(For another first person account of the two day introductory Sommelier course, read this by Mary Orlin. She's a much better writer and she actually passed the course!)
I just got back from taking the two day introductory course with the Court of Master Sommeliers. It's the first step of a two step process necessary to become a "Certified Sommelier." I went into my time pretty prepared having dusted off books like The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil and picking up a copy of Sales and Service for the Wine Professional by Brian Julyan.
There were 90 course participants - all (except at least me - maybe others) working full time in the restaurant or beverage business. I felt a little like an interloper since food and wine are passions for me - but not how I earn my living. I wanted to broaden my wine education by basically getting a "jet tour" through the wine regions of the world and to understand how to do a proper Champagne and decanter service. I really enjoyed watching the demonstration of both the Champagne and decanter service by the Master Sommeliers!
The course lectures were given over a day and a half with the exam at the end of the second day. The lectures split up between four Master Sommeliers - all extremely knowledgeable and very good presenters. The lectures were fast-paced and the info was all very helpful in broadening my knowledge base.
One of the main features of the Sommelier Course is teaching and practicing the Court of Master Sommeliers deductive tasting method. There is a method for blind tastings on how to describe the color of the wine, nose (smell), alcohol and acidity - all to determine where the wine is from, the type of grape, and the vintage (year) of the wine.
Each and every one of us had to stand up in front of the classrom and present on a blind tasting in teams of five. I got completely tripped up by a 2009 Nickel and Nickel Chardonnay Searby Vineyard from the Russian River Valley. I got some of what the Master Sommeliers were looking for in my palate presentation, corrected a couple of times along the way, but I was still missing some crucial aspects that would lead me and my team to the final correct result.
I'm pretty positive about taking the course - not so positive on the outcome of the exam. I've heard from two others who took the intro course where everyone passed. This was not the case in my course. I wasn't keeping track of how many passed - but there weren't anywhere near 90 diplomas and pins handed out. There were more than a few (myself included) who were surprised by the outcome. I saw one person in particular who slumped into a chair in aggravation when his name wasn't called by the Master Somms handing out diplomas and pins. (I'm not going to lie, but for a moment there, I almost joined him.)
This course had a lot of young 20s and 30s in attendance and they were either aspiring Sommeliers backed by their restaurants (it costs money to take this course and sit for the exam) or they were waiters hoping to make a switch and they paid out of pocket. The reaction of those who did not pass was either: "Great, I'm out this money and time and didn't even pass" (if you paid out of pocket like me) -or- "How am I going to explain this to my boss?" (if you were backed by your restaurant or wine shop).
It was exciting to see the reaction of those who passed after their hard work and heartbreaking at the same time for those who were hoping to make it to the next level.
My takeaways:
1) I'm going to take the course and exam again. I learned so much and it barely scratched the surface of 6,000-8,000 years of wine production! It's a rich history and I loved what I learned so far.
2) I have an even greater amount of respect for those who are in the service industry. My family has been in the restaurant business for most of my life. My Dad is a chef and I saw first hand how the work takes its toll on you physically and relationally. Watching aspiring Sommeliers in action and talking with them and hearing their stories - it's encouraging for the overall future of the business having young and passionate people starting out with this level of education.
3) I was encouraged to continue my pursuit of becoming a Sommelier. It came up that I'm not working in the "business" (restaurant or beverage industry). As far as I know, I was the only non-professional at this particular course offering. But, the others taking the class with me said that food and wine critics are not interested in taking the course and the exam because it places them against an international standard of knowledge about wine.
4) I'm proud to be a member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs. I have been with The Chaine for 10 years now. I see the importance of our organization holding an international Young Sommelier competition every year to encourage young wine professionals in their ongoing education and training.
