Rich Carter

For Rich Carter, his destiny has always been in restaurants. The career server-turned-sommelier attributes both his fondness for entertaining and interest in wine to his mother, who hosted many parties during his youth. “I liked to hang around and enjoy the atmosphere of adults getting together to share wine and stories,” recalls Carter. “I watched her cook knowing I didn’t want to be a chef, but I did like recipes and the geography behind food and wine, learning where things are from.” Eventually, this formative experience influenced Carter’s professional pursuits: making people feel welcome, taking care of them, and studying the vast world of wine.

Growing up in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Carter realized he enjoyed the energy and camaraderie he found while working in restaurants, first waiting tables at a dine-in Pizza Hut, then at Black-eyed Pea, where he worked as a server and trainer. In 1998, Carter received his first introduction to fine dining at the Aquarium Restaurant in Kemah. As shift manager and head trainer, Carter shared wine knowledge he’d taught himself with other servers while ensuring attentive, consistent service to meet the demands of the unique concept’s brisk business. After five years, Carter stepped back from his full-time role to focus on raising his children. In 2011, he accepted a service position at Sambuca Jazz Café in Downtown Houston, where he catered to high-end clientele while enjoying the laid-back atmosphere, live music, and opportunity to speak with visiting musicians. 

Eager for a new challenge, Carter joined the Brennan’s of Houston team as a server in 2015, setting his sights on the role of sommelier once he saw the restaurant’s impressive wine program. Fortunately, Brennan’s then wine director, John Ramos, took Carter under his wing, helping to build Carter’s knowledge of producers and regions and elevate him from a seasoned server with broad knowledge of wine to a sommelier.

Carter started taking on “wine tables,” guests seeking a wine experience with their meal, and in 2015, he sat for and passed his Court of Masters Somm Level 1 exam. In 2021, with Brennan’s Wine Guy position vacant after Marcus Gausepohl’s departure, Carter was tapped to assume the role of shepherding one of the city’s most extensive wine programs, which currently hovers around 2000 labels, including 480 burgundy wines alone.

In the ongoing study of wine, Carter takes a daily dive into Brennan’s wine list, analyzing the labels and looking for gaps where he can further build the collection to offer guests delicious values and unique tasting opportunities they can’t easily find elsewhere. He’s continued Brennan’s experiential wine programming, featuring specific regions and styles at informative but relaxed tasting events and hosting winemakers for quarterly wine dinners.

In addition to extensive research, tastings, and forging producer and importer relationships, Carter is particularly proud to have taken on the evolving task of overhauling Brennan’s inventory system, becoming a wine librarian of sorts to organize its massive cellar. 

Working at Brennan’s, Carter has had the opportunity to serve long-time patrons, celebrities, and public officials, but he is most grateful to work with a team in which genuine Southern hospitality comes second nature: “It’s a great family. It’s very genuine. More people care than not. Being kind is easier than pretending to be kind.”