NoMi
Chicago, IL
- NoMi
- Ritz Carlton – Chicago, IL
A part of a small, exclusive niche of up-and-coming wine connoisseurs in Chicago, Fernando Betata, Wine Director at famed NoMI, considers his winning craft and innate skill in tasting and pairing wines more of a lifestyle than a job. Betata currently serves as Sommelier of the award-winning NoMI restaurant, located on the seventh floor of Park Hyatt Chicago, overseeing the wine list of the restaurant's main dining room, lounge and 10,000 bottle wine cellar since February of 2005.
Often referred to as a whiz kid in regards to wine, at the age of 30, Fernando has passed two parts of the highest honor, Master Sommelier. In 2005, 2006 and recently in July 2007, he was awarded the title of Best Young Sommelier Midwest by L'Ordre Mondial Des Gourmets Degustateurs Chaine Des Rotisseurs. In 2006 he received "Rising Star Sommelier for Chicago from Starchefs.com and will be featured in Wine & Spirits magazine's upcoming list of "America's Best New Sommeliers" (October 2007 issue) following a poll of hundreds of restaurant wine professionals across the US is a nod to his promising talent and rising star in the wine-service world.
A native of Guatemala, Fernando has a long history of experience in the travel and hospitality industry, having learned from his father, chef/owner of La Fonda de la Calle Real in Antigua, as well as being the great grandson of Italian winemakers. He is fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish and basic German. After attending the prestigious L'Ecole Hotelier de Lausanne, Switzerland, he worked in Rome, Florence, Sardinia and Thailand. Prior to his current post, Fernando served as manager and sommelier of The Dining Room, Ritz Carlton Chicago (A Four Seasons Hotel).