Now in his 10th year as Beverage Director at Rothmann’s Steakhouse, Sean Gantner enjoys wearing many hats—mixologist, whiskey curator, beer connoisseur—but his favorite is sommelier. A 2007 graduate of the American Sommelier Association, Gantner has built a career cultivating award-winning restaurant wine programs across Long Island.
Gantner is a three-time (2011, 2015, 2017) member of the Sommelier Stars Team at Taste of Sonoma ~ Wine Country Weekend, the largest charity event in Sonoma, which raises millions of dollars each year for underprivileged children. In 2014, he was a judge at the Wines of the Sud de France.
In 2016, Sean was one of 15 sommeliers selected to participate in the Napa Valley Vintners Steakhouse Sommelier Summit. In 2019, Raymond Vineyards asked Sean to be among the 13 sommeliers chosen to create the 2017 vintage of their “Sommelier Selection” California Cabernet Sauvignon.
Sean was the guest sommelier in the VIP lounge for the inaugural Fine Food and Wine Festival at Nassau Coliseum in 2018 and again in 2019.
From 2016 to 2019, Sean made yearly pilgrimages to Bordeaux, tasting barrel samples at the legendary Chateau’s Lafite and Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, Petrus and Latour, as well as scores of other Classified Growths. Chateau Cos d’Estournel prominently featured Sean’s appraisal of its 2017 vintage in the vineyard’s international release video. His wine travels have also included extensive winery visits in Piedmont, the Tuscan region of Montalcino, Burgundy and Hermitage in the Northern Rhone.
Gantner is frequently quoted as a wine and beverage expert in industry journals and lifestyle programs, including 25A, Beverage Media and L.I.E. (Long Island Entertainment).
Gantner is a three-time (2011, 2015, 2017) member of the Sommelier Stars Team at Taste of Sonoma ~ Wine Country Weekend, the largest charity event in Sonoma, which raises millions of dollars each year for underprivileged children. In 2014, he was a judge at the Wines of the Sud de France.
In 2016, Sean was one of 15 sommeliers selected to participate in the Napa Valley Vintners Steakhouse Sommelier Summit. In 2019, Raymond Vineyards asked Sean to be among the 13 sommeliers chosen to create the 2017 vintage of their “Sommelier Selection” California Cabernet Sauvignon.
Sean was the guest sommelier in the VIP lounge for the inaugural Fine Food and Wine Festival at Nassau Coliseum in 2018 and again in 2019.
From 2016 to 2019, Sean made yearly pilgrimages to Bordeaux, tasting barrel samples at the legendary Chateau’s Lafite and Mouton Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, Petrus and Latour, as well as scores of other Classified Growths. Chateau Cos d’Estournel prominently featured Sean’s appraisal of its 2017 vintage in the vineyard’s international release video. His wine travels have also included extensive winery visits in Piedmont, the Tuscan region of Montalcino, Burgundy and Hermitage in the Northern Rhone.
Gantner is frequently quoted as a wine and beverage expert in industry journals and lifestyle programs, including 25A, Beverage Media and L.I.E. (Long Island Entertainment).
