*That’s me on the far right. I was 19 at the time and working at Montrio Bistro in Monterey when I discovered my passion for wine via one fateful sip.*

In ancient mythology, a love potion is used to make a person fall in love with someone else but what happens if you were to become infatuated with the elixir itself? Sounds improbable unless you happen to be in the wine business. All it took for me was a single sip of Charles Melton Nine Popes, a Rhone-inspired blend from Australia, and I knew I had found my calling. The flavor was visceral. I could taste colors, memories and feelings all at once. I was a young server at the time and wanted so badly for other people to buy this wine, for them to feel what I had felt. One of my customers who had ordered a bottle described it as, “It lays on your tongue like Mother’s love.” He was smitten and I felt a strange power in knowing that I had served as a docent to the joy he was experiencing. I wanted more of that feeling and have been chasing the dragon ever since.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, I asked six of my Master Sommelier colleagues to share a pivotal wine memory as well as a bottle they are in love with right now. As their responses poured in, I became emotional as I could see myself in their stories. Pleasure demands our vulnerability. We must first drop our defenses in order to experience it. As I read their stories, I could also feel their joy and our very human need to connect with others by sharing the things we love. Wine — a love potion, indeed.

madelinetriffon (1).png — master sommelier madeline triffon

1966 Chateau palmer

“I didn’t have a significant revelation about wine until 10 years into my career, in 1987. I was working at the London Chop House, similar to the 21 Club, a destination spot for well-heeled Detroiters and special occasions. We had an impressive wine list, and the generous owner asked me to open something really special for the staff to taste for Christmas. We settle on 1966 Château Palmer, special indeed! I was decanting the bottle behind the bar and almost dropped it – the fragrance coming up as I poured was shocking, layers of sweet fruit, cedar, earth, everything Bordeaux is famous for, and much more. Its beauty and complexity stunned me and in that moment I understood why collectors collect.”

Il pallazzino, Grosso sanese, chianti classico riserva

“My favorite wine all of last year has been a Chianti Classico Riserva, Il Palazzino “Grosso Sanese”, from Marc Grazia Imports. It’s a wine that hides in plain sight, an ideal expression of Sangiovese’s tension between acidity and soft tannin, with classic dried cherry, dust and warm spice aromas. Medium bodied, perfectly balanced, and way over performing in its price point (around $30 retail). Equally useful in a blind tasting or at the table. I had the good fortune of meeting the father-son team who makes this wine, they had opened a 1998 in magnum to share with a group of American trade travelers, and it blew me away. Tried to buy some but they couldn’t find another bottle! Very consistent in recent vintages, have tasting 2012 on.”

CONDADO DE HAZA ALENZA GRAN RESERVA, Ribera del duero

“My first true Sommelier position was working for Jose Andres so Spanish wine has long been one of my favorites and I was working for Jose when I got to go to Spain for the first time. One of our visits was with Alejandro Fernandez in Ribero del Duero and he makes great traditional wines in several different DOs, but at Condado de Haza in Ribero, he sometimes makes a special Cuvée (only in the best vintages) called "Alenza" which is a combination of his name, Alejandro, and his wife's name, Esperanza. And I thought -- now that's a romantic wine. You can keep your Calon Ségurs and your Saint-Amours. Give me that wine for Valentine's Day. Also, Alejandro Fernandez taught me how to dance the Paso Doble!”

White Burgundy

“As for a current/latest love: this is harder because I'm such a generalist...I love many, many types of wine, especially those made by cool people. Champagne is my great love, obviously. But other than bubbles, I really really really love Chardonnay. I got to spend some time in Burgundy a year and a half ago with Becky Wasserman and swear I can still taste the wines when I think about them...Comtes Lafon, Hubert Lamy, Pierre Morey...)”

1996 Domaine de l'Arlot Vosne Romanee, Burgundy

“I fell in love with Pinot Noir before I ever thought I would pursue becoming a sommelier. Then I fell hard for Burgundy. The first bottle of wine that I spent a lot of money on, for me at the time, was a 1996 Domaine de l'Arlot Vosne Romanee. It was $95 on the wine list, but then again, it was in 1999. That love drew me to work in a Burgundy focused restaurant which in turn directed my path in the wine world.”

