Scott Hanayik might not have wine in his blood, but it's certainly on his mind.
The general manager of YaYa's Euro Bistro decided to begin training to become a sommelier because it's a love, a passion, something "challenging for me -- career enhancing as well."
There are four levels of sommelier: Intro, Certified, Advanced and Master.
"Master and Advanced would be lofty goals for me because you have to drink a whole lot of wine," he says. "I don't have enough time to dedicate to just tasting wine all the time."
Instead, he's aiming for his Certified level, which focuses on service, wine regions and tasting, and which he sees as a far more attainable goal. Having been in the restaurant business since his teens, he grew up around wines, food and the pairing thereof, so he already has a decent base of knowledge from which to work.
In addition to his sommelier studies and his regular work at YaYa's, he's also juggling wine for one of the biggest wine-theme events in Arkansas: the Little Rock Zoo's Wild Wines fundraiser May 2.
"It's one of the great fundraisers, I think, in the entire state. We're really trying to make this a value event with the number of restaurants, the number of wines, different beer and margarita choices, and entertainment."
Hanayik first became involved with the zoo by accident, tagging along to a meeting with a friend who volunteers as a docent. Eventually, he was recruited by his predecessor, Jennifer Owens, to serve as Wild Wines chairman.
"She said, 'You'd be great at this. I think you should try it.' I'm like, 'How hard could it be?'" he chuckles.
He wasn't left high-and-dry to fend for himself. He was chosen far enough in advance that he could be groomed for the role, and Owens and other previous event chairmen are still on the committee to help out.
"So, you've always got a good base of knowledge to work from."
This is now his second year as chairman and he says he has learned that scheduling a committee full of dedicated people with families and full-time jobs, as well as staying on top of the planning and fundraising, requires a great deal of organization.
There's a lot to stay on top of when it comes to keeping Wild Wines on track. What started as a collection of a dozen restaurants and a single musical act has mushroomed. This year they've recruited more restaurants than ever before, 50 in all, which will be scattered along the zoo's paths and walkways, accompanied by wine tasting stations.
Not everyone knows the difference between a pinot noir and a cabernet sauvignon, or whether a chardonnay would be the appropriate accompaniment for a delicate canape. No worries. Wild Wines is there to help and is designed to make things simple.
In the past, the event had a geography-inspired layout with foods and wines grouped by country or region. But with 50 restaurants and dozens of wines, coordinating the event now requires a dedicated volunteer. It's just no longer feasible.
"We have so many restaurants and so many of them fit into the same categories that we couldn't put 14 Mexican restaurants all together," Hanayik explains.
But there's still a good bit of thought put into what wines and foods go where and sampling the foods and beverages and discovering how the flavors complement one another is part of the fun of Wild Wines.
Hanayik isn't actually choosing the wines. That's done by Jonathan Looney, a certified sommelier and owner of O'Looney's Wine & Liquor. Hanayik's responsibility is coordinating food and drink -- letting the restaurants know what wines will be poured near their booths.
"It's fun for me to be able to let the restaurants know," he says. "For my restaurant, I know, I try to get the wines ahead of time. We can pair our foods to match those wines."
Those who want to do some sipping but aren't partial to the vino needn't fear. There's also a beer garden and other beverage options.
And visitors should come hungry because Hanayik says there will be "more food than they'll need. If you hit all 50 restaurants, let me know, because I'll be pretty impressed."
Money raised at Wild Wines goes directly to the zoo. Last year's event paid for the zoo's new train. This year, the event has an "Arkansas Farm Fresh" theme and the money will benefit the Arkansas Farm exhibit, which allows children to feed and pet farm animals and learn about the state's agricultural heritage.
Tickets are $75 for all drinks, food, music and visits with the animals as well as a souvenir glass and plate, what Hanayik calls "a steal."
There's also a Reserve Room with exclusive wines and food from Cache that opens at 6 p.m. in Cafe Africa. Those tickets are $150.
In addition to the food and wine, there will be entertainment from five bands at five performing stations -- and dancing.
"We've built it into one of the best food and beverage event fundraisers in the state," Hanayik says. "It's all about tasting wine, sampling great food and listening to great music. It's a fundraiser, but it's a party."
Wild Wines is 7-10 p.m. May 2 at the Little Rock Zoo. Tickets are $75, $150 for the Reserve Wine Room. Call (501) 666-2406 or visit littlerockzoo.com.
High Profile on 04/19/2015