Good Morning!

The other day I was ask about what is a Sommelier? I thought I would do a little research and share with you what I have found out.

Sommelier pronounced (saw-muh-LYAY) is the French term for a wine steward or waiter in charge of wine. For hundreds of years, sommeliers were responsible for the cellaring and serving of wines for royalty. Eventually, the tradition of the sommelier spread to restaurants, where such an individual is expected to have extensive knowledge of the wines, pairings, and how to serve and decant them.

This is the “official” defintion…but here is what I learned about the process they went through to become a Sommelier. There is a very focused testing process covering sensory, viticulture and vinification. It is very expensive and they will need to be working in the restaurant and or service industry (sort of an apprenticeship). Many of the sommeliers move on to study the Master Sommelier education programs.

Tastevin, I had never heard of this word and while digging around I found out this is the name of the small, shallow silver cup used by sommeliers to analyze wine for color, aromas and flavor. I understand this was started in the cellars of Burgundy, France. The cup has a ribbon so it hangs around the neck of the sommelier.

I also found out there are several levels of wine education Certified Specialist of Wine CSW and Certified Wine Educator CWE (CWE testing and entire process looked crazy hard). These are not directly related to being a sommelier, but many eventually become a sommelier. The tests are intense and will challenge the sharpest of wine minds.

I sent off for all the info about taking the entire program. I have no intent on becoming a Sommelier, but I’d like to know what they know!

I hope this helps you the next time you are out for dinner and the Sommelier stops by the table and you want some help picking out your next bottle of wine….pick their brain, ask lots of questions and I know I am always inspired by their deep knowledge and only once has a pairing not really worked out perfectly!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi