Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/44136
THE MESSAGE SIPPING WITH SOMMS Alexandre Brard W by E. C. Gladstone hen a French sommelier at a French restaurant approaches your table with fl ûtes, you know what to expect. So imagine the pleasant surprise when THE TASTING PANEL dined recently at Morel's French Steakhouse & Bistro in The Palazzo Las Vegas, and Sommelier Alexandre Brard started our meal not with champagne but . . . a Spanish cava? "I try to get away from just being a French sommelier," Brard tells us. "In France, we learn mostly French wines, and that's not a good thing. I want to know all of them: Italian wines, Spanish wines, everything from British Columbia to South Africa." Brard, whose previous Vegas appointments included Restaurant Joël Robuchon and Daniel Boulud Brasserie, nonetheless takes pride in his Normandy heritage, serving Pommeau de Normandie as his signature drink with many of Morel's extensive cheese offerings. But by example, he points out, "The other night I served a couple Giardino "Le Fole" Aglianico, a St. Emillion, a Morgon, a New Zealand Pinot Noir and a Spanish Ribera del Duero." Did we mention this was a steakhouse? Morel's extensive Enomatic system, one of the fi rst and still one of the largest in Vegas, enables Brard to pour some sixty different wines by the glass, a big draw for him when he signed on earlier this year. "I can have wines by the glass that I could never have anywhere else, like Screaming Eagle or Opus One, even fi rst growth Bordeaux . . . although I don't think a Burgundy would last as well." Currently Brard's by-the-glass offerings include Philip Togni, a boutique wine from Napa, normally $300 a bottle. Though Brard's early career included appointments at three-star Michelin restaurants in Burgundy and Switzerland, he calls Vegas "the best place in the world to be a sommelier." In the Strip's dense conglomeration of fi ne dining, "you fi nd the best hospitality and chef talent—and the best consumers—in the world." Dana Farner A Alexandre Brard is sommelier at Morel's French Steakhouse & Bistro in The Palazzo Las Vegas. mid a battalion of black-suited servers in an airy, art-accented room, Dana Farner is the belle of the ball. In the fi ve years since CUT Beverly Hills opened in the historic Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire hotel, Farner has helped redefi ne the sommelier identity, wearing bold-print vintage-style cocktail dresses, and leaving her Advanced pin from the Court at home. Dana Farner. "There are so many people put off by sommeliers," Farner tells THE TASTING PANEL. "I'd rather look like someone who's really approachable." That coquettish but confi dent attitude, perhaps inspired by her North Dakota roots, spills over into Farner's list. While the cellar of this pedigree Wolfgang Puck steakhouse is of necessity dominated by big Cali Cabs and Bordeaux, Farner is just as likely to suggest a Barolo or Syrah for your succulent steak—and any number of "Native and Displaced Whites" (as she lists them) to start. While proud that her vintages rarely collect dust─her supplies of '82 Margaux and Lafi tte are actually (temporarily) depleted─Dana also emphasizes that she can offer "a huge number of amazing wines under $100" as well as 26 interesting choices by the glass. "The clientele here is fascinating," she coos, ranging from local regulars to the well- heeled international guests of the hotel. A scan of the dining room on a busy Saturday night certainly refl ects an eclectic crowd. Still, while Farner may encourage a guest in one direction or another, she's overly conscious not to take them out of their comfort zone. "My job is to know what everything tastes like, not to tell you what you need to taste." 18 / the tasting panel / october 201 1 PHOTO: E. C. GLADSTONE