Newspaper Page Text
DINING
A journey from server to sommelier
WOMEN + WINE
Katie Rice & Sarah Pierre
Editor’s Note: Katie Rice is at the helm of this
month’s Women + Wine, which begins its
third year in these pages.
It’s the third year of the Women &
Wine column and every month I consider
interviewing the person who keeps my head
above water at VinoTeca — Janeen Jason. She
is the Batman to my Robin, the jam to my
jelly, the pinot noir to my chardonnay. Since
this is Women’s History Month, I want to
salute not only one of the best women in my
life but a force in the Atlanta wine scene.
Janeen was born in New York and raised
in Henry County, Georgia. After graduating
from high, she attended Georgia State
University with dreams of entering the world
of music through management and public
relations. She started her career in hospitality
while studying at GSU by becoming a server
at Ted’s Montana Grill, where she worked for
five years. Like many of us who have entered
the hospitality world, it is hard to find your
way out.
The coolness of bartending and having a
proximity to making and creating cocktails
took Janeen to TWO Urban Licks after
graduation in 2008. According to Janeen:
“TWO made me realize I didn’t know as
much about food and wine as I thought I
did. I was good at working in high volume
and knew the service steps, but nothing
about wine or food. Coming from a wine
list where the most exciting thing was a
Gewurztraminer, I was in way over my head!
I also almost got fired because I couldn’t ask
for help.”
She learned a valuable lesson in the
first two months about teamwork and
communication. Janeen also learned how to
adapt. Two was the busiest restaurant in the
city and you had to be great at your job, or
you would lose it.
Janeen’s experiences at TWO led her
deeper into wine, especially after meeting
two seasoned wine reps, Brandon Tai and
Ryan Mullins. They showed her that wine
isn’t pretentious and introduced her to the
world of blind tasting. She began sitting in
with them as they studied for sommelier
exams and took a deep dive into training her
palate.
In 2013, Janeen decided to sit for her
own exams and passed easily. However, her
first attempt at the certified, or Level 2 test,
she failed. In the meantime, she moved over
to The Spence at the beginning of 2014.
Her time at this now-defunct restaurant was
one of the most important in her career.
The service crew was a range of palates that
Janeen still tastes with today. Here, she
learned the fundamentals of tasting and
honed her skills by visiting farmer’s markets.
“I would go through and put a plastic
bag on my hand and pick up different fruits
and smell them. I would try to find them
in different stages of ripeness and take them
home to try to memorize what they tasted
like. I constantly exposed myself to different
tastes and flavors of fruits, herbs, and
vegetables to broaden my palate.
Not to be deterred from her previous
failure, she studied and tasted for a year until
in 2015 she passed to officially become a
sommelier, t was the Spring of the same year
that Janeen became a bartender at Barcelona
Wine Bar in Inman Park and where we first
met. She knew the store was opening, but it
wasn’t until I went on maternity leave that
she was able to come across the street and the
rest is history.
One of the common questions we are
asked at the store is how to get into the
wine world. After taking a deep dive into
her resume, I asked Janeen what advice she
would give someone starting out. And not
surprisingly she said, “work in a restaurant.
$
CwmeuTO
opc
mm a
Atlanta Fine
Homes
Sotheby's
INTERNATIONAL REALTY
Grateful to Celebrate
CARMEN POPE
c. 404.625.4134 o. 404.874.0300
carmenpope@atlantafinehomes.com
atlantafinehomes.com | sir.com
Atlanta Fine Homes, LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and
the Equal Opportunity Act. Each franchise is independently owned and operated.
As I enter my 25 th consecutive year as a
Top 5% REALTOR® in Intown, I would be honored
to serve you with all your real estate needs.
NOTHING COMPARES.
You first learn patience, communication, and
teamwork. You also learn self-presentation
— how to behave in public. You learn what
goes into the world and work we are in.” She
also reminds us that an open mind is an open
palate. “Always try new things. I don’t like
big, tannic reds, but I will always taste them
and sometimes I am surprised.” Also, “don’t
be afraid! Certifications like the Wine &
Spirit Education Trust (WSET) are open for
everyone and all skill levels.”
As far as what Janeen is drinking, she
learned from the beginning that she loves
white wines with tons of citrus and acidity.
Her current go-to is wines of Austria
“I appreciate the legal boundaries in
Austria regarding organic farming, plus it is a
cool climate so lower alcohol.”
She also leans towards the grape Chenin
Blanc due to its versatility and she is a fan
of anything with bubbles. For reds, Janeen
leans towards light and chillable. She also
tends to stay away from anything with oak
aging but in strong contrast, she is a sucker
for a well-made Spanish wine, especially
Rioja. Another recent fascination is high skin
contact whites. While she feels like there
are many in the market “that call themselves
Orange but are nothing more than overdone
and underwhelming when you find a good
one... it’s really good!”
Speaking of what she is drinking, here are
some wine suggestions in Janeen’s words:
“I love Christina Gruner Veltliner. It’s
produced naturally and has a wonderful
family story. The bottle is clear so you can see
the sediment and haziness float through the
bottle like a lava lamp.
“The Domaine du Closel is a
quintessential Chenin Blanc made by a
very talented woman who is not afraid to
be daring in classic Loire Valley. It’s mineral
driven and earthy yet has a brightness that
you always see in Chenin Blanc.
“The Valle dell’Acate is my favorite new
producer. The wines come from volcanic Mt.
Etna, made by a woman who sounds like a
Mortal Kombat character (Gaetana Jacono),
but also makes badass wine. Frappato is a
light red with very delicate features, ending
with a long finish. It has so much range with
cuisines and is a great change of pace for
Pinot Noir drinkers.
22 | MARCH 2023
RoughDraftAtlanta.com