Raj Vaidya
Director of Operations for Gracie Events & Pressoir
“Every task is important. If anything is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well, even cleaning the toilets and sweeping the parking lot.„
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
My best internship was working at the Ryland Inn in the Garden in 2001 and 2002. It connected what the artists and craftsmen did in the kitchen with something very natural and beautiful.
It is vital to remember that when you are in charge of a team, you have to realize that they do not work for you, you have to work for them!
One great piece of advice was ‘do not judge a wine based on one taste; it takes drinking the wine over some period of time, and over several occasions, to really get to know something about it.’ Too often I see young sommeliers passing judgement on wines based on only one experience and a quick taste at that, but it takes much more to truly know a wine.
I find inspiration from winemakers first and foremost. They do the real hard work, and everyone is eating from their plate at the end of the day.
Exercise is absolutely vital for avoiding burnout, I try and sneak in 3-4 long runs or swims per week to keep my mind clear and sharp. Burnout is thought of as physical, but it’s just as important in a mental and head-space sense.
I listen to lots of podcasts about psychology and history, which, while not necessarily related to wine in any direct way can offer insight and perspectives I find useful in our industry. Conversations with founders of all kinds of companies, NPR podcasts like Hidden Brain and Throughline are in my regular rotation.
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