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money to help support their sommelier education. The four wines included the 2016 Provenance Sauvignon Blanc from Napa, the Leeuwin Estate 2015 Siblings Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon from Margaret River, the Squealing Pig 2016 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, and the Château de Rayne Vigneau 2015 Le Sec de Rayne Vigneau from Bordeaux. To throw off the competitors, the wines were purposely not all taken from the Treasury portfolio. "One of the big mis - takes people make in blind tasting is trying to game it," Callahan says. "They're thinking about who brought the wine and whose list it is, but when you do the work and when you learn the wine, that's when you get there." All three winners from Boston are sitting exams this year : Lauren Daddona, Wine Director of Les Sablons in Cambridge, and Nick Daddona, Beverage Director of the Boston Harbor Hotel (yes, they are married), are both sitting the Master Sommelier exam this coming year, and Jodi Bronchtein of L'Espalier in Boston sat her Advanced Exam in St. Louis, Missouri, in November. Bronchtein drove two hours from Rhode Island to attend the seminar with Ballance and Callahan. "Having four of the same variety at one time was so helpful because they know the classic styles," she commented. "At work you can take time out of your busy day with a distributor to taste one Sauvignon Blanc from Virginia, but that's not going to help you in your exam." by Allyson Gorsuch The Luxicon tour stopped in the Buckhead enclave of Atlanta, with the seminar and walk-around tasting held on the top floor of the stately City Club of Buckhead. Ballance this time was joined by Christopher Boyette, who recently earned his Advanced Sommelier pin. Upon congratulating him, Ballance shared that she secretly gets a kick out of people complimenting her Master Sommelier pin. "It's the most expensive pin I could ever own," she remarked with a smile. "With the years of hard work, the number of wines purchased, and the number of books and study materi - als—this pin was expensive!" Turning to the first wine—the same Beringer 2015 Private Reserve Chardonnay that served as wine one in all cities— Andrew touched on the condition of fruit while Ballance pointed out how important making that distinction is, especially in identifying climate. The fruit is ripe in this wine, indicat - ing a warmer climate. The discussion then shifted to winemaking influence in deductive blind tasting. How many white varieties see oak aging? How many see malolactic fermentation? The key to identifying a wine in a blind tasting is to pinpoint these aromas and flavors in a systematic way. "Using all of that, plus your theory and knowledge, all combine so that you make the right conclusion," explained Ballance. The Sauvignon Blanc lineup provided the blind wines for this competition. It was evi - dent during the discussion that several of the competitors taste together regularly. "I'm in a tasting group with a lot of people who participated today, so it'll buy wine for us," declared Joe Herrig, Fine Wine Key Accounts Manager at Georgia Crown Distributing. Gillian Ballance, MS, with Brahm Callahan, MS and Beverage Director for Himmel Hospitality Group. PHOTO: CHRIS COE PHOTO: BONNIE HEATH PHOTO: BONNIE HEATH PHOTO: BONNIE HEATH The host, co-host and a friend pose with the Atlanta winners: Joe Herrig (far left), Fine Wine Key Accounts, Georgia Crown Distributing; Juan F. Cortes (second from left), Sommelier; Gillian Ballance (third from right), MS; Christopher Boyette (second from right); and Natalia Pavlik (far right), Wine Buyer, Mac's Beer and Wine Midtown Liquor. The City Club of Buckhead even served freshly- shucked oysters. Christopher Boyette, Advanced Sommelier for the Intercontinental Buckhead Luxicon and co-host in Atlanta for the day. LUXICON TOUR: ATLANTA 58 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017/2018