Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Wine Cheers :)
"Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, makes weariness forget his toil." --- Lord Byron
Good Wine
"A bottle of good wine, like a good act, shines ever in the retrospect" --- Robert Louis Stevenson
Monday, December 3, 2012
Wine Steward, Sommelier and Master Sommelier
When you dine at a fine restaurant, you expect your server to provide you with wonderful guidance about the wines he or she recommends.
Truth be told, if your server is a wine steward, you are likely to get fairly lightweight guidance. If your server is a sommelier, you are likely to get good to very good guidance. If your server is a master sommelier, you are likely to get great guidance.
So how do these wine server designations differ?
The first level is the wine steward, defined by American Heritage Dictionary as “one who is employed to serve wine, as at a restaurant or wine tasting.” Most waitpeople at a restaurant or bar have a basic understanding of the wines served at their establishment, and the restaurant itself likely furnished their training.
If you decide to get more serious about your wine knowledge, you embark on the sommelier path.
According to Martha Barksdale in “How to Become a Sommelier,” one challenge with the sommelier designation is that “… the path to becoming a sommelier isn’t clearly marked. There are no set standards for using the title. Anyone who pours wine can call himself a sommelier. That doesn’t mean that any wine lover can just … get a job in a fancy restaurant. Most employers will want you to show that you have passed competency examinations administered by one of the many organizations for professional sommeliers. To get to the point of taking the competency exam, a prospective sommelier will need lots of experience with wine or preparation through self-education or through courses in wine.”
A number of institutions offer courses for sommeliers. As an example, The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley offers certification programs for wine professionals — a foundation level certification and an advanced level. After passing both exams, a graduate can add the initials C.W.P. for Certified Wine Professional to his or her name.
Earning the C.W.P. designation (or a similar designation) is a big accomplishment, and most people stop there.
Just a few brave souls venture to the next level – the Master Sommelier designation. According to mastersommeliers.org, “Achieving the distinction of Master Sommelier takes years of preparation and an unwavering commitment. The Court’s intensive educational program guides aspiring Masters through four increasingly rigorous levels of coursework and examination, culminating in the Master Sommelier Diploma Examination.”
The world of the Master Sommelier has been in the news lately due to the most recent addition to its ranks. Roland Micu, 28, whose life story is in and of itself worthy of Hollywood, is now the youngest Master Sommelier ever. According to Jessica Yadegaran, “Master sommeliers are expected to know everything about wine, from its history to how and where it is made. They must also be experts on the rituals of service.” There are only 196 Master Sommeliers in the entire world.
What does it take to attain this prestigious title? The impressive requirements are listed on the website for the Court of Master Sommeliers.
At a high level, the exam consists of three parts: an oral theory examination, a blind tasting of six wines, and a practical wine service examination. The pass rate for the exam is approximately 10 percent.
To give you a flavor for the exam’s difficulty, here is the writeup on the tasting portion: “The tasting examination is scored on the candidate’s verbal abilities to clearly and accurately describe six different wines. Within twenty-five minutes he or she must identify, where appropriate, grape varieties, country of origin, district and appellation of origin, and vintages of the wines tasted.”
Not for the faint of heart!
I applaud everybody who pursues sommelier designations of any kind. But I think that for most people, enjoying many different wines is a perfect way to develop your knowledge and love of the grape.
If you’ve participated, or considered participating in any wine certification programs, please share your experiences here.
Truth be told, if your server is a wine steward, you are likely to get fairly lightweight guidance. If your server is a sommelier, you are likely to get good to very good guidance. If your server is a master sommelier, you are likely to get great guidance.
So how do these wine server designations differ?
The first level is the wine steward, defined by American Heritage Dictionary as “one who is employed to serve wine, as at a restaurant or wine tasting.” Most waitpeople at a restaurant or bar have a basic understanding of the wines served at their establishment, and the restaurant itself likely furnished their training.
If you decide to get more serious about your wine knowledge, you embark on the sommelier path.
