As you know, I’m guest somm’ing at LudoBites 8.0 for the next month. So, in addition to wearing my camo apron over at my usual gig, I’ll be wearing this 3 times a week:

It goes without saying, but my work attire tends to be more casual than your average sommelier.

Clothing: Ludo apron (long and with generous front pockets), Ludo 8.0 t-shirt and black Gap skinny jeans. Accessories: JP Brun Terres Dorées “L’Ancien” Beaujolais. Shoes? These TOMS and/or black Sam Edelman flats. BUT- in an ideal world with more shoes in my closet, I would would pair this LudoBites 8.0 ensemble with some Bensimon sneakers and try to look like these really cool French girls.

How about these? I totally chose them because the folks at Bensimon call that color wine. It’s meant to be. And these would work too.

Change of subject! Guess what I just bought on sale from ASOS?

A dress. With GRAPES ON IT. That’s right. It could end up being hideous, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Photo credits: pic of me by the keeper of the LudoBites bar, Michael Nemcik // pile of Bensimon shoes // girls by la plage

This was my view for most of the night this past Friday.

Lights, cameras and Bizarre Foods action!

I was the sommelier for a one night dinner created by Andrew Zimmern. He was hopping around town shooting all over LA last week with the finale being a 5 course spread at Royal/T. All proceeds went to charity and some of LA’s best chefs were in the kitchen lending a helping hand- Michael Voltaggio, Lee Hefter of Spago and Ari Rosenson of CUT (my Wolfgang Puck homies from back in the day!), among others.

SO. The menu…

The menu was all about introducing the average diner to sea creatures and parts of animals they might not be accustomed to. There was uni, geoduck, pig-face bacon, pig’s blood, lamb and cow tongue, pig intestine among other things. What wine to pair with such fare? How about wines the average drinker might not have ever tried or would think to try; a 12 year old rosé, a sans soufre red blend from a whacky Spaniard, a grape called pignoletto, a pink pet nat topped with a crown cap…

Jill and I came up with the following, in order of course pairings:

2009 La Grange Tiphaine “Rosa Rosé Rosam” // 2009 Tedeschi Spungola Bellaria Pignoletto

2000 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rosado // 2010 Mendall “Poc a Poc” // De Bartoli 10 yr Marsala

Everybody loved everything! Warren Sapp, even.

PS- Pardon the truly shitty photos. But guess what? This is the last of the BlackBerry Chronicles. Why? Cause momma got an iPhone. Prepare yourself for Instagram Tales! Memoirs of an iPhone? I’ll figure something out.

NYC sommelier Levi Dalton just wrote a great post covering sartorial sommelier tips, focusing on both functionality and style. He’s a dude, clearly. So, it was written for dude somms. Well, what about the ladies? I got Levi’s blessing to do a female take on the whole shebang. So, here goes…

Let’s start with how I dress. I happen to work in a casual trattoria style Italian spot. Don’t get me wrong-  we don’t have brown kraft paper and crayons on the table, but we definitely don’t have any linens. We pretty much wear whatever we want, but always wear Italian sommelier aprons that Max gets made for us. This Fall/Winter, we’re having a camouflage moment. Other looks are dark denim, heather gray (my favorite), orange and canvas.

Let’s break down what’s going on above:

1- A headband. I don’t like to wear my hair completely up too often (I have a lot of it and it’s heavy) but, I need to keep my hair out of my face. Some bobby pins work too for a half-up, pinned on the sides type thing.

2- Mini pockets for a pen (which I never seem to have) and my beloved Pulltap’s corkscrew.

3- Nails. Gotta keep the nails done did. My hands are very visible to patrons, so I don’t want them all chipped and/or dirty. I could keep them just buffed and clean, but I’m a bit nail polished obsessed.

4- Large pockets! This is KEY (more on pockets later). I love that I have an apron with roomy front pockets that allow me to put corks, foil, dirtied serviettes, etc in them discretely and effortlessly while I’m at the table. If I had only my skinny jeans’ pockets, I’d be screwed. Speaking of skinny jeans….

