Wine Director Maximilian Kast

Max joined The Fearrington House in 2007 as Sommelier, and within a year was promoted to Wine Director with responsibilities for the beverage program for the entire property. He organizes and hosts Fearrington House’s popular Wine Maker Dinner series. And he also teaches popular and inexpensive Wine and Beer Classes at The Fearrington Granary Restaurant.

Max changes Fearrington House’s over 1000 label wine list regularly to match the seasonal changes of Executive Chef Colin Bedford’s menu. The list includes wines from all over the world, from verticals of famous Napa Valley Producers and First Growth Bordeaux to in-depth selections of the best wines from Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy, with a representation of every major wine-making country in the world.

His broader responsibilities include the beverage program for special events, The Goat café, The Fearrington Granary Restaurant, and Roost, Fearrington’s beer garden. Max also facilitates wine and beer oriented teambuilding activities popular with corporate and group clients.

Max has been quoted by Forbes.com, Wine & Spirits Magazine, Sommelier Journal, The Local Palate and local media like Metro Magazine. Max was also a regional finalist in TopSomm in 2011.

Previously Max was Wine Director at Triple Creek Ranch, also a Relais & Chateaux property, in Montana from 2005 to 2007. Here he increased the scope of the wine list to span over fourteen countries, and over 250 selections. The restaurant received Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence, and Wine Enthusiast’s Award of Distinction. He also organized the Vintner Series, an annual series of weekends in which winery owners and winemakers joined guests for wine dinners and a seminar.

Background
Having grown up in a very food oriented German-American family in Michigan, Max found his love of food and wine very early on. Every Sunday was spent with his mother and father in the kitchen cooking all day, and at night for a house full of guests. Members of his family also were in management positions at local food purveyors such as American Spoon Foods, Zingermann’s Deli, and Neal’s Yard Dairy – pioneers in the local and fine food movement – offering Max experiences that influenced him to have a love of food, especially handcrafted foods.

Max studied history at the University of Montana, and it was there that he started working in restaurants. It was also where he became serious about wine. What particularly intrigued him was how every wine bottle offered a journey to another place and an introduction to new people, and how, when paired with food, it evokes happiness and shared memories among people.

Accomplishments
Since joining The Fearrington House in 2007, Max played a key role in maintaining its coveted Five Diamond award status with the American Automobile Association. Additionally, he:

• Passed the Advanced Test with the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2009 on first attempt. In 2011 Max successfully passed the blind tasting and theory portions of the Master Sommelier Exam, and is studying hard in preparation for the Practical portion in 2013.
• Continues Fearrington House’s run as a recipient of Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, an honor received every year since 2004.
• Was regional regional finalist, Top/Somm 2010 competition, sponsored by the Guild of Sommeliers and the Court of Master Sommeliers
• Placed third in Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’s Best Young Sommelier in the USA competition in 2013
• Max has been quoted in Wines of France, the annual Restaurant Poll issues of Wine and Spirits magazine in 2009 and 2010,Wine Spectator, and The Local Palate in 2013.