Keeper Collection @KeeperColl: Less than 15 Minutes before #SommChat featuring @Kyleowine - see you here soon!

Keeper Collection @KeeperColl: Welcome to #SommChat everyone! Tell your friends to join us to learn from Kyle O’Neill @Kyleowine , #TEXSOM Volunteer of the year: Certified Sommelier- Fox Creek Liquors Colorado!

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: We’d like to introduce you to Kyle O’Neill, #TEXSOM volunteer of the year/ Certified #Sommelier at Fox Creek Liquors Colorado @Kyleowine! #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: We're about ready to dive in w/questions, so shout out to Kyle O’Neill @Kyleowine! Make sure to say hello so he knows you're here! #WineWednesday #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Don't forget that EVERY tweet during this chat should include the #SommChat hashtag in order for everyone to see it!

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: As we ask our Qs, you can ask Kyle your Q’s as well! He'll do his best to answer all Q’s in the order they come #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: With so many participants lots of great Q's are asked! Even if u don’t ask 1--give a S/O 2 @keepercoll and @Kyleowine 2 let us know u are here! #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Let's start talking #wine with Kyle O’Neill, #TEXSOM Volunteer of the year/ Certified #Sommelier at Fox Creek Liquors Colorado @Kyleowine #WineWednesday #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Hello everyone! Excited to be here and answer any questions you may have! Texsom is an amazing experience!

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: @Kyleowine why do you feel as a #sommelier that #TexSom is such a great conference? #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I feel that as a #sommelier that #TexSom gives you the opportunity to make some really important and lasting relationships with industry leaders, there are also seminars, wines you do not see everyday, and it truly broadens and rounds out your knowledge base! #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Q fr #SommChat #Somm have heard you have done testing in both @MasterSommWW and @WSETglobal - why both and do you intend to continue both or just one or stop where you are and why @Kyleowine ?

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I want to give myself the largest opportunity to learn and discover everything that the world of wine has to offer. I see both of them as opportunities to learn and grow and thus important to my path wherever I end up in the industry. #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I intend to continue both, right now I'm currently in retail but I believe there is a wonderful opportunity afforded by both programs. Right now I need more restaurant experience to continue down the path of @MasterSommWW certifications, but I'm only 25 so ... #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Q fr #SommChat #Somm why did you choose the #retail side of the #wine biz and what do you like about working in that arena @Kyleowine

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I chose the #retail side of the #wine industry because it gives me more time to tell the story to consumers. A lot of consumers in my area are interest driven and thus really enjoy knowing more about what they are drinking. In a restaurant ... #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Saving pennies is critical to having a great night of service on the floor, and on the retail side I have more time to meet my guests, get them into something they are going to enjoy, and build that consumer relationship at a faster pace.

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Q fr #SommChat #Somm @Kyleowine how many years have you been a volunteer @TEXSOM and what does a #Somm need to do to get considered for a volunteer position?

@TEXSOM: #SommChat We had a stellar wine room team this year. Would you share what kinds of things you learn in the wine room and what a day might look like as far as tasks?

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: In the wine room one is going to learn labels, organizational skills such as binning wine, receiving wine, checking and double checking bottles and working through excel or google sheets with a group. As far as a day in the room, it begins at 7AM and once the wine ... #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Is unpacked, it's received, binned, put into tasting order, and if anything doesn't match up, we make sure that everyone involved in that seminar is aware. It sounds simple, but there is a lot of important wine moving around and it all has to be tracked

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: A 12,000 bottle list in under 3 days and then selling it is really a unique and amazing experience for anyone in the industry! #Sommchat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: After the seminars we begin repacking wines that are no longer needed, and making sure they stay together so that if anything changes, we still know where they are. The day ends fairly late at night, but the exposure to so many labels and the organization of creating ...#Somm

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I have been a volunteer @TEXSOM for two years now, and in order to be considered for a volunteer position, the best thing to keep in mind is this event is about education first and foremost, experience in the industry definitely helps, as you may end up ... #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: You could end up opening some really old bottles, helping double decant, working wine dinners, helping run classes.. Be prepared to do anything you may expect working in a restaurant. Open availability as a volunteer greatly improves your chances of being chosen though. #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: @Kyleowine Congrats on being named 2019 #TEXSOM #Sommelier Volunteer of the year, how does a #Somm get that recognition and what do you think you did to receive the #texsom award?

