Behind every great bottle of wine that you enjoy from a retail shop or at a restaurant, there’s a wine merchant who has worked hard to find it, negotiate prices with the winemaker, and arrange shipping. Besides traveling the globe in search of vineyards, a wine merchant must also navigate through a labyrinth of international, federal, and state regulations in order to bring that wine to the consumer.##M:[more]##
Stephen Itak, president of Victory Selections, LLC, in Cranbury, prefers to be Behind the scenes, finding and distributing great wines. But just this once, he has volunteered to share his oenological acumen at a charity wine tasting he will conduct on Saturday, March 24, at the West Windsor Fire Company #1 firehouse on South Mill Road to benefit High School North’s girls softball team.
“I don’t do wine tastings, but this was a special case,” Itak sysd, as we sat in his company’s conference room at 339 Princeton-Hightstown Road in Cranbury, sipping uncannily good espressos, surrounded by the life blood of his business: sample bottles. “My daughter Kelsey’s best friend, Briana Taft, plays for the West Windsor-Plainsboro North girls softball team. She and Kelsey used to play on the same team until they split up for the North and South high schools. Briana is really like another daughter to us, so when I was approached to help with fundraising, I just said I’ll run a tasting myself.” Proceeds from the event will go to help build a dugout for the team.
It wouldn’t be the first time Itak has helped with sports in his community. He and his wife, Jeanne, a director of medical affairs at Johnson & Johnson, have lived in West Windsor for nearly 13 years. Their daughter, Kelsey, attends High School South and their younger daughter, Sara, is an eighth grader at Grover Middle School. “Over the years,” Itak says, “I’ve done a fair amount of coaching, especially soccer.”
What Itak has planned for the March 24 event is no ordinary tasting of a few whites and reds. “We’ll be pouring close to 100 different wines. Most of our portfolio will be represented.” With such a vast selection, this event will be more like a trade show. Attendees will have a rare opportunity to sample literally dozens of wines from around the world. What’s more, since all the wines bear the Victory Selections imprimatur, guests can get a tangible feel for the company’s philosophy — the company’s palate will be reflected in every glass.
So what advice does Itak have for aspiring wine connoisseurs who plan to attend the tasting? Try starting with what Itak calls one of his “value brands,” the Estampa wines from Colchagua Valley, Chile. The entire line retails for under $10 a bottle, so it might be a chance to find your new “house” white or red. The white, a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier grapes, promises delightful aromatics with lush texture. The reds are full-bodied blends based on Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.
— Patrick Walsh
Wine Tasting Benefit, Saturday, March 24, 7 to 10 p.m., West Windsor Fire Company #1, South Mill Road, West Windsor. $45 per person; purchas tickets in advance by calling 609-799-1230 or by E-mailing W WPNorthSoftball@aol.com.
