Fourways Inn maitre d' Alex Rech usually doesn't drink on the job, but last week when a special client offered him a glass of wine, he couldn't refuse.

That's because the glass was from a large bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982 J?roboam, a vintage wine costing $7,500.

"It was one of the best wines I have ever tasted," Mr. Rech told . "1982 is probably one of the best vintages after 1961. This special wine's composition is 85 percent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, ten percent Cabernet Franca and five percent Merlot. It is a "1er Cru Classe" or three star wine. It is from southwest France from Pauillac in the M?doc region of Bordeaux."

Mr. Rech said it was not everyday that Fourways sold a bottle that expensive to a client.

"It has been quite awhile since I have sold a bottle like this," he said. "The last one was a couple of years ago."

The occasion at Fourways was a corporate reunion where 16 corporate clients flew in to Bermuda from the United States to celebrate the financial success of their company.

"It was amazing because it shows that Bermuda is still the number one place to come and celebrate," said Mr. Rech. "Bermuda is still very clean and the sand is gorgeous."

The evening was planned entirely through teleconference, a few telephone calls and a fax.

"That evening everyone was relaxed and not really pushed to leave even though we had a wedding of 300 people going on on the other side of the buildings," said Mr. Rech. "They were supposed to stay until 10.30 p.m. but they stayed until 12.30 a.m., that's how relaxed they were."

The 1982 J?roboam was not originally planned for the evening. The client ordered champagne ahead of time, and some more ordinary wine.

"They ordered two bottles of champagne, but that wasn't sufficient," said Mr. Rech. "The client told me, 'Alex just keep rolling the champagne, everybody loves it.'"

Later in the evening, the client asked Mr. Rech to get out the best wine there was at Fourways.

"He just said, 'I want the best'," said Mr. Rech. "It was such a simple conversation. I asked them if they were looking for a French, American or whatever. They wanted preferably French. The client wanted something to wow his guests."

The client wasn't familiar with the 1982 J?roboam but he trusted Mr. Rech's judgement.

"He said 'Just bring the bottle in. It looks very good'," said Mr. Rech. "He offered me a glass and I tasted it ? and it was like 'whoa!' It was so smooth. It was just an amazing wine. Ninety-nine percent of the time I don't drink at work. You keep a distance between yourself and your client. This time though, I couldn't resist.

"There was a little bit of mint taste at the end. It was amazing. During the evening, everyone at the table made a comment on the wine. They said, 'This is something we won't soon experience again.'"

At the end of the night there was a great debate over who would take the bottle home. In the end, the client decided to leave it at Fourways because he intended to return on other visits.

Mr. Rech said it gave him a great sense of accomplishment and pride to see his these clients so happy and satisfied with the evening.

Vintage wines like the J?roboam aren't bought in a store, but purchased at auction. This particular wine has been known to go for over ?10,000 pounds in England, so $7,500 was actually a good price.

"They make it so special," said Mr. Rech. "You just put the corkscrew in and the cork pops right out. If we find another bottle on the market, we will definitely buy. We know the market is going to be very hard to find because there were only a few made. It is a very valuable wine."

Mr. Rech is originally from Treviso, Italy, a town outside of Venice. He didn't decide on a career in the hospitality industry until his third to last week in high school.

After high school he worked his way up in the business until he was working in some of Europe's finest hotels including the Savoy in London.

"At the Savoy we were dealing with top of the line, celebrities like Prince Charles, Sean Connery, Lady Diana, Frank Sinatra, you just name it," he said. "It was so great. Lady Di was a sweet person. I was dealing with them at least once a month. The Savoy was the place to go."

One day Mr. Rech's manager asked him if he had ever heard of Bermuda.

"Whoa, Bermuda! I was very good at geography," said Mr. Rech. "I said 'hold on one second. Isn't it a tiny island outside of New York?' He was shocked that I knew where it was. He said, 'how do you know?'"

Mr. Rech had always loved visiting "exotic islands" so he readily applied for the job at Fourways Inn and was accepted a couple of years later.

"The work permit came in three weeks later," he said. "By mistake I put it in the trash. So I called and said the envelope came but there was nothing inside.

"In the end, I fished it out of the trash, and opened it up and it was folded in a way that you could hardly see it. My manager said, 'Alex if you don't like it, I will take you right back'."

That was nine years ago, and Mr. Rech has never taken his old manager up on the offer.

"That first time coming in on the plane the Island was just unreal," he said. "It was a sunny, gorgeous day, May 24, Bermuda Day. It is a different atmosphere here."

Although he isn't hobnobbing with royalty or movie stars as much anymore, he still enjoys it.

"It is a different clientele here," said Mr. Rech. "If you go to New York, or if you go to the Bellagio in Las Vegas or Los Angeles it is very, very different. It is a new learning experience. You learn everyday, no matter who you serve or what wine you serve."

He said that at Fourways Inn they try never to say 'no' to the client.

"If it is not on the menu we make it for them," he said. "You don't want to say 'no' to the client.

This is very important to Bermuda, because Bermuda has been suffering for tourists since 1996 and after the 9-11 attacks. That was a big upset for everybody, but life has to go on. To rebuild takes a lot of time."