How Can I Help...Kimi Kiviranna

A series of posts on our amazing staff, the heart and soul of the store!  While we can fill our space with great products, do good deeds through our community work and support our local artists and businesses, it is the friendly, helpful, professional and knowledgeable team that truly set us apart! Because without the warm, positive vibe created by those who work here, Swirl would be just another wine shop! 

Last week Matt Snyder revealed both quirks and passions and today Kimi gives us a quick look into her love affair with food & wine!

What are some important, more personal, non wine related things about you?   
-I am a California native but I fell in love with New Orleans the first time I set foot in this city. I have been lucky enough to live, travel, and work all over the world, but it is wonderful to have New Orleans as my home.

What are your hobbies?
-Wine! Food! Travel! Fortunately, these things go hand-in-hand. I also love to read-- even over-night buses and 13-hour flights are bearable with a copy of Shantaram in your hand...Kimi fails to mention that she is a total gym rat and that her preferred method of transportation is her 30lb. cruiser bike!

What are your favorite wine regions for reds, whites, rosé?
Red-- Fleurie in Beaujolais. White-- St. Aubin in Burgundy is my stand-by, but I have recently become obsessed with Croatian and Slovenian whites. Rose'-Provence!-- I especially love the "orange" rose's made from the Tibouren grape!  

What is your current favorite red, white, bubbly in the store right now?
-Red- Be Wise Vineyards Wisdom Red Blend, the perfect go-to big red for sipping or with food, for a gift or a Monday night, you can't go wrong with this one. White-my favorite changes every week! Right now I am crazy about the Uixar Bizkaiko Txakolina from Spain, the Vacarro Inzolia from Sicily, and the Tikves Rkatsiteli from Macedonia. Bubbles - Henri Giraud Code Noir Champagne

If you could pick any wine from the indulge section right now what would it be?-It continues to be the 2010 Bouchard Clos St. Landry Chardonnay that Beth & I discovered in the Bouchard Pere & Fils tasting last year.  We tasted the 2011's at the same event this year and it was still my favorite in the lineup in terms of balance and approachability.

What was you best recent food and wine experience?
-Celebrating my husband's birthday at Lilette a few weeks ago, with a 1999 Salon and a 2006 Montrachet Grand Cru!

And finally what do you like most about working in the wine biz?
-A bottle of wine is all the things I love tied into one--history, geography, culture, storytelling, science, and romance. To be able to learn, teach, and share this with others is amazing.

Thanks Kimi!
You can find Kimi in the store every Wednesday as she hosts our "Wednesday Nite Flites" program with Mike Fabianski and other special guests, every other Thursday and Friday and some Saturdays.  She is also a certified Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers and has just recently returned from Japan where she became a Certified Sake Professional.