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Thank you! A #Somm gets that recognition by always seeing what needs to be done, and helping wherever it may be needed. It's easy to get distracted from making sure the conference is running smoothly when there are such great wines and people in attendance, ...#SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I believe I got the reward from my contributions in the wine rooms, and around the conference. I couldn't have done it without the help of everyone. We inventoried close to 12,000 bottles. There are truly too many people to name! #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Q fr #SommChat #Somm @Kyleowine What were some of the highlights of this year’s #TexSom for you? Besides you, who R some other #Somms you think deserved the @TEXSOM award?

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Every single bottle of wine at the event, multiple times. I learned so much and if I wasn't familiar with a wine, I went and looked it up or asked a colleague. I really had an amazing experience @TEXSOM, and it's something that I see as important year after year. #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: People who I believe also deserved the award were anyone in a wine room, or contributing to the movement of wine in the building. Working alongside @nickyd206, @drink_wine_ict and Kristina J was amazing, and the highlight was touching almost ... #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: @kyleowine how did you 1st get interested in #wine, where and how old were you? Do you have an AHA moment that you think was the spark that got you going down this path? #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Q fr #SommChat #Somm could you describe a typical day of work for you on the retail side? What skills do you think are most impt for that type of work @Kyleowine? How do you deal with reps that want you to buy #wine that you don’t want or need but say you must to get allocations?

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Than it ever has been, There are many good examples of wine out there that don't require a allocation. I am a strong believer in expressing your concerns to reps, as they want their wines to be on the shelf or the list. Don't take an allocation just to have it.

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: A Typical day of work involves making sure bottles are in stock on the shelf, interacting with consumers, and making sure basic things like say ice or beer is stocked in the cooler. I really live for those moments when I get to interact ... #@SommChar\t

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: A guest and show them something they would find enjoyable. As far as skillset, I believe we work in the hospitality industry first, wine industry second, and so being kind, courteous, and listening to your guests is really important to me. I actually don't deal with …

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: A lot of reps. Strong communication skills are a must. I primarily use email or the phone to communicate with them, and when I say I must buy X to get Y, I generally let it go to the wayside. Allocated wines are cool, but the wine world is better ... #SommChat

Katarina Anderssonn @ricasoli99: Hi #SommChat checking in from a train between Naples and Rome...

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: nice - great to see you back at #SommChat are you drinking any #wine on the train???

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Q fr #SommChat #Somm did you get to attend any @TEXSOM sessions and if so which were your favs this year at #texsom @Kyleowine ?

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: I got to stand in on a Cheese seminar where they were using whey starter cultures and the culture of the barrel fermented Salers cheese actually killed Listeria that was inoculated on purpose. That was really cool to hear! The other seminar was the Terlan Seminar ... #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: Tasting the 1971 Pinot Bianco was eye opening. The wine still had fruit, and was alive. The winemaker could see how the wine would be with the elevated acid down the road, and worked around that. Seeing the winemaker and wine relationship is something ... #SommChat

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: That I think we don't consider, but they have an understanding of the wine the day it was fermented, and the wine 50 years from now when they want to make world class wine. The wine was made to be drank 50 years in the future. That is something that blew my mind. #Sommchat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Time to wrap up! Hope you enjoyed this hour of #wine talk with Kyle O’Neill, #TEXSOM Volunteer of the year/ Certified #Sommelier at Fox Creek Liquors Colorado @Kyleowine #WineWednesday #SommChat

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: It was great to have Kyle O’Neill, #TEXSOM Volunteer of the year/ Certified #Sommelier at Fox Creek Liquors Colorado @Kyleowine join us today for #SommChat. We hope everyone learned as much as we did! #WineWednesday

KeeperCollection @KeeperColl: Please join us in thanking Kyle O’Neill, #TEXSOM Volunteer of the year/ Certified #Sommelier at Fox Creek Liquors #Colorado @Kyleowine for his time #SommChat

TEXSOM @TEXSOM: Great #SommChat today! Thank you!

Kyle O’Neill @kyleowine: It was a pleasure to answer questions! Happy to be here and contribute to @KeeperColl ! #SommChat