arête wine project

Adam Danielson Bio

Wine Director: Parkside, The Backspace, Olive & June

Adam Danielson is truly a wine virtuoso. But this savant’s expertise derives more from his lifelong  hands-on study of wine than from a series of certification classes. Originally from Seattle, but raised in Florida, Danielson began his restaurant career at the age of fifteen, bussing tables at an Italian restaurant. Soon after, he became intrigued by the world of wine and began his pursuit of wine knowledge, a study that he continues to this day.

Having worked for many years in restaurant management, Danielson was given opportunities to manage the wine programs of many reputable dining establishments in Florida and California, including Brett’s Waterway Café, the Club at Hammock Beach, and Zooker’s Café. And all the while, he continued to voraciously explore wine literature, cultivate his palate by tasting and learn as much as he could firsthand from winemakers and producers. In fact, during his time in Santa Barbara, he volunteered often during the harvest in local vineyards and learned the process of winemaking in wine-production facilities, started a wine blog and even made his own impressive barrel of wine and homemade vinegar with Paso Robles cabernet grapes.

Danielson brought his passion for wine — as well as his respect for small producers and the thoughtful and delicate process by which formidable wines are made — to Austin in 2010. Though he began as a bartender at olive & june, his knowledge and understanding of wine quickly led to him managing the wine list. His latest promotion to wine director of Chef Shawn Cirkiel’s acclaimed Austin restaurants — olive & june, parkside and the backspace — will have him managing all three wine programs, educating the staffs about the wine lists, working with event coordinators to provide the perfect wines for special events and interacting with restaurant guests in an effort to share his knowledge.

“This is a continual learning process for me,” Danielson says. “I’m looking forward to learning more about wine, building the staffs’ knowledge and educating our guests about wine, helping them understand the symbiotic relationship between wine and food. I’m very excited about all of it.”  

 

A New Direction

So I just recovered from a 6 month coma. I was out camping when suddenly I was cornered by hungry mountain lions. They backed me up to the edge of the cliff, their teeth glaring at me as they snarled. While I was contemplating what the best scenario outcome would possibly consist of I could not help but think of my poor blog. What would happen to it while I was gone? Would I lose all of my readers? Would people even care or notice that I was gone?

Then I woke up. Awakened from this awful dream I sat back for a second to recover my sanity. Pausing to ponder for a moment the meaning behind all my fears, I discovered the closest thing to reality in my dream was that I just woke up from a 6 month coma. A writing coma, but a coma nonetheless and almost as devastating. It is a funny thing; the human mind. I wanted to write, but could not come up with anything that I did not instantly erase. It has been a couple years since I have experienced such a block of creativity. But there was nothing I could do about it. I know from past lapses that it would return. It always does. It comes back with a haunting reminder of everything I learn during these momentary setbacks. 

A lot has happened in the last 6 months and it has all been painfully wonderful. While I was away I took my first trip to San Francisco, turned 30, celebrated 3 years of marriage, went sober for 30 days, questioned my current career path, spent a lot of time with my son,spoke with many winemakers, watched as my Paso Cab turned 6 months old in barrel, started selling wine for a distribution company, wrote a few songs, spent a lot of time with God, battled some demons, tasted a lot of wine and was reminded why I got into this in the first place.

There will be more to come and I pray that the shift I am beginning to see in the wine industry will continue to progress. It is all about farming and it is all about picking balanced grapes. That is all you need to craft a wine with soul, depth, and personality. It is so simple, and yet no one seems to notice or care. The revolution is coming. Start to question everything. Dig deeper and you will find the truth.

The System is Flawed

4 years ago I was working as the understudy wine director at a large resort in Florida that boasted an incredible wine cellar. Part of my "job" as the understudy was to taste as much as possible. In addition to the double blind staff wine tastings that were held at every friday and saturday lineup my boss chose a bottle a week for me to take home and study. Talk about accelerated learning. The blind tastings helped hone my palate and also taught me to look for a sense of place in wine. Taking home bottles and spending time with them is what helped me to really understand what I was drinking. I started keeping a wine journal with all my notes and even began scoring the wines. I was still using the major publications as my reference point and supplication for wines, but over the course of my drinking and learning increasing exponentially I would begin to see flaws in the current evaluation systems.

Eat and Drink Local! Zookers Philosophy

I believe the greatest expression of the beautiful partnership between food and wine is that of local food and local wine enjoyed together. To me this seems fundamental, and yet I am constantly blown away by people who just do not see this dynamic. Living in Santa Barbara I am blessed to have great local produce, cheese, fish, and meat to create endless dishes as well as wine that will pair wonderfully with those dishes. I love to cook, and on my days off I want nothing more than to spend my morning at the farmers market wandering and thinking of what to cook for my lovely wife that night. Once I decide what will be for dinner I often go hunt for the perfect wine. Sometimes I take the opposite approach and let the wine choice serve as the inspiration for the menu. 

The chef at Zookers , Brent Monsour, who is also the owners son, takes this same approach with our menu and his nightly specials. Incorporating local organic produce from both Shephard's and Coleman's Farms, he also buys from local fisherman and the farmers markets. His food is fabulous and is why I began working at Zookers in the first place. The wine list was not "bad" when I started, but by no means was it diverse. In an effort to bring the wine philosophy along side of the menu philosophy, I have been focusing on local wines that are above all food friendly and also a joy to drink.

What Good is Experience? (The Greatest Salseman in the World)

I was given the book, The Greatest Salesman in the World written by, Og Mandino , when I took on my first management position 4 years ago. My boss said it was one of the greatest books he had ever read, and I have come to reach the same mindset. Over the course of the last 4 years I have read it several times and every time I read it I find some new nugget of wisdom. The story is great and the book is not very long at all. Although an easy read, the treasures you will find are priceless and it has given me much inspiration and fortitude to continue down the road even when it seems there is no one following.

My favorite quote in the book appears when the young salesman is just beginning his journey. He had received a treasure chest filled with scrolls of wisdom which were to help him become the Greatest Salesman in the World. The first scroll he opened has been very influential to me and is a source of comfort when I begin to question my own direction in life. This excerpt is taken from Chapter 8...