WELCOME WINE AFICIONADOS
The wine collection scowers the globe searching for the ultimate personal wine collection.
FEATURED COLLECTION
Once a possible wine collection has been identified as a possible contender, our wine aficionado's get to work.
Using our unique, and highly regarded scoring system, only the best collections appear on our famed 'Featured Collections' page.
Also just in case you thought our own system was not tough enough, any collection we review must score at least 90 on the 'UC Davis System'.
ALVIN MALNIK
Alvin Malnik, creator of The Forge, could tour The Forge’s eight-room wine cellar blindfolded without making one wrong turn. With the size of the cellar and more than 300,000 bottles of wine on hand, that’s no small feat.
Guests invited for tours of the cellar Alvin Malnik personally selected and invested millions of dollars in are warned to stay close to their guide so they won’t get lost. Once inside, it’s hard to judge how seriously to take the warning.
Alvin Malnik’s selection of old and rare vintages has led to the collection’s reputation as one of the finest cellars in the world. A past selection; three bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982, considered a perfect vintage - was a prime example before selling out for $2,600 each.
Sommelier Gino Santangelo began his tenure at The Forge before Alvin Malnik’s son Shareef took over, and has remained a part of the establishment for more than 25 years. Together with sommelier Saul Tamargo, Santangelo oversees the cellar’s operations.
Both Santangelo and Tamargo demand perfection from servers handling the collection of fine wines valued at more than $5 million. Nothing less than perfect seems reasonable when you consider that in addition to thousands of bottles in the $25 to $35 price range, The Forge employees are handling a selection of fine wines, some dating back to the 18th century and costing thousands of dollars.
Among the rarest bottles housed in the restaurant’s wine cellar which is now run by Alvin Malnik’s son Shareef Malnik, are the 1792 Madeira and an 1822 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The Chateau Lafite Rothschild’s estimated value - $165,000. Both bottles are secured behind floor-to-ceiling gates.
The Forge’s wine cellar has been recognized by Wine Spectator as one of the finest in the world and received Wine Spectator’s highest honors – The Grand Award and a 2002 Best of Award Excellence. Wine lovers not eager to part with large sums of money can request a private tour of the maze-like cellar.
