10 Calgary Tastemakers: Brad Royale

View the Brad Royale 10 Tastemakers Video

As the wine director for Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts group (owners of Divino, Cilantro, Velvet and the Ranche and several lodges), Brad Royale spends his days literally determining and suggesting tastes for Calgarians.

“I like wine because it’s in and of itself. You don’t do anything to it; you just open it and pour it and it’s there,” he says. “I’ll taste from five to 50 wines a day. You spit, of course. You’re wasting wine every day.”

It may be wasting, but Royale’s constant testing is what keeps him fresh and in the know. It’s also similar to his approach to style. He’s always experimenting — wearing his ties in a new way, declaring 2009 the year of the oversized ring or buying a pair of women’s boots and having the heels removed to create his own look. Just like pairing wine with food, Royale’s fashion choices are about finding an overall balance and creating interesting juxtapositions.

Despite these parallels, he’s the first to admit his look may not be what you’d expect from a sommelier.

“This has changed massively,” he says, “but there is still kind of a stigma that the sommelier should be this old guy in a suit, very serious. But wine is just fun. So, hopefully, when people see me, people just think it will be fun.”

And whether it’s his red boots, his pink glasses, a bright green shirt or a large yellow-stoned ring, a lot of that fun is conveyed through colour.

“People wear a lot of blacks, blues, beiges because they want to fit in, maybe not have so much attention being brought to them,” says Royale. “But I like attention.”

View the Brad Royale 10 Tastemakers Video