A Conversation With Regina Daignault
Regina Daignault is a sommelier, wine director, wine distributor, and wine educator with a passion for education & wine hospitality. She is certified with the Court of Sommeliers, Wine Scholar Guild, Diploma Level Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and as a Bordeaux Tudor with 30 + years of wisdom. We are lucky enough to have had her sit down with Tanya Morning Star Darling for a conversation about the influences the inspired her passions and career in the hospitality business, the value of hard work and connection, and the ever important role of education.
Tell us a bit about yourself, was wine part of your family life growing up?
My family owned and operated an Italian and French Bread and Rolls Bakery in Philadelphia, PA. My parents worked every day in the bakery and woke us up (my 5 brothers and sisters) every morning before school to work as well. We lived above the bakery in a 3 bedroom large apartment so it was hard to escape work.
My father was Italian from immigrants from Abruzzo and Campania, and my mother Lebanese from immigrants as well. Growing up we only ate Lebanese and Italian food -- REALLY! I never tasted ginger or soy or any other item from any other culture until I left home.
My father made wine from grapes he had purchased from California that would be on trains (I remember being in the truck when he picked them up) and dropped off in the Italian Market in Philly. We helped him make wine in the cellar of the bakery, and bread and rolls everyday.
My parents believed in children having wine with dinner - it was watered down or a touch of 7-up was added when we were really small. My parents loved wines from all over the world: Italy, France, and California; those were most of the wines that I encountered during my early years - it was simply another food on the table. And speaking of food, we ate only live and natural foods, milk from a Amish farm, all fruits and vegetables - a lot of dark Italian greens like Broccoli Raab, or Rapini as it’s now referred to, and of course so many Mediterranean dishes that were either Lebanese or Italian.
I went to school with hard sharp provolone cheese sandwiches and broccoli raab or eggplant parmesan sandwiches when all the other kids were eating bologna.
Were wine and hospitality your first career? How did you come to the world of wine?
Since my parents sold bread and rolls to restaurants, we ate at many of them, and my father would make us finish our water so that he could put wine in the glasses. He got in trouble a few times but he didn’t care. It was funny, and I could go on ... I have so many stories.
Naturally food and wine was easy for me, and seemed more natural to me than any of my siblings, they barely drink wine to this day. As a kid I smelled everything. I mean everything so sensory was already underway - unbeknownst to me at the time, of course!
I studied Hospitality Management at FIU (Florida International University). They had a great program, but I got so into working as a restaurant and bar manager that I finally quit school (lack of funds and support) and just worked in Miami for a little over 2 years. That was the early 1980s. I started a small fish business shipping to L.A. where I had friends in restaurants. Eventually I moved to L.A because it was the mid-80s and the Alice Waters years, Ma Maison, and Wolfgang, etc., and I loved the idea of living near the vines and wine, and I started buying wine for the places that I was managing. It was a natural transition to sommelier/wine director.
I also love singing and sang in a Buddhist Choir that performed in Seattle, that’s what brought me here after my 5 year stint in LA. I worked as a restaurant manager for Dany Mitchell for 2 years that sort of led me to Palisade in 1992 when they opened and recruited me, and they asked me to be the wine buyer.
You have been an educator for many years, but I am curious about your own personal experience with education. What is the most valuable thing that your own formal education in wine has given you?
There are so many benefits that I received from my experiences with good teachers. Among them is structure, but not so defined that it’s overwhelming or boring, but a structured education that has stories embedded and fun facts and personal information that makes the student feel connected to the teacher. Sometimes I actually experienced the opposite in my formal training and education, but that’s helped me build my own structure that I believe in and support with feedback from students. I know that we all learn so differently and I love hitting all the points and targets for learning. It’s exciting to me when I can make that connection stick in someone. I’ve enjoyed great teachers that I learned from and not so great teachers that I learned MORE from!
In wine, informal education and mentorship is so very important, can you tell us about the informal learning experiences which have most impacted you in your career? Have you had any important mentors along the way?
One of my favorite people in Seattle was Tom Stoekley. I had the great fortune to work with him while at Palisade. Tom was a consultant for RUI - a wonderful human with excellent manners and personality, humble and kind. He helped me through the massive job of managing the list, inventory, and calculating for successful financials. Coincidentally, he was just on the cover with an article about him in a recent PNW Magazine in the Seattle Times.
Going backwards, my encounters with winemakers in California were very impactful to me as well. I will always cherish those days: multiple trips to Napa, Sonoma, and Lodi were made throughout the mid- late 80s, and each winemaker was kind and patient, thorough, and generous. One person that especially comes to mind is Jed Steele of Shooting Star. Back then he was the winemaker for KJ and a very kind man. I learned a lot from him. There are more: Bruce Neyers, Gina Gallo, and many whose names are lost to me right now - Iron Horse, Carmenet, Chalone - Dick Graff, and many others.
As an educator and mentor yourself, you were part of building the Northwest Wine Academy, where I had the pleasure to work with you and get to know you. One of the things which struck me the most when I met you was your enthusiasm and inclusivity. What is the most inspiring and gratifying thing for you about teaching, and mentoring over the years?
Tanya thank you again for your kind comments. I love inspiring others about wine and food, and I love impacting our culture through food and wine too. I believe that we can achieve a sort of world peace through food and wine. I have experienced so many students and their palates changing and expanding because of wine and thus impacting the way they eat and enjoy food. As you know, so much of how we experience the world is often through others eyes. I had an amazing childhood filled with so many wonderful meals and experiences with great wine and great food, together and separately, that I wanted everyone to see, hear, smell and taste all the wonderful foods and wine that I knew of and enjoyed. It’s why I am so inspired to teach others, because I know how amazing and enjoyable it can be and impactful to our lives. My sincere pleasure is to infect others with good eating - our country needs it!
Today, you are a WSET educator, you also have your own company, Reggie Wine, where you offer an array of wine classes you have developed on your own, with a special focus on sensory evaluation, and lead educational tours. Can you tell us about the merits of classroom learning vs. learning in the field.
I wanted to have a small company that focused on learning through many methods, and where I could experiment with different venues, avenues, and adventures. It’s been a little challenging making enough money to keep myself afloat; thank goodness my husband is able to support our family and me. But I am not afraid of work and will do just about anything in food and wine, so establishing myself in multiple areas of education made sense. As I mentioned above, the structure in the classroom is so valuable. It helps our brains organize the information, but the field actually provides a mental image and experience of that information - that’s when it sticks!
I love traveling for that reason, it’s not only a great way to build community but it’s a wonderful way to stick that massive array of information into our brains for the structured part of our learning. And then I can provide the stories of actual vineyards, wineries, consortiums, and labs that I have seen and enjoyed and learned from to enhance the experience for the students. I can say so much more here, but I will leave it to your wonderful imagination!
What advice can you give to wine lovers who want to do more experiential learning? Can you share with us some practical ways that people can go about making the shift from tourist to learner in the real world of wine?
TASTE EVERYTHING! Explore every possible wine and food that you can, and experiment with pairing by PAYING ATTENTION and BEING PRESENT - this is the best way to learn and the most fun too! I think that most of us need to expand our palates and grow our knowledge through experience. I tell everyone to keep trying wines and foods that you thought you did not like, there will be a time when the magic happens and it just makes life that much better.
Visit Regina’s Website Reggie Wine at https://www.reggiewine.com
Follow Regina on Instagram @reggiewine2020
