Allie Poindexter
Nick Bumgardner
Allie Poindexter
Growing up in a family of talented chefs and eaters, Allie Poindexter has had a lifelong love affair with food and drink. Throughout her career, she’s worked in food advocacy to provide students across the country with free, healthy lunches; spent time in the food publishing industry; and received her masters in World History with a focus in food studies. Before opening Henrietta Red in 2017, she completed her Level Two sommelier certification, bringing a new level of expertise to the wine list there.
NL: Describe your wine list.
AP: Menu-driven, ever-changing, playful, thoughtful
NL: What types of wines do you personally gravitate toward?
AP: I love all types of wine, but more times than not, I gravitate toward small production, subtle, food-friendly bottles. Right now, I’m drinking a ton of sparkling rosé.
NL: Any varietals or bottles that stand out as top sellers?
AP: The Brand Weissburgunder that we offer by the glass is one of our top sellers, along with the Roger d’Anoia cava that we sell for happy hour. Both are versatile, food-friendly wines that pair with a wide range of dishes on our menu.
NL: What’s the best deal on your list right now?
AP: We are selling the 2017 Gut Oggau Emmeram Gewurztraminer for $18 by the glass. Usually we only sell it by the bottle for a lot more!
Aria Dorsey
Emily Dorio
Aria Dorsey
Aria Dorsey graduated from Cornell University in 2012 with a BA in hospitality management and began working for Daniel Boulud at his downtown New York restaurant DBGB. After a few years in New York, she moved with the company to open a restaurant in Washington, D.C., where she spent three years before landing in Nashville. She joined the team at Rolf & Daughters as general manager and now oversees Folk as well, serving as wine director for both. This summer, Wine Enthusiast named Folk one of America’s 100 best wine restaurants.
NL: Describe your wine list.
AD: The lists at both Folk and Rolf & Daughters consist of natural wines—low-intervention [so] basically grape juice and little else. We have a balance of classic wines made in a natural, non-interventionalist way alongside the “new kids on the block,” first-generation winemakers. I also want to reintroduce guests to producers that have been making wine the “natural” way for decades. They have never filled their vineyards with pesticides or dumped chemicals into the wines.
NL: What types of wines do you personally gravitate toward?
AD: I’m all about the dark rosés, lighter reds, and skin-contact whites. I want a bottle of wine that can be drunk in a backyard with friends—something that could be paired with food but is also great on its own. Don’t get me wrong, I love a wine with structure, but if it’s my day off I want something easy and glou glou (a French slang term for highly chuggable, no fuss kinda wine). I love exploring new wines and regions, off the beaten path—I’m really loving Austrian and Slovenian wines right now. What producers are doing there is incredible.
NL: What do your customers love?
AD: We are incredibly lucky at both Folk and Rolf & Daughters as our guests look to us for recommendations when it comes to both food and wine. I try to make wine more approachable to guests, to give them an opportunity to learn about new regions and try different grapes, without putting a hefty price tag on them. The trust has shifted to the restaurants and servers.
NL: Tell us about one of your current favorite pairings.
AD: At Folk, the 2017 Alessandro Viola Note di Bianco from for $66 with the clam pizza with agretti, chili, and lemon. Alessandro Viola opts to leave this wine on the lees for an extended period of time. The result is a full-bodied, earthy white wine of immense character, almost briny, with a nose of crispy bread. This helps highlight the flavors of the clam pizza perfectly, replicating the saltiness of the clams with enough acidity to cut through the cream sauce.
Karen Van Guilder Little
Michael Sati
Karen Van Guilder Little
Karen Van Guilder Little’s first career was in music—she has her bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance and once worked for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. On the side, she developed a love for food, wine, and hospitality and eventually segued that into becoming an innkeeper at a bed and breakfast in Pennsylvania. In 2013, she and her husband, Andy Little, returned to Tennessee to open Josephine, and today, as a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, she works closely with him to craft a thoughtful and extensive wine list that pairs well with this comforting food.
NL: Describe your wine list.
KL: A big part of our list is made up of smaller, usually family-owned producers who make stellar wine and have a great story as well. We supplement that with some big-name producers who make fantastic wine, even though they make it in larger quantities.
NL: What types of wines do you personally gravitate toward?
KL: I gravitate toward mineral-driven German Rieslings (with a touch of RS) and fruity, slightly rustic Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Germany. Right now, I'm drinking more rosé (Schloss Gobelsburg Cistercien) and bold reds from California (A. Rafanelli Zinfandel) because my husband and I grill out a lotthis time of year.
