PROFILE

KEVIN REYNOLDS

H

e oversees the most enviable wine collection in Pittsburgh, perhaps in the United States. He can dissect the alcohol by volume levels that affect tax structures in every state and predict how many years until the fruit starts dropping in a specific bottle of wine. A vertical selection with substantial ages is like a game for him.

But the true superpower of Kevin Reynolds is his ability to remember the name that goes with each face that rotates through the Duquesne Club’s revolving doors.

As the director of Club services, Reynolds has amassed an extensive wine expertise rivaled only by his encyclopedic knowledge of the Club’s members, accrued over 37 years here. Reynolds began his career as the backdoor attendant, then moved to the front door, where he got to know the membership.

“At that point, I was noticed more for my memory retention,” Reynolds says during an interview inside the Club’s $2 million wine cellar. “I learned all the members’ names and I knew who they were.”

That personal touch launched a career move in 1985 that would lead to his role supervising the front of the house, Club security and the beverage operation. Most members know Reynolds simply as the Duquesne Club’s revered sommelier, responsible for developing all the Club’s wine lists, dinners, events and programs.

Tasting, tasting, tasting, is what I feel developed my education more than anything.

And what a program it is. The Club’s current wine list boasts 2,000 bordeauxs, a number unheard of among restaurants open to the public.

PROFILE

World-renowned celebrities in the wine business like Robert Parker have graced the Club for historic events, thanks to Reynolds’ endeavors. And La Cave, created in 1999 under Reynolds’ direction, can host standup events for 25 people and sit-down dinners for 12.

Groups such as the Women of the Club have invited Reynolds to give informal presentations and tastings of his favorite wine selections. Interested in holding a tasting of your own? Reynolds knows all the best spots for hosting yours and can share all the details on how to order wines for a holiday event.

The self-taught sommelier has taken wine classes at Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh and the first course of the Court of Master Sommeliers. But Reynolds says practical tastings through the years truly developed his palate.

“Tasting, tasting, tasting, is what I feel developed my education more than anything,” Reynolds says, adding that his favorite wine of the moment is Shafer Hillside Select 2005.

The Club’s current wine list boasts 2,000 bordeauxs, a number unheard of among restaurants open to the public.