Inside The Box: Ep 1 - Lesle Gibson, Gibson Family Group
Gibson Family Group with Lesle Gibson
Don: Welcome to another edition of Inside the Box with Don Sagarese and we're here talking about some of our fantastic virtual experiences that we ship directly to your door and the partnerships with some of the fantastic partners that make it possible.
Today we're in conversation with Lesle Gibson. Lesle is one of the city's most renowned hosts. Her attention to detail and dedication to her clients has made her a bonafide legend in the hospitality and wine industry.
So, a warm welcome today to our good friend and hostess with the mostess. This is Lesle Gibson.
Q: Nice to see you Leslie, how are you?
Lesle: Hey, Don, I'm great. Yourself?
Don: I'm good. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. We'll get right into it, because I know you've got a lot of insight and a lot of experience to share with us today here at Ascari Hospitality Group.
One of the principles as I understand it, about the Gibson Family Group, is that you're guided by women, this is one of the four major pillars of your business.
Q: Was there a specific moment in your career trajectory, when you knew that you wanted to work in wine, and that you knew you wanted to sort of sink your teeth into guiding this business from your unique perspective?
Lesle: I wouldn't say that there was a moment. I mean, I never thought I was going to work in wine, when I started out in my career. I was in the advertising world, and I sort of fell into the restaurant scene, and it's guided me on this path to opening restaurants and being so submersed in the industry. That's where my passion for wine sort of “developed”.
I mean, I always like to drink it, lol, but, you know, it wasn't something that I just woke up and said, “this is what I want to do.” I feel life’s a journey that you're on, and you go down many different paths and, some take you to unique places and others lead you to directly what you want to do, whether you knew it or not.
But regarding the female focal point, you know, gosh, it’s been over 20 years, more like over 25 and this industry is, and always has been, a really big boys club. As a female sommelier, as a female restauranteur--back in the day--things were a lot different than they are now. So, it was one of those things where I just thought: “You know, it's time to have a girls club, to have women together, not only for genders’ sake but for wine inclusiveness.”
Don I see what you mean, I find that when men do things we create what appears--always from the outward looking in--as a club, and when women gather and bring great ideas together, it becomes more approachable for all.
I know a lot about Gibson Family Group, and I know that you're an inclusive group of individuals. I'm even reluctant to use the word “women” here because it almost has no place in the conversation. You're experts in your field, regardless of your gender, and you're trying to make wine more approachable and inclusive for everybody. Which leads me to another question.
Q: What inspired you to actually have all the great ideas you have manifest in the Gibson Family Group as an entity?
Lesle: I believe it was an accumulation of all my years in the restaurant industry. I fell in love with it, but I swear you're batshit crazy to be in the restaurant industry on a good day. People think it's so glamorous but it's really unforgiving and extremely difficult. I excelled at the game, but at one point I had reached as far as I could go. Them I thought: “What's another avenue that I could take, that would make sense to me?” Wine seemed right. It just seemed like the next logical step for me.
Don, I understand. I'm a person who subscribes to the idea that “we become who we are” in this world, and that journey that we do take, regardless of what happens, leads us to the spot we're effectively supposed to be in.
Lesle: This is the I mean, you're 100%, right, because that Gibson Family Group or how we love to say: “GFG”, because it was like the stars aligned. It was honestly the easiest business I've ever set up. Of all the restaurants that I've opened…and closed, this was just honestly a natural progression. And that's why I call it the highlight of my career.
Don: That is interesting, because if we take the literal definition of what makes sommelier, it's effectively providing the guidance, providing the education, providing the wine. So your spirit of service led beyond the table and out into the universe. I see from reading your marketing and seeing what your four pillars are, you and your wine angels are taking that to the next level and bringing it to us wherever we may be in the world. I'm excited to see what happens next.
Q: You talked about the restaurant business, and your tenure, then as wine became more of a focus, so how have you seen the wine world evolve? I know this is a broad question, but if you can help us understand it, I'd be grateful.
Lesle: I feel like over the years, people have become more knowledgeable. They know what they like a bit more. They're more interested in experimenting, they're not so “label hungry” as they once were.
On my end of things, wine has become more accessible, and I think that's something that I always wanted to get across. I don't think wine should be, just for “certain people”, or there has to be a snobbery about it.
I love the “hand sell”, and I think there is a wine for everybody. It's such a personal journey, because everybody's tastes are different. It’s important to respect people's decisions and choices and tastes. So that was where I wanted to go with it, making sure that every single wine that I had, had the same level of quality, regardless of price, or color, or even grape.
Don: I share that idea, too. Having been “in food” for the better part of 35 years, there's this constant discussion of what makes “good food” and how should you pair wine with it. Socially, we’re hypersensitive to what we feel is a sophisticated approach. And I think Gibson Family Group is reminding us that there's lots to choose from, and that there's lots that can be enjoyed, regardless of brand names, or varietals of grapes, or a region that happens to be trending. It's just, there's a good glass of wine to be had, so put one in your glass and let you and your Wine Angels help us understand it.
Q: Right?
Lesle: Absolutely.
Don: Another thing I've learned recently about you and your team and your philosophy is that “Smaller is better”.
Q: I was hoping you could help me understand and help some of our guests understand what that actually means? What smaller and better means to you.
Lesle: Smaller is better means we're dealing with producers that are family oriented, that are not just huge, big business that have massive vineyards and wineries.
We’re very connected to the wines.
