Sommeliers have to be beverage-hybrid to sustain their careers, according to Chicago-based drink director Stevan Miller. It’s not just about wine.
Stevan Miller is beverage director and sommelier at Chicago’s MICHELIN-starred, mission-driven restaurant Esmé – the first solo project from innovative husband-wife team, Chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo. He also runs Bar Esmé, the newly-opened, intimate 16-seat cocktail lounge nestled within the same building as the team’s flagship restaurant. In both spaces, Stevan prides himself on offering a wine list that prioritizes environmentally-conscious producers, both old world classics and more contemporary, biodynamic wines, alongside meticulously crafted cocktails that tell a story – directly tying to Esmé’s art partners.
Art, food and wine are celebrated here for Stevan “Berverage, at its core, is about community and relationship – finding the right drink and matching it to the righ artist,” he explains, “Recently we have been working with Liz Flores, a latin artist, for whose exhibition we created a tasting menu. I paired bio-dynamic Garnacha Blanca (Olé) from a female winemaker in Terra Alta with the Foie Gras soup course – for me it was reminiscent of the Med…the aromas and flavours were so warming, especially when it was -15C outside in Chicago.”
This is definitely food and wine pairing taken to it’s highest level and Stevan has been preparing himself for this from an early age.
The journey and the destination
“My journey began as a barista,” says Stevan. “I became fascinated by all of the different flavours and aromas from coffees all over the world. Another barista mentioned wine. He asked, if I was so interested in all of these different nuances in coffee, why didn’t I try wine? After all a sommelier is essentially a barista for wine.”
Stevan had to wait until he was 21 before he could start to take his sommelier exams. He moved from Tuscon, Arizona, to Chicago where his career as a sommelier started in earnest. Spending time at Chicago cocktail institutions like Land and Sea Department, Frontera Group, and Claudia, receiving praise from the Chicago Tribune for creating “the best cocktail program in years” at the latter.
At Bar Esmé, Stevan’s inventive cocktails include The Lion The Witch And The Good Boy, dubbed within the bar’s stunning, illustrated menu as “an exotic floral delight” featuring Roku gin, Genever, rosehip, coconut jelly, sour cherry, and pistachio, alongside the “rugged, mysterious sour” of the Bañuelos Tequilana-forward, plantain “mole”-accompanied Charro. “Cocktails are all about connecting with a theme,” he believes.
Stevan’s experience as a barista, mixologist and sommelier has led to him perceiving his role as hybrid, “A hybird approach suits my skill set.” He reveals, “I believe beverages are about fitting the right drink to the right occasion and person.” Stevan sees that a more traditional sommelier role can be limiting. “For me,” he says, “it is about finding ways to surprise the guests, talking about different regions or giving them a wine at a moment when they least expect it.”
A hybird approach suits my skill set. I believe beverages are about fitting the right drink to the right occasion and person…it is about finding ways to surprise the guests, talking about different regions or giving them a wine at a moment when they least expect it.”
Surprise with a story
“The story comes first,” he says, “our job as a story teller is more personal and creates more value. It enhances the feel good factor and you can perceive when the customers eyes light up and that you’ve hit on something that relates to them.” He sees that sommliers today have to do the unexpected.
“People get excited when you surprise them.” According to Steva, “You have to do something expected; add value without expectation,” he says. “It all about making a connection, I mean I could offer a Chablis but I’d prefer to suggest a Chenin Blanc from San Miguel de Allende or a Dos Burros Chardonnay to surprise and engage with the diner.”
He believes that taste is changing, “the younger drinks less alcohol and are looking for different categories. You have to have the luxury of a full bar top that permits creativity and allows your team to be creative – developing masterful drinks that are all bespoke.”
Sustainable service trends
“Beverage trends are always second to service trends,” he says. “Drinks adapt to the food and service. There is a time and place for every style of drink. The specialists serving those drinks have to be comfortable with putting on different hats. Drinks service has certainly become more hybridised in the US – especially if you want to have a long and healthy career.”
Sustainability starts with how producers take care of their piece of earth. Just as we do at Esmé by minimising our impact locally and championing our neighbours products as much as we can.
All of this has to fit in with a top end dining experience. An experience that delights and continually provides a point of difference in a challenging market.
“We have to provide luxury on a budget for the Michelin sector,” he explains. “We can’t afford to carry a heavier price point right now. Post-pandemic we have to make ends meet and consumers are looking for more individual experiences to enjoy and special products.”
Stevan is realistic. “We know that there are cost increases, but we also have to be sensitive to the customer’s budget. Our aim is to be as local as possible and make a feature of the connection to where you are. Support local businesses, source close by, use seasonal produce and make sure that that ethos fits with your wine list wherever possible.” At Esmé the wines are biodynamic – they even source spirits from a distillery just a block away from the restaurant.
“Sustainability starts with how producers take care of their piece of earth,” he says. “Just as we do here by minimising our impact locally and championing our neighbours products as much as we can.”
The inetrchangeability of ideas and trands between leading restarants in the major conurbations in the USA and the UK are a part what sommeliers are tuned into – it’ll be interesting to see if the US hybrid beverage specialist, as championed by Stevan Miller, crosses over the some of the Michelin starred places on the other side of the Atlantic.
