Interview with our Wine Exporter - Emilio Saez Van Eerd
February 4th, 2008
We’ve recently decided that it’s about time we introduced you to the team. And there were a couple ways we considered doing this, but in the end, we figured the most interesting person to start off this process would be the guy who travels around the world sharing our wines with you. Emilio Saez Van Eerd is obviously not from around these parts. He’s a towering Dutch man with sandy blond hair and a killer smile who came on board a few years ago. We tease him because he reminds us of the kid who’s continually pulling his Dad’s jacket saying, “Why is the sky blue? What makes lollipops round? Why doesn’t Santa Clause shave his beard?” He’s curious! But he’s also passionate about wine and always willing to try something new. We hope you enjoy the interview and please don’t hesitate to ask questions of Emilio.
1. During a typical day at a wine fair, what has been the oddest questions you’ve fielded from a potential customer or visitor from the fair?
At the Wine Fair in Singapore, the Tintoralba Dulce became the public’s favorite. Everyone who heard about the wine came up to my stand asking for “Red Ice Wine”. In the beginning, I seriously tried to explain that our Dulce was, in reality, a late harvest red Garnacha Tintorera with 230 grams of sugar and not an ice wine. But although everybody listened politely to me, they kept asking me: “Can I have your red ice wine please”. I decided to give up, and I happily served all the “red ice wine” they wanted. I even started to believe that our wine maker was a real genius, because he was the first one in Spain to make a red ice wine. By the way, Pedro Sarrion is a very good wine maker, and a real Garnacha Tintorera specialist.
2. Of all the places you visited throughout the year, which one stands out as the most memorable?
Seoul, no doubt.
3. Considering that your adventures have taken you to Korea, Singapore and Germany, what has been most intriguing cuisine you’ve tried with a Tintoralba wine?
Asia in general, has been the most intriguing cuisine I’ve tried, as a result of their spices. One of the spices that the Asians typically use is called, “five spices”. It’s a combination of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger and fennel seeds. A Chinese sommelier in Singapore was amazed that our Tintoralba Roble - made with a slight touch of oak imparting lots of spicy aromas - smelled just like the five spice blend. When we eventually tried a variety of dishes made with the spice blend, sure enough, the combination was dead on.
4, Because you are required to live out of your suitcase for weeks at a time, what are three things you’ve learned are absolute essentials to pack for a wine fair?
My laptop, my camera and enough money to pay the high internet rates they charge in hotels.
5. When visiting another country, we’ve all made the mistake of misusing the language when communicating an important idea. Can you think of an experience when you wish you’d consulted your guidebook a bit more closely?
We were staying at the Shilla hotel, the most prestigious hotel of South Korea, with breakfast included on the first floor. Every morning, we were asked by the waiter to hand in a voucher for the breakfast, but as the pronunciation was very Asian, we didn’t understand what the waiter was really asking of us. So, every morning, we told him the same thing: we had rooms with breakfast included and that he shouldn’t worry too much. By the fifth morning, a waiter insisted we sign for the breakfast, while we remained completely unfazed by his request. That same morning, as we were checking out of the hotel, we noticed that we were charged 60 dollars for breakfast. Off course, we started to complain that we had only signed for one breakfast, because we were given free breakfast vouchers. The receptionist responded in perfect English that our “breakfast included restaurant” was at the 18th floor, not the first. Luckily for us, the hotel manager decided that the three of us did not have to pay for the 3 x 5 breakfast we had consumed. I have to admit, however, that the breakfast on the first floor was indeed, the most complete breakfast I had ever seen.
So, there you have it, the life of our export manager. We always knew that Emilio was a busy man with a multitude of stories to tell, but even we didn’t realize unique and entertaining his experiences have been on the road.
Cheers,
Tintoralba
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