I feel like sometimes when companies are too big, things get lost in translation from a producer to an importer to an agent to the server or similar. I wanted to work with people who I had a direct connection with. Almost every producer in our portfolio is small and we know them, we know who they are, we know who their family is.
Don I love the sound of that, sounds like you’ve gone from vine to dine in fewer steps. And for our listeners and viewers, you can take a few steps and get to www.gibsongrp.com.com, or on Instagram @Gibsonfamilygrp. Here you can get a sense of some of these small and intimate relationships that the wind angels have cultivated. I encourage everybody to go there. Moving on,
Q: What do you think makes a premium wine premium? You know, for the neophytes in the room?
Lesle: I don't think premium necessarily is reflected on the price tag per se. Premium to me means that from the vinification of the wine to how the vineyards have been treated, what the winemaker is doing, how he's treating his soils, how he's treating his grapes, how he is making his wine with minimal intervention, and that you really are getting, their best product possible. If it's a $20 bottle, it should be the best $20 bottle that they could produce, sort of thing.
Q: How would you and the angels choose who ultimately becomes part of the Gibson Family Group? You have the word family built right into your name. Seems to have much, much more weight? How do you decide who becomes part of the family?
Lesle: it's like you're inviting somebody into your home and hosting a dinner party every night kind of thing. This was always my mantra in my restaurant days. But with the wine world, you know, I am a firm believer that family is so important. And when you're diving into a relationship, and you're representing a producer or winemaker, you're going to work so closely with them that it needs to be the right fit. These are families that we choose. We share the same ethos, we have the same ideas, and the wine stands on its own. We handpick every single bottle, and there isn't a producer, I don't know. So, it's as if your family comes together.
Don: There is that old saying: “you can't choose your family”, but you're in this illustrious position where you can, and it looks good. You've got lots of great relatives in the Gibson Family.
We talked a moment ago about what makes a premium wine, and we started the conversation about sustainability. I know one of the other pillars for Gibson Family is a connection to the earth. A lot of people talk about this, you know, having a connection to the earth. People are happy to go green, but when they get a price tag that reflects the green product, they're like, Oh, no, no, it's okay. I don't need to be green today.
Q: So, what can you teach us about this? The winemakers, the wine producers, your extended family that has a connection to the earth?
Lesle: My sustainable sensibility came from my childhood because I grew up on an apple farm and you know, my family are very big apple farmers. I’ve seen it first hand, and I've always had a really huge and real respect and connection to the earth.
People assume that it means that, oh, we're organic or biodynamic, that sort of thing. It is, but, it just means that you are doing everything you can to treat the planet better. It’s a respect.
Don: I learned about a connection to the earth by spending time on apple farms in the Ottawa region learning what it gives and what it takes. We’re proud of you here and learning about the integrity with which you operate. You’re doing a great job.
Lesle: the most rewarding part to me, is the feedback I get from the people when they drink one of our wines. I enjoy the trust that they give me to recommend and guide them on a path they might not normally go. And that to me is super rewarding. Introducing them to areas and regions and things they might not even have thought of. This helps me turn clients into friends.
Don: I agree. Very few things in our interpersonal relationships require more trust than a stranger being willing to drink what you offer them to drink or eat what you offer them to eat.
Don: The fourth pillar in your philosophy Lesle is about : A love of the grape in every glass. We know that that means more than just the grape in the glass. Its fashionable, and speaking of
Q: If Gibson Wine Group were a couture design house how you would describe its motivation and its style and its sort of place in a fashionable world of wine.
Lesle: I love this question, say, I am a sucker for a great pair of shoes. I think, you know, if we were to describe it, there would be an understated elegance about us, there would be accessibility to it, and obviously quality.
Q: What's one of the bigger myths about wine that you can dispel for us?
Lesle: that sulfates are what make you sick, and that sort of thing. That's not really true, because the actual reaction to sulfites is like a tiny percentage who actually have an allergy. A lot of people have histamine issues, or actually just drink too much wine and they get headaches! To me, the biggest myth of all, is that you have to be an expert to appreciate wine. Because you don't.
And also to note, as you grow or grow older, your palate changes. I mean, I'm drinking wines that are completely different to what I was drinking 20 years ago. And, you know, some people say, Well, my palates’ more refined, not necessarily. I mean, I would like to think it is a bit but it's just I think our tastes change as they do in fashion.
Q: Which wine do you love most in your glass?
Lesle: Oh, gosh, I mean, usually the wine I love most in my glass is the wine that I'm drinking…because I chose it for that moment. To be honest, I really do love wine, and I do drink a lot of wine. Currently I have a huge love and a big warmth for burgundy. So that's where my glass usually takes me whether it's white, red, or rosé.
Q: Any other final thoughts or tidbits you'd like to leave us with Lesle?
Lesle: experiment and learn and enjoy and don't take things too seriously.
End
Lesle Gibson As one of the city’s renowned hosts, Lesle’s attention to detail and dedication to her clients has made her something of a legend in the hospitality and wine industry. Her career spans over 20 years and she has successfully opened trendy hotspots in both Toronto and LA. A long-time Sommelier, Lesle has embarked on the highlight of her career with Gibson Family Group creating a home for her wine angels. With every producer embraced and every wine hand selected, it is her goal to share her passion with those she meets, expanding her wine family along the way. GFG combines Lesle’s many years of experience with her personal touch, love for service and interest in exceptional wine.