Food & Wine Names Its Sommeliers of the Year for 2015

Food & Wine magazine announced its Sommeliers of the Year for 2015. This year's seven winners are from all around the country, however none are from the San Francisco Bay Area. Inside Scoop SF notes that the list comes at a "noble and poignant time this year" because they follow wine writer Jon Bonné's controversial article about the lack of sommeliers in San Francisco.

Though no sommeliers from the Bay Area made the list, California is definitely represented: Taylor Parson's of Los Angeles' République makes the cut for creating "a new wine list every day." Vilma Mazaite of LaV in Austin also scores a spot on the list for her passion for introducing customers to "obscure grapes," as does Molly Wismeier of New Orleans' Restaurant R'evolution. Food & Wine notes that Wismeier is an "exceptional talent scout" with a 10,000-bottle cellar. Dana Frank of Portland's Ava Gene's also garners some recognition for curating a "remarkable collection of wines from natural and organic producers."

Richard Hanaeur of Chicago's RPM Steak is also a 2015 winner for raising "the bar for the modern steakhouse wine list," and Steve Wildy of Philadephila's Vetri Family of Resturants nabs a spot for his ability to create "brilliant" wine and beer lists. New York City also has a representative on the list: The Nomad's Thomas Patuszak wins for his respect of both brand new and old wines. Only one name is missing from the list, however: Pope Francis.