Andrade Wine Group

This review is based on a personal experience I had with Sean Andrade.
DO NOT hire chef Sean Andrade for a special event…
I found chef Sean Andrade through the website when I was searching for a chef to cook for my wedding reception (40 guests total) I liked his sample menus and based on his initial proposal I decided to book him. This was eight months in advance…
Throughout the following months leading up to the wedding we emailed a few times, then 11 days prior I gave him a call to discuss some final details. He basically decides to tell me last minute that kitchits policy won’t allow him to cook or be in the same premises as food that hasn’t been prepared by himself or his staff. I explained to him that I made it clear in my initial email to him (which I immediately forwarded to him) that I already had a cheese and desert table provided for. To which his response was, «I’m not willing to make any exceptions for you and you’ll just have to get the deserts from me so let me know if you want to cancel) So for 7.5 months did he just think I wouldn’t be serving deserts at my wedding?
The weekend goes by and no word from Sean. In a panic I decide to call the company and speak to a concierge, who was really understanding, and in fact let me know that’s actually not their company policy. Over the weekend Sean finally replies to them (not me) and says it’s fine if I have other food at the party, as long as every guest signs a waiver. Wtf?
Finally 8 days before my wedding I hear from Sean himself. An email so cold and unsympathetic saying if I decide to have food in the building other than his, it needs to accompany a certificate of insurance stating himself and his company Andrade wine, and to let him know if I needed to cancel.
I may not be a chef or work in the catering business but it doesn’t take a genius to see what’s happened here. Sean Andrade tried everything in his power to get me to cancel because he probably had something else lined up that he’d rather do or that made him more money. So I did. Cause I’ll be damned if I give someone who’s capable of doing this to a bride my money or have him apart of my special day.

My sister had her bachelorette party a few weeks ago and Sean (who I believe owns Andrade Wine Group) came out to do a tasting.
Now first, when I say ‘tasting’, I mean, ‘actual full glasses of wine, and lots of it’. I ended up not drinking even half of the wine he poured, as I was not staying for the after-​party clubbin’ festivities (what can I say — I have 3 young kiddos and missed my husband) and was slated to drive back home to Berkeley by 10 or so.
So this guy doesn’t skimp at all, but, most importantly, he really knows his stuff. My husband is pretty knowledgeable about wine, and we belong to a couple of reputable wine clubs like DEWN and Ferry Plaza Wine Merchants. So even though I certainly would not call us experts, I thought we were pretty well-​informed on the basics.
Turns out, I was wrong. Sean enlightened us to all sorts of interesting tidbits, such as (and this was the big one for me) that you should never store your white wine in the fridge for more than a couple of hours, as the flavors will start to deteriorate. Also, that those wine pump things don’t work (we rarely finish a bottle of wine in one sitting, so we’ve been using that thing for years, convinced that it was keeping the wine ‘fresh’). I learned quite a few new things about wine, which was great.
The other big plus is that the wine itself was phenomenal, and unusual. I hadn’t heard of any of the wineries, but everything Sean poured was *really* good, and complex. We started off with a champagne and moved through the whites to the reds, and while there was one red that I was kind of ‘eh’ on (just my own personal preferences), everything else was stuff I’d for sure buy, and possibly by the case.
Lastly, while it’s clear that Sean is an expert on wine, he is *not* a snob about it at all. This is a huge thing, at least for me. My husband and I started going to the Anderson Valley for our wine country/​romantic trips because the people in Napa (and to a lesser extent, Sonoma) were such snobby jerks. It was great to be at a tasting where no one was made to feel like an idiot or some kind of ignorant bumpkin. I really felt like any question could be asked and Sean would answer it in a straightforward and kind manner, with no accompanying eye-​rolling, sighing, etc. I have attended a few wine classes/​tastings over the years and this was literally the first time I felt this comfortable with the presenter.
This review is getting long so I’d better sign off. I’ll end by saying that I highly recommend Andrade Wine Group. I had such a fun time, and so did my sister and all her friends.

Learned a lot. Not a snobby place where they treat you like a moron because you dont know the difference between 2 wines. Very educational. I look forward to trying another class and expanding my knowledge and wine collection.