Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 70
Page 71
Page 72
Page 73
Page 74
Page 75
Page 76
Page 77
Page 78
Page 79
Page 80
Page 81
Page 82
Page 83
Page 84
Page 85
Page 86
Page 87
Page 88
Page 89
Page 90
Page 91
Page 92
Page 93
Page 94
Page 95
Page 96
Page 97
Page 98
Page 99
Page 100
Page 101
Page 102
Page 103
Page 104
Page 105
Page 106
Page 107
Page 108
New Force iN the MaiNe Spirit world hannaford exec ralph hersom and wife Kim hersom a private chef in their hingham Massachusetts wine shop. A pr i l 2 0 1 6 7 9 Hungry EyE KerryBrett Meet the new sommelier in town. By ClairE z. CramEr W hen Ralph Hersom was named Wine Director of Le Cirque 2000 in 1997 at age 26 Aman- da Hesser wrote in the New York Times that although he didnt look or act the parthe doesnt wear a tastevin around his neck or a scowl on his facehe is in charge of one of the largest and most prestigious wine lists in the world. He was the excep- tion among many of New Yorks somme- liers who suddenly seemed to be young hotshots. Their spontaneity in making us discover new things is more interesting than their knowledge chef Daniel Boulud told Hesser. But Hersom had come to Le Cirque after a hitch as Cellarmaster at Windows On The World at New Yorks World Trade Center where he trained under wine maven and edu- catorKevinZralysohewasbringingyouthful enthusiasm and the chops. By 2005 Hersom was finished with the fabulous New York restaurant scene. For the next 11 years Ralph and his wife Kim Her- som ran Ralphs Wine Spirits in Hing- ham Massachusetts which has just been sold. It was there they developed their in- store Corks Forks wine and food pairing classes which theyll take to new venues. Hersom likes to keep busy. Hes just tak- en the newly created position of Category Manager of Beer Wine and Spirits for the Hannaford supermarket chain through- out the Northeast. From his office at corpo- rate headquarters he plans to refresh those familiar aisles. How did you get your start in restaurants and wine I first got involved in restaurants working at Legal Sea Foods in Worcester Massachu- setts back in the early 90s. Im from South Grafton and Id been studying electrical engineering. Legal has a great training pro- gram for their wait staff part of which is a wine course. After that there was no turn- ing back. I was bitten by the wine bug I sold my possessions and bought a one-way ticket to San Francisco with the hopes and dream of becoming a sommelier. Where did you do your journeyman work before Windows on the World and Le Cirque My first sommelier job was at Mooses Res- taurant in San Francisco circa 1994-1996 after which I headed back east for the re- opening of Windows on the World which had been closed since the first terrorist bombing in 1993 working under the great wine guru Kevin Zraly. In her memoir Garlic and Sapphires former New York Times restaurant critic Ruth Reichl describes the night she visited Windows on the World to review it. She raves about you as affable and enthusiastic the kind of person who could make a wine lover out of anyone. Was she niceor was she demanding Was she in one of her disguises Shewasextremely nice I had noidea who she was as I was fresh off the plane from San Francisco and even the maitre d failed to Somewhere HereHere Its Wine OClock