If you have always imagined yourself with a silver taste vin attached to your neck chain while advising diners on the best wine to accompany their meal, the role for you is that of the sommelier. The sommelier's job goes beyond uncorking and pouring though: a sommelier develops a restaurant's wine list and is responsible for the ordering and arrangement of the inventory. To become a sommelier there is no real course of study, but rather certificates that are obtained depending on the level of knowledge. This article tells you how to start your sommelier career.
Steps
Step 1. Gain experience working in the world of wines or hospitality
- No matter how much formal training or education you have, what matters for a sommelier is to have a tangible experience with wine. You might start right where you are. Top-tier jobs for aspiring sommeliers include the position of waiter, wine seller, clerk in a wine shop or in an import firm.
- Use your experience to develop an understanding of the palate of those who appreciate wine, the most important producers and the practicalities of trading in wines. The sommelier needs direct real world knowledge (helping to choose and taste wines) and indirect (knowing how to compose a wine list, work with merchants and winemakers).
Step 2. Combine practical experience with formal and informal education on the subject
- As you work, take advantage of opportunities to learn all you can about wines. Read publications, annual wine guides, blogs and specialized magazines. Go to the tastings. Become part of a wine association. Enhance your palate by tasting various combinations of food and wine.
- Universities, especially those in large cities or regions famous for their vineyards, offer extensive courses to learn how to appreciate wine. This can add an extra touch to your sommelier skills without necessarily investing the time and money required by advanced graduate programs.
Step 3. Get certified
- In reality, legally no diploma is needed for a sommelier and you could find a job in an average restaurant or private club just because of your experience, skills and taste. However, by becoming a certified sommelier you will be able to aspire to restaurants of a certain standard and therefore you will increase the income and respect from colleagues in the world of wine.
- Sommelier certification programs come in various forms and almost everywhere. Most of them last a few months, cost around 100 euros and consist of study and written exams, which become more rigorous as the degree of the certificate increases.
- The European School of Sommeliers Italy and ALMA are two examples of institutions that offer programs to become certified sommeliers.
Step 4. Achieve the highest certification in knowledge of wines
- The higher degree can be achieved at two organizations that issue the certificate after a few years of intense and expensive study. These programs allow very few students to "graduate" each year, but the sommeliers who succeed generally have top-notch insured employment as well as respect for the wine community.
- The Court of Master Sommeliers recognizes the internationally valid Master Sommelier (MS) degree as a credential for buying and serving wine. It consists of four levels each of which ends with an exam. Only just over 100 people in the world have earned a place on the list of Master Sommeliers.
- The Institute of Masters of Wine offers seminars in the United States, Europe and Australia. Personalized programs last from 3 years to grow and there is an option to shorten the path to two years for those who are resident. There are around 250 people in the world who have earned their Master of Wine degree.