Camille Brave

“While Pinot Noir will always be my main squeeze, my current love is a wine that I created for Cooper's Hawk. It is a luscious, juicy blend of Zinfandel and Syrah from Sonoma called Camille Brave. I created the Camille label as a tribute to strong women and I love how this wine is feminine in the biggest, loudest way possible. She's all curves and sass! Creating a wine that speaks to people on a palate level as well as on an emotional level is something that I am really proud of and I am thrilled to have Cooper's Hawk as a platform for that.”

1992 Robert Sinskey Merlot, Carneros

“I think it would be a bit pretentious for me to list the 1978 Henri Jayer Crox Parantoux as my "Aha wine".. or the 1937 Masion Leroy Meursault I had while working for Martine Saunier. Both spectacular, memorable wines but now as a 25 year old veteran in the wine business.. it would be hard to list all the impressive wines I have been fortunate to enjoy. The single wine that was most life changing and memorable for me was the bottle of 1992 Robert Sinskey Merlot my parents and I shared at Rubicon Restaurant in. 1994. I was twenty four years old and working in a small restaurant in Berkeley. Rubicon Restaurant thad just opened and was the talk of the town. People gushed about their Wine Director Larry Stone who had just moved from Charlie Trotter’s to become a partner at Rubicon. Larry came over to our table and asked if we needed help with selecting a wine from his wine list. This was the first time I laid eyes on Larry and was starstruck when he came to our table. He asked what food ordered and suggested a 1992 Robert Sinskey Merlot. The wine paired perfectly with all of our dishes and was quite delicious. Not a fancy wine, but one that we all appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed. While Larry was opening the bottle, I nervously asked him how he got into wine industry. Larry explained in great detail his story and from that point on, I knew I needed to work and learn about wine from Larry Stone. This evening enlightened me to start a career in the wine industry, and to eventually become a Master Sommelier. I was able to get an entry level job at Rubicon and took all the advantages to learn from Larry. I worked for Larry for over two years before I moved on to run my own beverage program. To this day, I have never enjoyed a job or workplace as I did when working at Rubicon. Twenty Five years later, Larry is still my mentor, dear friend, and godfather to our twin boys ( the namesake to one of them). He also married my husband and I .. twice! There is no single bottle of wine that has left such an important mark in my life than the delicious bottle of 1992 Robert Sinskey Merlot that Larry Stone recommended to me and my family while dinning at Rubicon.”

Luli Wines

In addition to running a wine import and distribution company in California, Sara is the co-founder of Luli wines. You can learn more about these spectacular wines here.

Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Rouge, Rhone Valley, France

“I had many love at first sip wines and a few walk of shames the next day. I’ve woken up with headaches after drinking something I thought was special the night before. One wine I keep falling in love with and been faithful for years is Syrah from the Northern Rhône Valley. Alain Graillot’s Crozes-Hermitage Rouge is the most compatible with me. Smoky and peppery, with hints of bacon fat. Tart red fruits, yet elegant and age worthy. My first sip as a young sommelier got me hooked. I’ve been buying and cellaring every vintage since.”

scott tyree.png — master sommelier scott tyree

a mysterious bottle of red wine wine that changed everything

“For me, no single bottle of wine resulted in any sort of personal epiphany, but I remember a specific time and place in which wine sort of entered my consciousness in a profound way, one that probably sparked an interest that eventually changed the course of my life. I was an 18-year-old exchange student assigned to live with a large family in a tiny village in the Lot River region of southwest France. Upon my arrival, the family welcomed me with a festive, celebratory dinner at the village’s only restaurant where we toasted each other with a delicious red wine. Wine certainly did not figure in my Ozark Mountain upbringing, so this was a new and fascinating experience. To this day, I’m not really certain what wine was served, though I seem to remember a Bordeaux bottle shape and the words St. Émilion on the label, but I might be imagining that. It somehow seems appropriate and kind of poetic that the identity of my “A-Ha Moment” wine is shrouded in mystery. I reflect on that night often and have come to realize that the experience was less about the identity of the wine itself but mostly about the role it played in inaugurating a lifelong friendship.”

Spanish Wines

“There are many (referring to current loves), but I keep returning to some fantastic Spanish wines lately, especially anything from Alberto Nanclares, Commando G, Envínate and Laura Lorenzo-Daterra.”

Wine Bottles We Love