You are here
Ramon Narvaez and Robert Wiedmaier, Together Again
December 16, 2010
Coming Full Circle
Ramón Narváez and Robert Wiedmaier, Together Again
Ramón Narváez travels all over the wine regions of France, Portugal, Spain, California, and the Pacific Northwest, seeking out wines and winemakers that he finds inspirational. He visits the vineyards and meets the farmers, handles the grapes and tastes vintages he is considering for the restaurants before they are even bottled. After years exploring and working in some of the best establishments, Narváez continued his formal education on the floor, but now is preparing simultaneously to become a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine.
Narváez, a Venezuelan by birth, arrived in Washington and spent the past 22 years learning the ropes of high-end hospitality at some of the finest hotels in town. Then he took the opportunity to oversee operations at Chef Fabrizzio Aielli’s Osteria Goldoni, which meant running a wine program with an emphasis on Italian and American vintages.
After a few years, in 2002, Narváez joined Robert Wiedmaier at Marcel’s, on the condition that he receive training in the classic wines that suit the restaurant’s fine French cuisine. Wiedmaier set his protégé on parallel training tracks: the formal certification course administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers; and an intensive tutorial with his own former mentor, the legendary Chef Douglas McNeill, a personal program lasting nearly three years that opened doors in Europe’s highest wine circles.
After six years at Marcel’s, Narváez became sommelier at Adour, the Alain Ducasse restaurant at Washington’s St. Regis Hotel. “The level of collaboration between the kitchen and the wine cellar was intense,” he recalls, “and Chef Ducasse would come in from time to time and taste the day’s pairings. I couldn’t have paid for that experience.”
In overseeing the wine and beverage programs in his care, Narváez sees his responsibility as ensuring that Robert Wiedmaier’s dedication to top quality, harmony, and service remains a common thread, without making them “cookie cutter” replicas of each other. His wine lists are perennially honored by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and “genius sommelier,” as he is called by Zagat, is fairly typical of how he is described in the press. As Wiedmaier’s full-circle sommelier, Narváez is creating “Wow!” moments for every guest, one wine pairing at a time.
Back tableside at Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck, Mussel Bar and BRABO, he is able to convey not just a recommendation for the ideal pairing, but a full ‘life history’ of a wine to his guests – “That is,” he laughs, “those who care to hear it.”
Marcel's -
2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202.296.1166
Brasserie Beck -
1101 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202.408.1717
Mussel Bar -
7262 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
301.215.7817
Ramón Narváez and Robert Wiedmaier, Together Again
Ramón Narváez travels all over the wine regions of France, Portugal, Spain, California, and the Pacific Northwest, seeking out wines and winemakers that he finds inspirational. He visits the vineyards and meets the farmers, handles the grapes and tastes vintages he is considering for the restaurants before they are even bottled. After years exploring and working in some of the best establishments, Narváez continued his formal education on the floor, but now is preparing simultaneously to become a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine.
Narváez, a Venezuelan by birth, arrived in Washington and spent the past 22 years learning the ropes of high-end hospitality at some of the finest hotels in town. Then he took the opportunity to oversee operations at Chef Fabrizzio Aielli’s Osteria Goldoni, which meant running a wine program with an emphasis on Italian and American vintages.
After a few years, in 2002, Narváez joined Robert Wiedmaier at Marcel’s, on the condition that he receive training in the classic wines that suit the restaurant’s fine French cuisine. Wiedmaier set his protégé on parallel training tracks: the formal certification course administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers; and an intensive tutorial with his own former mentor, the legendary Chef Douglas McNeill, a personal program lasting nearly three years that opened doors in Europe’s highest wine circles.
After six years at Marcel’s, Narváez became sommelier at Adour, the Alain Ducasse restaurant at Washington’s St. Regis Hotel. “The level of collaboration between the kitchen and the wine cellar was intense,” he recalls, “and Chef Ducasse would come in from time to time and taste the day’s pairings. I couldn’t have paid for that experience.”
In overseeing the wine and beverage programs in his care, Narváez sees his responsibility as ensuring that Robert Wiedmaier’s dedication to top quality, harmony, and service remains a common thread, without making them “cookie cutter” replicas of each other. His wine lists are perennially honored by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and “genius sommelier,” as he is called by Zagat, is fairly typical of how he is described in the press. As Wiedmaier’s full-circle sommelier, Narváez is creating “Wow!” moments for every guest, one wine pairing at a time.
Back tableside at Marcel’s, Brasserie Beck, Mussel Bar and BRABO, he is able to convey not just a recommendation for the ideal pairing, but a full ‘life history’ of a wine to his guests – “That is,” he laughs, “those who care to hear it.”
Marcel's -
2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037
202.296.1166
Brasserie Beck -
1101 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
202.408.1717
Mussel Bar -
7262 Woodmont Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
301.215.7817
