Local Event Premier Host

Staff Palate Tasting: Bryan Goes Wild

Sat, November 1, 2025 (12:00 PM - 4:00 PM)

Cost: Free

Come by the shop Saturday from noon-4pm and get to know our Operations Manager Bryan Matland and discover the wines that make his palate dance. Actually, "dance" is just the right word for a guy who began his career as a professional modern dancer with Freespace Dance Company. As happens, he also waited tables to make ends meet and at Vento Trattoria fell in love with the music of wine.

Five years at Sheery Lehmann (when that was one of the most important wine shops in the USA) and seven at Bordeaux-specialist Millesima USA in Manhattan deepened his knowledge and experience. He came to DC in 2020 and served stints at Zachys in DC and as General Manager at Verre Wine Bar before joining the team here last spring.

Bryan's palate is broad and eclectic - he's wide open to finding pleasure and excitement in almost any style of wine (at least any style that isn't Provencal pink!). But his wine journey started with the wines of Italy, and there's where his staff palate tasting will go. Join Bryan from noon-4pm on Saturday to try:

Bruna Grimaldi Arneis Langhe 2024 - Pretty brilliant take on Piemonte's signature white picked fresh and ripe at 13% and kept pure and structured by elevage in concrete. Chalky, citrusy and mouthwatering with a just-right floral note.

Monastero Suore Cistercensi Bianco Coenobium 2024 - Cistercian nuns have farmed vines here since the early 1990s and now work with Umbrian legend Paolo Bea to craft this wild "natural" white. Lovely texture and minerality and the expressiveness of...well, a modern dancer.

Ampeleia Costa Toscana Rosso "Unlitro" 1L 2024 - A wild blend of Alicante Nero, Mourvedre, Sangiovese and Alicante done in concrete and with minimal sulfur. It's a big mouthful of Italian fun, especially after it's been open a few hours or even days, making the 1 liter size an extra bonus!

Paride Iaretti Gattinara Pietro 2018 - A beautiful Nebbiolo from higher altitude sites showing classic rose petal, red berry and spice aromas lead to a wine of surprising depth and richness for the region with a lively blood orange note and touch of oak to match the cherry fruit and floral flavors. 

Poderi Aldo Conterno Nebbiolo Langhe Il Favot 2020 - And then Nebbiolo from the heart of Barolo. From one of our favorite Barolo estates, this delivers 100% Barolo character in a wine too delicious to wait to drink. Yum.

And with the wines: Vermont Creamery Maple Chipotle Goat Cheese! Sweet, spicy, tangy and smooth, it’s the perfect bite to recover from all that candy you ate the night before. Come try all the wines and get to know Bryan and his palate from noon-4pm Saturday!

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• Things to do in McLean, VA
• Virginia Wine & Food Events
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