Episode 6.6 - Sommelier Peter Poulos, Highland Fine Wine and 2022 ATL "Somm Smackdown" Champion

This episode features Peter Poulos, a wine and hospitality professional whose path in wine began while in Athens, GA attending The University of Georgia. He says that his wine curiosity while serving in restaurants led to further experimentation. He moved to Atlanta after college to pursue his first passion of dance, but while juggling auditions and rehearsals, Peter was also a member of the team at Veni Vidi Vici where he was introduced to obscure grapes, higher price points, and often overlooked Italian regions. After seven years with that company, Peter opened a Pilates studio, where he was named "best instructor" 4 years in a row by popular vote in Creative Loafing. To make ends meet, Peter accepted a position with Concentrics group at their flagship restaurant, One Midtown Kitchen, where he was surrounded by wine once again and was able to take his wine education more seriously. He recalls, however, that leading a new team at The Spence with advanced sommelier Justin Amick was the role that would ultimately change his life. Justin held a wine tasting group on Mondays, and one night after a few too many glasses of Assyrtiko, Peter registered for his level one and two Court of Master Sommelier exams. We talk about how he successfully passed both exams in one weekend. He later became the beverage director/sommelier at Parrish in Inman Park of Atlanta where he created new cocktails and restyled their wine list for 3 years. We talk about what it's been like to move from restaurants to retail because Peter has been the lead buyer at Highland Fine Wine now for 4 years, and his commitment to hospitality is more one-on-one with customers as he guides them to the perfect bottle for any occasion. He is still dancing more than ever while also continuing his wine education with Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) level 3, looking onward to diploma certification. Most recently, Peter participated in Atlanta's annual "Somm Smackdown" blind tasting competition...and won the whole thing! Peter loves to use his knowledge to educate others while still learning himself, so he challenges me to a live blind tasting at the end of the episode. His future plans include dancing his way through life, drinking wine along the way. You can follow his adventures on Instagram @petedrinkswine and check out www.highlandfinewine.com to learn more about his work.

Recorded March 21, 2022