In 1971, Richard Betts was born in Syracuse, New York. His parents subsequently moved to Tucsan, Arizona where he grew up. Richard Betts is currently the resident Master Sommelier at Aspen, Colorado’s Little Nell. Betts took an unorthodox route to the wine business, but his unusual journey to the world of wine did not adversely affect him, as he has become one of the best sommeliers in the business.
Richard Betts graduated from Los Angeles’ Occidental College in 1994 with a Bachelor’s degree in Geology. From there, he went on to get his Master’s degree from the Northern Arizona University. While traveling through Florence, Italy in 1992, Richard Betts first became interested in wine; however, he did not pursue a career in wine until after he had received his Master’s degree. Richard Betts first realized he wanted to work in the wine business when he was working on defending his Master’s thesis. During the preparation of his thesis, Betts had a glass of wine that catalyzed his journey into the wine world. It tasted exactly like a glass he had several years previously when he was in Italy, and it brought back vivid memories of the dining experience. He believed right then in the power of the taste and smell of wine, and he knew he had to work with wine.
Richard Betts’ first job was as a cook at Janos, a Tucson restaurant. After he worked in the kitchen, he became the restaurant’s sommelier for two years. In 2000, he moved onto another restaurant, taking an open position at Montagne at the Little Nell: the world renown restaurant that has won the Wine Spectator Grand Award for the past decade.
Currently, Richard Betts produces wine from Australia and France with his partner Dennis Scholl under their joint names. He also assists two other local wine enthusiasts, chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and sommelier Bobby Stuckey, produce their own label, La Scarapetta. La Scarapetta produces some of the finest Italian wines, as well as imports them. Although Richard Betts often jokes that he drinks his “weight in French wine,” he enjoys wine from around the world.
When Richard Betts is selecting wine for his renown restaurant, the wine has to pass one test: it has to capture its terroir. If a wine has made it onto Little Nell’s wine list, you can be sure it is not only a world-class wine, but a trip in a glass. Betts only puts wine on his tables that make him want to pack his bags and see the land for himself. According to Richard Betts, the way wine smells “is the intellectual value of wine, the ability of this singular alcoholic beverage to communicate to us a grape, a place, its geography, geology, history, people, cuisine, and so on and so forth. Nothing else can do this like wine.” If the wine does not reflect its terroir to his satisfaction, the wine is out.
A new trend has arisen: to make wine taste geography-less. Richard Betts despises this practice. In his opinion, and mine, wine should be made with the intention of being its region’s spokesperson. Wine is one of the few products that retains a sense of history, an address. If all wines became indistinguishable, you would need only one bottle of each variety to complete your cellar. What a crime it would be to deny wine the single most important thing that differentiates it from other alcoholic beverages. Inside each bottle, wine preserves its citizenship, and that is its beauty. I would have to agree with Richard Betts and say: I would sooner drink tequila than mass produced, terroir-less wine.
As the Little Nell's Master Sommelier, Richard Betts has the opportunity to taste countless wines and pair them craftily with the dinner menu. Betts feels he has one of the best wine jobs in the world, and I would have to agree.
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