We welcome the iconic Howie Rubin to the show! Howie moved to San Francisco in 1975 in search of a good time at age 21, and ended up helping open up America's first wineries bar, the London Wine Bar. They served wines by the glass and had winemaker dinners back then, and he was bitten by the wine bug. He traveled to wine regions all over California and carved himself quite a niche at the wine bar, where wine was really coming into its own. 2 years later he worked a crush at Mayacamas Vineyards on top of Mt. Veeder, and he got a real education and appreciation for how much work goes into producing a bottle of wine.
Phase 2 of his career took place at the Breakers Hotel in Florida, where he lived for a year. He was one of 4 sommeliers on the floor and really tuned up his education on how to serve, how to sell, and how to learn about European wines. He tried to get the Hotel to take on some California wines, but they were resistant!
Howie then moved to Marblehead in 1980 and began what turned out to be a 43-year run on Valentine's Day 1980. He worked for 4 different owners over those years, and each one let him run the business his way, which is customer service comes before anything else. During the 90s he had a 2-minute radio program on wine, airing twenty times a week, talking about the trends and highlights of the wine business in Boston. He also hosted dinners with Daniel Bruce for the Boston wine festival and did that for many years.
When he was presented with the opportunity to open up Vin Fromage, he was ready for a change. The local community has embraced them, and the wine program has thrived and grown under his watch. The philosophy that worked at Bauers is the same there... always put your customers' needs first!
Learn more at:
https://www.instagram.com/vinfromage/
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