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Tasting with Matthew Crawford and Cara De Lavallade

In our latest podcast, Advanced Sommeliers  and  discuss blind tasting with host and Master Sommelier . They discuss whether blind tasting is useful outside of the exam setting, how they use this skill in their jobs, and the greatest challenges in their tasting journeys.

Matthew Crawford is the director of operations for Rocket Farm Restaurants, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Matthew lives in Houston, Texas, where Rocket Farm operates another restaurant, called State of Grace. Cara De Lavallade is the sommelier at Posana Restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina. She previously held wine director positions at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, and Willows Lodge in Woodinville, Washington.

Listen in as Matthew and Cara blind taste the same red wine, and see if you can guess along with them. We’ll reveal the wine they’re tasting at the end of the episode.

Thanks for listening. If you enjoy this episode, please leave us a review, as this helps us connect with and grow our community. Cheers!


In this episode:

Matthew Crawford

Matthew Crawford is the director of operations for Rocket Farm Restaurants, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Matthew lives in Houston, Texas, where the restaurant group operates State of Grace, its only restaurant outside of Atlanta.

Matt is an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, and is currently studying for the Master Sommelier Service and Tasting exams.

Follow Matthew on Instagram.

Follow Matthew on LinkedIn.

Cara De Lavallade

Cara De Lavallade is the sommelier at Posana Restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina. She is an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, and is currently studying for the Master Sommelier Theory exam. She holds a Level 3 Award in Wines from WSET and a French Wine Scholar certificate.

Cara previously held wine director positions at Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, and Willows Lodge in Woodinville, Washington.

Follow Cara on Instagram.

Follow Cara on LinkedIn.

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