by whit on February 8, 2010
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.
[click to continue…]
by whit on January 14, 2010
Every year, The Court of Master Sommeliers holds exams throughout the US and the UK. There are 4 levels of exams: the Introductory course, the Certified exam, Advanced exam and finally the Master Sommelier exam (by invitation only). I started my journey with the Court last year in April when I attended the Intro course in San Diego and took the 1st exam. It was a wonderful couple of days meeting other wine professionals, tasting a lot of wines blind and learning from 3 Master Sommeliers. That exam was multiple choice and covered theory, wine service and spirits. A 60% pass rate is all that is needed to go on to the next level so it’s hard to fail if you have done any kind of studying at all. Or paid attention to any of the lectures the day prior. Even still, my heart pounded as they were reading the names of the list of people who had passed and received a Court pin (I so wanted that pin). There was no way I could fail, right? That would be embarrassing.
I passed. That’s my pin, right up there. In March, I will take the Certified Sommelier exam and it doesn’t hurt that I will be taking said exam at the Bellagio in Vegas. Not bad. Not bad at all. After I pass, I can then officially call myself a sommelier. But, to be honest, you don’t need a certificate or pin that says you are a sommelier to work in this business or be a sommelier. Just like you wouldn’t need a hospitality management degree to work in the food/wine industry. You just need to know your stuff. But I view it as a rite of passage and a great challenge. The worst thing that could come out of it is me learning more.
The one-day exam is in 3 parts; written theory, a blind tasting of 2 wines and practical service. Over the next few months, I will take you with me on my studying adventure. I’ll be blind tasting as much as possible, doing a lot of reading and perfecting my champagne-opening and wine-decanting skills. In addition to learning how to count cards. Viva Las Vegas!
