Sommelier Caitlin Stansbury
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14 N La Cienega Blvd.
Beverly Hills, 90211
(310) 854-0024
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Featured Sommelier Caitlin Stansbury
By Jim Clarke
Caitlin Stansbury learned
about two aspects of food from her mom, a chef, while she
was growing up: food as hedonistic pleasure, and the chemistry
of food – as in, “Why did my soufflé
fall?” Her uncle also kept an extensive wine cellar.
So she developed an appreciation and understanding for culinary
matters early on, but when she first joined the restaurant
industry, it was not a calling; waiting tables was simply
a day job while she was attending college and acting. Nonetheless,
wine began to take hold of her.
As a server at Café
del Rey, Caitlin found she had a sharp palate for wine,
and a knack for blind tasting. Her mother’s training
about what held recipes together – the balancing and
blending of flavors, texture, sweetness, acidity, etc.,
also stood her in good stead. Encouraged by her boss, she
enrolled in the International Sommelier Guild program to
test the waters. It wasn’t long before she was hooked.
Nowadays, Caitlin
is the Wine Director at Beverly Hills’ The Lodge Steakhouse.
She also has her own wine consulting business, helping private
clients and restaurant groups (Gaucho Grill, among others)
alike develop their cellars or wine programs. She has been
honored as Angeleno Magazine’s 2005 Runner-Up Sommelier
of the Year, and can be seen on the WE network program “Savvy”
as “The Wine Professor.”
