Goldstein, Evan 1961-

views updated

Goldstein, Evan 1961-

PERSONAL:

Born 1961; son of Marc (an architect) and Joyce (a chef) Goldstein.

CAREER:

Master sommelier, wine educator, and writer. Sterling Vineyards School of Service and Hospitality, Napa Valley, CA, director, 1990-2002; Allied Domecq, wine educator, 2002-05; Beam Wine Estates, vice president of global wine and brand education, 2005—; BeautifulPlaces, Sonoma, CA, advisor, 2006—. Worked as a sommelier for numerous restaurants, 1984-2001.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Starwine Achievement in Education Award, 2005.

WRITINGS:

(With mother, Joyce Goldstein) Food and Wine Pairing, Time-Life Books (Alexandria, VA), 1999.

(With Joyce Goldstein) Enoteca: Simple, Delicious Recipes in the Italian Wine Bar Tradition, Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

(With Joyce Goldstein) Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food, University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 2006.

Contributor to Santé, Wine & Dine, TASTE, and Wine Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Son of award-winning chef Joyce Goldstein, Evan Goldstein made a name for himself in culinary circles when he became, at the age of twenty-six, the youngest applicant and only eighth American to pass the prestigious Master Sommelier examination. A sommelier is an expert on wines, especially on which wines to serve with different kinds of food. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Goldstein's wine lists earned him numerous awards. A position with the Sterling Vineyards School of Service and Hospitality in 1990 gave him the opportunity to pass on his well-earned knowledge of food and wine service. In 2002 Goldstein began working for Allied Domecq Wines as a wine and hospitality educator, and over the next few years developed a unique training program called the Academy of Wine.

Goldstein has provided the wine notes for two of his mother's cookbooks: Food and Wine Pairing and Enoteca: Simple, Delicious Recipes in the Italian Wine Bar Tradition. In 2006 he released his own book offering a basic guide to food and wine pairings in addition to more advanced topics related to choosing wines. Titled Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food, Goldstein's book also includes a number of his mother's original recipes designed to complement specific wine selections. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the book "encourages experimentation and offers hints on how to taste with discernment." A reviewer for California Bookwatch commended Goldstein's "depth of perception" and his "excellent pointers." In a review for the Library Journal, Christine Holmes commented: "Goldstein serves up straightforward, practical advice for pairing wine with food."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

California Bookwatch, August, 2006, review of Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food.

Library Journal, May 1, 2006, Christine Holmes, review of Perfect Pairings, p. 114.

Publishers Weekly, February 13, 2006, review of Perfect Pairings, p. 81.

ONLINE

Court of Master Sommeliers,http://www.mastersommeliers.org/ (November 26, 2006), author profile.*