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"Our job is to give people what they want but also let them know what they might be missing." —LARRY O'BRIEN Each sommelier has brought a favorite bottle to discuss. To start, Joseph Phillips presents Champagne Tarlant Cuvee Louis NV, which was disgorged in 2009 and is 50 percent Chardonnay, 50 percent Pinot Noir, and costs about $200-$210 on wine lists. PHILLIPS: "It's grower produced. The base wine is aged in barrels, which is unusual. This gives the wine a little oxidation, and a better ratio of the lees, because the wine is aging in small barrels. It's a single terroir Champagne, from Vineyard Les Crayons in Oeuilly. The specific chalk soil comes through so clearly on this. DE SANTOS: A sommelier tends to be the bridge between the chef and the winemaker. Sake is deliberately made to pair with the foods in the specific region it's from, but that means it's also great for experimenting with other cuisines. I always say there are five main ingredients in sake: rice, water, yeast, koji (a native mold used in fermentation), and the last ingredient is love. It's a very specific beverage that requires a lot of attention and dedica- tion from the sake brew master. HARMON: Sake has grown tremendously as a category in the US in the past five years. But there are still a lot of Americans who don't know about the beauty of cold sake. DE SANTOS: In Las Vegas, we do an event in April called "Sake Fever." V: How has the role of the sommelier changed over the past decade? We partner with resorts, chefs and restaurants all over the city. The lines JAMES: It's become a profession. There's recognition of the business skills that are so important. It's not enough to just bring knowledge to the table anymore. are crazy! O'BRIEN: I was asked to give a one-word answer describing what I do, and my answer was, "Professional." It's about budgets, timelines, staff, inven- tory. The title of master sommelier is really the cherry on top of your years of experience. The journey—from server, to assistant sommelier, to man- agement—that's the real heart to what we do. We are providing service. I used to describe myself as the best-dressed busboy in Tampa, or wherever I was at the moment. V: How does the Court of Master Sommeliers distinguish itself from other sommelier programs? JAMES: We aren't there to train you, but to see how far your work and life experiences have brought you. The founders' idea is that being a master sommelier isn't just about knowledge; it's an experiential process. THOMAS BURKE: People have no idea how truly challenging the exams are. I was blissfully ignorant my first time, and I got destroyed. We're not training you to pass a test, but to be a great sommelier. HARMON: And you don't have to be in the program to be a great sommelier. Luis de Santos presents Tedorigawa Gold Blossom Kinka, Nama Daigingo, from the Ishikawa Prefecture, about $80-$90 on wine lists. DE SANTOS: This sake must stay chilled from brewery to home or restaurant, and it has a short shelf life. The flavors are super concentrated. Vivid and poised, it has a full, clean taste with a nice balance of sweetness and acidity overlaying delicate flavors of plum, honeydew, and peaches. V: How do sommeliers approach sake? DE SANTOS: When I became a master sommelier, they told me you have to specialize. For some odd reason I chose sake, so I promote it with enthu- siasm and experience. SMITH: Here at Bellagio, Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge of course has the most sake, but it's also on other menus throughout the resort, sometimes on tasting menus as a pairing. Ira Harmon presents 2008 Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner Loibenberg Vineyard, Smaragd Level, about $240 on wine lists. HARMON: The depths of flavors are incredible, and it pairs brilliantly with a lot of different foods. The family's been making wines in Austria for decades, about 90 years, and it's a premier vineyard. The wine inside is truly amazing, despite the gothic, gaudy label. Jay James presents 2010 Weingut Robert Weil Kiedricher Gräfenberg Riesling Spätlese, Germany, about $220 on wine lists. JAMES: I debated about bringing a Riesling, because I figured everyone would bring one. Sommeliers have long geeked out on Riesling, because it's so complex and so varied. This one is extremely intense. On the palate it is slightly sweet with notes of pineapple and a slight resin overtone. On the nose, it doesn't give a hint of the residual sugar, even though it's a Spätlese [late harvest] wine. V: How do you decide when it's time to bring on an unusual new wine region? PHILLIPS: On one menu, we called it "The Wines of Consequence," and it was a catch-all category. Slowly, some of them, you bring into their own category. JAMES: South Africa, for example, has always been this question mark. Fifteen years ago, what we could get in the U.S. wasn't that palatable; now we can get the good ones. HARMON: South Africa still hasn't found themselves. BURKE: We're all impatient for them to do it. There are so many things waiting in the wings. V: Has the position of sommelier gained some "cool cred" the way chefs have? JAMES: In the old days, the story goes, they would take the meanest per- son in the restaurant and relegate him to the wine cellars, making him the sommelier. That stereotype really began to change in the late '80s and early '90s. It's become a young profession, and that's fantastic. The VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 121