The actual definition of this French word is “A wine steward working in fine restaurants specialising in all aspects
of wine service. Their main work is in wine procurement, storage, wine cellar
rotation, and providing expert advice to customers. The Sommelier works with
the culinary team to pair wines and foods.”
The concept of
Sommeliers has been around for hundreds of years. Some research would suggest that the Ancient
Greeks were first to employ “sommeliers” for their symposiums. The word symposium actually means, “drinking
together”. Today it is becoming a
specialist field and a real employment option for somebody with the right
palate.
The SASA (South African Sommelier Association) have identified this as a
need and have created several programmes to grow their pool of Sommeliers. One such initiative is the SAWTC (South
African Wine Tasting Competition), a competition not limited to Sommeliers
only, but open to anybody wanting to enter the wine industry.
As Neil Grant, Chairman of SASA notes, “the more formally trained
sommeliers we have, the better for the industry. We are facing a demand/supply crisis, with
more upmarket restaurants than seasoned wine experts.”
Winterhalter, a German-based wash ware firm, gave 20 young and dynamic
wine stewards the chance to compete in the Cape Town leg of the SAWTC. The best Western Cape provincial wine tasters
could end up representing team SA at the World Blind Wine-Tasting
Championship in France in October
It was only appropriate that Marlvin
Gwese from the Cape Grace Hotel made it into the overall top four and gained selection for the National finals taking place in Cape Town in September, where he will face the best
palates of Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal.
Marlvin,
who originally wanted to study Information Technology, was ecstatic. His love affair with wine started in 2009
when he commenced employment at the Table Bay Hotel, but in 2011 moved over the
Cape Grace. It was here where he was
able to really fine-tune his palate.
This
is only the beginning and hopefully Marlvin is the first of many fine
Sommeliers to follow.
“A
natural great palate memory, and a talent to remember flavours are often more
useful than a deep theoretical wine knowledge, and it was great to see emerging
wine lovers like Marlvin, perform very well at this difficult challenge. “
said Jean-Vincent Ridon on behalf of SAWTC
If
you go back to the Greeks and Romans, they talk about all three – wine, food
and art – as a way of enhancing life. Thanks to South African Sommeliers Association, South African Wine
Tasting Championships and Winterhalter for restoring the equilibrium. We will watch Marlwyns progress with baited
breathe and drink to the success of this wonderful initiative.