Christopher Barnum-Dann of Localis is The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 Sommelier Award Winner

"At my One-MICHELIN-Star Sacramento restaurant I run an always-changing, travel-inspired tasting menu and also curate the wine list — I see being chef and sommelier as symbiosis, not separate roles. I was the winner of this year’s MICHELIN Guide California Sommelier Award, and my pairings (for example, spicy Thai food with an off-dry Riesling, or an octopus piccata called the 'Sacred Dish for the Sacred Memory' paired with a bouncy, herbal Zweigelt from Weingut Frank in Austria) reflect a creative, sophisticated palate. I keep a full cellar of against-the-grain favorites and use tableside persuasion to create wine-lovers out of novices; because I cook a lot of Thai food I maintain a huge Riesling list, and because our menu changes every five to six weeks I need a wide arsenal of wines. Early on I even offered 60 wines by the glass to pour something for everyone, and my approach to guests who don’t know where to start is to ask what they usually drink and gently steer them — for example nudging a Rombauer chardonnay drinker toward an affordable Burgundy and then gradually broadening their palate." - The MICHELIN Guide