I did not plan to become a sommelier. I grew up in Savannah and studied literature at Georgia. But my first job out of school was at a wine shop in Midtown Manhattan, and within six months I understood I had found the thing I would do for the rest of my life. Wine is the only discipline I know that requires equal parts science, history, geography, and intuition. Also good sensory recall, which I was lucky to be born with.
When Marcus called me in 2014, the list had about 80 labels, which is a perfectly respectable starting point. My first move was to cut 20 of them. The ones that were there because they were famous or expected, not because they were delicious or interesting. A wine list full of canonical labels is a wine list that does not trust its guests. I trust our guests enormously.
The bottle I most often recommend to skeptics is a Cru Beaujolais from a producer named Jean Foillard. Most people hear Beaujolais and think of Nouveau, the November release, which is not serious wine. Foillard's Morgon is age-worthy, complex, and costs $90 on our list. I have seen it stop skeptics mid-sentence.