Robin Puricelli, sommelier and winemaker, Locura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, California

Robin Puricelli is the sommelier and wine director at Lido Restaurant in Shell Beach, a beautiful oceanfront resort where she’s earned Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence for multiple years. She’s also co-owner of the small wine label Locura, focused on light-style Grenache, which she makes with fellow sommelier Amanda Gill and winemaker Coby Parker-Garcia. Robin first came to my attention several years back when she came on as sommelier for the restaurant Foremost, where one of my favorite chefs, Julie Simon, was in the kitchen. At the time, San Luis Obispo County had one if any other sommeliers working a restaurant floor, so Robin’s arrival was special. A lot has happened since then, including the birth of her son and a global pandemic.

Website: locurawine.com

Instagram: @locurawine