Hervé Pennequin

   A native of Lille, France, Hervé Pennequin is passionate about the study of things related to wine and food. At the age of 23, he was voted the Best Young Sommelier of France, 1989 (Trophee Ruinart), and has subsequently gone on to several major achievements including : Silver Medal of the Best Armagnac Taster of France in 1991, Best Sommelier of Paris 1994 (Sopexa Grand Prix du Sommelier International), 2nd Best Sommelier of France 1994.


He arrived in the United States at the beginning of 1997. Yves Durand, former President of the American Sommeliers Association, brought him as a Sommelier to Nikolai’s Roof restaurant. From Atlanta to Los Angeles at L’Orangerie, he finally arrived to New York at the end of 2002 as Wine Director at Bruno Jamais.
Hervé also consulted for Milos Estiatorio in New York and Athens, Greece where he spent two months before the Olympic Games. Both restaurants received the Wine Spectator Grand Award in 2004 – first time ever for two restaurants of the same group in different countries.


In 2002, he finished 2nd in the Best Sommelier of the United States competition.In October 2004, he was the First American Sommelier to be selected as a Finalist in the Best Sommelier in the World Competition. Representing the United States, an expert panel of judges chose Hervé, as the top 3rd finalist.


Hervé is the First “French Master Sommelier” in the United States. He was Nikolai's Roof Dinning Room General Manager and Wine Director till 2007 and now he has creating his own wine consulting company.

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