Today we received the devastating news that Alex Russo, longtime Wine Club Concierge for Enotecco Wines (Le Vieux Pin and LaStella), passed away suddenly this past Friday. To say that this news came as a shock would be a momentous understatement.
Alex was one of the good ones. We joined both wineries’ wine clubs many years ago, and Alex took spectacular care of us. You expect a good Wine Club concierge to treat you well, obviously, but it was more than that with Alex. No request was too difficult. Nothing was off limits. I mentioned once, totally off-hand, that we were having a wine party where we were serving a complete vertical of their wine blend “Ava”, from 2010 to the present vintage. He was delighted to hear that, and excused himself for a moment when he went down to the cellar and brought us a rare bottle of their first vintage – 2009 – to include in the tasting. Let’s just say that wine wasn’t exactly available to the public (or probably to most club members) at that point. I hadn’t asked for it; I don’t even remember if I knew it existed (as it wasn’t called “Ava” yet in 2009). But Alex was going to make sure we really had a complete vertical. The phrase “above and beyond” didn’t do Alex justice.
This is one story. I could tell you 20 others. We left their wine clubs 4-5 years ago. Alex knew it wasn’t because of dissatisfaction with anything he had done, or the wine, or anything with the winery. My wife has been having some health challenges and she’s been drinking a lot less wine, meaning we needed to start buying a lot less wine. Not only did Alex understand, he continued to treat us like wine club members up until the last conversation I had with him just recently. The first thing he asked when we talked wasn’t about wine; he asked how my wife was doing. He asked if we were going to be able to come up and visit him soon. There was no business reason for him to treat us so well; he knew we weren’t buying much wine. He treated us well because he wasn’t our Wine Club Concierge anymore; he was our friend.
The last thing he ever said to me was “I hope I get to see you guys this summer.” Oh, how I wish we could.
Rest in peace, friend. The BC wine industry will not be the same without you.
Confessions of a Huge Wine-R 