According to Martha Barksdale in “How to Become a Sommelier,” one challenge with the sommelier designation is that “… the path to becoming a sommelier isn’t clearly marked. There are no set standards for using the title. Anyone who pours wine can call himself a sommelier. That doesn’t mean that any wine lover can just … get a job in a fancy restaurant. Most employers will want you to show that you have passed competency examinations administered by one of the many organizations for professional sommeliers. To get to the point of taking the competency exam, a prospective sommelier will need lots of experience with wine or preparation through self-education or through courses in wine.”
A number of institutions offer courses for sommeliers. As an example, The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley offers certification programs for wine professionals — a foundation level certification and an advanced level. After passing both exams, a graduate can add the initials C.W.P. for Certified Wine Professional to his or her name.
Earning the C.W.P. designation (or a similar designation) is a big accomplishment, and most people stop there.
Just a few brave souls venture to the next level – the Master Sommelier designation. According to mastersommeliers.org, “Achieving the distinction of Master Sommelier takes years of preparation and an unwavering commitment. The Court’s intensive educational program guides aspiring Masters through four increasingly rigorous levels of coursework and examination, culminating in the Master Sommelier Diploma Examination.”
The world of the Master Sommelier has been in the news lately due to the most recent addition to its ranks. Roland Micu, 28, whose life story is in and of itself worthy of Hollywood, is now the youngest Master Sommelier ever. According to Jessica Yadegaran, “Master sommeliers are expected to know everything about wine, from its history to how and where it is made. They must also be experts on the rituals of service.” There are only 196 Master Sommeliers in the entire world.
What does it take to attain this prestigious title? The impressive requirements are listed on the website for the Court of Master Sommeliers.
At a high level, the exam consists of three parts: an oral theory examination, a blind tasting of six wines, and a practical wine service examination. The pass rate for the exam is approximately 10 percent.
To give you a flavor for the exam’s difficulty, here is the writeup on the tasting portion: “The tasting examination is scored on the candidate’s verbal abilities to clearly and accurately describe six different wines. Within twenty-five minutes he or she must identify, where appropriate, grape varieties, country of origin, district and appellation of origin, and vintages of the wines tasted.”
Not for the faint of heart!
I applaud everybody who pursues sommelier designations of any kind. But I think that for most people, enjoying many different wines is a perfect way to develop your knowledge and love of the grape.
If you’ve participated, or considered participating in any wine certification programs, please share your experiences here.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Put A Cork In It !!!!!!!
The Ins and Outs of Cork Wine Stoppers
Cork Forests in Southern France - some rights reserved by Bruce Tuten
I recently did some research on how cork wine stoppers are produced, and I wanted to share what I learned with you. I hope you will reach the same conclusion as I did – that the production of cork wine stoppers offers many environmental benefits, plus a lot of beauty.
Cork is grown in Mediterranean climates – humid and warm, with little rainfall. The most well known regions are Portugal, Spain and Italy. America is the third largest importer of corks, behind France and Germany.
Cork oak forests range in the millions of acres, and are some of the most heavily regulated and treasured resources. They are home to abundant wildlife, including rare bird and animal species such as the black lynx. Due to the rugged terrain, work done on and around the cork trees is manual. The cork forest is truly beautiful.
Cork is stripped the first time at 25 to 27 years, depending upon the girth of the tree and the thickness of the bark. Unless done improperly, stripping cork bark does not kill the tree, and this is very important to understand. A cork tree lives for up to 200 years, producing a cork harvest every nine to 13 years after the first stripping. This is all done manually with a special axe following precise cutting methods.
After cutting, the strips are weathered outdoors six months on concrete. They are then boiled for 90 minutes, killing insects and bacteria. Quickly dried, they’re left to rest three more weeks until smooth. Thereafter, they are graded and bored, either by machine or manually. An intense inspection process occurs, where cork is hand sorted into various quality grades.
Hundreds of hours of manual and automated labor go into creating corks, which overall remain very inexpensive (from 2¢ up to slightly over $1 for the very best ones).
The cork is then coated with paraffin and silicon for ease of extraction from bottles and additional insulation. Voilá—you have a beautiful, compressible, minimally permeable, lightweight bottle stopper that looks lovely.
The remaining cork plant is recycled and used for hundreds of other purposes, from champagne cork tops to flooring, shoes, insulation and clothing. It is truly a minimum waste industry.
