MY NEW TITLE

It is now official...I am a Sommelier.

I took the introductory course this past weekend, passed the test and have a certificate and lapel pin to prove it. I had been wanting to do this for a while, but somehow the timing never worked out. This particular course was through the Court of Master Sommeliers, which I had read and been told was the way to go. However, the CMS doesn't just offer up classes every week. Quite the opposite in fact, as this was only the second (and last time) the introductory course would be offered this year in the DFW area. So, I was grateful to have learned about it and sign up.

I've been into wine for about twelve years, on a professional as well as personal level, and often wondered how my knowledge stacked up against true sommeliers. The first thing I learned was how much I didn't know. It was a bit humbling and overwhelming, but at the same time, exciting. We had quite a bit of information thrown at us in a two-day period, and we were expected to know it all for the exam. Suffice to say if you had not prepared in the weeks leading up to the course, you were in trouble. And it wasn't just wine; sommeliers are expected to be knowledgeable in beer, spirits, sake and presentation.

Of course, it wasn't all lectures and power point presentations, there were tastings as well. At this level we're not required to pass a blind tasting, but we did practice (a blind tasting is just that; a glass of wine is presented and the taster has to ascertain the country, region, sub-appellation, grape and vintage). This is where experience comes in handy. We were each responsible for drawing final conclusions for two different wines. The first one was fairly easy, at least for me. The wine was a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlboro County, New Zealand. These wines have an incredibly distinctive feature that is instantly recognizable for me: tomato plant. If you grow tomatoes or have stuck your nose in a tomato plant you'll know what I mean. My grandfather used to grow tomatoes and I remember the smell so vividly. The first time I tried a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlboro I thought of Papaw's garden, and have every other time as well. And that's what happened this time. I knew what it was right away. There were 26 others in the class but no one else came up with it. So I raised my hand, stood up (which was required), and gave the varietal (grape), country, region and vintage (which was an educated guess, knowing 08's are the latest vintage released).

The second wine wasn't quite as obvious. We had established it was an old-world (European) wine, but the consensus was it was French, probably from the Rhone, which would mean Syrah. Again, I stood up, and said, "I respectfully disagree. This wine has a distinctive garnet coloring, but is full of tannins and acidity. I believe it is Italian, specifically Piedmont, from the Barolo district, making the grape Nebbiolo. The vintage is 2004."

There was silence. The master sommeliers looked at me, then at each other. The master sommelier running the tasting said, "well, I'm certainly glad you said you 'respectfully' disagreed." Uh-oh, I thought. I was sunk...totally blew it. He went to the box and pulled out the bottle. "This is a 2004 Elvia Cogno, Barolo...made from the Nebbiolo grape." Applause filled the room. I heard comments like, "Wow...how'd he know that?...very impressive." I even heard one "Holy Sh*t!". I may have even uttered that comment myself. Was I a bit surprised? Yes. Pleased? Absolutely!

My glory didn't last too long. Soon it was back to taking notes and trying to absorb all the information needed for the next day's exam. The one thing I knew was that there was a lot I didn't know. More information followed the second day, right up until the test. Seventy questions, multiple choice. It wasn't the easiest test I've ever taken, but I passed. The rumor was they announced those who passed in ascending order, so the last one named had the highest score. I was fifth from the last, so I guess I did pretty well, if the rumor was accurate. Either way, I'm happy to have my pin and certificate!

I came home and celebrated by opening my last bottle of 1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. My wife and I watched Bottle Shock, and she didn't mind at all as I kept pausing it to explain all the wine references. After all, I'm a Sommelier.

"A man cannot make him laugh - but that's no marvel; he drinks no wine."
~WM. SHAKESPEARE, Henry IV Part 2