5-Pants. I always wear pants and not skirts/dresses because it’s not conducive to my work environment. One of our cellars is accessible only by ladder. Even though our friendly dishwashers nearby would be happy to catch a show, I know better. I go with black or dark wash denim in a skinny, non-baggy shape.

6- Shoes. Flats are a MUST for me when on my feet for several hours at a time and running around hustling. I wear dark colored TOMS, my new fav Sam Edelman flats, loafers or tall leather boots.

Now that you’ve seen me, let’s look at how other lady sommeliers that I dig dress! Every restaurant has a different vibe and style of service, therefore there are no hard and fast rules. But rarely do any of us ever have to wear something like what Pascaline and these guys are sporting anymore…

From top left going clockwise: Pascaline Lepeltier of Rouge Tomate in NYC // Dana Farner of CUT in LA // Shelley Lindgren of A16 and SPQR in San Fran // Caroline Styne of AOC/Lucques/Tavern in LA // Laura Maniec of Corkbuzz in NYC.

There are some common themes here for sure; darker neutrals with pops of color or pattern, simple jewelry or none at all and the blazer and cute top combo. Oh yeah- and pretty hair.

Dana (center), whom I used to work with at CUT, always looks together and professional but still feminine. I learned a few things from her, most importantly being- anytime you see a skirt or dress with pockets BUY IT. Buy lots of them. This is the perfect way to be able to still wear skirts and dresses if you don’t wear an apron, since you have to have pockets as a sommelier. You just do. It’s mandatory. Also, you don’t always need to wear a blazer. Throw on a little cardigan or sweater to switch things up.

You know who else has great style? Helen Johannesen of Son of A Gun and Animal here in LA. She always looks great. Simple but never boring, stylish but functional and seemingly effortless. Click here to see an uber hip photoshoot of her and her closet.

Levi has a “work kit” with all kinds of helpful stuff in it. I don’t have such a thing, because I have something called a PURSE. I’m ALSO a Type A female, so I have a “life kit”…which doubles as a “work kit.” There’s lip balm and lig gloss, my corkscrew which I have at all times and most importantly stain remover! I not only use it myself (wine stains are a bitch), but for customers too. I have saved the day many a time! I don’t keep any mouthwash around like Levi. My go to fresh breath aid is a natural one- the cut lime and lemon wedges at the bar. I’ll suck on one real quick, drink some water and I’m set.

Hope you found this post informative or at least entertaining. Thanks for the inspiration Levi!

Photo sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I met Jesse last month while judging a wine competition in San Diego. He’s 35 and has THE title after his name- MS. That’s Master Sommelier, ya’ll. He is also owner, with wife Elizabeth, of Peripherique Wine Merchants based out of San Francisco. When not making me feel like a dumb underachiever, Jesse is a genuine class act and such a nice guy. Hanging out and drinking wine with him was a real treat.

So, let’s see what a Master Somm gets down his gullet. And where to eat and drink in San Francsico. Or Omaha…

Name: Jesse Becker Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska  Location: San Francisco, CA

Favorite Fall beverage: Barolo!

Favorite cocktail or spirit: Aperol Spritz is by far my favorite cocktail. {ed. note: hell. yes.}

Favorite place to grab a drink: Currently, Cotogna in San Francisco though I’ve yet to encounter a craft bar I enjoy more than The Boiler Room in Omaha.

Favorite toast: Cheers!

Favorite post-dinner quaff: Underberg!

Favorite food & beverage pairing: Crémant du Jura and wild mushrooms (just had this at Sons & Daughters in San Francisco — Wowza!)

If you could travel to one region of the world right now for its food and/or drink where would you go? Piedmont, without thinking twice.

What’s for sipper? Right now: 2009 Domaine Danjean-Berthoux Clos du Cras Long Givry Premier Cru and it’s really blowing me away!

Ah. Love and grape vines. All you ever really need in life.

Right now, everyone is making gift guides and giving tips on last-minute gift ideas. And I am totally joining in. So, here we go: gifts for the drinker in your life…or for, ahem, me. Moving right along.