From a beautiful cork forest to a beautiful bottle of wine, we hope you appreciate this natural resource and enjoy it even more when you hear that lovely “pop!”
Interesting note: One square inch of cork oak holds millions of tiny 14-sided polyhedron cells, giving it its flexible yet super strong structure.
Cork joke: A cork retriever is not a dog from Ireland ☺
If you have strong thoughts about cork wine stoppers, please share them here.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Ten Reasons to Schedule a Wine Tasting
Is it time to WINE? Yes! Is it time to WINE in your home? Yes!!! Is it time to WINE in your home with your friends? Yes!!!!!
If Yes!, Yes!!!, and Yes!!!!! aren’t enough to convince you, here are the top 10 reasons you should call me today to schedule a wine tasting.
GREAT EXCUSE FOR A GET TOGETHER – Whether you’re celebrating Back to School, End of Summer, Bunco, Book Club, good friends, or you just need to de-stress a little, a tasting is a great excuse to bring friends together.
IT’S FUN – It’s hard to beat tasting great wines with great friends!
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY – You’re going to buy wine anyway. Why not buy wine that you know you like? My tastings are a great opportunity to try wines before you buy. It sure beats asking the guy in the grocery store’s wine department what he likes.
YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO! – For $59.00, plus a few cheeses, fruits and chocolates, you have a party for up to 12 people. I will be pouring nearly $250.00 worth of wine during the tasting.
GREAT THANK-YOU GIFT – For hosting a tasting, you get to choose either a bottle of wine or a set of champagne toppers for your thank-you gift.
START YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING EARLY – Share our gift baskets, wine club memberships and personalized wines with your friends, family and colleagues this year. Buy at your tasting and check it off your To-Do List.
BRING A BOTTLE OF PERSONALIZED WINE TO YOUR NEXT GATHERING – Say “Thank You” to your host with a personalized bottle of wine. Use a picture of your family, your business card, your company logo, a personal message or whatever you can imagine. You’re going to bring a bottle of wine anyway – why not bring something unique and special?
BLIND TASTINGS – Many of you have hosted traditional tastings with me, and you know how much fun those can be. I can assure you that my blind tastings will be at least as fun. We can do a traditional tasting, a blind tasting or a combination. Either way, you and your guests are in for a real treat.
OUR WINES ARE SO GOOD!
YOUR FRIENDS WILL LOVE YOU
Cheers!
If Yes!, Yes!!!, and Yes!!!!! aren’t enough to convince you, here are the top 10 reasons you should call me today to schedule a wine tasting.
GREAT EXCUSE FOR A GET TOGETHER – Whether you’re celebrating Back to School, End of Summer, Bunco, Book Club, good friends, or you just need to de-stress a little, a tasting is a great excuse to bring friends together.
IT’S FUN – It’s hard to beat tasting great wines with great friends!
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY – You’re going to buy wine anyway. Why not buy wine that you know you like? My tastings are a great opportunity to try wines before you buy. It sure beats asking the guy in the grocery store’s wine department what he likes.
YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO! – For $59.00, plus a few cheeses, fruits and chocolates, you have a party for up to 12 people. I will be pouring nearly $250.00 worth of wine during the tasting.
GREAT THANK-YOU GIFT – For hosting a tasting, you get to choose either a bottle of wine or a set of champagne toppers for your thank-you gift.
START YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING EARLY – Share our gift baskets, wine club memberships and personalized wines with your friends, family and colleagues this year. Buy at your tasting and check it off your To-Do List.
BRING A BOTTLE OF PERSONALIZED WINE TO YOUR NEXT GATHERING – Say “Thank You” to your host with a personalized bottle of wine. Use a picture of your family, your business card, your company logo, a personal message or whatever you can imagine. You’re going to bring a bottle of wine anyway – why not bring something unique and special?
BLIND TASTINGS – Many of you have hosted traditional tastings with me, and you know how much fun those can be. I can assure you that my blind tastings will be at least as fun. We can do a traditional tasting, a blind tasting or a combination. Either way, you and your guests are in for a real treat.
OUR WINES ARE SO GOOD!
YOUR FRIENDS WILL LOVE YOU
Cheers!
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