Chris Miller Spago, Los Angeles, CA

Chris Miller's rapid ascent as a sommelier was confirmed recently as he is being groomed to succeed Kevin O'Connor at Spago in Los Angeles. But he's quick to acknowledge that he wouldn't have come so far so fast without the time he spent in Seattle. Miller came to Seattle from New Orleans, where he'd studied finance at Tulane University. Having worked in restaurants throughout college, he eventually realized that wine held more interest for him than banking, so he began to consider his options. Seattle looked good-he had family there and the restaurant scene was strong. A fellow server told him, "If you move to Seattle, you have to work at Canlis," so he applied as soon as he arrived. And then applied three more times. Miller became a full-time sommelier at Canlis in 2007, the same year he passed the Advanced portion of the MS. Earlier this year, Greg Harrington, MS, recommended him for the job at Spago, bringing Miller south to Los Angeles. Age: 30

On Seattle Canlis is great, but also the entire wine community in Seattle is just amazing. Everybody is so supportive and helpful.

Biggest Influences Shayn Bjornholm [Canlis's former head sommelier] and Greg Harrington. Shayn especially has helped me in so many aspects of my life, beyond wine. And Greg has been a huge professional influence, giving me guidance and advice. And there's the Canlis family, Nelson [Daquip, sommelier] is one of my best friends.

Favorite Wine Regions You always want to give the geek answer and say something like Croatia, but I'm pretty classically trained. My palate veers towards Burgundy and the Rhône.

Translation Skills A sommelier's job is to be able to translate the language of a customer into a bottle of wine. For me it's an equation-you're supposed to be able to speak all those languages, of geeks and non-geeks.

Wine Travel I'm going to Austria soon to represent the US in the Best International Young Sommelier competition.

Future Plans I was inspired by Greg Harrington to get into winemaking, and next year I'm going to release my first wine, a Walla Walla Valley syrah. And in the longer term I want to get involved with teaching, at the collegiate level or even through the Court.

Advice to Aspiring Sommeliers Be open-minded.
 

Ian Cauble Fleur de Lys, Las Vegas, NV

The way Ian Cauble tells it, he graduated from college straight into the wine business. Cauble, a native of Huntington Beach, California, attended Sonoma State where he majored in international wine business with a minor in Spanish. That combination led him to Chile, where he spent 22 days traveling the country's wine regions. Then he flew to Portugal to work harvest at the Royal Oporto/Real Companhia Velha. Following harvest, he spent the next several months traveling around Europe taking in as much wine and food culture as he could. When he returned to the States, he went to work with Dennis Overstreet at the Wine Merchant of Beverly Hills, and later at Overstreet's Aubergine. In 2007, Cauble moved to Las Vegas to take advantage of the city's high concentration of Master Sommeliers, and landed the job as sommelier at Fleur de Lys. Age: 28

The Sommelier Scene This city has the most incredible sommelier culture in the world. I've been fortunate to have the help and guidance of some amazing people, like William Sherer [MS], Darius Allyn [MS] and Steven Geddes [MS]. And Ira Harmon [MS], he's like a father figure in Vegas. Any assistance on any level, whether it's wine or personal, he's great. There are no boring moments in Ira.

Sommelier Graduate School My goal in the next five years is to get my MS. I'm in two different tasting groups and in both we always try to bring classic wines, the things that will bring us to the level of great tasters. It's also about getting used to speaking in front of a group and expressing what your senses are telling you. I honestly feel like sometimes I'm getting paid to go to school.

Seeing the World I recently took a trip with my dad for three weeks to visit some of the great regions of Europe-the Loire, Burgundy, Champagne. One of the great moments of my life happened in the Loire where Alphonse Mellot took me flying in his biplane and we were doing flips over Sancerre.

Desert Island Wine Given the weather, I would drink German riesling or a vertical of Corton-Charlemagne from Coche-Dury. But I'd want an endless supply of ice-who wants 80°F Burgundy?
 

D'Lynn Proctor Wine'tastic!, Dallas, TX

D'Lynn Proctor, born and raised in Dallas, Texas, has been part of the restaurant world since high school. He caught the wine bug early on while working as a server, and he maintains a strong belief in the service aspects inherent in the role of a sommelier. "I realized that it takes a team of people-from the kitchen crew to the runners and bussers-to make the experience for a table," he says. "But it only takes one server or one sommelier to make the experience memorable." He decided to pursue a position in wine and passed the Certified Sommelier level of the Masters in January 2006; by June that year, he was working as a manager and sommelier at Wine'tastic!, a restaurant/wine store/tasting room in Dallas. Proctor sits for the Advanced portion of the MS in Dallas this October. Age: 28

The Dallas Wine Scene People here love wine and they love to spend money on it. And they want to be turned on to something new, to wines like grüner veltliner and albariño.

Regional Pride Texas wines are great. It's like Washington ten years ago. Look for [Texas] to hit its stride, especially Fredericksburg.

Beyond Texas I'm big into Italian wine, especially wines from Piedmont and the Veneto-Allegrini, Quintarelli and Tommasi are all favorites. And I really like Roberto Voerzio in La Morra; his '98 Barolo, you can't beat it.

