Thatcher Baker Briggs has dealt with more revered wines in his young career than most industry types do in a lifetime. The 29-year-old consultant and sommelier sources some of the most coveted wines in the world for collectors all over.
Based in San Francisco, Briggs got his start in wine through restaurants. He did time at some great ones, like Saison in the Bay Area and Takazawa in Tokyo. Along the way, he sharpened his palate, tried some amazing wines, and developed relationships with lauded producers. It was the makings of his current venture, which involves highly curated wine wisdom and sourcing as well as an online shop of his own rare finds, which he launched over the summer.
Recommended Videos
His restaurant era set him up for success today. Briggs says it was a combination of exposure to extensive wine lists and learning the human aspect inherent to hospitality. “A lot of what happens in restaurants is also similar to what we do now,” he says. “When you cook, you often learn how to multitask and be quite focused on the things that need to be handled quickly. Working in fine dining and having an understanding of service and hospitality is make or break in this business.”
Selecting wines for somebody is about as subjective as things come and Briggs gets the importance of real connection, something he absorbed on restaurant floors. “We are such a niche service that understanding of what clients want is incredibly important,” he adds.
Liz Daly
Like too many other industries, wine has a history of not being the most welcoming and inclusive. It remains mostly run by older white males, although it is evolving. Briggs doesn’t dwell on the subject, noting that somebody has to be the first one through the door. He thinks we should step back and question the entire scenario.
“There has been a lot of press on how the wine world isn’t diverse,” he says. “I think rather than focusing on how there is a lack, perhaps we should be asking ourselves why that is the situation. For me, I have been far too worried about living up to my own standards to worry about if someone feels that when they first look at me, if they feel I am capable of doing my job.”
It’s fair to say Briggs doesn’t carry himself like a lot of twenty-somethings. He displays a maturity earned from an early start in the business. Being the youngest person in the room is often a challenge, “But I started in restaurants at 13 and it’s how I have lived my whole life,” he says. Briggs adds that he was at a dinner recently and somebody at the table tried — and failed — to point out his inabilities on account of his age.
“I laughed after and decided to read even more about the particular subject that was being debated,” Briggs says. “I tend to focus on goals rather than people’s tones.”
Liz Daly
Wine is steeped in tradition but it’s not above progress. Younger people are entering the scene as younger consumers are flocking to wine. Briggs thinks the efficiencies of today’s world naturally breed younger, more capable people, no matter the industry. It might be more obvious in wine because the realm has simply been pretty stale for quite a while.
“I think that we are in such a big window of change,” he says. “The world of wine — which has been a rather dull, quiet, and outdated world — is gaining spice! It is not just a group of ten guys in the room talking about how big their … wine collection is. It is a connected community of men and women who are passionate about who is making the wine, and where it is from, and the intricacies of winemaking or the environment.”
Industry types are increasingly asking questions about the structure and nature of the wine world. Briggs sees the same curiosity among collectors, which he finds thrilling. “I am excited for all the young people to take a chance and push the limits,” he says. “If it is building a retail platform that is very niche, or reviewers taking the time to taste with young winemakers and bring them to everyone’s attention, or collectors wanting to not collect just what is known but who are looking for the next big thing. It is an exciting time in wine!”
Bowmore and Aston Martin are launching a 54-year old whisky
Bowmore is releasing a rare whisky that was distilled in 1968.
The worlds of luxury and single malt whisky are colliding once again with the release of Bowmore ARC-54, whisky five decades in the making. This timeless expression is the second and final release in the famed Islay distillery’s ARC series with Aston Martin.
Bowmore ARC-54
This rare single malt whisky is bottled in a handblown decanter that was inspired by the design of the Aston Martin Valkyrie. But while that’s spectacular in its own right, it’s the liquid inside that we’re most interested in. Distilled in 1968, it first matured for 54 years in second-fill European oak sherry butts and third-fill American oak hogsheads in the distillery’s No.1 vaults. Then the two whiskies were married together for fifteen months with a ratio of 61.8% European oak aged spirit and 38.2% American oak aged spirit.
West Fork Whiskey Co. is releasing a new ten-year-old bourbon
This is the oldest whiskey in the Hamer lineup
If you think the only place great bourbon can be made is Kentucky, you’re sadly mistaken. Look at one of the states that border it, and you’ll see some great whiskey being made. We’re talking, of course, about West Fork Whiskey Company.
This “100% Indiana grain-to-glass” distillery was founded in 2014 by Indian-born best friends Julian Jones, David McIntyre, and Blake Jones. Recently, the brand announced the launch of a new, 10-year-old bourbon.
Old Hamer 10-Year Bourbon
You won’t find claret wine in the store, but you’ve probably already had some
A corrupted name with a cool history
Perhaps you’re into period English movies (like, say, anything by Jane Austen). If so, you’ve noticed that when it’s time to break out the good stuff (you know, the bottle from the cellar that needs to be decanted), it’s always a wine called "claret." While I do enjoy the occasional Jane Austen movie, I’ve been a more consistent fan of wine -- but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what this claret stuff was, why it was so beloved, and where I could get my hands on it. The short answer is that "claret" is basically British slang for red wines from Bordeaux. The long answer involves ancient Romans, Eleanor of Aquitaine, English corruption of the French language, the Hundred Years’ War, and a dry, brick-red rosé that might not yet be on your radar.
The Romans, great champions of the grape themselves, did bring viticulture to the Bordeaux region -- though, to be honest, they were much more interested in the trading potential of the huge natural harbor located in the Gironde River estuary. Once the empire collapsed, so did those trade routes from the Mediterranean to northern Europe. Ultimately, Bordeaux (along with the rest of southwest France) became part of the large, powerful, and independent duchy of Aquitaine. And this is where our claret wine story begins.
Bordeaux was English for centuries
