Mario Ortiz kicked off his restaurant career four decades ago, when he was just 16. He still works at the same restaurant, the Firehouse in Old Sacramento, but rose from setting tables to becoming perhaps the best-known sommelier in Sacramento.

He oversees the largest restaurant wine cellar in Sacramento, with an inventory of 25,000 bottles, including France's finest Bordeaux and California's top cabernet sauvignon.

Ortiz celebrated his 40 years of employment at the Firehouse in July. He's been the sommelier for more than 20 years. "Wine Buzz" caught up with him before a recent shift:

How would you compare the wine drinkers of today with your early days at the Firehouse?

People used to basically just drink "red" or "white." We had Inglenook, Paul Masson, Louis Martini; and Charles Krug chenin blanc was one of our biggest sellers. Now, everybody wants to know more about what they're drinking and where it comes from. The more they know, the more excited they get.

I'll bet you've opened some pretty amazing bottles on the job. Which stand out?

It was a 1918 Lafite that a customer brought. It took 35 minutes to open - I wanted to open it just perfectly - and the customer was getting antsy. I told him, with something like this, to be prepared to drink it within 15-20 minutes of opening. The color was brilliant, and there were still little hints of fruit. It was an amazing experience.

Do you think your palate and wine preferences have changed over time?

I think everybody's does. Twenty-five years ago, they were making totally different wines than they are now. It's hard to find a bad bottle now. I just enjoy wines. One of my mentors, Justin Meyer (founder of Silver Oak), told me, "Never forget, Mario, there are only four kinds of wines: red, white, good and bad."

Forty years at the Firehouse is longer than most marriages. What's kept you with just this one employer?

One person I met at the Firehouse I've now been married to for 26 years (his wife, Sue). If you look at the job, the hours are tough, but it's all about the people I've met. It was just exciting to be around people that had a lot of fun, and then the years and years go by.

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