So, about that whole Bed-Stuy thing...

I have a confession to make. For someone who's running about town as the Bed-Stuy Somm, it bears noting that I'm not actually from Bed-Stuy. I grew up in East New York. Close, but not the same.  

Yerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp, Boulevard Houses

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 Nevertheless, I've lived in the Stuy for nearly 10 years and call it home these days. I hope to call it home as long as I can afford to do so. 

So what is this whole Bed-Stuy Somm thing about anyway? First and foremost, it's about booze (cuz I'm a Certified Sommelier and I drink stuff). Wine mostly, spirits and other drinkable stuff like coffee and tea. It's also about education (cuz I'm an educator and writer, and I teach stuff). One of the first things I learned from my mentor, Master Sommelier Scott Carney, was that a good sommelier is humble, hard-working, and ever curious. Snobs and know-it-alls to the left. 

Baby somm, back in the Boulevard days.

via GIPHY

Probably the second thing I learned from Scott was that people can drink what they like, price, quality, and trendy grapes be damned. It's the sommelier's job to help her or his guests have an incredible and enriching experience by helping them find and learn about what they like. 

I dig this philosophy. To me, it means that wine and spirits is not just for the upper and upper middle classes; booze is a solidly proletarian experience, much like the heart and soul of Bed-Stuy. 

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Probably the third thing I learned after wine school was that the wine and booze business has a rep for being pretty stuffy, pretty white, and historically male. This flies in the face of the groovy philosophy above. How can wine and booze be for everyone -- from the bourgeoisie to the bros, to the brothas, and all their homies -- if EVERYONE isn't represented in the business? 

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Well, that did it, in my mind. It was time to change the world. I decided to start in my world, Bed-Stuy, where the wine, crime, food, and community, vary block-by-block. (Besides, East New York Somm didn't have the same ring to it. But I've got your back, Boulevard.)