The word sommelier derives from a Middle French term, samalier, referring to the person who was in charge of procuring supplies and maintaining the store in the royal household. The original word actually refers to a pack animal driver. A modern sommelier is a person who focuses on buying, storing, and serving wine and beverages in a restaurant.
A formal system for training professional sommeliers has existed for only about sixty years. The International Court of Master Sommeliers was founded in England shortly after World War II. The British have always taken fine dining and wine very seriously, even if their homeland did not produce any very fine wine or extremely fine cuisine (not to judge), and the wine trade has always flowed through England . Due to their various acquisitions through European warfare and their occupation of colonial outposts over the centuries, the English have had a hand in developing many of the world’s largest modern wine regions.
For many years the International Court was exclusively English. If you weren’t British, you couldn’t even take the exam. It became a three-tier graded system with a three-part exam to pass each step. The modern sommelier is expected to be an expert not only in wine but also in beer, distilled spirits, cordials and appetizers, formal table service, and even cigar service.
Level one is Certificate test. After an applicant has spent some time in the wine profession, whether in restaurants and hotels or in the wine trade, he can take this test. A short refresher and practice course in blind tasting is offered, and then applicants take a practical test of short-answer questions on each and every aspect of wine. If you pass, you will be able to take the second level test.
Level two is advanced degree Prayed Master Sommelier Candidatetest. At this level it is assumed that you are already an expert. If you are not, you will not pass. A short refresher course is offered again, but realistically, if a candidate hears something in this course that is unfamiliar to them, they lose hope of passing. The exam is given in three parts.
blind tasting. Each candidate receives six glasses of wine. In twenty-four minutes they must correctly identify each wine; What is the type of grape? Where does the wine come from? What is the quality level of the wine? And what is the vintage of the wine? If that sounds difficult, it is! Try it at home. Ask a friend to pour you a glass of wine and see if he can figure it out in four minutes.
Practical knowledge test. This is a test of around 100 questions. These questions can be about wine regions, vintages, production techniques, famous producers, you name it. And the test covers not only all of WineWorld, but anything related to malt beverages, distilled spirits, or cigars. They call it a “practice” test, but it’s actually designed to defeat all but the most dedicated students. Here is an example question.
1.) Name the five sub-regions of Vinho Verde.
You can send me an email with your answer.
Service tests. In this final test, candidates serve Master Sommeliers in a simulated restaurant. They open and decant red wine, they open sparkling wines, they offer food and wine pairing suggestions from a mock menu, they serve cigars correctly, and they offer advice to a Master Sommelier who is planning “his daughter’s wedding dinner” and then they have to taste – read a wine list and find mistakes that are made on purpose to hook them. Every response and action is carefully noted and scored.
If you pass the advanced level you will be able to take the master sommelier exam.
Level three is Master Sommelier objective of the exam, you have to be guest to take this last great test. This is where the timid need not tread. Master Sommeliers already think you’re great if you get a shot at this because they’re offering you the chance to be one of the few chosen masters in the world. The test itself has the same format as the advanced test but is more difficult by several grades. The practical test is an oral exam. Frankly, I can’t imagine the stress.
The International Court is very much an exclusive club and the trial is intended to limit membership. As more and more people become interested in taking the test, it becomes more and more difficult. I took the advanced level class but didn’t pass. I was told that my “written test was a mess, but you didn’t humiliate yourself in the service or the blind tasting.” So overall, it went well for me.
There are still less than two hundred Master Sommeliers in the world. They are not all men and, in fact, many women have passed the exams more recently. There is some evidence that women may actually be better than men at tasting and discerning good food and wine.
In 1977, an American lobbied the Court to be allowed to test. He approved and was later allowed to open an ICMS chapter in America. Today there are a number of routes for Sommelier training. You can take a class at a culinary school or, in some cases, at a university that has a hospitality school. The American Guild of Master Sommeliers is a Canadian organization that also certifies wine professionals. The various classes follow a similar three-tiered model with a test at each level, but World Court is the original, the most difficult, and the most respected.
All of this can make the role of a sommelier seem very elitist. But the fact is, in the real world, a sommelier can’t afford to be conceited. The world of wine is very complex. If it were up to me, I’d knock out about a third of the world’s wine from the top! There is too much, it’s too confusing for people and it seems overwhelming! I teach wine classes and lead private tastings in people’s homes. It can be fun and enlightening to taste and discuss wine and, among enthusiastic people, leads to greater understanding and pleasure. Sometimes a friendly guide is necessary.
A sommelier’s job is to be a friendly and knowledgeable guide to wine. The real job is putting together an accurate and well-chosen wine list that serves the restaurant and food menu, giving customers some familiar options as well as some opportunities to try something new. The sommelier has to train the staff to know the wines and make good suggestions, because she can’t visit every table every night. Above all, the sommelier must show ease and comfort with the complexity of the wine and its service and not overwhelm each customer with its extensive knowledge. The sommelier is not supposed to show her expertise, but to offer part of it to restaurant guests who are curious and enthusiastic about exploring the wide world of wine. There are many such people in the world.
Many restaurants have great wine lists, but few employ a specialist who really knows each wine. More often, a restaurant will give the task of managing the wine list to a bar manager or even an enthusiastic waiter, and in some cases, these individuals may claim the title of sommelier. It’s okay. It goes back to the original meaning of the word in Middle French. But in many other cases, the wine list and wine service are not up to the standards set by the chef and the food, and there is really no one in charge. If you walk into a place like that and have a question about one of the wines, good luck!
In more established urban centers, sommeliers find many opportunities to ply their trade. There are more sommeliers working in Las Vegas than anywhere else and Walt Disney Inc. employs more ICMS sommeliers, at all levels, than any other organization. The experience of dining in a restaurant that has a sommelier makes its essential role evident. A helpful tip or the occasional story that accompanies a particular wine enhances an enjoyable dining experience. If you meet a real sommelier, thank him. And if you find a large and expensive wine list without a sommelier to back it up, talk to the manager. There is a young sommelier who needs a job.