The little wine world and oenoblogosphere has been buzzing about Raj Parr and Jordan MacKay’s new book- Secrets of the Sommeliers. Since I follow Raj on Twitter (and steep in jealousy at the amazing wine he gets to open and taste on a daily basis), I know that he definitely has some secrets I want to know about.

The Bitter Truth, founded by two cool German dudes, has some great products- but, their bitters are of course what’s winning them awards.  Their Travel Pack of bitters is a nice entrée into what they have to offer. They will provide for endless in-flight fun or otherwise and are the right size to play and experiment with and later decide which full size one you want to purchase. I have my eye on you Celery and Creole!

The home brewing fad has already hit its heights, but I trust and hope it’s never gonna go out of style. It’s hard to find easy to use and great tasting beer kits, but Brooklyn Brew Shop manages to come to the rescue with their awesome starter brew kit for $40! Pretty good deal in my opinion if you don’t want to fuss with sourcing all the separate needed ingredients and tools on your own. You can choose your “mix” from Everyday IPA and even a Tripel or have fun with Holiday inspired flavor profiles like Honey Sage Seasonal, Chocolate Maple Porter and Gingerbread Ale. Mouth. Watering. Need. Beer.

And then something I certainly can never have enough of- vintage glassware, bar tools and other lovely accessories! Etsy is my number one go-to source for all things unique and affordable.

Like this milk glass punch bowl set! I’m also having a moment with delicate and romantic champagne coupes. Ever since I saw Foodinista’s Marc Jacob for Waterford set (drool!), I decided I seriously need them in my life. There’s also these adorable mini etched cordial glasses. Cute! Need to make your home bar look a little bit more grown up?  How about some crystal liquor bottles. This Hollywood Regency lucite wine rack is lovely to look at and functional and I never knew I needed a wine cradle until now.

Now- get to shopping! And drinking!

ps- did you see my Wino Wish list from last year?

The day before my big certified exam, I did a mock Court of Master Sommelier style blind tasting again. I did one before, remember? That one didn’t turn out so great. Big fat fail. But that was a few months ago.  And with 2 more months of not only working in 2 wine shops but going to Italy again….I had a A LOT more wine under my tasting belt. So, I had higher hopes for the outcome of this blind tasting. Jill over at domaineLA brown bagged some wines for me (she marked W for the white that I would need to chill.) I brought ‘em home and got down to business.

And I did pretty well this time around! I was on target with use of oak aging or the lack thereof and also right on point with old world vs. new world, alcohol percentages and more importantly varietals and country. The wines? For the white we had a 2008 Old World (French) viognier. My guess? 2008 Chardonnay from France. I have to say the wine was too cold straight out of the refrigerator and a lot of the tropical notes were muted. The acidity seemed higher than it actually was which threw me off a bit.

The red? A 2005 tempranillo (30% cabernet) from Spain. My guess? 2006 tempranillo from Spain. Off on the aging a bit but my guess on mixed French and American oak was semi-spot on (it was just American.) This gave me enough of the confidence I needed to rock out on the actual exam the next day. Although- I may have been off on a varietal but everything was correct. According to my feedback, that is. I still have no idea what the wines from the exam were and I never will. Yep- they’re not telling. The mystery remains…

As for these blind tastings? I think I’ll take a breather for a minute and rest on my certified laurels for as long as possible. Which will be for almost… exactly one minute.

I did it! Woooohooooo. And yes- I actually think I made that exact sound many times yesterday. Yesterday being the day I became a Certified Sommelier. Certified! Or as my friend Joy says- “Legit!”

It was a long day that started at 8AM. I arrived at Spago (the location for the LA exams this year) and checked in. I got my time slot for the champagne service portion of the exam- 10:30. I was first! Always. The curse of having a last name that begins with A. I looked around and couldn’t help but notice that once again I was in the minority. Out of maybe 35 people, there were 6 women. A sea of dudes. A sea of dudes in suits.

