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Randall Coats Brings Everything That is Wine Home to Detroit

How does someone know when it’s time to change jobs, industries, or careers? A somewhat more important, and interesting, question is how does one do this with ease, success, and integrity?

Both of these are being answered IRL, and in real time, by sommelier and wine consultant-at-large Randall Coats, founder of Wine4DaPpl (opening in mid-summer) and host of its podcast. This author met him in 2014 at a screening of “Charles Bradley: Soul of America,” a terrific documentary about the late, and truly missed, Charles Bradley at City Winery New York where Randall a server, and at the beginning of his wine journey.

Since 2013, Detroit-born and -raised Randall has worked in spirits. In New York City, he completed bar training and promptly began bartending at City Winery’s flagship. City Winery is the only fully functioning winery in the Five Boroughs, and its Tribeca concert stage was acoustically one of the best performance spaces in town. (Due to the Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of the building on Varick Street (for its headquarters), the Manhattan location has been at Pier 57 along the Hudson River since mid-October 2020.) Randall learned quickly how smartly curated food and wine paired well with music when he served guests during concerts and tended bar at private events with more than 500 guests.

From tending the bar to captaining the wines, Randall quickly developed expertise with wine, thanks to creating wine lists, purchasing wine, managing inventory, leading tastings, and pairing wine choices with food for events. When asked why he chose to focus on wine and not beer, whiskey, or hard spirits, Randall was clear: “Wine is, you know, so much more of a journey from vine to bottle than most spirits” with the exception of those that are fermented. He added, “You can make mash-based spirits and beer at home, and if you’re interested in the time, and the journey, it’s going to be wine: aging is required for quality wines.”

So, time. Like most things of quality that people create, time, effort, and dedication are required. Dedication needs to uplevel when making things that include ingredients or components that come from the Earth. Randall passionately spoke about the necessity of wine being what he called a pure product. When asked to define that, he immediately said, “A pure product is something of the land, and from the hands that tend the land.” To be part of the wine world, one must accept and appreciate all of the elements of wine education: culture which includes history, language, geography, and the nuances within it, agriculture. “The education of wine is ongoing; you can never learn too much.” The climate challenges, their impact on soil and weather, and everchanging trends in food and drink consumption underscore this. Never before have we needed to provide copious respect to the planet. Randall stated it succinctly and accurately: “Winemakers, from what I’ve seen and learned, are under agreement with the land while on the journey to make a great product.”

Essence Festival 2019, in New Orleans, included two appearances by Randall. On the second day, he introduced wines from South Africa and shared his insights. Check out his discourse, where he touches on taste, feel, where the wines come from, and who made them, beginning at 00:25.

Regarding how we make a living, the professional is more apt to be personal when the arts, food, and/or drink are involved. In Randall’s experience, what may have begun with necessity – City Winery applied an intense training program to ensure its servers could provide a variety of wines to their guests – soon became part of his spirit and his soul. In other words, a move from commerce to character and culture. When asked about his tipping point, Randall declared, “I found a wine that gave me a joyous experience, like the one I needed to sell to customers. That wine was Mendoza Malbec. (Note: this was discontinued by its maker in 2013.) After enjoying a glass one night, I realized, ‘In the Bible, this is what Jesus turned water into.’”

Randall continued his ascension up the ranks at City Winery, which included leading tours of the winemaking facility, developing and training staff, and ensuring that wine education was a focus. This was continued after 15 months as the Wine Manager at Kaffekanna in Stavanger, Norway. From there he opted to bring insight and leadership to locally owned businesses. His experience was more than global, it was ecological: while working in sales at Vyne Yard Premium Wines in Brooklyn, Randall supported minimal intervention style, which contributed to his understanding of operations that “facilitate the ecosystem in which vines naturally grow without changing it.” This popular winemaking style is done well by André Hueston Mack’s Maison Noir Wines, Osmote, and Lumen.

Immediately preceding his return to Detroit, Randall opened & Sons NYC as server. This was the fourth establishment he had opened. While its founder, the aforementioned André Hueston Mack, is an established leader in the wine and restaurant industries, opening anything in the Five Boroughs, particularly in 2020 (because, the covid), is a new universe. Add to that, this was by no means a typical restaurant. Randall shared, “There was no set menu. What was being served – noted on a board – would change subject to availability. I appreciate this style of service. It’s not only what people will eat, it’s where the food came from and who was responsible for it. We say to guests, ‘Let me take you on a journey.’” Sounds perfect for a person who believes in the necessity of products of the land and from the hands.

As someone who is inherently open minded and unafraid to see the world, Randall’s hometown is an ideal place for him. Besides being a source of much love and whole lot of memories, “Detroit, as we know, is a fundamental place in the history of pop culture. With the legacy here, there’s a special quality – a magic – that is perfect for innovating.” We discussed his return home, and how “home” for Randall is, and always will be, Detroit. After accomplishing so much in New York, Randall knew he needed to return home to truly next level. He elaborated: “Home is where you’re going to lift off. Everything I got, everything I learned from my travels I could – and would – bring home, I could create my own opportunity, my own lane. Everything I received and achieved outside of Detroit I would bring home to Detroit.”

Can I get an Amen?

Randall is putting the finishing touches on Wine4DaPpl, the business he named after his motto. Because wine, like so many things, is for the people. While cultural history doesn’t necessarily reflect this, libations – be they alcohol-based or not – have always come from what is grown, whether it’s grains, grass, or grapes. His podcast, The Sensual Wine Experience with Mr. Coats, presents what it is to fully experience and learn about wine, beyond the multisensory tastes, smells, and feels.

Lastly, this author asked the sommelier to create a playlist to accompany his favorite summer wine. So, while imbibing Sparkling Rosé, including the one made by Huber, let it play. “Summer x Sparkling Rosé” is on Tidal HiFi, put together by Randall exclusively for In Step Beauty:

“Summer Madness” – Kool and the Gang
“Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
“Back dat Azz Up” – Juvenile
“Get Low” – Lil’ Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins
“Damn!” – YoungBloodZ feat. Lil’ Jon
“Hey Papi” – Jay-Z feat. Memphis Bleek
“Wild Thoughts” – DJ Khaled feat. Rihanna and Bryson Tiller
“Joy” – Bettye LaVette

Keep up with Randall Coats on his site, his Instagram, and his podcast.