NL: Any varietals or bottles that stand out as top sellers?
KL:Cabernet from California, Pinot Noir from Oregon, and Chardonnay from anywhere are our top sellers. This time of year, we sell a lot of rosé from Provence as well. I’m finding lately that people are branching out and trying different styles. Gigondas, Côtes du Rhône, and Albariño have become really good sellers for us. None of those are groundbreaking wines, but they are a sign of people being willing to step outside of their comfort zone more and more.
NL: What are the best deals on your list right now?
KL:For a by-the-glass option our best deal is on Dr. Frank Gruner Veltliner from the Finger Lakes. It’s a perfect white to accompany all the fresh green summer vegetables on the Josephine menu right now. By the bottle, I’d say any bottle on a Wednesday night because we do half-price Wine Wednesday!
NL: Tell us your current favorite pairing.
KL: I sound like a broken record here, but German Riesling with our sweet corn and crab agnolotti. The ripe, sweet-seeming fruit of Riesling is great with corn, and those same flavors work well with the crab and tomato. The high acid cuts through the fatty richness of the crab and butter in this dish. I recommend Müller-Catoir Haardt Trocken.
Vivek Surti
Nick Bumgardner
Vivek Surti
Once the chef of a pop-up dinner series, Vivek Surti now has his own space with Tailor Nashville in Germantown, where his South Asian American cuisine reflects his heritage of being a first generation American of Indian descent. Before jumping into the restaurant world, Surti spent three years working with the Nashville Wine Auction, where he was able to interact and plan rare dinners with world-renowned winemakers, collectors, and local chefs. At Tailor, he handles the wine list, most of which is paired directly with his prix fixe menu.
NL:Describe your wine list.
VS: The wine list at Tailor is concise, yet showcases a variety of styles, regions, and grapes. We focus on small production, family owned wineries that use sustainable practices to make delicious wines.
NL: What types of wines do you personally gravitate toward?
VS: I love wines that tell a story—both of the person producing the wine and the snapshot of the vintage. We have a great Champagne list and one of the producers, J. Lassalle, has been run by four generations of women and produces outstanding sparkling wines that are great for a celebration, but also pair with every single course on the menu. I also really like a Riesling from Noah and Kelly Dorrance of Reeve Wines. I met them through my previous job, and we stayed in touch and became friends. I [also] have an obsession with the wines of the Rhone Valley, so the Condrieu and the Saint Joseph, both from Domaine Faury, are outstanding.
NL:Any varietals or bottles that stand out as top sellers?
VS: The Barbera that we have from Malvirà is definitely one of our top sellers. It's a great red wine, a perfect combination of fruity and earthy and very elegant. It's a red that is super versatile, it pairs well with the food, and is also delicious on its own.
NL: What’s the best deal on your list right now?
VS: Without question, it's Champagne. Champagne is my favorite region in the wine world and while most people think of it as a celebration wine, it's also amazingly food friendly. We want people to drink it, so our markups are very low. You can get a great Grand Cru Champagne from R. Moncuit for $75, when it'd normally be more than $120 on most lists.
NL: Tell us your current favorite pairing.
VS: Our current fish course is rainbow trout that is poached in ghee and served with a sauce made of saffron, fennel, shallots, toasted rice, and cream. We pair it with Chenin Blanc from Bernard Fouquet. There is just enough acidity in the wine that it feels like you are squeezing a lemon over the fish.
Doss Posey
Nick Bumgardner
Doss Posey
Doss Posey’s fascination with food and wine has taken him from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park to four- and five-star restaurants up and down the East Coast, including The Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, A Voce and Davio’s in New York, and Sotto Sotto in Atlanta. Now in Nashville, the Atlanta native is putting a Mediterranean focus on the wine list at Santo.
NL: Describe your wine list.
DP: Our wine list is based on the old adage “what grows together, goes together.” Since we are a modern Mediterranean restaurant our cuisine captures all of the ingredients and dishes that originate in countries that surround the Mediterranean. Our wine list takes the same approach.
NL: What types of wines do you personally gravitate toward?
DP: I tend to gravitate towards big Italian wines. I absolutely adore a beautiful Barolo.
NL: What do your guests love?
DP: Our guests tend to enjoy our big Italian wines and southern Rhône valley reds.
