Tastemaker Series: Emily the Somm, The Actor-Sommelier Who Smells Colors
Playlist WineTL;DR
Meet Emily Rutan, aka Emily the Somm, the LA-based sommelier and actor who experiences wine synesthetically and believes every bottle is a love story. For S02E05, she pairs 12 wines with tracks that match not just their taste, but their color, their feeling, their whole vibe.
When Acting Meets Wine
Emily the Somm lives at the intersection of performance and passion.
As an actor, she understands storytelling. As a sommelier, she lives it. Every bottle has a narrative. Every glass has a character arc. And when you combine wine with music, you get something close to synesthesia, which Emily actually experiences.
"Sometimes wine will make me feel like a color," she says. "So will a certain song."
For Playlist's S02E05, Emily curated 12 wines that tell stories. Some remind her of places she's been, like the biodynamic winery in Umbria where they offered her yoga after a tasting. Some pair with songs from her childhood, like R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People." And some just make sense in ways she can't quite explain but knows are right.
Her superpower? An extraordinary sense of smell that guides her to wines that connect with their origins, their makers, and the moments they create. Her approach? Romantic, nostalgic, and vibrant.
Q&A with Emily the Somm
Matt Friesen (Playlist): Emily, as someone who bridges the worlds of wine and acting, if you were starring in a film about your life, what song would set the opening scene?
Emily the Somm: I love that question because I've obviously thought about it.
It really depends on the context of the movie, but a contender for the opening montage would be the R.E.M. song Shiny Happy People. It was such a foundational song of my childhood. My parents were always playing R.E.M. and I just feel like it's such a good opening credit song.
It's a solid indicator of who I am and my musical values.
MF: I love that! It sets such a good vibe for what you're what you're in for.
MF: Having taken on a variety of diverse roles in both film and television, how has this range of experiences influenced your approach to curating wine?
ETS: Acting is storytelling and so much of what wine is about is storytelling as well.
You're not only telling the story of what's inside the bottle, but also the experience you're about to have. And you're also telling the story of who made the wine and why it's significant and why it's important to you.
Being able to understand storytelling from the perspective of character work has really helped me hone in on picking the facts that are important and spinning a story.
So much of being a somm is a performance. It's like a finely tuned improv show and you really are giving a performance. So I think that acting and somming are very intertwined. At least they have been for me.
MF: I really like when it comes from somewhere that feels personal and I think you do that so well.
ETS: Thanks! Ultimately, you don't really need somebody to sell you a bottle of wine. You can ask a couple questions if you have a moderate interest, and more often than not, you're going to get something that you like! But it's a whole different experience when someone who's actually passionate about what they do comes to you with something personal. All of a sudden you're connected, and you're in for a totally different experience all together.
MF: Every artist has a signature style. If you had to express your wine and music curation style as a movie genre, what would it be and why?
ETS: For me, so much about wine is about falling in love and feeling a connection to winemakers and a certain bottle of wine or even the place where I had the wine. Love is such a part of this for me, because every time I fall in love with a new bottle of wine, it's a whole journey.
Sometimes it's linked to a person and sometimes it's linked to just an experience. But it's a full immersive romantic experience for me. I have to say Romance.
MF: Dive into your creative process for usâhow did you approach pairing wines with music for this drop? Were there any pairings that surprised you?
ETS: I feel like I paired each one differently!
A lot had to do with the feeling as I drank the wine and the intersection of how I felt when I listened to a specific song that just came to mind. And I was like, Oh yeah, that's definitely a fit. Or like, I don't know.
I'm kind of synesthetic. So sometimes wine will make me feel like a color. And so will a certain song. So it kind of just came together that way.
Like the Biancofongoli. I went to Cantina Fongoli in Montefalco, Umbria last summer. And they're just so authentic. So I paired it with Everybody, Everybody, the Italian house song from the 90s, and they just are that song! Like, that song could be playing when you go there, so it just made a lot of sense to me, you know?
MF: That place is now on my bucket list based on that alone!
ETS: It's so great! It's a family run biodynamic winery. They keep bees. The daughter, who was hosting the tour, was so great. And then she says, "Do you want to stay? We're doing a yoga class later." And I was like, "Oh my God! I would love to do a yoga class here."
MF: Wine and yoga! How isn't that a thing yet?
ETS: Ha! Probably because yoga and a little bit of wine - great! Yoga and a lot of wine? Not so great.
MF: In a world where playlists set the mood for everything, which wine from this drop would you match with a lazy Sunday morning and what song would accompany it?
ETS: The Croatian pet nat from Pomalo is practically designed to be consumed on a beach. It's super laid back and easy going.
I mean, pet nats in general are really laid back, easy going, and perfectly pair with a Sunday morning. They're brunch wines! So I'd say it's the perfect choice for that.
And I think I would stick with the same song. That kaleidoscopic washed out kind of dreamy track. There's a little bit of a buzz, but it's still easygoing and early morning feeling.
MF: Let's imagine you're curating a dinner party for fictional characters from your favorite films. Who are you inviting and what wines are you serving to complement their personalities?
ETS: This comes to mind immediately, because I watched it again recently, The Big Lebowski. It's just incredible. And also, it's just so LA. The more time I spend in LA, the more I go back and watch it. It's just perfection.
Anyway, Maude Lebowski is who I would invite from that movie. And I would probably serve her an orange wine from Georgia, or amber wine as they call it. Because there's this whole artistic traditional process, and I could see her getting very curious about that and probably trying to make it herself.
