Rockliffe Hall sommelier toasts national accolade

6 August 2012

Five star hotel resort, Rockliffe Hall, has again received national
recognition for its outstanding staff.

Sommelier, Grace Matterson, has been named Laurent Perrier’s Sommelier of
the Month thanks to her knowledge, skills and experience of the sector and
her exceptional levels of customer service.

Grace, from Stockton, is one of the UK’s youngest fully-trained sommeliers,
at just 21, and started her career at the age of 18 carrying out a range of
Wine Spirit and Education Trust (WSET) qualifications.

Grace joined Rockliffe Hall as commis sommelier in 2010 and, having been
promoted to sommelier, is now responsible for compiling and managing the
extensive wine list.

In addition, Grace works closely with Rockliffe Hall’s director of food,
Kenny Atkinson, to carefully put together a range of interesting wines to
complement Kenny's dishes and enhance the dining experience at Rockliffe
Hall’s three distinctive restaurants in County Durham- The Clubhouse, The
Brasserie by Atkinson and The Orangery.
With over 400 bins, the ever-expanding list showcases a large selection of
wines from all over the world, covering a broad range of styles and grape
varieties. The list has a combination of fine wines made by iconic producers
and a varied selection of some more unusual wines.

The Orangery is the home of fine dining in the North East, achieving triple
AA rosette status just months after opening. Kenny Atkinson, a celebrated
Michelin-starred chef, offers the ultimate culinary experience with
regularly-changing tasting menus featuring stunning dish combinations.

The ten, eight and six course tasting menus in The Orangery showcase
regional dishes and producers, including North East coast mackerel with
Spillman's Yorkshire gooseberries, English mustard and lemon; Cumbrian rose
veal tongue 'n' cheek, celeriac, English celery and truffle; and vanilla
Arctic roll, Spillman's raspberries, hibiscus and honeycomb.

Grace commented: “Each and every wine on Rockliffe Hall’s wine lists
throughout the resort has been selected based on its exceptional quality and
distinctive flavour. Because I have full control over the wine lists, it’s
important that I constantly review and update them to perfectly suit the
range of food we serve across our three restaurants. I work closely with
Kenny to pair the wines with his stunning dish combinations and we get great
customer feedback about the variety of wines we offer and how well they work
with our dishes. It’s a complex business but one I love- and to be
recognised by Laurent Perrier is very exciting.”

Kenny Atkinson added: “I have worked with many sommeliers at some really
outstanding locations over the years and I appreciate what a vast role it
is. But Grace really is exceptional and is brilliant at simply explaining to
customers why a certain wine works. Wine shouldn’t be over-complicated and
Grace often advises customers of how to find specific wine to suit their
palates to enjoy at home. She really does deserve this recognition from
Lauren Perrier.”

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