Paul Szmal: Good morning, it's 7.50, it's Guest-O-Rama Friday, that means all four guest slots are filled and number two, or I guess two, well, three and four actually because we just had two guests. We have our friends here from Geneva-on-the-Lake, Stephanie Fenner is here for the first time and Alexei Anderson is back for multiple times. Good morning to you both.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Good morning. Good morning.
Paul Szmal: So you've been hearing the ads, we're going to start with the Beaujolais Nouveau release party and Stephanie is the sommelier at Geneva-on-the-Lake. So first off, tell us about this wine. I don't know that I've ever had a Beaujolais Nouveau. Tell us about the wine.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Absolutely. So Beaujolais Nouveau is actually a French wine that is made in the Beaujolais area, so it's not too far from Burgundy. It's made of gamay, so it's a red, and it's a new wine. It's made in September-ish and released now, so in November, the first day of November. It's brand new.
Paul Szmal: That's fairly unusual, isn't it? There aren't too many wines released the year the grapes are picked.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Yeah, a few wineries have been jumping on the wagon, you would say, but it's something that the French have been doing for a very long time. And I didn't know, I just learned, this is a worldwide event that happens each time in November, so you're joining wine drinkers all over the world in doing this.
Paul Szmal: Exactly. Some countries like Japan make a big event out of it. It's very stressful because you never know if something is going to happen and you're going to get it.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: So tell us when and what time and what's on the agenda for that day.
Paul Szmal: So Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November, so it will be next week on Thursday, and we have that event 6 to 8 p.m. We are going to have some food, the tickets include a glass of Nouveau, and we will have some music as well.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Wow, that's going to be a lot of fun. The Kate and Dave duo will play music. Get your tickets right away on the website, GenevaOnTheLake.com, and get ready for this event. So tell us a little bit about your background in wine and how you came to this position with Geneva On The Lake.
Paul Szmal: How much time do you have?
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Not enough, unfortunately.
Paul Szmal: My background is, first of all, wine microbiology. I travel the world. And then I came to Geneva 18 years ago and decided to open a wine bar, Microclimate, downtown Geneva, and that's where we had our first Beaujolais Nouveau event. And when it was time for me to move on and do something else, I ended up at Geneva On The Lake, and for why not bring back that event that was extremely popular at Microclimate.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: So what's a good food pairing with Beaujolais? It's going to be something fun.
Paul Szmal: I mean, we used to have hot dogs at Microclimate. This time around, we are going to have mac and cheese. It's a specialty of our executive chef. We are going to have a galette with some Swiss chard and cheese. We are going to have some chocolate, artisanal chocolate infused with Beaujolais Nouveau. So it's going to be fun.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: I always tell this story because I'm not a big red guy. I'm a dry white guy, but I keep trying different reds. But then the first time I went to a pairing dinner and had a red paired with the right food, the light went off over my head and I went, oh! Now I get it. It was a revelation.
Paul Szmal: Right. You should try Beaujolais Nouveau. It has no tannins. It's very soft. It's very mellow. Very food forward.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Wow. So again, what's the date for this?
Paul Szmal: It's going to be November 21st, Thursday, 6 to 8 at Geneva On The Lake. Get your tickets, music, a glass of wine. Even in November, the grounds are going to be beautiful.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: So let's talk about Thanksgiving dinner coming up. Alexa Anderson, events director, is with us.
Paul Szmal: Good morning.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Good morning. We were both just talking about, we're both big Chloe Lowry fan people now because I ever since I met her a couple of years ago, and she's just starting her Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour now. So that's really cool.
Paul Szmal: Very exciting. I'm happy to, I'm excited to keep up on it.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: So tell us about Thanksgiving. Plans are still in the works. So in terms of like the menu and stuff, you'll be amazed, but we're not going to go into all that nuts and bolts so much as the event and the fun.
Paul Szmal: Yes. So every year we do a Thanksgiving dinner service. This year we're doing a, we have a little bit of a extended seating period. So it's from 12 to five. It's on of course Thanksgiving, which is November 28th this year. We have live music. It's a three course menu. So you get an appetizer, entree and dessert. Pricing is going to differ between adults and children, which you can go to our website or social media, or even call to ask about the menu tickets and make that reservation.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: So now I know about all the different settings you have at Geneva on the Lake. Tell me about the Da Vinci Suite.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. Have you checked that out yet?
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: I have not.
Paul Szmal: Oh wow. Okay. So next time you're there, you'll have to take a peek.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Okay. I will.
Paul Szmal: It's a extended private seating area off of our dining room. We use it for multiple things, conferences, actually Christmas parties, if anybody is in need. And then of course with our, because we're inside this time of year, we use it for seating for dinner or any special event like Thanksgiving.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Wow. I mean, you're going to be amazed. We know if you've ever been to any event at Geneva on the Lake and had any of the food, you're going to be blown away. That is on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, the 28th from 12 to 5.
Paul Szmal: And so tell us the night before, you've got a Thanksgiving Eve soiree.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: We do. Yes. So we'll be having drink and food specials, live music by Lon Gonzo. And then we do have daily happy hours going on. So because that falls on a Wednesday, we're going to be doing our oysters and bubbles, which is first come, first serve, and it starts at 5 p.m.
Paul Szmal: I think I'm about to gain 25 pounds here at Christmas time. Brunch with Santa, December 8th and 15th.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Yes. So we have a lot in the works for the month of December. So definitely, if you want more details, check out, like I said, our website or social media or call us. We have Brunch with Santa twice, December 8th and December 15th, which is going to be so much fun. Definitely bring your family. Bring your kids. We're going to have Santa. You're going to be able to talk with Santa, take pictures with Santa, write a letter to Santa.
Paul Szmal: We have our annual Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day dinner. Christmas Day dinner will also have live music by the Dave Richman solo. And then New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, we're still working on finalizing what's going on, but we're going to have an awesome accommodation package that will include an intimate dinner, like I said, live music, and then all the fun. Ball drop, champagne toast at midnight, the works.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: We're just kind of scraping the surface here, so find out more at GenevaOnTheLake.com. Get signed up for all these Thanksgiving Eve celebrations, Thanksgiving Day dinner, Brunch with Santa, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day. New Year's Day is a brunch from 9 to 1. You can book your Christmas party.
Paul Szmal: What a cool place when you tell your company, hey, we're going to Geneva On The Lake. They're going to go, wow, amazing! And call 315-789-7190. Also there are daily happy hours going on during the holidays, so all kinds of fun. A great setting, great hospitality. Say hello to everybody over there when you go back, and thank you both for your time this morning. Appreciate it so much.
Stephanie Fenner, Alex Anderson: Thank you.
Paul Szmal: Thanks, Todd. And thank you for advertising business with Geneva On The Lake. GenevaOnTheLake.com is the website. 747 now, or 757 actually, at Felix Morning Friday.
