Sarah Markman (pictured above)
Wine importer, Chicago, Illinois, and Paris, France
How many of these have you been to?
I’ve been coming to La Paulée for eight years. It’s changed over time. It used to be kind of stodgy and really serious, and everybody felt very staid. Now it feels more like a party. There’s much more dancing.
How do you decide which bottles to bring?
It’s really stressful. I went a little off the radar because I was sitting at a table with all the collectors and I knew there would be a lot of what I like to call “Fuck you” bottles. So I tried to bring something a little younger, fresher, more lively—an intermezzo between the old, rare bottles. The most interesting bottles I brought were a Cedric Bouchard La Bolorée—he makes his wines in a very Burgundian style—and a Prieuré Roch Bourgogne Blanc because that’s what the sommeliers would want to drink. Everyone enjoyed tasting the Prieuré Roch, but they didn’t really get it. They were more excited when they saw how the somms reacted to it.
Marcus Gillam
Construction CEO, Toronto, Canada
Luis Flores
Wine specialist, Bushwick
How did you get into wine?
Before this, I was an accountant, but I really wasn’t a fan of my career. I wanted to challenge myself, so what better industry to jump into than wine, where I had no idea what I was doing? I had zero knowledge. I didn’t even drink alcohol.
Andrew Gottlieb
Global agency development lead, Greenpoint
Lisa Simon
Caviar-company founder, Sausalito, California
Daniel Boulud
Chef, Upper East Side
Chef, you have a lot of friends here tonight. What’s everyone talking about?
They were saying, “Oh, younger people don’t drink wine anymore.” It’s not true. My daughter went to Tufts with Wolfgang Puck’s son. He called his father and said, “Can you send me some wine? We’re starting a wine society.” Every college kid should be in one.
Charlene Breggia
Professor, Providence, Rhode Island
Drew Nieporent
Restaurateur, Piermont
Sabra Lewis
Wine adviser, Financial District
What wine did you bring?
It’s a secret. But I’ll share some with you.
Pierre-Henri Rougeot
Winemaker, Meursault, France
Faelan Switzer
Head sommelier, Upper East Side
Daniel Johnnes
Founder and host of La Paulée, Park Slope
Can you tell me how La Paulée started?
Wineries in Burgundy celebrate the end of their harvest. They call it a paulée, which came from the French term poêle, a sauté pan, which they’d fill with food to feed the workers and pickers. A good friend of mine’s great-grandfather started the tradition in the French village of Meursault. So 26 years ago I got his blessing to do the same thing in the United States.
Sally Johnnes
Manager of La Paulée, Park Slope
Rachel Grant
Customer-success specialist, Lower East Side
Ketlyne Edouard
CPA, Woodland Park, New Jersey
Do you consider yourself a wine expert?
No. For me, it’s just a journey of continual learning. If you’re doing a blind taste, sometimes what you think it is might not be what’s actually in the bottle. That can humble you.
Jenny Tian
Graduate student, Boston, Massachusetts
Isiah Byrd
Sommelier, East Village
How would you describe this event to someone not in the wine industry?
It’s like the Grammys of beautiful wine. If you love wine, you’ll be here. Some of them are unicorn wines that I probably will never see again.
Kimberly A. Burd
Philanthropist, Sutton Place
Julien Achard
Senior operations manager, Edison, New Jersey
Photographs by Frankie Alduino
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If you prefer to read in print, you can also find this article in the April 6, 2026, issue of
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