The Secret Lives of Master Sommeliers ²

by Michael Horne • Journal, Resources, Wine Tasting • Tags: Sommelier on April 17, 2011

So you want to be a Sommelier?

After 250 hours of training at the French Culinary Institute by Master Sommeliers Alan Murray and David Glancy, hundreds more hours fighting eye strain while studying the Sommelier’s wine bible Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, and swishing 500+ wines across my palate from nearly every wine producing region on the planet, I was granted the honor of sitting for the full Certified Sommelier exam proctored in the spring of 2009 by the London-based Court of Master Sommeliers. It was fun, challenging and stressful, but I earned my pin.

Getting to the Certified level is tough enough, but some courageous oenophiles continue on to the Advanced Sommelier level, and a tiny number make it to the rarified world of Master Sommelier.  As of this writing, there are only 180 of these magical Master Sommeliers in the world, and it’s no wonder – the Court weeds out the non-serious by making it an invitation-only exam, and most Master Sommelier wanna-bees take 3+ attempts to pass this mother-of-all wine exams, if ever.  Let’s put it in perspective:  In 2010, of the 104 people who sat for the Master Sommelier exam worldwide, only 3 passed.  Wow.  Bluntly put, it’s a bitch to become a Master Sommelier, and only the best make the grade.

The good news is that Sommeliers support and nurture their own.  Here in the States, a few of our finest Master Sommeliers had the brilliant idea of forming a Guild of Sommeliers as a way to help budding Sommeliers hone their tasting skills, build world wine knowledge, and encourage them on their(crazy) journey toward Certified, Advanced and Master certification levels.  It’s self-funded by the Sommelier community, and their website offers the best learning material, and active forums for vino Q&A sessions.  If you have a puzzling question about wine, someone at the Guild will know the answer, no matter how esoteric.

Sip. Swish. Spit.

If you’ve never listened to a Master Sommelier wax eloquently about a wine, you’re going to find this fascinating.

Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth and the fine folks at the Guild have launched a new series of monthly audio Podcasts on wine tasting technique and producing regions.  They promise a host of other fun topics sure to entertain any vinophile like you and me.

What’s entertaining about these podcasts is the natural flow of the Master Sommelier conversation.  There’s no dumbing-down here, it’s raw tasting experiences and wine geekery at its finest.  I love it.

The list of Master Sommelier Podcasts can be found on their Podcast website, and you can also find the latest on the Guild Blog (account required), where you can post comments and questions on the Podcast content discussed.  You can also subscribe to the Podcasts by searching for “Guild of Sommeliers” in the Podcast section of  iTunes and have them pushed to you automatically when they’re released.

There have been 3 podcasts to-date, listed here most-recent first:

1.  Geek Speak: Listening to Master Sommeliers taste wines blind

You’re a fly on the wall as newly-minted Master Sommeliers Matt Stamp, Jason Heller, Dustin Wilson, and Brian McClintic progress through a blind tasting of 4 wines.  This is the classic banter of Sommeliers who try to narrow down the characteristics and origins of a wine-in-a-bag.  Listen to how the team processes differences of opinion on the third wine tasted by Jason, a wine that otherwise has straightforward markers (about 24:50 minutes into the podcast).  Sometimes a wine can be “vague,” and even Master Sommeliers can disagree and miss a wine entirely.

Listen to the Blind Tasting Podcast here.

2.  The ascendant wines of Sicily –
Etna Rosso anyone?

Take a tour of Bella Sicilia with Master Sommeliers Geoff Kruth of Farmhouse Inn and Matt Stamp of French Laundry, joined by bubbly vinophile Shelley Lindgren from A16 and long-time importer of Siciliani wines Oliver McCrum, as they peruse the historic island’s most interesting wines.  The team goes wild for the rosso wines of grumbly Mount Etna, and explore the Nero d’Avola- and Frappato-based wines of Faro and Noto.  Sicily is really getting its wine-act together, and this Podcast gives you a great starting point for your own vino exploration.

Geoff also shares some photos of the Etna vineyards in his Guild blog post – check them out here (registration required).

Listen to the Sicily Wines Podcast here.

3.  Tasting wines over, and over, and over…

The Guild’s inaugural Podcast is a bit rough with some echo and acoustic issues, but it’s a great intro to the tasting deductive process that all Sommelier candidates need to master.  Geoff Kruth, Matt Stamp (fresh off winning the TopSomm 2010 award), and Jason Heller take us through a handful of typical wines, demonstrating how to calmly dissect them and converge on the “call” – naming the varietal, region, sub-region and year.

The first 2 wines tasted, a white and a red, are exactly the kind of “typical” wines you would taste on your Certified Sommelier blind tasting exam.  Note how easily the tasting evaluation flows from Geoff, a highly articulate taster.  With practice and tasting lots of wines, anyone can master this deductive process.

Listen to the Inaugural Tasting Podcast here.

Aspiring to be a Sommelier?

Have a listen to these Podcasts, and if you get excited about all the wine geekery and just gotta know more, send me a note in the Comments section below, or ping me by email.  I can help answer your questions and put you in contact with someone who can help you get started on the path to becoming a Certified Sommelier.

Cin cin!
Michael