The Long Goodbye

This is Erin. She made a great record in 2004. One record. I have listened to it many, many times. I think you should listen to her song while you read this post. This is all we ever got to hear. But I will not go into that.

I am Sheb. I write wine lists. I taste. I think about how to connect things, mainly grape-based fermentations, to food. Or not to food. I like the untried path, and yes, I am rigid but I am the most open, rigid person you will ever know. I am proud mainly due to insecurity.

I was hired in 2006 to write a wine menu for a gastropub opening up on South Michigan Avenue. It was going to be a one time thing, wham bam thank you ma'am, I deliver a list, they deliver a check. It turned into something much more remarkable. A job that lasted 6 years.

When we opened a second restaurant, I got a little press.

Tonight, I am finishing a bottle of the always brilliant and unerringly consistent Domaine Bruno Clair Marsannay 'Les Vaudenelles' 2009. I have drunk most of it. I love it. I have sold many bottles. It is always a hit.

I am not always a hit. Especially in service. It is not my strong suit. I am emotional, unfiltered and easily   unnerved. Perpetually unnerved. I can be testy. I am often sad, really. But if you let me, I will find you a bottle, a glass of something beautiful and perfect. If you open, I open and we can be together. And if I am wrong, I will try again. I am like that, persistent and hopeful. Unpolished, a bit raw, but deeply maternal. A beautiful friend of mine said once that first I scared her but then she got to know my big, unending heart.

I have tried to be more slick, polished and unflappable, but it does not fit on my skin. And I think people want their somms not so much like me. I wonder if I would like myself, if I were not me, having this strong-jawed, American interloper with an unpronounceable name approach my table to talk about wine?

I am leaving South Michigan Avenue. 

I am going west. A little bit west, to 802 W Washington. I am happy to announce that I will now be working with the amazing Craig Perman, at my favorite wine shop, Perman Wine Selections. 

Those of you who used to know me at Que Syrah, come back! And if I was open, and you were open, and we connected on South Michigan Avenue- please stop in. Craig and I have some plans, the best of which will happen Friday evenings, so please stay tuned. My little home nest is emptying and I am ready for something very new.

The most awesome thing about Perman Wine Selections? The Phone Number.

312-666-4417

Seriously. 666. Need I say more?????