Wine guy
REMY GIANNICO • The Source Imports
WORK • Tuesday Routine
REMY GIANNICO • sales manager • The Source Imports
Neighborhood you live in: Prospect Heights
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
The day starts quietly: pour-over coffee, lining up bottles, making sure they’re at the right temperature to open. I fold serviettes, double-check the price list, wrap bottles so the labels don’t get scuffed. I review notes — both from the company and personal notes from my visits to growers — and mentally map out how I’ll present the wines today. I set the temperature for what I’ll be carrying, open and taste through the wines, check in with buyers, and then it’s out the door, off around the city.
What’s on the agenda for this week?
Today I have three tastings with standout restaurants: Chambers NYC, Pascaline Lepeltier’s Tribeca spot, always thoughtful; Popina, the industry hotspot for pasta with great wines at affordable prices and an impeccably curated cellar of private collections on the Columbia Street Waterfront; and Maxims, a private club.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Borgo tomorrow night, a great restaurant that focuses on ingredients positioned in a really romantic way. In his former life, Andrew Tarlow was an artist, and I just think he has incredible taste. I also really enjoy spending an evening at Lei, where Chinese cuisine is read and studied like your favorite novel, approaching a Richard Olney level of simplicity and beauty, with some 11th arrondissement energy.
Other places: Smithereens, for a great night out for subterranean, East Village, next-level lobster rolls and small bites; Four Horsemen and I Cavallini, for everything (and I mean everything); Noz 17 for the greatest value of fancy omakase (money is there to help us not stop us); and Txikito, which will always stay relevant by doing exactly what it does.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
Definitely cooking from The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy — I’m completely obsessed and trying to really hone my Mexican cooking. I’m also hoping to get into the studio soon to start working on my maps again: etching, sketching, getting back into that rhythm.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Multiple used EuroCave wine fridges, brought up a fifth-floor walk-up. Making sure every bottle is stored at the perfect temperature is non-negotiable.
What NYC store or service do you love to recommend?
Edgar, my driver. He’s the magic behind so much of what I do. And Bonnie Slotnick, for cookbooks, in the East Village. I mean… there’s just no other like her.
Where are you donating your time or money?
Honestly, it’s in the small moments, random acts of kindness. I recently met a woman applying for a cleaning job in Atlanta, clearly navigating some heavy realities under the current immigration climate. I bought her lunch, gave her my number. ‘Just tried to be human and helpful.