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| Setup for our classroom lectures and wine tastings for the 2 day intro Sommelier course |
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| This is my "home" for two days - trying to be a good student with my reference materials handy |
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| This wine tripped me up in the blind tasting portion of the class - we presented in teams of 5 on what we thought the wine was after analyzing color, aroma and taste. I'll never forget this wine now! |
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| The wine tasting flight aftermath |
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| A very full lecture hall for the Intro Sommelier Course |
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| The very comprehensive notebook of the presentations given by the Master Sommeliers - a souvenir from my time in class! |
(For another first person account of the two day introductory Sommelier course, read this by Mary Orlin. She's a much better writer and she actually passed the course!)
I just got back from taking the two day introductory course with the Court of Master Sommeliers. It's the first step of a two step process necessary to become a "Certified Sommelier." I went into my time pretty prepared having dusted off books like The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil and picking up a copy of Sales and Service for the Wine Professional by Brian Julyan.
There were 90 course participants - all (except at least me - maybe others) working full time in the restaurant or beverage business. I felt a little like an interloper since food and wine are passions for me - but not how I earn my living. I wanted to broaden my wine education by basically getting a "jet tour" through the wine regions of the world and to understand how to do a proper Champagne and decanter service. I really enjoyed watching the demonstration of both the Champagne and decanter service by the Master Sommeliers!
The course lectures were given over a day and a half with the exam at the end of the second day. The lectures split up between four Master Sommeliers - all extremely knowledgeable and very good presenters. The lectures were fast-paced and the info was all very helpful in broadening my knowledge base.
One of the main features of the Sommelier Course is teaching and practicing the Court of Master Sommeliers deductive tasting method. There is a method for blind tastings on how to describe the color of the wine, nose (smell), alcohol and acidity - all to determine where the wine is from, the type of grape, and the vintage (year) of the wine.
Each and every one of us had to stand up in front of the classrom and present on a blind tasting in teams of five. I got completely tripped up by a 2009 Nickel and Nickel Chardonnay Searby Vineyard from the Russian River Valley. I got some of what the Master Sommeliers were looking for in my palate presentation, corrected a couple of times along the way, but I was still missing some crucial aspects that would lead me and my team to the final correct result.
I'm pretty positive about taking the course - not so positive on the outcome of the exam. I've heard from two others who took the intro course where everyone passed. This was not the case in my course. I wasn't keeping track of how many passed - but there weren't anywhere near 90 diplomas and pins handed out. There were more than a few (myself included) who were surprised by the outcome. I saw one person in particular who slumped into a chair in aggravation when his name wasn't called by the Master Somms handing out diplomas and pins. (I'm not going to lie, but for a moment there, I almost joined him.)
This course had a lot of young 20s and 30s in attendance and they were either aspiring Sommeliers backed by their restaurants (it costs money to take this course and sit for the exam) or they were waiters hoping to make a switch and they paid out of pocket. The reaction of those who did not pass was either: "Great, I'm out this money and time and didn't even pass" (if you paid out of pocket like me) -or- "How am I going to explain this to my boss?" (if you were backed by your restaurant or wine shop).
It was exciting to see the reaction of those who passed after their hard work and heartbreaking at the same time for those who were hoping to make it to the next level.
My takeaways:
1) I'm going to take the course and exam again. I learned so much and it barely scratched the surface of 6,000-8,000 years of wine production! It's a rich history and I loved what I learned so far.
2) I have an even greater amount of respect for those who are in the service industry. My family has been in the restaurant business for most of my life. My Dad is a chef and I saw first hand how the work takes its toll on you physically and relationally. Watching aspiring Sommeliers in action and talking with them and hearing their stories - it's encouraging for the overall future of the business having young and passionate people starting out with this level of education.
3) I was encouraged to continue my pursuit of becoming a Sommelier. It came up that I'm not working in the "business" (restaurant or beverage industry). As far as I know, I was the only non-professional at this particular course offering. But, the others taking the class with me said that food and wine critics are not interested in taking the course and the exam because it places them against an international standard of knowledge about wine.
4) I'm proud to be a member of the Chaine des Rotisseurs. I have been with The Chaine for 10 years now. I see the importance of our organization holding an international Young Sommelier competition every year to encourage young wine professionals in their ongoing education and training.
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