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.
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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.
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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!”
If you're a wine enthusiast like me, you’ve probably heard all kinds of stuff about red wine vs. white wine -- only drink reds with red meat. Just pair whites with chicken and fish. Use a bowl glass for reds. Only serve whites cold. Here’s the real story: Like the people you love, all wine exists on a spectrum of wonderful.
I've enjoyed the palest of white wines and the darkest of reds, but also orange wines, rosé, delicate-as-a-flower reds, and big chonker whites. (Also, most of these distinctions are basically pointless: In a 2001 study, University of Bordeaux II Ph.D. candidate Frédéric Brochet dyed white wines red and let dozens of wine students taste them. Most of them described drinking red wine.) The first taste is, indeed, with the eye.
Midleton is launching a very rare 50-year-old Irish whiskey
Midleton launching Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six
If you like old Irish whiskey, like really old Irish whiskey, and you have quite a bit of extra money burning a hole in your pocket, you’ll be excited to hear about the newest release from famed Irish distiller Midleton.
Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six
It’s called Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection Chapter Six, and it’s the final chapter of the brand’s Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Collection. For those unaware, these are the rarest and oldest Irish whiskeys in the world.
Bubbly? Full bodied and red? Zesty and white? Your favorite wine types, explained
All the primary types of wine (and everything you need to know about them)
Trying to understand everything about wine all at once is impossible -- and that's the beauty of it. Like music or the person you love, there are always new things to discover. Not only that, but your taste in wine will expand and evolve as you mature. If you don't know that much about it right now, so what? Even the most prestigious wine experts in the world often find themselves at odds with the basics of different types of wine. And anyway, can you think of a ridiculously fun learning opportunity?
So, let's start with the basics. We'll learn that -- just as in life -- there are rules, then exceptions to those rules, then ultimately that there are no rules except be a good person and serve your higher purpose. (OK, maybe this is going a little beyond wine.) Let us open that gate to this particular garden of earthly delight and pop a cork while we're doing it.
