With a seemingly (now) endless supply of sommelier’s popping up left and right, many of whom pompously bore you to death with theory and tedious tasting notes, there are a few who who stay close to the roots of what being a real somm is, and one of them we recently had the chance to interview is Gianpaolo Paterlini.
Gianpaolo, one of the recipients of the Food & Wine Magazine’s “Sommelier of the Year,” is the head Somm at 2-Michelin Star Acquerello as well as the head Somm at modern-ingredient driven restaurant 1760. While vastly different in style, both restaurants feature incredible wine lists that are not only extremely affordable, but boast some hard to find wines as well. While he certainly is credited for achievements as a successful sommelier, we actually find his approach on being a sommelier much more intriguing than the list of awards he has received.