Wine by the glass

John Lancaster, Sommelier

John Lancaster, Boulevard sommelier, manages a 500-item wine list and maintains cellars in two locations. The essential aspect of his wine program, though, is service. Lancaster, who joined the Boulevard team in 1997 after working at the Cypress Club, tries to visit each table in the dining room during the course of the evening. "My role in the dining experience is to provide that extra level of service," says Lancaster. "At Boulevard, we want to offer a dining experience our customers cannot create on their own. We want them to return again and again, so we have a wine list that works."
A native of Seattle and a graduate of Washington State University, Lancaster remains in close contact with the wines of the Pacific Northwest as well as those of California and France. He is diligent in procuring vineyard-designated and single-vineyard wines and those from small, hard-to-find properties. Like most sommeliers, Lancaster sees chardonnay and cabernet continuing to be the most popular varietals, but to complement Oakes' hearty New American menu, he maintains a solid list of Rhone varietals, Burgundies, Alsatian and Italian wines. In addition to the satisfaction that Lancaster gets from his guests' positive experiences, the awards for the restaurant continue, including being voted the San Francisco Bay Area's favorite restaurant in 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998 by the Zagat Survey.