Thomas Combescot-Lepère of Adour – New York, NY
Wine was a given at Thomas Combescot-Lepère’s family table, so it was only natural that he studied wine when he went to restaurant school in his native France. Despite his diploma in wine, Combescot considers himself largely self-taught when it comes to being a restaurant sommelier. His transition from the French to the American world of wine wasn’t quite as intuitive—he refers to his time at Philadelphia’s Savona as an ass-kicking “until the French attitude disappeared.” Now sommelier at Alain Ducasse’s wine-centric Adour in the St. Regis Hotel, Combescot is introducing the American diner to a more European way of approaching food and wine. More

Eduardo Porto Carreiro of Grace – Los Angeles, CA
Growing up in Brazil and Vienna, Sommelier Eduardo Porto Carreiro of Grace in Los Angeles was weaned on wine from a young age. After taking a popular wine class at Cornell University, Carreiro realized that not only did he already know a lot about wine, he was also passionate about it. Carreiro moved to sunny California upon graduation and landed a job at a wine shop, which he parlayed into various restaurant jobs. He started at 2006 Los Angeles Rising Star Chef Neal Fraser’s Grace as a food runner and worked his way up to his current position of wine director. In the future, Carreiro hopes to be able to split his time between the floor and the vineyard. More

Troy Kumalaa of Vintner Grill – Las Vegas, NV
Troy Kumalaa didn’t grow up with wine as many sommeliers do, but he did get the restaurant bug early on in life. He transitioned from behind the bar to the floor serving wines at The Four Seasons in Sonoma. Now at the contemporary American restaurant/lounge Vintner Grill in Summerlin, just outside of Las Vegas, Kumalaa pairs wines from around the world with Chef Matt Silverman’s Mediterranean-influenced cuisine. More

Adam Chumas of Tilth – Seattle, WA
Adam Chumas has worked in every facet of a restaurant, from pantry cook to server, GM to assistant manager, to his current position of wine director. With no formal training, just a love for wine (helped by a fake ID in his younger years), Chumas blossomed in a local New Hampshire restaurant where he worked for six years through college. Now as the wine director at Seattle organic restaurant Tilth, Chumas looks for wines that are created in an organic, biodynamic, or sustainable manner, but isn’t restricted by those labels. By age 30 he hopes to have his Master Sommelier certificate (he’s already through level two). More

Rom Toulon of Restaurant Meadowood – St. Helena, CA
As a sommelier in Napa Valley, Rom Toulon draws upon the rich wine culture of the region as well as his own roots, which are in the Loire Valley. Toulon grew up drinking wine with his family and at 15 years old went through a two-year apprenticeship program where he alternated working and going to school every two weeks. At Restaurant Meadowood Toulon pairs wines from all over the world—his favorite pairing is Junmai sake with toro. Looking towards the future, Toulon sees himself opening a restaurant where guests base their meal around the wine, not the other way around. More

Reno De Ranieri of Cuvee – New Orleans, LA
“You should start every meal with a bottle of Champagne,” so says Sommelier Reno De Ranieri of Cuvee in New Orleans. The young sommelier is at his first restaurant gig and is being mentored by Cuvee’s owner Kenny LeCour, whose wine savvy is well known in the Big Easy. De Ranieri is taking a hands-on approach to his wine education, sipping all the wines he can to expand his knowledge beyond the California wines he grew up on. More