Every South African sommelier walks in the shadow of Germain Lehodey who, when he started out, was the only practitioner of this fine craft in the country. Legions of younger sommeliers can learn a lot from him. And he’s put it all in a book, especially for them.
Long before sommeliers were called “somms”, a term that has always seemed clunky for some of us (why does a beautiful word need abbreviating?), Germain Lehodey was guiding diners in the pairing of wines with their food.
At the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Awards ceremony at GrandWest in Cape Town in November, Lehodey was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to the industry, a deserving winner. In the succeeding years, he has seen the profession open up and expand to the point where every serious restaurant worth its salt and pepper employs a sommelier.
Earlier this year he published a slim book entitled WINE: The second sauce of a dish, in which he goes into great detail about many aspects of the sommelier’s craft. His advice has an air of wisdom about it, the wisdom that comes from age and experience. For example, at the outset, he writes, “Look for balance, and consider the weight/body/richness of both the food and the wine. The wine and the dish should be equal partners, with neither overwhelming the other. By balancing the two by weight, you raise the odds dramatically that the pairing will succeed”.
Lehodey said that he had written the book during the pandemic as well as another on honey, and is “still coaching sommeliers who receive accolades, like Tapiwa Jamu who finished third at this year’s competition of best SA sommelier”. He added: “I produced three Cape Wine Masters in the past.” He also created the National Cheese Festival in 2000.
Lehodey was surprised to be congratulated by only three other sommeliers at the Eat Out Awards ceremony. “Regarding people who congratulated me, only three sommeliers did it. Cape Town’s sommeliers do have an attitude, they believe that they are superior. It is okay by me. I am at the autumn of my life, I am willing to share my knowledge to anyone who asks for it. Pairing is not easy, therefore the food knowledge is important to understand.”
He added: “My book was written especially for the sommeliers. Seventy-five per cent of the information mentioned in the book comes from my personal experience. At the moment only six sommeliers bought one, most of the books sold go to winemakers and gourmet people. The book is also available as an e-book to make it inexpensive for sommeliers and overseas people.”
Key to his thinking is Weight and Favour Intensity. He explains: “It is all relative to the intensity of the food and wine. A grilled fish will have a delicate flavour, and if you add a sauce to it the intensity of flavour will increase. Therefore, the description of the dish will be light to medium-bodied. The pairing of wine will be of the same weight as the flavour of the dish. When you add a sauce to the main ingredient, we must take into consideration the flavour of the sauce as this will also influence the selection of the wine.”
Wine pairing and flavour
Detailing the five primary taste sensations (sweetness, acidity, saltiness, bitterness and umami), he lists some of the main condiments and/or ingredients used to enhance the flavour of food. In essence, he is making it clear that the sommelier has to understand the elements of food and flavour when selecting a wine to match it.
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