Going 10 Rounds With Sommelier Bobby Stuckey

What do you like to drink after a shift? “Anchor Steam Beer. It started in high school when I worked as a busboy: Anchor Steam and the bussing.”

What is the all-time best dive bar jukebox song? “The Clash, ‘Brand New Cadillac.’”

Name the first good wine you ever drank and where you had it. “Chalone Pinot Noir in the mid-’80s at C. Steele & Co. in Phoenix.”

What book on wine, cocktails, spirits or food is your go-to resource? “Fred Plotkin’s La Terra Fortunata.”

Name the wine region that took you the longest to truly understand. “I am still trying to learn more about every wine region every year. It never stops.”

What’s your favorite wine and food pairing? “A bag of potato chips and a bottle of Champagne.”

What’s the most common wine myth you have to debunk? “The most common wine myth is that food and wine pairings do not matter. They totally do and once you’ve had a rocking pairing, you’ll see why.”

What’s your favorite bottle of wine under $20? “Scarpetta Pinot Grigio.”

What’s your favorite bottle of wine over $1,000? “Giacomo Conterno 1985 Monfortino.”

What tool do you use to open a bottle? “The wine key I got at the last La Paulée wine festival in San Francisco.”

Bobby Stuckey is master sommelier at Boulder’s James Beard Award-winning Frasca Food and Wine and Denver’s Tavernetta.

Interview has been condensed and edited.