Steve Olson, aka wine geek, is dedicated to the education and consultation of degustation for appreciation and celebration. He teaches, lectures, and writes about wine, beer, spirits, sake, and virtually any other beverages under the sun, discussing their integral cause-and-effect relationship with food, as he preaches the gospel of his mission: making tasting fun by removing the intimidation factor and the pretense.
You may recognize Olson from one of his many stops on the lecture circuit, as the performer / host of several trade education and product information videos, or as the former co-host (with Andrea Immer) of QUENCH, the Food Network's weekly program that celebrated what's happening in the world of beer, wine and spirits.
You may be familiar with his writing in several industry publications, such as Food & Wine Magazine, Wine & Spirits, or Santé. He is also the author of the very first interactive CD ROM about wine, Food & Wine's Wine Tastings, which attempts to teach novices and professionals alike how to taste and evaluate wine.
Olson may be best known to many, however, for his restaurant consulting, having designed the innovative beverage programs and service systems for several nationally acclaimed restaurants, including the Relais Chateau, Mobil Five Star award-winning Mayflower Inn in Connecticut, New York City's #1 Zagat-rated restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, Chelsea's hot new Mexican restaurant, Sueños, and the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City.
Olson's consulting firm, aka wine geek, specializes in the professional presentation of wine, beer, sake, spirits and non alcohol beverage education for the trade, as well as for consumers, the press and the media. The company acts as a liaison between all strata of the industry, serving in an educational and advisory capacity between producer, importer, distributor, sales force, restaurateur, retailer, management, servers, and all others involved in the presentation and sales of beverages, creating the opportunity for successful interface with the consumer.
Olson is a frequent speaker on wines and spirits at numerous culinary events, including Food & Wine Magazine's Aspen Classic, Telluride Wine Festival, Epcot Int'l Food and Wine Festival, Walt Disney World, Boston Wine Expo, Washington Wine Expo and the DiRoNa National Conference, among others.
Olson has received many accolades for his work in wine, and has won several competitions, including the Western regional competition (in L.A.) of the Grand Prix SOPEXA du Sommelier in 1991. Later that year, he went on to finish first runner-up in the National competition. In 1994, he won the Eastern regional competition (in N.Y.), becoming the first and only sommelier ever to win the competition on each coast, and then repeated his performance in the Nationals, retaining his ranking as the #2 ranked sommelier in America. He was named Sante Magazine's Spirits Professional of the Year in 2003.
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