We were shuffled inside to one of the private dining rooms which were set up with tables and glasses of wine. This would be the blind tasting. We had one red and one white. We also had exactly one hour to complete the blind tasting as well as a written theory exam. The exam was 40 questions in length with short answer, multiple choice and matching. The first few questions in I was all “this is easy!”…then I got to the Bordeaux questions….damn! I am seriously weak on my French knowledge. This was when I started to freak out. But I pulled myself together and did my best. And I guess, this time, my best was good enough.

The service portion of the exam was nerve wracking to say the LEAST. A room full of master sommeliers, champagne flutes and silver trays…..I won’t go into details because, well, I’m not supposed to. I am of the fraternity now! The brotherhood! Sommelier-town! But- seriously- give me a glass of wine and I’ll probably tell ya. Anyway- we reconvened later that afternoon to get our results. I have to be honest and say that I thought there was a good chance I failed. Some of the questions on the theory exam were hard and I didn’t know if I had gotten enough right. We were thankfully greeted with a glass of champagne (to celebrate or drown our sorrows) and we stood there. In a little cluster of anxiety.  And waited. They called the names one by one of those that would receive a pin. And it was a truly surreal moment hearing my name called. Whiiitttneeeey Adaaaaaams. Whitne-What?! Me? Yes- ME!

Thank you to my friends and fam for rooting for me and also being just as excited as I was to get a little pin. And to the Master Sommeliers that proctored the exam- Keith Goldston, Darius Allyn, Michael Jordan (no- not that one), Peter Neptune and Steven Poe. And to my study pal Dee (who also passed!) And to Chris Miller at Spago who gave us generous pours of some fine ass champagne just when we needed it.

-Whitney

Certified Sommelier

It’s time to get serious. Seriously studious. I told you about my certified sommelier exam that I was set to take in Las Vegas (big pimpin’ style at the Bellagio.) Yeah- that didn’t happen. Life got in the way…a trip to italy, starting a new business…so, i thought it would be better to give myself more time to really focus and devote adequate time to studying. I rescheduled to take the exam right here in LA at the big pimpin’ in its own right Spago in Beverly Hills. So- the countdown begins. 3 weeks. Me and some Master Sommeliers in the extremely colorful interiors of Spago.

I ran into someone that just took the exam in Vegas…and failed. What?? It got me a bit freaked out because this is someone that works in the business and is no dummy. She is taking the exam again the same day as me in Beverly Hills and we are promptly forming a study group. My house will soon become flash card central. Pray for me.  In addition to prayers, I will also be accepting as many sparkling wines as possible. If you would also like to come over and grill me with hard vintage questions and berate me while I try to open those bottles perfectly and elegantly that would be nice too.

Fail. A big fat F. That is the grade I would have received on my blind tasting exam. If that exam took place in my friend Rachel’s living room this afternoon. Luckily for me, it does not actually occur until March. In Vegas. Where, if I screw up, I can drown my sorrows in whisky and blackjack.

But, let us remain positive, shall we? OK- down to the nitty. The blind tasting: one of the more daunting tasks in the Court of Master Sommelier certified sommelier exam. 15 minutes will be given to taste a red wine and a white wine and correctly identify the grape varietal, the country of origin and the vintage. Yeah…not hard at all.  When will I ever need to be able to do that in “real life” situations? Probably never. But, by training the olfactory senses in this intense way, it better enables us wine folk to inevitably understand value in a wine, regional and varietal identity, styles of winemaking, etc.

The Court is comprised of some nice people who have had to take this very same exam at some point in the early stages of their careers. Therefore, they kindly email us test-takers the exact format of the tasting exam ahead of time. They have also devised a Deductive Tasting method to help us out and break down each element of a wine into a clue to its grape and origin. There are 3 main categories:  sight, nose and palate. Thoroughly examine each element of those categories one by one to then deduce what the wine could be (and what it definitely can’t be). Here is a simple breakdown of the deductive method and how what you see, smell and taste translate to a clue about what the wine in the glass could be.

