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Amy Goldberger, Sommelier and Wine Director

Amy Goldberger has been with the Fifth Floor for approximately four years and the wine director for almost a year. In that time, she has expanded the wine list at the Fifth Floor and has been an integral part of the restaurant team. Goldberger has worked hard to seek out hidden gems and unique wines-purposely making a point to include small producers and esoteric varietals on the list.

"Wine doesn't have to be serious, and there should be something for everyone," says Goldberger. "I love working with people to find a wine that's perfect for their palate and that also complements what they may be eating or the mood that they're in."

Along with classic Burgundies and Bordeaux that would make any wine connoisseur excited, Goldberger also has some lesser known varietals such as arneis, pigato and scheurebe on the Fifth Floor's extensive wine list.

Prior to working at the Fifth Floor, Goldberger was at A Coté, a small Mediterranean influenced neighborhood bistro in Oakland. It was while at A Coté that Goldberger learned about esoteric wines under sommelier Jeff Berlin. Berlin's list taught Amy about grape varietals from different regions throughout the world.

After spending more than five years studying under Berlin, Goldberger decided to leave A Coté and to work at the Fifth Floor and train under Master Sommelier Emily Wines. Wines was able to pick up where Berlin left off and fill in the gaps to teach Goldberger about classic wines and classic wine regions. Wines has been an important mentor to Goldberger, and has not only also helped her learn about California wines but also the many nuances of the wine industry and fine-dining service as well.

Goldberger received her BA in Anthropology from SUNY Albany in 1994. She then moved to San Francisco and worked in restaurants and bars in the Mission District for more than 10 years, after which she moved to Europe for two years. It was there that she developed a taste for Old World wines. Some of her favorite wines include German Rieslings, and, jokingly, anything that starts with a "v"-vermentino, verdicchio, viognier, vernaccia and verdejo.