Peter Gaylor

Peter Gaylor

Local Sales (VA, MD, DC) - Sales Representative - DC, NoVA

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Mobile Phone: (703)-898-8237

Peter Gaylor was introduced to wine by his brother while he was in college at NYU on a fencing scholarship. While pursuing his degree in French literature and culture he attended fencing tournaments in France, Russia, Austria, Spain, and England. This aroused more curiosity in food and wine. His junior year was spent at NYU in Paris to be able to train with the French National fencing team and their Maîtres d'Armes. Traveling in France to fencing tournaments and eating at small countryside restaurants heightened his interest in French cuisine and wine. In Europe, fencing tournaments were halted for an hour for everyone to have lunch, with a glass of wine or a shandy with the meal.

After college, he cooked in two restaurants in Vermont before returning to Paris to study French cuisine and wines at the Cordon Bleu and Steven Spurrier's Académie du Vin. A culinary tour de France followed before returning to New York. Highlights were sharing a bottle of 1976 Mouton with the 3rd generation Mouton winemaker in his office, meals at Boyer's la Chaumière in Rheims, Pic in Valence, dinners at various French homes, tastings at Domaine Leflaive, Armand Rousseau, Vieux Télégraphe, Maison Deutz, and Pommery. Peter then secured a cook's position at the Coup de Fusil restaurant in New York City. He followed that Chef, Yannick Cam, to Le Pavillon in DC where he met his future wife. Two years later they opened their French restaurant D'Artagnan in Lyme, NH as Chef/Owners. Peter and Rebecca operated the restaurant for 14 years, earning accolades such as one of Condé Nast Traveler's '50 US Restaurants Worth the Journey' in 1992.

With a young daughter and a need to move the restaurant, they chose to move back to DC to be closer to Rebecca's family. Peter worked as Chef in a few restaurants before moving to the wine business at Total Beverage, where he became the Wine Manager at McLean. While at Total, he earned the WSET Higher Certificate with distinction. Wine Source Maryland was his first wholesale sales position before moving in 1999 to William-Harrison Imports. At WHI Peter helped source new French wines, wrote and edited their entire wine catalog, created the point of sale for each wine, wrote or edited the information for the website, and corresponded with French producers.

Peter's favorite wines are French: Champagne, Burgundy, and Rhône, although he always enjoys a good bottle from other countries. Hobbies include working on classic cars, French cuisine, gardening, woodworking, traveling with his wife and daughter. He looks forward to working with such a varied portfolio, experiencing new beverages from around the world, and interacting with those who also hold a passion for wine.