Best of Boston

Not to diminish the importance of knowing your Rhône from your Rheingau, but technical expertise is but a fraction of the wine steward’s craft. What separates wonky savant from sommelier superstar is, quite simply, knowing how to read your audience. Next time you dine upstairs, perk up your ears as Todd Lipman morphs seamlessly from patient Sancerre 101 ambassador to wily investment strategist, saving the whale at Table 8 a cool hundo with some lesser-known (but better-drinking) Bordeaux.