First and foremost, I must apologize to my legions of loyal fans (aka my mom) for not making one post in the month of February- the idea of a blog seemed so effortless on paper.

Moving on…What a jammed pack month.  Social celebrated its 3rd anniversary- it is still incomprehensible that three years have passed.  A gigantic ‘thank you’ to all who attended the festivities as well as made it possible.  The juice was flowin’, the music via Space Invaders was bumpin’ and the debauchery was incitin’.

Next, I competed in the Regionals of the Youth Sommelier Competition.  Didn’t win, didn’t advanced but I learned a massive amount and plan to be a tour de force next year.  I’m gunnin’ for the gold mofos.

More importantly, our new GM, Zach Smith, started on the 1st and is now in full swing.  He hails from Charlotte via Houston has been a GM for Upstream restaurant and XO wine bar and lounge.  One should expect higher standards in all facets of the operation so pop by and make friends.  He happens to be a really nice guy too.

Lastly, I was accepted to sit the Advanced Sommelier Examination (Level 3) in Anaheim at the end of April.  The pass rate is painfully low at 20% but everybody needs a challenge.  Over the next two months, I will be sure to keep you posted of all the odd rules, regulations and appellations that I must learn to pass.  The wine world is a funny place and quite often, bureaucracy as opposed to logic, becomes the driving force- just ask Tyler Coleman(www.drvino.com).

That’s the update.  I have a lot of big, big plans for this blog in 2010 so stay tuned…or just check back in a few days.  Tell then, drink some delicious juice and stay warm (unless you are currently cold, then get warm).

Ballstein