Getting to Know: Shaun Green

Shaun Green: K&L's Master of EverythingWhat’s your position at K&L and how long have you been with the company?

I work in our customer service department, wine sales, accounting, IT, you name it I've probably been asked to do it.  It keeps my day exciting.

What did you do before K&L?

I started carrying out boxes in High School for K&L, so I’ve always been connected to the company.

What do you do in your spare time?

Outside the wine world, I love gardening and we regularly attend the magnificent SF Symphony, Opera and Ballet.

What was your "epiphany wine"—the bottle or glass that got you interested in wine? Is there a current wine that you consider the equivalent?

I would say it was more of an epiphany vintage... I tasted the young wines of the 1981 Bordeaux vintage and was completely perplexed. It sparked my imagination wondering how these brash wines could ever taste good. And it started my asking questions, lots and lots of questions of Ralph, Clyde, and Kevin (my then manager). It's a credit to their character that they still talk to me!

Describe your perfect meal. What wine(s) would you pair with it?

Starts with Champagne, Comtes de Champagne would be fine, and smoked fish…followed by a White Burgundy and a mature Red Burgundy (Keith would pick them for me) and a ’61 Chateau Latour with grilled lamb and roast vegetables. Most importantly it should be a huge dinner with plenty of friends and last way too long into the night. 

How do you think your palate’s changed over the years?

I've become more and more fascinated with the fine evolution of older wines, and less excited by exaggerated and massive wines. Elegance and finesse have become much more important to me.  I want my wines to be poetic and thought provoking.

What do you like to drink?

Champagne (lots of Gary's finds from Europe) and whatever is my current obsession. At the moment it's Burgundy and Sauvignon Blanc. 

What words of advice do you have to offer people just getting into wine?

Taste all you can, ask questions, and listen to all those who have been around a while.

Getting to Know: David Rickenbaker

Name: David Rickenbaker

What’s your position at K&L and how long have you been with the company?

I have managed the San Francisco K&L for the last 11 and a half years.

What did you do before you started working here?

Prior to K&L I spent 28 memorable years managing several Safeway and Liquor Barn locations.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I play basketball, do a little snow skiing when there is snow like this year, and Ienjoy mystery novels.

What’s your favorite movie?

Any in the Jason Bourne collection.

What was your “epiphany wine”—the bottle or glass that got you interested in wine? Is there a current wine that you consider the equivalent?

My epiphany wine has to have been the 1977 Alexander Valley Silver Oak that a friend gave me. I started heading up to Napa to do some wine tasting the very next weekend. I now definitely prefer a great glass of Paradigm Cabernet.

Describe your perfect meal (at a restaurant or prepared at home). What wine(s) would you pair with it?

My favorite food is anything Italian, with either a crisp Falanghina or rich Piedmonte Nebbiolo.

How do you think your palate’s changed over the years?

I no longer enjoy fruit forward wines, but prefer wines with more balance and subtle flavors like a Puligny-Montrachet or perhaps a Bordeaux from Pauillac.

What do you like to drink?

I enjoy a good gin martini, a classic Belgian ale with raw oysters and/or a glass of Krug Champagne with sushi.

What words of advice do you have to offer people just getting into wine?

Be open-minded. Do the research, which includes tasting and reading, and don’t put too much faith in writers who emphasize points. Decide for yourself what is good and what works with the foods you enjoy.

If you could have dinner with any three people in history, who would you invite? What wine would you serve each of them?  

I would love to split a bottle of Wente Chablis with my late father, his favorite, a bottle of 1990 Lynch-Bages with the legendary Joe Montana and with my wife a bottle of Krug Rosé, absolutely her favorite wine in all the world.

Getting to Know: Leah Greenstein

Name: Leah Greenstein

What’s your position at K&L and how long have you been with the company?

I’ve been K&L’s writer and editor since June 2007. I put together the newsletter every month, work on the blog, our Twitter account and write tasting notes and email blasts.

What did you do before K&L?

I managed Pizzeria Mozza—Mario Batali and Nancy’s Silverton’s restaurant here in L.A.

What do you do in your spare time?

I cook and write about food on my blog (SpicySaltySweet.com) and occasionally freelance for print and online magazines. I also love to ride my bike on the beach, hike and geek out at the farmers’ market.

What was your “epiphany wine”?

I went to Sonoma State for undergrad and we spent a lot of time knocking over wineries on Saturdays instead of bar-hopping on Friday nights. And my favorite was always the Gewürztraminer at Kunde—I didn’t even like white wine back then, but it was fresh and bright and spicy. Oh, and they played Led Zeppelin in the tasting room.

Describe your perfect meal.

I love rustic Italian and French food, like the kind cooked by grandmas for generations, paired with fresh, balanced wines.

Do you think your palate’s changed?

Absolutely. I started off liking really fruit-forward, aggressively structured wines. Now I prefer lighter-bodied, higher-acid wines with more subtlety than punch.

What do you like to drink?

Neal’s (my fiancée) home brews, craft beer, wines from all over France, especially the Loire and the Rhône, aged Bordeaux, regional Italian wines and, more recently, gin cocktails.

What words of advice do you have to offer people just getting into wine?

Don’t be afraid of us wine nerds. Sometimes we give the long answer to what seems like an easy question, but really we want you to have the best wine experience. Try new things and, most of all, don’t assume that just because the critics like it that you have to. I think everyone’s palate is different and everyone’s palate changes.

If you could have dinner with any three people in history, who would you invite?

My two grandfathers and Catherine the Great because she was one badass broad. We’d drink Aviations and Châteauneuf-du-Pape from my birth year, which was said to be legendary for wine as well as for snow.