▷S3E8 “You Have to Like Yourself,” says Abe Zarate, Sober Sommelier
When Abe Zarate chose sobriety during the pandemic, he returned to his restaurant career with a new reality. Abe shares the logistics of working around alcohol without consuming it. This episode is a frank discussion about what it's like for wine professionals who decide to consume less alcohol.
Is Dry January a threat to the industry? Does neo-prohibition truly loom? The two sommeliers discuss recent news around alcohol and health and how the industry has responded so far. (RT is not impressed.)
Rose Thomas opens up about the moment she considered walking away from wine and her wine career how a trip to Italy with temporary dietary restrictions helped her find a new path. (In case you meet in person, RT does drink and she does eat bread!)
Abe teaches RT a hilarious drinking term from his youth in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas. He describes his volunteer work with his sister's non-profit, Corporate Pero Latinos, and how he helps hospitality workers gain access to career choice through language education.
Abe shares his thoughts on the "rock bottom" trope and the economics of restaurants providing accommodations for teetotalers. Abe's recent experience working in a restaurant that prioritized the disability community expanded his vision of inclusive hospitality.
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Whatever your job sector or your stance on alcohol, you can follow Abe Zarate aka The Sober Somm for down-to-earth advice on finding clarity in your career and confidence in your own skin.
Find Abe on Instagram @sober_somm
Check out his work with Corporate Pero Latinos and Wine on Wheels:
www.corporateperolatinos.org/
wineonwheels.org/
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Transcript is forthcoming
Music composed by Ersilia Prosperi for the band Ou: www.oumusic.bandcamp.com
Produced, recorded and filmed by Rose Thomas Bannister
Audio and video edited by Giulia Àlvarez-Katz
Audio assistance by Steve Silverstein
