Michael Ireland Named Wine Director at Wingtip

Sommelier Michael Ireland departed The Restaurant at Meadowood for Berkeley's Gather last year, and now he's adding another job to his plate: he's been named the wine director of Wingtip, the recently-opened private club/menswear store in the FiDi. "I'll be there on the floor a couple nights a week and will begin straight away acquiring fantastic wines, elevating service to an even higher level, and creating unique experiences and services for our members," says Ireland, who's also worked at Quince and The French Laundry. "It's a beautiful spot and I'm very happy to be working with the team."

Membership also has its privileges: Ireland says the prices of Wingtip's wines will be more in line with retail than the double or triple markup that's common in restaurants and bars. With ex-Jardinière and Jasper's Corner Tap bartender Brian MacGregor behind the stick, Wingtip definitely hasn't stinted on beverage talent.

Ireland will continue to consult and to run the Gather wine program, and is also still on board to create the wine list at the Gather team's upcoming Verbena on Polk Street. "We're planning to buck tradition and do something quite different," he says of Verbena's list.

· Wingtip's Slick New Private FiDi Club Is Open [Racked SF]
· Sean Baker Talks About the New Gather Spinoff on Polk [~ ESF ~]