A Sommelier for Football Fanatics

When you dine at a fancy, high-end restaurant, it’s not surprising to have a sommelier available to assist in selecting the perfect bottle of wine to accompany your meal.

In fact, it’s almost expected.

But every so often, you’ll encounter a sommelier in unusual environs.

Case in point: the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Raiders.

The Raiders, among other things, are known for having some of the most enthusiastic tailgaters in the National Football League. Stroll through the designated pre-game party zones outside the stadium, and you’ll see copious amounts of food being cooked and a lot of beer being consumed.

But inside the stadium, for those fortunate enough to be occupying the stadium’s skyboxes, there’s plenty of fine wine available. Sommelier Sandra Taylor oversees not one, but two wine cellars housing around 500 bottles.

The collection spans the finest regions of the winemaking world, from Napa Valley to Bordeaux. And while fine food is available in the stadium’s luxury suites, most of the wine is consumed solo by fans who simply want to enjoy the game with a good glass of vino.

Levi’s Stadium in northern California, home of the San Francisco 49ers, also serves some good wine, but nowhere near on the scale of Allegiant Stadium. We couldn’t tell you who would win a game between the Raiders and the 49ers this season, but Allegiant Stadium would “defeat” Levi’s Stadium in a wine match-up.

As anyone who has visited Las Vegas knows, the city is famous for excess. Big resorts. Big casinos. Big-name entertainment.

So it only makes sense that “Sin City” would lead the way in wine enjoyment during an NFL game. To learn about tours of Allegiant Stadium, which include a visit to those private suites, click here.

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