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#46 Andrew Hurley: the Man who Built a Vegas Wine Empire

#46 Andrew Hurley: the Man who Built a Vegas Wine Empire

 

Andrew Hurley is the wine director at Guy Savoy inside Caesar’s Palace: a world famous temple of service where $800 tasting menus and $500 wine pairings are normal nights. But his story isn’t polished. It’s not stuffy, it’s something rare in the wine world: spontaneous, unpolished, and (shocking) fun!

He started bussing tables just to get out of the heat. Now he runs one of the most prestigious wine programs in the country, serving DRCs and Krug to guests who wait a year for a seat. Along the way, he built a social media empire that spans millions of followers watching him open bottles.

As the wine director at Restaurant Guy Savoy in Las Vegas, he curates a massive cellar, leads the majority of guests through multi-course pairings, and somehow finds time to record it all for all his fans online.

This episode dives deep into how Hurley turned everyday service moments into viral art, built trust in a luxury setting without pretense, and taught a generation of servers and aspiring somms that mastery doesn’t mean losing your personality.

Expect to Learn:

  • Why he crawled across as a teenage busser, scissors in hand…
  • How a random restaurant job turned into a lifelong calling
  • The thought behind offering perfect wine pairings
  • What it takes to run a world class wine program from the inside
  • Why humility is Hurley’s secret weapon in a world of egos and pretense
  • How authenticity and social media made him the face of modern wine service

 

Links:

Service starts now.

Follow the show:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost.

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-#31:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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-#39:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.

Cheers

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