News Restaurant News Announcing Food & Wine's 2014 Sommeliers of the Year We're thrilled to reveal the 2014 Sommeliers of the Year. Here, a look at why they won. By Megan Krigbaum Megan Krigbaum Megan Krigbaum has been writing about wine for more than 15 years, covering bottles, regions, families, and restaurants all along the way.Expertise: wine, cocktails, travel.Experience: Megan Krigbaum is a wine, drinks, and travel writer and editor. She was a wine editor at Food & Wine for a decade before departing in 2015 to transition into freelance work. Megan is a contributing editor for Punch, where she writes mostly about wine and sometimes about cocktails. She edited The Essential Cocktail Book, published by Ten Speed Press in 2017. She has written for Afar, Condé Nast Traveler, Saveur, Prior, and more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 23, 2017 Trending Videos Close this video player We're thrilled to reveal the 2014 Sommeliers of the Year. To celebrate, all week we're spotlighting their favorite bottles and places to drink, along with a complete wine pairing guide, the best snacks and tips on wine travel. Also up for F&W Wine Week: follow us on Instagram to see the cutest winery pets ever. June Rodil, Qui, Austin Why She Won: Rodil has created an amazing list of affordable, esoteric bottles (plus a page of pricey "baller" Bordeaux) and trained everyone on her staff to be a sommelier—from the servers to the cooks who deliver dishes directly to tables. Eric Railsback, Les Marchands, Santa Barbara, CA Why He Won: He believes that the wines of Santa Barbara deserve to be served alongside those from the best producers in the world. He's filled his list with old vintages and new producers from the region, including terrific wine he makes there himself. Michael Muser, Grace, Chicago Why He Won: Muser's French-focused list could be intimidating, but he keeps markups low and talks about the wines with contagious, unabashed warmth. Chris Tanghe, Aragona, Seattle Why He Won: This certified master sommelier reminds Americans that Spain is one of Europe's greatest wine-producing countries. The list features both Old World wines from Aragon (an ancient region that encompassed Spain) and New World wines inspired by these bottlings. Patrick Cappiello, Pearl & Ash, New York City Why He Won: In just a year, he's amassed 1,500 great wines, all with surprisingly low markups, creating the most budget-friendly place to drink exceptional wine in New York. Ceri Smith, Tosca Cafe, San Francisco Why She Won: She's created an extraordinary, mostly Italian list packed with old vintages, obscure grapes and even good Chianti bottled in fiaschi, those straw baskets of the '70s. Hristo Zisovski, Costata, New York City Why He Won: He's collected fantastic Italian wines to serve at Costata—including dozens of old, rare wines by the glass—while also maintaining equally impressive wine programs for the 12 other restaurants in chef Michael White's Altamarea group. 15 Rules for Great Wine and Food PairingsTrain Yourself to be a Better Wine Taster Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit