Sommelier Chris Tanghe is the latest to receive Masters credentials
Seattle’s Chris Tanghe is one of four sommeliers in the country and the only one from the Northwest to earn Master credentials from the Court of Master Sommelier examination concluded in Aspen, Colo., on Wednesday.
Thomas Price of The Metropolitan Grill earned Master credentials exactly a year ago. Previously, Shayn Bjornholm, now the Court of Master Sommeliers examination director, Joseph Linder of The Georgian Room at The Fairmont Olympic Hotel, Gramercy Cellars winemaker Greg Harrington, who chairs the Court of Master Sommeliers board of directors, and Richland, Wash., based wine educator Angelo Tavernaro are the other Masters in Washington state.
Larry Stone became the ninth Master Sommelier the country in 1988 while working at The Olympic Four Seasons (now The Fairmont Olympic Hotel) in Seattle. He now lives in Napa.
Tanghe left Michael Mina’s RN74 earlier this month for Aragona, the Spanish restaurant by Spinasse and Artusi chef Jason Stratton set to open in Downtown Seattle. Tanghe will be the new wine and service director at Aragona, expected to open in late summer to early fall. Tanghe was on the wine team at RN74 when it opened in downtown Seattle in May of 2011 until earlier this month. He also previously worked at the venerable fine dining destination Canlis in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood.
The other new sommeliers to earn the highest distinction in the profession this week are Emily Papach of Napa’s Chappellet Winery, Christopher Bates of Element Winery in New York’s Finger Lakes region and Aspen’s Element 47 Assistant Wine Director Carlton McCoy. There are now 201 Masters in the world, 133 of which are in the United States.
