USA sommelier champion Mark Guillaudeu on Oakland and San Francisco
Sommelier Mark Guillaudeu – Best Sommelier USA 2022 – is Star Wine List's new ambassador in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. Now he has created a guide to his favourite wine spots in the area.
"It's delightful to be onboard! Star Wine List is a fantastic who's-who of some of the best and brightest sommeliers worldwide, and the whole team has been fantastic," he says.
Mark Guillaudeu's career in wine took off in May 2013. Fresh from a Master's program in Buddhist Studies, an entry-level position as a cashier quickly became a management role assisting with the beer, wine, and coffee programs at the all-local, all-organic market.
I moved into restaurants full-time in August of 2014 and by October of 2017 was managing a two-star Michelin property
"Fresh from grad school, I wagered with myself I could learn the skills I needed fast enough, started taking WSET classes and never stopped studying from there," he says.
"I moved into restaurants full-time in August of 2014 and by October of 2017 was managing a two-star Michelin property. It has been a wild ride, and I look forward very much to the next chapter."
An Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers since 2018, Mark managed the wine and cocktail programs at Commis in Oakland for five years, earning accolades for both programs while balancing studies in the Master of Wine program with competitive successes – culminating in the title of Best Sommelier USA in June of 2022. In 2023, he will represent the United States at the Concours Mondiale in Paris
"Honestly, winning was a relief. After almost a decade of non-stop, intensive study, it has come to feel very much like a treadmill I cannot get off. I knew I was not committed to being on it when the next competition rolled around, so I prepared for it like it was the only chance I would have at the title in my career," he says about winning the championship.
Since the spring of 2018, Mark has been based in Oakland, and he recently joined the team at Quince (3*, Relais & Château) in San Francisco.
Now he takes on the role as Star Wine List's new ambassador in the San Francisco Bay area, and when asked what he looks forward to the most, he says:
"The ability to highlight the people in my area doing the best, most interesting, and technically creative work in the world of wine (and food)."
What is the definition of a great wine list, in your opinion?
"After the past few years, my judgment has become much more centered on the kind and caliber of a person at an establishment over what they may or may not have in the cellar. I would rather go to a small wine bar with an incredibly passionate and knowledgeable team behind it than to a classic fine-dining restaurant with an incredibly classic list and smaller, less-passionate team."
We shut down first, most, and longest of any city in the country and the ripples from that into the hospitality industry will continue to be felt for another few years
Describe the wine bar and restaurant scene in your region right now?
"We are still reeling from the pandemic. We shut down first, most, and longest of any city in the country and the ripples from that into the hospitality industry will continue to be felt for another few years. Teams are smaller, there's more work but fewer hands - but the first metaphorical seedlings after the fire are poking out, and new restaurants are again starting to open."
Most visible trends right now?
"Oakland has seen three natural-leaning restaurants/wine bars open in the last two years, bringing us up to four - none of which more than a mile and change from the others, some only blocks apart. The conservas and house-fermentation trends are continuing there, with many of the newcomers taking the culinary side of things to new heights."
"We are now seeing at some of these wine bars dishes and presentations that used to be reserved for Michelin, but now they are just at your corner bar. It is a better time to be a wine consumer in the area than ever before."
Anything you would like to see more of when it comes to wine places in the area
"A handful of places are switching to the European 150 ml pour and charging less accordingly. In our age of inflation, this helps and moderates consumption to boot - and I would be glad to see the average glass size and price dip towards restraint."
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