And then, Margot Tenenbaum because I love Gwyneth, and I love that character. And I would pair a central coast Merlot for her because, like her, they're moody and deep and often misunderstood⊠thanks to the movie Sideways.
And last, but certainly not least, Butch Cassidy. Rioja is the perfect choice because an aged Rioja has that leathery and tobacco forward thing going on and that's exactly how I imagine that he would smell.
MF: Your dinner guests sound amazing.
ETS: Right? I would love to see the three of them together. Oh my god. That would be iconic.
MF: As a tastemaker, you've likely encountered some unique audience reactions. Could you recount a memorable experience from a wine tasting or event?
ETS: I love this story and I tell it often, but it's kind of flipping the question a little bit.
It's actually a time when I was in the audience. As a somm I'm constantly trying to go places and learn from people who do things that I don't, like winemakers.
Years ago, I was at a wine tasting with Angela Fronti and I absolutely loved her. She was just so dynamic. And at one point, after giving this like whole impassioned monologue about how much she loved her wines and how connected she felt to her wines. The grand finale was her proclaiming that blood doesn't run through her veins, it's Sangiovese. And I was like, well, okay!
And I love that so much because it's true. Especially with these families who have been making wine for generations. They're so connected to the land it may as well be Sangiovese running through her veins, you know?
A couple of years later, I went to Vin Italy, the big wine conference in Verona, and saw her there. And I told her that I remembered her story and she was so excited! She was like, "It's true. It does. It's true!"
When you can hear people speak about their experience and being connected to something at that level, it's really special.
MF: If you could challenge one traditional wine rule or stereotype in your role as a sommelier, what would it be, and how would you rewrite it?
ETS: I think there's a misconception that red wine is more serious or something, aside from white burgundy and serious white wines or whatever we're calling it. Or really that just wine is serious in general. To some degree I take it seriously, but that doesn't mean that it's inaccessible.
But I think white wine is often overlooked because people just associate it with going down easy and being cold. Like Pinot Grigio, you know? But there's so much more going on with white wine. And honestly, the more that I've gotten into wine, the more white wine I drink. Especially Italian whites. I'm fascinated by Italian whites! There's just so many of them.
MF: I totally agree. I used to drink a lot more reds before launching Playlist. Now I probably drink close to 50 percent whites for sure. And I didn't even realize how delicious they can be!
ETS: Right? So complex, so nuanced, and just different. Don't get me wrong, I love red wine too, but there's just something special about white wine that I think is often overlooked.
MF: Looking ahead, can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming trends or innovations in wine that you're excited about?
ETS: Generationally speaking, there's less drinking among Gen-Z and people are finding ways to make lower alcohol wine like a piquette.
I love piquette. Traditionally it was made through a second pressing. Producers would press the grapes, rehydrate them, and press them again. And usually they would give it to farm workers on their lunch break because it's super low ABV. It can be like 4%!
And piquette is great. It's a step down from pet nat in terms of intensity. And it's so spritzy and light, it's the perfect thing to be drinking in the afternoon.
So yeah, I'd say it's low ABV wines. We're going to see some cool innovation in that space for sure.
MF: Would that would be the wine of choice for wine and yoga events?
ETS: Definitely! Wine and piquette all day.
MF: Music and wine can both evoke deep emotional responses. Can you tell us about a time when a particular wine and song pairing moved you emotionally?
ETS: I love the old jazz song from the musical Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. Specifically the Ella Fitzgerald version. I love that song.
I was drinking this Fiano di Avellino that had some age to it. Which is really unique because not a lot of white wines do well with age. The ones that do, really do. And Fiano gets really flinty and sort of metallic in this interesting way when it has some age.
It was moody in the exact right way that that song is. I'm having this whole experience and the flinty taste of the Fiano was just like perfect overlap and it was one of the times where I realized that white wine could also be kind of moody.
MF: If you had the opportunity to design a wine label inspired by your favorite album cover, which album would you choose and why?
ETS: I'm honestly kind of surprised that a wine label doesn't exist with a play on this already, but I think that the Velvet Underground & Nico label with the Andy Warhol banana is a prime example of how this could be an iconic crossover between the arts. I feel like that's just perfect. Like it's doing it all.
MF: Finally, if you had to describe your wine and music curation style using only three words, what would they be?
ETS: Well, this is a nod back to the beginning of the interview, but I would say romantic, nostalgic⊠and vibrant because I think a lot of the wines I choose are pretty vibrant.
Discover Emily's Drop
Explore the 12 wines Emily the Somm curated for S02E05. Each bottle paired with a track that matches its color, its feeling, its story.
FAQs
Who is Emily the Somm?
Emily Rutan is a Los Angeles-based sommelier and actor who experiences wine synesthetically. She's known for her storytelling approach to wine and her ability to pair bottles with music in unexpected ways.
What makes Emily's wine curation unique?
Emily is synesthetic, meaning wine can make her feel colors, and songs do the same. She pairs wines based on these sensory overlaps, creating connections that are deeply personal and emotionally resonant.
What Drop did Emily curate for Playlist?
Emily curated S02E05, featuring 12 wines each paired with tracks that match their vibe, color, and story.
What's her approach to wine and music pairing?
Romantic, nostalgic, and vibrant. She falls in love with wines the way you fall in love with songs, and pairs them based on feeling rather than formula.
What wine trend is she excited about?
Low ABV wines like piquette. Light, spritzy, perfect for afternoon drinking, and ideal for wine and yoga events.
