Wine & Spirits - October 2021 - 33

Who do sommeliers
look to for advice?
In 2003, Wine & Spirits launched the first Best
New Sommelier poll, highlighting rising stars
in the wine community. Among the winners:
Christie Dufault, then the beverage director
curating a 1,600-selection list at Gary Danko,
in San Francisco. When asked what it means
to be a good sommelier, Dufault responded,
" It's really all about service. You need to be
genuine and dedicated, " adding " the wine
knowledge will come; we have the opportunity
in this job to taste a lot and to learn from all
those before us. "
This year, we invited more than 3,000 restaurant
wine buyers across the country to call out
the mentors who had had a significant impact
on shaping their careers. When we compiled
all the ballots, five names rose to the top-
including Dufault, voted in as a mentor by
the latest generation of talent. Now a wine
educator at the Culinary Institute of America,
Dufault is joined by Master Sommeliers Larry
Stone, Roger Dagorn, Bobby Stuckey and
Madeline Triffon.
In the following pages, we've chronicled
their careers in wine, sharing recollections of
their own mentors as well as the stories that
inspired sommeliers to nominate them. Meet
today's Great Sommelier Mentors.
CHRIS TIE
DUF AUL T
Culinary Institute of America,
st. helena, Ca
" T
hat's Christie Dufault, " saiD the maître D'.
" You're going to be getting to know her. "
Chad Zeigler was 22 years old at the time and
in his first wine job, at The French Laundry. Dufault, then
the wine director for Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco,
had booked a table for lunch, and she made a point
of coming over to introduce herself to Zeigler, green as
he was. Carlin Karr, wine director for Frasca Hospitality
Group's four restaurants, tells a similar tale: " I distinctly
remember her saying, 'I just wanted to come and introduce
myself and offer congratulations and my support and say
bravo. Women need to support each other.' It meant so
much to me at [the beginning of my career]. "
Michaël Engelmann MS remembers working with
Dufault at Gary Danko in 2005. French by birth, he was
in his first job in the US. " She speaks perfect French and
understood where I'm from and what I might be going
through moving to a new place. " She invited him to his
first American Thanksgiving dinner that year. " She helped
me keep an open mind about wine and its different styles,
because people enjoy them. That's something that's stuck
with me for the rest of my career. If I'm in Paris, and I give a
tasting of wine from South Africa or something, it's important
to remember that there's a time and place for everything.
I get to introduce new horizons to people in my job. "
As Dufault progressed through wine director positions
at Bacar, Gary Danko and Quince, she went out of her way
to make herself available to the next generation-which is
now her full-time role at the Culinary Institute of America.
" I often tell my students that servers should be mini-sommeliers.
There's a sommelier role in every position, " she
says, adding, " I have this belief that sommeliers-especially
head sommeliers and beverage directors-they have
Photograph by MARISSA LESHNOV
Oc TO b ER 2021
WINE & SPIR IT S
33
Wine & Spirits - October 2021

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