I had my buddy Matthew at my fav wine shop Silverlake Wine pick out 2 bottles (a red and a white under $15) with instructions to have them concealed in brown paper bags upon my arrival. Rachel and I brought them back to her house and got to work. She opened the bottles without her glasses on so she wasn’t able to decipher any possible writing on the corks or foils. There would be not an ounce of cheating! We set the timer to 15 minutes and got serious.

White was first. I tried to go step by step and focus only on whatever identifier I had to describe: Fruit, Non-fruit, Earth/Mineral, Use of Oak. But I kept jumping ahead and thinking about what grape it was. Or about how sucky my description of  ”slight peach” was or how I was sitting there nose deep in the glass and coming up with zilch. How could I all the sudden not know what anything ever in the world smelled like.  There was a lot of second guessing involved. It wasn’t aged in oak. Or was it? It’s an unoaked chardonnay. No, it’s a sauvignon blanc from a moderate climate. No, wait. What? I’m wrong. I know nothing. I am a fraud… It had been 2 and a half minutes.

The lesson learned here is that I have to trust my instincts and listen to what the wine is saying. ( Yes, it talks. It sounds vaguely like Cate Blanchett.) And not get caught up in what I think it is supposed to be. We are graded not only on the final result but the assessments that lead us to our conclusion.

Rachel and I both independently came to the conclusion that the white was a 2008 New World sauvignon blanc from a moderate climate. WRONG. It was a 2008 French (Old World) gros manseng. Gros what? Exactly. Dear Matthew tried to get tricky. Gros manseng is a varietal that you don’t come across often and it definitely won’t be an option of white wines for the blind tasting exam. The wine comes from the southern coastal part of France in the Gascogne. At first taste I thought it was an unoaked chardonnay and as it opened  and warmed up a bit, the slight stone fruit and citrus notes came forward. The viscosity of the wine was on the thick side for a white (higher alcohol) and I thought it was for sure a sauvignon blanc from maybe Chile or some other such New World country other than New Zealand.

The red- I had to take a minute and get adjusted to this one as it was so different from the white. It was quite dark and rich in color, with lower alcohol, older French oak, dried cherry flavor and some spice….it could have been many things. But, I knew what it wasn’t. It wasn’t zinfandel or cabernet. Definitely not gamay or sangiovese. Too dark to be pinot. More “woodsy” than a syrah. Still, I was stumped. Rachel and I both thought it was a cool climate old world wine. I took a guess at grenache but, I knew that was wrong because of the color. Yes, WRONG. It was a 2006 Crianza Rioja (tempranillo).

So, back to the drawing board. More blind tasting practice to be had… with less gros manseng involvement.

As you possibly already know, I am studying for my certified sommelier exam conducted by The Court of Master Sommeliers. One of the components of the exam is a blind tasting of 2 wines. The Court, being ever so thoughtful, has devised a deductive tasting method that I first learned about last year at the Intro exam. It’s essentially  an easy way to break down information into clues about what a wine is based only on sight, smell and taste.  Before I get into tasting grids, viscosity, clarity, faults, new oak- I want to start at the beginning. I need to remind my nose of what black pepper smells like, chocolate, vanilla, the subtleties of different citrus fruits. All of these things matter in the world of blind tasting and identification. They are clues.

A Master Sommelier gave me some good advice; just start smelling stuff. Smell the flowers at the farmer’s market, pick up produce at the grocery store, dig around in your kitchen cabinets. Smell, smell and smell some more. Train the nose to understand that you are smelling coconut and sawdust as opposed to vanilla and cocoa.  The latter being a telltale sign of French oak and the former of American oak. French oak= Old World. American oak= New World (for the most part.) I’ve seen some really super expensive “aroma kits” that are like a smell encyclopedia come to life. However awesome they may be, I can’t drop $400 on some vials of liquid. Therefore, I must do as my Master says… dig around in the kitchen.

Berries, herbs, tea, vanilla, black pepper. Fun times. I might next be seen around the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake foraging for wild herbs, picking grass samples and possibly smelling dirt. Don’t be alarmed.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the “Master series.” I am going to break down the tasting grid and then get to the fun stuff. Blind tasting. I am putting not only myself to the test, but my friends as well.