Frank Reider says, "People
shouldn't be intimidated by wine. They should come out and try and
learn." His knowledge of the Chilean and Argentinean wines in his book, Wines of
Passion: The Best of South America,
is remarkable. The writing is reminiscent of a tour guide, whose zeal for his work comes naturally,
as he takes you on a tasting through the Andes and across the desert
of Mendoza
Frank,
once head of corporate lending for Chase Manhattan Bank in Brazil,
began a tourism magazine that combined his skills in journalism with
his love of South America. Then, while he owned and operated
five-star hotels in Brazil, he discovered just how comparable
many South American wines (whose vines have been transported from Europe in the 1850s) were to French, Italian, Spanish, Australian, and
Californian.
Gol! The Taste of Brazil is Reider's celebrated Brazilian steakhouse in Delray Beach.
His restaurant features many wines from vineyards Frank has
visited. And all of the wines on his nationally
recognized wine list have been tasted by the author.
In conjunction with the recent
publication of his book Wines of Passion: The Best of South
America, Frank has been hosting
wine tastings. 660 at the Angler's hosted the first such tasting/
three-course wine dinner. For $66 per person, each guest received a
signed copy of the book, dinner, wine pairings, and the accessibility
to speak with Frank about the wines.
Frank
hopes his guests and readers learn to enthusiastically appreciate
South American wines. He hopes his next project will be blind tastings
where
participant determine whether wines are from South America or France,
for example. "They're going to be surprised,"
he says.
The
next wine dinner will be held at Red
The Steakhouse on
September 16. Frank will introduce a new set of Chilean wines.
