Paulo Villela Appointed Wine Director For Prime - An American Kitchen & Bar, Tellers Chophouse, H2o Seafood Grill & The Beachtree Caf�

Michael & Kurt Bohlsen, owners of Prime - An American Kitchen and Bar (117 New York Avenue, Huntington, NY 11743 [631] 385-1515 www.restaurantprime.com), Tellers Chophouse (605 Main Street, Islip, NY 11751 (631) 277-7070 www.tellerschophouse.com), H2O Seafood Grill (215 West Main Street, Smithtown, NY 11787 [631] 361-6464, www.h2oseafoodgrill.com) and The Beachtree Caf� (166 West Main Street, East Islip, NY 11730 [631] 277-4800 www.beachtreerestaurant.com) announce the appointment of wine director Paulo Villela formerly with New York City restaurants Blue Fin and Windows on the World.

Villela will manage the wine cellars of Prime - An American Kitchen and Bar, Tellers Chophouse, H2O Seafood Grill and The Beachtree Cafe including around 15,000 bottles and 2,200 labels; design wine lists to match the diverse menus of complex and composed dishes, chophouse specials, seafood and sushi; and mentor staff.

Villela's arrival also marks the launch of two new wine services. Diners may ask the resident wine expert questions about pairings and selections face-to-face but also via a Meet the Sommelier page on each restaurant's website. The second service allows wine enthusiasts to store their favorite wine safely inside Tellers Wine Vault, a one-time walk-in vault in the former bank building on Main Street in Islip.

Villela, a resident of Long Island's Bayshore, joins from Blue Fin Restaurant at the W Hotel in New York City's Times Square where he was beverage director. His interest in wine began as a youth in southern Brazil. Neighboring Italian immigrants would give away home-made wine as long as Villela brought his own bottle, which, in those days, was a greater expense. His journey to become a sommelier began in the restaurant business as a bus boy in 1983. Climbing the ranks, in 1996, he became wine captain and sommelier for Windows on the World Restaurant. He remained there until 2001 being the last person to grace the restaurant's vast wine cellar on September 11.
Fluent in five languages, Villela was class valedictorian for the Sommelier Society of America in 1998 and earned a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. His deep knowledge about wine was also gained from teachers Kevin Zraly and Andrea Immer, friends and family, the experience of tasting 40-50 wines per week and visiting to Napa Valley, Italy, Greece, Chile, Argentina, Germany and Spain.
Now working with the Bohlsen family, Villela applies his vinous insights to present wine offerings to discerning Long Island diners.