So, You Think You Want To Be A Sommelier?
If you’ve ever gotten fed up with your job and thought, “I wish I could quit and just taste wine and tell people what to drink all day,” this one’s for you.
The idea of becoming a sommelier is romantic to many, even if you’ve watched the documentary Somm series and know how hard it is to become a certified master. But whether you want to make the leap to professional wine taster or just expand your knowledge, many of the same tricks and tips that pros use can help you on your journey, and not all involve expensive wine classes.
Depending on your goals and aspirations, there are different paths you can take to become a sommelier. If you're looking for a more formal and recognized certification, you can choose to pursue the Court of Master Sommeliers' program, which offers four levels of tests. However, if you're simply looking to expand your knowledge and expertise without seeking a professional certification, there are also plenty of other resources available, such as books, online courses, and tastings, that can help you on your journey to becoming a wine connoisseur. Only 273 professionals have earned the Level Four distinction since the Court’s inception in 1969.
While the Level One exam focuses on required education and a written theory test, the Level Two certified sommelier examination takes it a step further with a blind tasting, a written theory test, and a live service demonstration. The Level Two exam not only tests knowledge but also practical skills, and tasks for judges like flawlessly opening and pouring a bottle of wine making it more challenging than the Level One exam.
Levels Three and Four are amplified versions of that test. They go into far greater depth on grape varieties and overall wine knowledge, as well as other spirits.
Sounds a bit overwhelming, right? The good news is, there are many ways to learn about wine that don’t involve a huge financial investment. You can make progress before ever taking an introductory sommelier course and open yourself to a new world of wine appreciation (though maybe don’t quit your day job just yet). Here’s how.
Get a job in the hospitality industry.
“The best way to learn about wine is from inside the industry,” says Dylan Melvin, a Level One sommelier and beverage director at Foxtrot Market, an all-day café company with eight locations between Chicago and Dallas. If you have zero restaurant experience, don’t expect your first job to be a fancy one. Even working as a cellar rat, where duties might entail sweeping the floor and running food, can pay off. You might get the chance to assist the restaurant sommelier on the floor, for example. “If you work hard and make your intentions known, things can certainly happen,” says Melvin.
Malek Amrani, a New York City-based advanced sommelier and founder/CEO of The Vice Wine, echoes that sentiment. He started in restaurants at age 17 and worked his way up to beverage director, where he would eventually taste 30 to 40 wines a day. “Most restaurants want their staff to know what wine tastes like,” says Amrani. “The more knowledge they have, the easier they will sell, so traditionally, restaurants will have you taste the wine."
To learn about wine, you need to buy, taste and be willing to spit a lot of it, says Amrani. He recommends finding a local wine shop and telling the owner your goals. “You might say, ‘Hey, for the next three months, I’m picking up this hobby and I’m really serious about it. I really want to learn about wine. Would you be able to suggest what to buy, and why?’ ” he says. Most wine shops will help, and you can provide a price cap to stay within your budget while tasting a wide variety of wines.
Hit the books.
Amrani says to start at the beginning with a Wine 101-type book that covers its history and why we taste what we taste in wine, like Wine Folly’s The Essential Guide to Wine ($25). When you’re ready to move on to the next level, graduate to Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine ($30).
Rachel Candelaria, a certified sommelier at the Michelin-starred The Village Pub in Woodside, California, recommends a subscription to the online learning tool, GuildSomm. For $100 a year, it grants you access to the information you need to study for the tests. You can also start your education for free with Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Basics section, which features new wine lessons every Tuesday.
If you know of other people interested in learning about wine, form a weekly study group, says Candelaria, who started her own group in the San Francisco area.
“We choose a region and each come up with a set of questions so we can see how others word them,” she says. “It also ends up being a good way to ask peers questions. They end up being friends you’ll stay with for a lifetime in the industry.” If your network doesn’t live in the same city, Candelaria suggests trying a Skype study group.
Follow the wine vendors in your city.
Once you find some good wine shops, wine bars, vendors and/or people in the industry that you respect, do a little detective work on their websites and social media channels, says Melvin. One way to participate in wine tastings without spending a lot of money is to look for free or low-cost tastings at local wine shops or wine bars. Many establishments offer regular tasting events where you can try a variety of wines for a minimal fee or even for free. Additionally, you can join wine clubs or subscriptions that provide discounted or complimentary tastings as part of their membership benefits.
“Getting face time with experts in the field is second to none,” adds Melvin.
Travel to wine regions.
This may not be for beginners, as it can be harder on the wallet than other options. However, if you’re serious about becoming a sommelier, a trip to wine-producing regions in California, France, Spain, Chile and Argentina can be a huge eye-opener, says Amrani. Visiting wine-producing regions allows sommeliers to deepen their understanding of the terroir, winemaking techniques, and the cultural context in which wines are produced. It provides firsthand experience in tasting and evaluating wines from different regions, enhancing their ability to recommend and pair wines with confidence. Additionally, sommeliers can establish valuable connections with winemakers and vineyard owners, fostering collaborations and access to exclusive wines for their establishments.
“When you see the grapes and see the vines, your knowledge starts increasing very quickly,” he says. “You start asking questions you never thought to ask before.” A visit to France before the first two sommelier exam levels isn’t necessary, says Melvin, but it’s fundamental to understanding winemaking. From a practical standpoint, France makes up about half of the Court of Master Sommelier’s written test, he says.
Jura: The smallest wine district in France
No matter how far you progress in your wine knowledge or what level of certification you reach, remember that the wine business is about hospitality. “We want to take care of our guests and find them a wine at any price point that they will enjoy,” says Candelaria. As you build your network in the wine community, mentor others as you’ve been mentored. “When you remember how hard it was, you do it for other people,” says Candelaria.