Dare Wines Exclusives: Luc Linnenbank

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May 12, 2020

Let me introduce myself
My name is Luc, I am 36 years old and an enthusiastic host and sommelier in heart and soul! My love for catering and hospitality was there at an early age. I started in the catering industry by working in a cafeteria, from there I grew into restaurants and event catering; I wanted to have seen everything. In 2012 I was restaurant manager of Holland Heineken House in London, this was a dream come true! That most dreams are deceptive was proven again when I found the work less enjoyable than expected. The interaction with guests attracted me much more and during this period I also started to develop my interest in wine.

Bilingually educated
As for my studies, I graduated from hotel school. After that, I also followed several courses on wine and gastronomy. Since 2015, I can officially call myself a vinologist. I have been educated in both Dutch and English wines. The fact that these are two different streams has to do with the substantive technical terms. Because I kept working at a higher level, I thought it was important to be able to offer international guests from all over the world an experience at an equally high level. As a star sommelier, your English must be excellent, including the correct technical terms!

Passion for wine is contagious
Gradually I became more and more involved with wine and I found it even more fun to talk about it. My enthusiasm was contagious and in this way I could convey my love for wine to the guests in an even better way. I love taking people on a mini wine journey ! This journey actually adds a second experience to a dinner, namely the anticipation! While I explain and take them through the taste profiles of the wines, people are already triggered and they look even more forward to combining the wine with the food. I also think it is important to explain why you do something. For example, why do I choose a certain wine? I always get a lot of nice reactions to this.

Dare Wines The Game
In 2015 I started working as a star sommelier at a restaurant in Tilburg and St Willebrord, where I got to know Dare Wines! In 2017 I decided to become a freelancer, I wanted to bring a story to the table and make knowledge translatable. As a freelance sommelier I organized wine courses in my own tasting room. When I came into contact with Dare Wines The Game I immediately saw the potential of this game. I wanted to expand this further, which resulted in me working behind the scenes of Dare Wines one day a week on the development process of this.

Dare Wines The Game is not a drinking game, but an experience game! You learn something from it and sharing knowledge makes it different from other games. Now that the corona crisis has struck our country, my week as an entrepreneur suddenly looks very different. That is why I will fully focus on a nice business model for Dare Wines The Game in the coming period. In addition, I will also continue to be involved in wine advice, training and the transfer of knowledge.

The ultimate wine and food combination
Sparkling wine with food is in my opinion the ultimate wine-food combination. Think of foie gras with a sweet champagne. Sparkling is usually seen as an aperitif, because people see it as a luxury product. What many people do not know is that the carbon dioxide in sparkling wine does something special with food. The carbon dioxide cleans your mouth every time, which keeps the taste much purer! The result of this? An intense taste experience with every bite.