SEVEN SOMMELIERS EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT
By Laura Conde, wine writer
If a restaurant wants to achieve true excellence, it needs more than a good wine list. Even clients well-versed in wine may occasionally feel overwhelmed and draw a complete blank when confronted with a seemingly encyclopaedic volume of appellations of origin, wineries, vintages, and varieties. This is where a sommelier can make all the difference. They can advise clients (at their pace) as they navigate a wine list which the sommelier knows inside out, keeping in mind their needs, palates, and - just as importantly - their budget.
Although sommeliers are gaining greater prominence at restaurants, they are unfortunately often still deprived of the recognition they deserve. Their job entails answering all of the questions customers might have about the wine list and guide them in making the right choice. This is true whether the client wants a full wine and food pairing or simply a bottle or glass of wine, or perhaps a cocktail, sparkling wine, or any other libation on the list, from aperitif to digestif and everything in between.
We shouldn’t underestimate the importance of a sommelier in the dining room. Occasionally they will even play a bigger role than the waitstaff (it isn’t unusual for the sommelier to also be the maître d’, especially in gourmet restaurants). Think about the times you have been to a fine dining establishment: didn’t you spend more time talking to the sommelier than the waitstaff? If we follow their lead, the sommelier’s recommendations can play a decisive role in enhancing recipes, adding nuances, awakening emotions, and rounding out our gastronomic experience - even changing it completely. A truly great meal without great wines is difficult to imagine.
Fortunately, restaurants are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of an exceptional wine list curated by a gifted professional. In addition, the sommelier should be perceptive and have keen people skills to guide customers through what might strike them as a jumble of information that isn’t always easy to decipher. Now let’s shine the spotlight on a few hand-picked sommeliers that everyone in the trade is talking about this year for different reasons. Each one of them is a well-established and lauded professional. We’re certain they will give us plenty to talk about in the future too.
MIGUEL ÁNGEL MILLÁN, DE DIVERXO
The sommelier at Diverxo took home the award for World’s Best Sommelier at the most recent edition of The World’s Fifty Best Restaurants. The awards ceremony took place in Valencia this past June. Millán, an experienced professional who joined Diverxo in 2019, will most likely never forget the standing ovation he received when his name was announced. Millán’s career is notable, with stints at revered establishments such as Santceloni and Kabuki (where he put his imagination to work, crafting a wine list that would pair well with Asian cuisine) until finally settling at Diverxo where he is giving his creativity free rein alongside Dabiz Muñoz.
In collaboration with the famed chef, he has assembled a list with more than 1500 wines, featuring small family-owned wineries, large international wine companies, and a few unique gems that Millán knows how to find like no one else. The Fifty Best jury agreed, naming him a “resilient and persevering” professional. “Millán is known for going to the ends of the Earth to find a specific vintage that he has his eye on,” the jury stated, “Or for contacting a small producer whose work he wants to try.”
Miguel Ángel Millán, sommelier at Diverxo at the awards ceremony of The World’s Best Sommelier Award 2023
TONI ALBIOL, ENOTECA DIVINS
You’ll always find Toni Albiol bustling about among the wines of Enoteca Divins in Martorell (Barcelona). He is the wine shop’s manager and driving force. Last April, he took home top honours at Catalunya de Sumilleres in which he competed against 17 other sommeliers in an event held at La Llotja (Reus Chamber of Commerce) and at Círcol’s Saló dels Miralls. Since its founding, Divins has been so much more than a wine shop: it is a space dedicated to promoting wine culture and the enjoyment of fine wines and spirits (they are whisky specialists) with regularly scheduled tastings, courses, and other activities. Albiol and his team are on a mission to bring wine to a wider audience, which is why they also advise restaurants, prepare wine lists, and organize fairs, events, and wine and food pairings, and more.
Toni Albiol proudly displays his Best Sommelier of Catalunya 2023 certificate
ALEJANDRO RODRÍGUEZ, COQUE
The sommelier at Restaurante Coque in Madrid just took home the award for Spain’s Best Sommelier 2023 after winning the Campeonato España de Sumilleres Tierra de Sabor championship, now in its 28th edition. Cordoba’s Manuel Fernández Benítez came in second, with Toni Albiol of Enoteca Divins in third place.
