Congratulations to Jayton Paul of One MICHELIN Star Published on Main and the inaugural MICHELIN Guide New York Vancouver Sommelier of the Year award winner! As part of the 2022 MICHELIN Guide Vancouver Star Revelation, we chatted with Paul about wines that enhance dishes, cold brew, and what he's reading.
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay on the top of the MICHELIN Guide's best restaurants, plus chef interviews, recipes, travel stories, and more.
What are you drinking these days?
I find myself drinking more textural and mineral driven white wines, crunchy light-bodied reds, and a variety of skin contact wines. More often than not, they're coming from the Loire Valley in France, Niederösterreich/Burgenland in Austria, Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Swartland in South Africa and, of course, British Columbia. Although, to be completely honest, I usually find when I’m off the clock, a simple lager will do. Kokanee and Lucky Lager come to mind.
What's your favorite nonalcoholic drink?
I definitely drink coffee more than any other non-alcoholic beverage. Good cold brew is a must in the summer months to maintain my caffeine needs. I’m also a big fan of grapefruit Perrier and Canada Dry ginger ale with bitters the morning after a few non-non-alcoholic drinks.
What's your ideal meal and pairing?
French fries and grower Champagne.
What's the biggest misconception about being a sommelier, or wine in general, that you'd like to dispel?
I think the biggest misconception is many people feel they should know a lot about wine and are intimidated by it. Truth is, nobody knows everything, and the more you learn, the less you know. A humbling notion for anyone.
What’s your criteria for adding a new wine to your list?
Our wine program at Published on Main focuses on low intervention, organic, biodynamic, and natural winemaking. We celebrate delicious juice from healthy, happy plants and farmed with sustainable and ethical practices. We want to list producers who have created a symbiotic relationship with their surroundings in the pursuit of making world-class wines. The food program at Published contains a wide array of flavours and textures, so our wines are chosen to enhance our dishes, not compete with them. For our tasting menu pairings, we’ll use the best beverage for the course, whether that's wine, sake, cider, beer, or even cocktails developed by our incredibly talented bar team.
Favorite wine-related film, book, magazine, etc?
When I was just starting in the wine industry, I remember watching Bottle Shock, a movie based on the "Judgement of Paris” in 1976. Looking back now, I feel bad for how they portrayed Steven Spurrier but, at the time, I thought Bo Barrett (Chris Pine) was the coolest. Around the same time in my career, I was told about a book called Reading Between the Wines by Terry Theise, and to this day it’s still one of my favourites. I also found Wine & War by Don and Petie Kladstrup to be one of the most fascinating wine novels I’ve come across. Today, I mostly find myself reaching for Inside Burgundy by Jasper Morris MW, and various issues of Noble Rot.
Published on Main wine director Jayton Paul
© Published on Main
Find the best restaurants and hotels around the globe with the MICHELIN Guide app. Sign up, make a list of your favorites, and make a reservation with our booking partners Resy, OpenTable, and Seven Rooms.
Hero image: Published on Main wine director Jayton Paul
© Sarah Annand/Published on Main