For Silver Oak Lovers People in Texas love their cabernet. For the Silver Oak crowd, I turn them towards Concha y Toro's Don Melchor; it's half the price and twice as good.

Mentors I've got to give props to Mr. Drew Hendricks MS and Matt Citriglia MS, and also to Arthur Black and James Tidwell. All of these guys have helped me, but encouragement isn't the word for it. It's more 'you need to come taste on your day off, you need to study after work at 3 AM, you need to put in the work.' And my girlfriend Candice is amazing because she puts up with me traveling and often staying up late studying.

Serving Geeks and Non-Geeks I've got the same approach to both. I try not to be intimidating. It's [the customer's] palate; I try not to impart my opinion unless they ask.

Seeing the Wine World I've been to Italy three times, but my next major travel plan is to tackle Spain; their wines just keep getting better. And I'm on a trip to Australia this fall.

Goals In the short term I want to pass the Advanced, and win the Best Young Sommelier in America competition.
 

Douglas Marello L20, Chicago, IL

"It's not one of those 'studied in Paris and then discovered food and wine traveling around Europe' kind of stories," says Doug Marello. "I started in restaurants when I was fourteen, washing dishes." Since then, he's worked just about every station in the house, from cooking on the line to working the floor. He didn't really begin to focus on wine until he was around 25 while working as a junior manager at Spiaggia, a restaurant known for its extensive wine list. When he moved on to Spring, he was soon named assistant sommelier and eventually became sommelier for the entire Spring Restaurant Group. Three years later Marello got the call to join L20; the restaurant opened in May of 2008 with a $250,000 inventory and nearly 850 selections. Age: 32

On Chicago It's cool-it's a small world and everybody knows each other. And consumers here are really open.

On Study Groups I'm studying for my MS with a great group of people. When I passed the Advanced level in August of 2007, it was exciting because we had a great Chicago showing-my whole study group passed that exam.

Mentors We don't have as many Masters here as other places, but Alpana Singh [MS] and Serafin Alvarado [MS] have really helped me out. And then there are these great guys in my study group who are always on top of it, like Fernando Beteta [a 2007 W&S Best New Sommelier] and Adam Seeger, who's also a mixologist.

On Service I've been in restaurants for half my life. I'm basically a waiter, and being a good waiter means being able to read your table. There's always stuff open to taste, or if someone wants that one bottle, I'll help find it.

A Question of Style I look at wine like I look at literature and film; I like Adam Sandler and I like Wong Kar-wai-meaning that I'm excited about intellectual wines like Burgundy but I also like the syrahlike pinot noirs from California. Although lately I really like Passopisciaro, a nerello mascalese from Mount Etna in Sicily.

Epiphany Wine A 1983 Salon. I was closing Spiaggia one night with the senior manager who bought a bottle for his birthday. I didn't know Champagne could taste like that.

Perfect Day Off Since I work six days a week, my days off are full beginning to end. It might be a long run or a bike ride, then a glass of Cava or a mimosa after my workout. I'd hang out with my fiancée, who's also very busy (she's a public defender), and probably work on our new house.
 

Andrew McNamara MS L'Escalier at the Breakers, Palm Beach, FL

We caught up with Andrew McNamara on a cruise ship in the Bahamas where he was teaching the Introductory Course for the Court of Master Sommeliers. "Yeah, life doesn't stink," he said. It wasn't that long ago that McNamara was himself a student of the Court, although not many people have gone through the program as quickly as he did. After working in financial services for seven years, he says, "one day my wife and I just left our jobs." While his wife found something that she liked, McNamara was at a loss. "So my wife suggested I go work at the wine store where I liked to shop," he recalls. McNamara had grown up around wine at the family dinner table, but had never seriously studied it. He was immediately hooked, and was soon competing for the title of Best Young Sommelier in America. One of the judges, Virginia Philip MS, was so impressed with his performance that she invited McNamara to interview at the Breakers; he started there in spring of 2005. In 2007, McNamara passed the Master Sommelier exam on his first attempt, winning the prestigious Krug Cup in the process. Age: 34

Passing the MS It was kind of surreal. I was 12th person ever to pass on their first try. So many people were supportive and encouraged me in the process, especially Virginia Philip [MS] and Larry O'Brien [MS]. Fred Dame [MS] also really kind of kicked my rear end.

White Wine Rocks I'm a German riesling hound, and I love Champagne as well. In general, I tend to drink more white wine than red. But I also feel that my favorites are wines I've not had before, or regions I've not yet experienced.

Epiphany Wine A 1990 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne; it was the first white wine that I'd had that had a complexity that blew me away.

Time Off My days and nights off involve spending time with my little girl, maybe drinking some Champagne and relaxing outside, and having dinner with my wife.

Advice For Aspiring Sommeliers Study a lot, but make sure it's always fun. To me, I feel like [the cellar] is a candy store and I'm a ten-year-old kid. Also, it's important to understand the business but remember to keep it about the wine.