Affiliation : Director of Beverage and Hospitality, Seasons 52
Location : Orlando, FL, USA

 

George Miliotes is a passionate educator and inspiring leader at Seasons 52, a new fresh grill restaurant concept. As Director of Beverage and Hospitality and one of the world’s few Master Sommeliers, George oversees all aspects of Seasons 52’s wine and beverage program, from the development of the award-winning wine list to educating and motivating service teams about wine.

Miliotes is a tremendous leader and innovator, who is credited with bringing a global, by-the-glass wine program to casual dining. His unique by-the-glass program encourages guests to make adventuresome choices, mixing and matching wines with each course of their meal.

A firm believer in education and knowledge-sharing, Miliotes continues to study wine while enhancing Seasons 52’s wine list through annual trips to South Africa. There, he custom blends Indaba chardonnay for the U.S. market and Seasons 52. Miliotes also takes an active role in the creation of other noteworthy wines including Germany’s Oberbergener Bassgeige, which is nationally exclusive to Seasons 52. The result of his worldwide search is a stellar international wine list that is adventurous, yet approachable and inviting.

In March 2007, Miliotes joined the elite group of Master Sommeliers, passing a series of rigorous examinations that require the candidate to identify grape variety, country of origin, district of origin and vintage of six wines by taste and sight alone.

George Miliotes is the grandson of Greek immigrants and a child of the restaurant and hospitality business. His family owned a specialty market and café in Orlando, Fla., Mr. Dunderbacks, which became a gathering spot for local chefs and served as the starting point for Miliotes’ passion for food and wine.

Miliotes’ family also traveled extensively to some of the world’s most respected wine regions, including Germany and France. These experiences enhanced his knowledge of wine and motivated him to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. Miliotes joined Chris’ House of Beef, an Orlando landmark, and created a wine list that earned Wine Spectator magazine’s “Best Award of Excellence” for four consecutive years, from 1988 through 1991. Miliotes later became the general manager of Walt Disney World’s California Grill where he not only created another award-winning wine list, but also one of the first lists in the country to offer 100 wines by the glass.

Miliotes’ honors include Restaurant Wine’s 2006 “On-Premise Wine Marketer of the Year” award, Wine Spectator’s 2006 Award of Excellence and Cheers magazine’s 2007 Best Chain Wine Program Award for Seasons 52’s wine list.