Inside The Little Nell’s Award-Winning Wine Program: Master Sommeliers Share Cellar Secrets

By Megan Krigbaum

The Little Nell’s wine collection is legendary among oenophiles. The cellar at Element 47, the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant, contains more than 20,000 bottles, including rare gems from Burgundy, Piedmont, Napa, and Bordeaux. It’s also the antithesis of stuffy, with red mood lighting and hip-hop music streaming through speakers.

Over the last 35 years, an all-star cast of sommeliers has shaped the cellar, bringing their refined palates—and unique personalities—to the collection and overall wine experience. Current Wine Director Chris Dunaway, who earned Michelin Guide Colorado’s 2024 Sommelier of the Year and The World of Fine Wine Awards’ 2025 Wine List of the Year and Best Hotel Wine List, has brought his own unique viewpoint to the cellar, including a predilection for riesling and chardonnay from Oregon’s Willamette Valley and a preference for sustainable-farming techniques.

Like those who came before him, Dunaway believes deeply in fostering wine education. To date, 13 of The Little Nell alumni have achieved the esteemed distinction of Master Sommelier—the most of any establishment in North America (and a true feat given the pass rate for the exam is below 8 percent). Many more have gone on to impressive careers in wine. Après asked nine former stars of The Little Nell’s F&B team—all of them Master Sommeliers—to share how the hotel’s collection has grown over the years, the bottles they’ll never forget, and some cellar lore.

On mentorship: “I learned a lot from Mark Pape, The Nell’s opening wine director. We toured the wine regions of Europe together to select The Nell’s bottles. He taught me that building a wine list requires a lot of relationships with importers and wineries.” 

Now: Wine Director, The Breakers, Palm Beach, Florida

Making his mark: “I inherited Mark Pape’s list. There was a lot of Bordeaux, lots of Napa cabernet, a smattering of Italy. It was a big list. I was intentional about adding domaine Burgundy, highlighting Napa producers that were new then, adding Italian producers from Montalcino and Piedmont—and Austria, which hadn’t been there at all. I ordered the first Zind Humbrecht to Colorado. I brought on Foradori Granato, Coche-Dury, the first release of Harlan and Dalla Valle.”

Now: Co-founder, Frasca Hospitality Group, Boulder, Colorado

Learning curve: “I realized on the first night that the guests knew more about wine than I did.”

Cellar expansion: “The cellar was about one-third the size when I started than when I left. We went from 500 listings to 2000.” 

Most memorable bottles: “I tasted everything, arguably some of the last bottles on the planet of 1928 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny, 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.”

Now: Partner and Co-CEO, Casa Komos Brands Group, New York City

Making his mark “When I took over [the list] we had one of the best Burgundy cellars in the country. I continued to aggressively purchase the great wines, while always looking for cool Indigenous varieties that offered great value, such as assyrtiko and xinomavro from Greece.” 

Now: General Manager, AM7, Aspen 

Lessons beyond the bottles: “The Little Nell taught me about ‘comfortable hospitality’—taking care of people with the highest level of service, but without it being pretentious or over the top..”

Now: Vice President of Global Strategy, Constellation Brands Wine & Spirits, Las Vegas

Elevation effect: “I didn’t appreciate how well wines age at altitude until I left. With less oxygen, the older wines we tasted from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s‚— Jayer, Romanée-Conti, Conterno—tasted far more vibrant than the same wines I have tasted at sea level.”

Now: Managing Partner, Apres Cru Hospitality, New York City

Allure of working at The Little Nell: “I knew of The Little Nell’s reputation as a training ground for sommeliers preparing for the Master Sommelier exam.”

Best big bottle: “A magnum of Montevertine Le Pergole Torte 1990, which also happens to be my birth year. The wine was electric—full of energy, elegance, and layered nuances. I can still vividly recall its taste today.” 

Now: Group Wine Director, Casa Tua, Aspen

Cool factor: “I created the red-light lounge in the cellar. The previous GM left and there was a window when no one was there to say no. I got a very small budget and got it done.”

Bonding over bubbles: “One New Year’s Eve, there was a Champagne, a bottle of ’02 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises, like a $4,000 bottle, that guests wanted to open at midnight. But they were too tired. Only the husband came out to saber it with me. And I sat there at midnight with this guy drinking this Champagne. I still have a relationship with him.” 

Now: CEO, Lawrence Wine Estates, Napa Valley

Biggest lesson: “We served a ton of Comando G, a Spanish garnacha. Wine Director Chris Dunaway was pouring this by the glass, which was an absolutely monster move as the wine is now allocated sold at auction. Chris’s approach was simply: The wine is great, it’s a great value, have at it!”

Now: Beverage Director, NoHo Hospitality, New York City