NL: What’s the best deal on your list right now?
DP: The best deal by the glass is our revolving reserve red by the glass. Currently we are serving Tenuta San Guido Le Difese (the second wine from the makers of Sassicaia) at $30 per glass.
NL: Tell us your current favorite pairing.
DP: Our cassoulet paired with a beautiful bottle of 2004 Figli Luigi Oddero Barolo.
Shanning Newell
Nick Bumgardner
Shanning Newell
As the head sommelier at Bourbon Steak, Shanning Newell is using a background in journalism to help share the stories of the wines she’s serving. Newell started her career as a writer but after taking on a part-time job at City Winery, and eventually Salt & Vine, she developed an interest in studying wine. She honed her skills as a sommelier at Oak Steakhouse before joining Bourbon Steak’s team. There, 34 stories above Music City, she’s managing a list of more than 320 labels that includes classics as well as emerging wines from lesser-known regions.
NL: Describe your wine list.
SN: The mission statement for our list is to offer depth in vintage selection and stylistic variety without sacrificing quality for quantity. I see our list as a living thing that’s continuously evolving through focused, meaningful selections that we feel harmonize with the restaurant’s culture and cuisine.
NL: What are you most excited to drink right now?
SN: I get really excited about wine with fresh acidity, especially during hot Nashville summers. One of my favorites wines at the moment comes from a lesser-known varietal called Assyrtiko from the island of Santorini in Greece. The island is full of volcanic ash, which contributes an amazing minerality to the wine, in addition to vibrant acidity and a unique salinity. It pairs amazingly with ceviche! For reds, I’m loving Beaujolais, a red wine from Burgundy made from the Gamay grape. It can be fruity, juicy, and fresh depending on the producer, and lighter styles can even be served with a slight chill.
NL: Any varietals or bottles that stand out as top sellers?
SN: With our primary culinary focus being steak and other rich, boldly flavored dishes, naturally, big robust tannic reds like Napa Cabernets and Italian Super Tuscans will always be our top sellers. Frank Family, Joseph Phelps, Groth, and Tignanello are a few of our most popular bottles. That being said, more often I’m seeing the American palate as a whole slowly beginning to shift toward trying reds with lower alcohol and more acidity. People are exploring Italian Brunellos, Central Coast Pinot Noirs, and more restrained styled Napa Cabs like Heitz Cellar, which opens up pairing opportunities to a wider variety of dishes.
NL: What’s the best deal on your list right now?
SN: To me, the word value represents something that impresses above its weight class or price point. I think the best deal on our by-the-glass list is the Hall Cabernet Sauvignon, a classic producer from Napa Valley at $32 a glass. Some of my favorite value bottles include a 2015 Von Buhl Armand Kabinett Riesling at $64, a 2013 Bodega Biniagual Sant Gall at $74, and 2015 Domaine Des Ardoisieres Amethyste at $117.
NL: Tell us about your current favorite pairing.
SN: The 2009 Chateau D’Yquem (by the glass) with the Foie Gras Beignet Doughnut. [It’s] a classic French pairing: decadent and fabulous.
Jenn McCarthy
Emilee Drost
Jenn McCarthy
A certified sommelier with more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry, Jenn McCarthy now leads as general manager of Deacon’s New South, curating the extensive wine list and cocktail menu.
NL: Describe your wine list.
JM: Deacon’s wine list is a fun, approachable list that encompasses past favorites and future go-to wines for our guests and staff.
NL: What types of wines do you personally gravitate toward?
JM: My heart is with Old World classics, Sancerre, any Rhone white or red, and, of course, the classic Pinot Noir.
NL: Any varietals or bottles that stand out as top sellers?
JM: Pinot Noir and Cabernet are king, but we love when guests venture out and enjoy a new varietal to them, such as our Massolino Dolcetto that we offer by the glass.
NL: What’s the best deal on your list right now?
JM: Our Birgit Eichinger Gruner Veltliner is a wonderful summer wine and $11 by the glass. It’s an Austrian wine and a wonderful start with appetizers and salads.
NL: Tell us your current favorite pairing.
JM: If I were having dinner tonight, I would have a glass of our Sancerre with our Blue Point oysters, and then the pork chop with the Massolino Dolcetto d’Alba. The brininess of the oysters with the minerality of the Sancerre is fantastic. With the pork chop, the marbling needs a wine with balanced tannins, and the Dolcetto hits all the boxes.