The last few years have been downright horrible for the food and wine scene.
Restaurants have shut the world over, flights have stalled and hotels have been empty save for the comparatively few travelers having to quarantine. Despite the repeated hits, the wine scene has seen resilient new talent emerge – sometimes in the most unexpected places.
Erica Taylor, head of operations for the South African Sommeliers Association (SASA) and PR and Marketing assistant at the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI), is at the forefront of embracing the post-Covid world of wine.
The ASI works to identify and support national sommelier associations around the globe in the development, training and education of its members. Each year, new countries and their respective associations – only one association allowed per country – apply for a trial period with the opportunity, after two years, to become fully-fledged members.
The ASI's certification and diploma qualifications are taught by approved service providers like the Sommelier Academy that Taylor also teaches at. At the beginning, students are often "literally just learning the difference between Sauvignon Blanc and Cab Sav – most of these people do not come from wine drinking communities – until the last day when we're doing the exam".
For Taylor, this has proved deeply rewarding. "To hear people, that couldn't tell the difference between wines, tell me how to properly serve a wine, what you would pair it with, is amazing."
For Taylor, the end goal is clear, “We're trying to not just certify people and wish them on their way, we're trying to help with employment. In South Africa, the hospitality industry is the second largest employer in the whole country, so having certified people in wine gives them a leg up."
It also opens other doors. "A lot of somms start their own distribution, import or export. People become wine writers, wine judges, some become wine educators, or have their own school."
Brave new somm
Emerging sommeliers associations unsurprisingly tend to view joining the ASI as a natural next step, Taylor explains. "This year, Ecuador and Vietnam have put in their application," while Kazakhstan has graduated to become a fully-fledged member.
Tu Le Huy represents Vietnam, where he is a head sommelier and wine store sales manager. "I'm currently the president for the first term of Saigon Sommelier Association, [which] we established in 2019 with the aim to support the young sommeliers in Vietnam."
Le Huy first studied wine in 2005. "At a time nobody understood what wine is or even how to serve [it]. I received a lot of complaints from foreign customers by serving them the wrong way or giving them the wrong recommendations."
This drove Le Huy to further study which eventually resulted in a waitstaff job at a restaurant. Hampered by low pay, Le Huy eventually made the move into wine retail. "In Vietnam, the only way that you can study and taste a lot of wines is in a wine company, so I end up with a wine retailer in Ho Chi Minh City in 2008."
Having established himself as one of Vietnam's leading sommeliers, Le Huy is keen to use his platform to encourage other Vietnamese to see the world of wine as a viable career option.
Gabriela Pozo, president of Asociación Ecuatoriana de Sommeliers (AESOMM) has similar hopes for Ecuador. Her journey into wine started many years ago. "I did my thesis in high school on the potential that Ecuador has on producing wine. Obviously, you think it's not possible to have wine in the equator but, because religion in Ecuador is very important, there were a lot of producers that were making wine for the church."
Pozo's mother also played an important role as, 20 years ago, she "founded the first wine club in Ecuador – when there were only two brands in the supermarket – they started doing wine tastings, they started bringing winemakers from Chile and Argentina to do tastings. Now they have over 1000 members in all the main cities in Ecuador."
Alongside the wine club, she also established Ecuador's first sommelier school. The school has since trained nine generations of sommeliers, and it's not just wine the school teaches. "The second year is all the products that Ecuador produces – coffee, cheese, water, tea, craft beer and cacao."
A good somm
It's one thing catching the wine bug, but another altogether to excel as a sommelier. When it comes to who makes a good sommelier, Pozo, Le Huy and Taylor are in agreement.
For Pozo, "a good sommelier is someone that trains their palate every single day to new things. Someone who's hungry for knowledge. Someone that understands gastronomy but is not imposing their knowledge. When you impose your knowledge, you are making a big mistake – not professional."
Le Huy agrees, pushing customers "to try something really expensive, really strange, not their taste profile – you shouldn't do that – you are the waiter. Your recommendation is professional, but the customer will be the one who makes the decision because they are paying for the wine."
In every profession, a few bad apples can lead to persistent misconceptions and sommeliers battle against the assumption that their role is to sway customers towards the priciest wines on the list.
As Taylor says: "If you talk to any somm, they will tell you, 'my job is to make sure that you have an amazing dining experience'. They know every food that's on that list, and why they picked the wine to go with it."
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