Former Breakers chief sommelier headlines July 31 wine-tasting at Palm Beach store

Calling The Breakers a “perfect” place to have helped power his early career, an area wine consultant who was chief sommelier at the iconic Palm Beach hotel in the 1970s is headlining a July 31 wine-tasting event at the Virginia Philip Wine, Spirits & Academy in Royal Poinciana Plaza.

In anticipation of the event, Gordon B. Sullivan — an oenophile and author who led The Breakers’ wine program from 1975 to early 1978 after having worked at the hotel in other capacities — told the Daily News he’s excited about co-hosting the tasting featuring noteworthy wines from France’s Rhone Valley.

His co-host for the 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. event? None other than the current head of The Breakers’ wine program: Virginia Philip, a certified Master Sommelier.

Alongside her wine duties at the Palm Beach hotel, Philip opened her eponymous wine-and-spirits business in Royal Poinciana Plaza in 2017 after having a location in downtown West Palm Beach.

“This is going to be a really special event,” Philip told the Daily News, noting that Sullivan is insightful and “entertaining.”

Guests at the July 31 event, which will feature four Rhone Valley wines, will receive a copy of Sullivan’s 2023 book, “Wine Q & A: A 2,000-Piece Collection of Trivia Designed to Make Learning about Wine Fun and Easy."

For those who ask, Sullivan will sign copies of his book. Attendees also will receive a wine-aerator product Sullivan said he helped develop.

Guests can participate in the tasting in three different ways: attending it at the wine shop ($50 a person); attending individually online via Zoom ($50 a person; pick up samples of tasting wines at the shop the day of the event); attending as a group via Zoom ($175, which includes a bottle of each tasting wine to be picked up at the wine shop on the day of the event).

Sullivan told the Daily News that while at The Breakers in the 1970s, he had “the privilege” of working with “classically trained” European food-and-beverage professionals who helped hone his skills as he worked with a vast wine list and “demanding clientele.”

After The Breakers, Sullivan became a wine expert for a large wine-and-spirits distributor, where he worked for decades before leaving to start a private wine consulting business now based in Palm Beach Gardens,.

For more information or to make a reservation for the July 31 wine tasting at Virginia Philip Wine, Spirits and Academy, call 561-557-4202 or visit www.vpwsa.com .

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Former Breakers chief sommelier headlines July 31 wine-tasting at Palm Beach store