After working at restaurants like Santceloni, Ramon Freixa, and La Terraza del Casino, Rodríguez set up Coque, a highly original wine temple disguised as a restaurant that champions innovation, research, and creativity. Much of this is down to the particular chemistry between Mario Sandoval, Coque’s chef, and Rodríguez, who have known each other since they were 18-year-old students at Madrid’s Escuela de Hostelería and share similar sensibilities when it comes to food and wine. The wine list boasts 2500 names from more than 25 countries, and the sommelier never tires of researching and seeking out new little-known gems with which to surprise the most discerning palates.
Sommelier Alejandro Rodríguez opening a bottle of wine
CRISTINA DÍAZ, MARALBA
Winner of the National Gastronomy Award for Best Sommelier 2022, Cristina Díaz insists she “tells stories” through the wines she selects for Maralba, a restaurant in Almansa (Albacete). Chef Fran Martínez conjures up high-level culinary magic that fuses the traditions of La Mancha with those of the Mediterranean coast – a winning combination that has earned the restaurant two Michelin stars. In a similar vein, Díaz’s wine list starts with a focus on La Mancha to then gradually open up to include other parts of Spain and then the rest of the world. Her selection brings together large wineries and small winemakers who Díaz has been firmly committed to from the very start. Her list features more than 700 wines and has steadily grown as the restaurant gained prestige and earned accolades from the Michelin Guide.
Cristina Diaz, National Gastronomy Award for Best Sommelier 2022
MARÍA JOSÉ HUERTAS, PACO RONCERO RESTAURANTE
Numerous awards point to the illustrious career of a woman who defines herself as a “sommelier and wine taster”. You will always find María José Huertas with a glass in hand, be it at Paco Roncero, the two-Michelin-star restaurant at Terraza del Casino, or when promoting wine culture, on one of her many trips, among friends, or tirelessly learning new things. Huertas has spent an impressive twenty years at Roncero’s side in a perfect melding of sensibilities which has resulted in truly original wine and food pairings that earned her the National Gastronomy Award 2003. Over the years, she has also received the Sommelier of the Year Award from Grupo Gourmets in 2003, the Best Sommelier Award 2005 from the Academia Internacional de Gastronomía, and the ACYRE Madrid Award 2023 for Best Sommelier.
María José Huertas, sommelier at Paco Roncero Restaurant.
MIGUEL ANXO BESADA, TABERNA ACURVA
In Portonovo, a seaside town in the rías of Pontevedra, we find Miguel Anxo Besada’s small oenological-culinary enclave: Taberna Acurva. He was named Best Sommelier 2020 at the International Wine Challenge. Taberna Acurva got off to a difficult start, because introducing local palates, long accustomed to local table wines, to new flavours and nuances wasn’t easy. But Anxo Besada is a born sommelier and his persistence and skilled approach culminated in success. These days, Taberna Acurva pours more than 400 wines, mostly Galicians that pair beautifully with elegant and simple fare prepared from the best locally sourced ingredients.
Miguel Anxo Besada, sommelier at Taberna Acurva
FERRAN VILA, ÀPATS
Ferran Vila is among the biggest names in the world of sommeliers. His professional life began at La Banyeta, a small family-owned restaurant in Palol de Reverdit (Girona), where he began his training. For the most part, Vila is self-taught. From these seemingly humble beginnings, he has gone on to win countless competitions and awards, fruit of a firmly established career as a consultant on various gastronomic projects and his work at the restaurant. Recently he took home first place at the Campeonato de España de Sumilleres Tierra de Sabor 2022 championship. Despite his success as a consultant, he insists he will continue to work the dining room, which is, ultimately, the true school of a good sommelier. Over time La Banyeta gave birth to Àpats by Jaume Vila, a wide-ranging wine and gastronomy project through which the brothers Ferran and Jaume Vila offer catering and event services, as well as other activities.
