Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/46939
Talented Trio These three up-and-coming sommeliers are at the pouring edge of today's on-premise wine scene—in three very different markets. Despite their youthful appearance, they have plenty of hands-on-bottle experience and the savvy to make their lists among the best in town. by E. C. Gladstone Paul Sanguinetti. Paul Sanguinetti Ray's and Stark Bar, Los Angeles I t's a well-worn cliché to say someone has "wine in his blood," but for Paul Sanguinetti, it might just be true. "I grew up with the Portuguese side of my family," the certified Sommelier at L.A.'s Ray's and Stark Bar tells THE TASTING PANEL, recalling a childhood in working-class New Bedford, Massachusetts. "My grandfather made his own wine and served it at family meals. So I've been drink- ing wine my whole life." And serving it, too. After a variety of distribution and restaurant jobs in Boston, and studying the WSET at Johnson & Wales, Sanguinetti came to California for a wedding and realized he needed to stay. A few more short- 80 / the tasting panel / november 201 1 term opportunities followed, including cooking at Santa Monica's Bar Pinxto and even working a harvest at New Zealand's Waipara Springs winery before Sanguinetti began collaborating with Chef Kris Morningstar at L.A.'s District and Mercantile. The pairing continues now at Ray's—just tipped as one of Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants, 2011─which is so locavore-driven that they convinced the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (where the restaurant is located) to let them grow a rather large herb and edible flower garden on the grounds. In line with the chef's sentiment, Sanguinetti's list is domi- nantly Californian, but respecting the food's Mediterranean, Asian and Latin flavors, he also serves select Old World wines, many exclusive to market. "I like to present things that excite people," the 29-year-old sums up. "I think it's a responsibility for a sommelier to go out and find things."