventory…

RH:  Having high standards. I hate that I’m now that guy that has to break balls about walking in a particular direction or pouring a particular way.

GFR: What is your weapon of choice when it comes to a corkscrew?

RH: I’ve always used a standard, double hinged corkscrew and I also use an ah-so AKA the Butler’s Thief for older bottles.

I do have a Laguiole and many people use Code 38s but I think they are not for me at all; primarily based on price but I don’t think that they actually do a better job… almost the opposite.

GFR: I don’t know about that regarding Laguiole as they have always worked for me… they do take a little while to wear in though.

Still, whatever works!

Speaking of which, where do you stand on the screwcap vs. cork debate?

RH: If I’m in the thick of service and I have several bottles to decant I love screw cap. I do think they are better for wines intended to be drunk in the short term but I haven’t seen enough examples of older wines under screw cap. Certainly bottle variation will drop dramatically but I just don’t know how wines are going to age under stelvin.

GFR: Sommeliers often have quite the increased tolerance for wine/booze. What is your limit?

RH: I can drink a lot. What I can’t do is be productive the next day when I’m hungover (my hangovers are biblical) so I just drink to enjoy rather than to the point of inebriation

GFR: Have you ever been “cut off”? If so, where and when was the most recent time?

RH: Hasn’t really happened in a long time; not that I can remember. The closet thing was when Taylor Thompson (of the Ritz, Toronto) and I got kicked out of a nightclub in Ottawa on Christmas Eve… another story.

GFR: I can imagine… Do you smoke cigarettes? Some of the best tasters I know smoke quite heavily, so I’d love to get your thoughts on this.

RH: No, not since I was cool for one week in high school. None of the good tasters I know smoke but I do see more of it in the industry which is beyond me on many levels.

GFR: How many wines do you taste in a week?

RH: Between 2 – 200 wines. My weeks vary wildly.

GFR: When do you choose to spit or swallow?

RH: If I like it or feel like a drink, I’ll drink it. Otherwise I spit 99% of the time.

GFR: What’s your “house” wine at home?

RH: Right now it’s whatever Riesling is around and whatever samples are around plus either Lord Nelson Pale ale or Reschs Pilsner.

GFR: Most remembered glass of wine ever?

RH: Bloody hell. That’s difficult. Maybe the 1997 Rolly Gassmann Gewurtztraminer I used to taste at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar that you caught me tasting once too often…

GFR: Hahahahaha… ha.

I had my eye on you! I remember that well.

What is your perfect glass (or bottle) of wine at the end of a crazy night at the restaurant?

RH: Beer or whatever is cold in the fridge. Riesling if I’m getting picky, from the Wachau if I’m getting really, really picky. But beer, that’s fine too.

GFR: And just why is it that you love Riesling so?

RH: I’ve always had an affinity for it. Initially I think it was the fact you could buy fairly good examples without spending truckloads of money. I recently hosted a dinner that only featured Riesling that was lots of fun. From sparkling through to sweet styles I think its a great drink for anyone really.

GFR: And now the cheesy question Richard… If you were a grape varietal what would you be? And why?

RH: I guess Riesling; I figure you are what you eat and I consume enough of it.

GFR: Thank you for taking the time Sir!

We do miss you back here in Toronto…

And for the record, I have never called you a twat… a few other things perhaps, but never that.

Come back and visit sometime.

Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution.

Peter Boyd has been a part of Toronto’s wine scene for over two decades. He has taught the Diploma level for the International Sommeliers Guild, and has been the sommelier at Scaramouche Restaurant since 1993. He also writes about wine, food and pop culture and raises show molerats for fun and profit. He’s also one of the most solid guys in the business.Trust this man. Seriously… he knows his shit and is slowly taking over this city.

A well-known and much respected figure on the Toronto food and wine scene for almost twenty years, Potvin has worked in many of the city’s very best establishments including Biffs, Canoe, and Eau. In 2004 Potvin opened his incarnation of the Niagara Street Café, a restaurant that has gone from strength to strength year after year, with universal critical acclaim. Anton spends much of his time traveling and tasting wine and has been ranked highly in consecutive years of the International Wine Challenge. Anton is currently a free agent.