Patrick Cappiello
Patrick Cappiello brings more than twenty-one years of industry experience to the wine program at GILT. As wine director of the restaurant, Cappiello oversees a world-class wine list possessing a unique understanding of food and its relationship to wine. With a gifted palate and an ability to assist guests in navigating GILT’s generous wine list, Cappiello, 36, brings a vast knowledge to one of New York City’s most respected restaurants. Under his expertise GILT has been honored as a recipient of Wine Spectator's prestigious 2011 Grand Award. This is the publication's highest honor for excellence in restaurant wine selections. Only seven New York City restaurants have been given this award.
Originally from Rochester, NY, Cappiello spent some time in his teens and early twenties waiting tables and bartending before graduating from nearby Roberts Wesleyan College in 1996. Soon after, he moved to Cleveland where he worked as a waiter at the famous Italian restaurant, The Baricelli Inn. It was here that Cappiello really developed a love for wine and was promoted to wine captain of the 125 seat restaurant. In 2001, he moved to New York City and became the sommelier at Tribeca Grill under the restaurant’s acclaimed wine director, David Gordon. Here, Cappiello cultivated a list bringing the restaurant’s bottle count from 600 selections to 1,800 selections, further helping Tribeca Grill to win Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award” in 2002. The restaurant has received the award every year since. Tribeca Grill enabled Cappiello to build relationships in the wine industry and was soon being invited to visit vineyards in Tuscany, Piedmont, the Rhône Valley Burgundy, and the major wine regions of Germany.
It wasn’t until 2005, that Cappiello made the move to become the sommelier at a New York City restaurant well known for its wine program, Veritas. Here, he guided guests through a wine list of 3,500 selections and maintained a strong familiarity with every bottle. Cappiello traveled to Chile to tour select vineyards and meet some of the country’s finest winemakers, further extending his reach and access to the world’s most celebrated wine regions.
Of his career and move to GILT in 2009, Cappiello says, “I’ve been so fortunate to learn from some of the best in the business and oversee some of New York’s most celebrated wine programs. To be bringing my expertise and talents to GILT, a two-star MICHELIN restaurant, is the highlight of my career – I look forward to making our guests’ experiences truly memorable ones.”
