Studying Wine 101
There is an important difference between wine as a social lubricant and wine itself as an object worthy of philosophical study.
Fritz Allhoff, Planting the Vines
Some people are adamant that you don’t need to know a lot about wine to enjoy a glass of it. I agree. However, that does not mean that learning more about wine won’t improve your experiences with wine. I believe it does. I am firmly convinced that learning more about grape varietals, wine regions, wine making techniques, and tasting profiles enhances one’s interactions with this noble elixir. I would also suggest that in many ways the opposite is true; not knowing anything about the wine in your glass reduces your appreciation of what you are buying and drinking. Philosophers and academics will tell you that what you know guides your perceptions and what you actually experience. Knowledge can also help focus our attention on the things in front of us. On the other hand, this could all be bullshit and a $2 bottle of wine might be all you need to satisfy your appetites for wine.
The basic premise behind all the studying I have done and all the exams I have taken and passed over the past few years is to simply know more about wine, so I appreciate drinking it. My goal was not to build a collection of pins, though I am proud of those little adornments, but to come to know wine better. My knowledge base enables me to make better wine selections at restaurants and the local wine shop, knowing how to align both my own and my wife’s preferences for certain types of wine to go with specific foods or occasions. It has also allowed me to meet new people, travel to new places, and enjoy the company of other wine enthusiasts more than ever before. But most importantly, by extending my knowledge of wine I have come to deeply appreciate wine in ways I was unable to before my studies.
Why Study Wine?
So, we have to wonder why so many people desire to know more about wine. Why study wine anyways? To what extent, and in what ways does knowing more about wine help us to experience, analyze, appreciate, or evaluate a wine? I suggest there are several answers to this question. First, learning about wine has practical utility, especially in the wine industry. People that achieve high levels of recognition for their knowledge of wine, whether through classes and certifying bodies or through years of experience in the wine profession, often get better jobs and make more money. One’s knowledge of wine can be used to support and shape a career as a sommelier, wine importer, salesperson, or wine maker. Each of these professions require knowing a great deal about wine and the wine profession.
Second, wine knowledge doesn’t have to be practical to be worthwhile. Learning about wine can simply be based on one’s curiosity. In other words, knowing about wine simply for the sake of knowing more about wine can be a worthwhile pursuit. The acquisition of knowledge can be an end in itself; simply the satiation of one’s curiosity. Kent Bach has suggested wine knowledge does not directly enhance pleasure but enhances one’s ability to discover pleasure. Our knowledge of things prepares us to experience things in more detail, nuance, and depth, whether it be a modern art exhibit, a hike through the Grand Canyon, or a glass of wine. Jonathan Cohen asserts a person tasting a wine without any knowledge of its background, such as the varietal, vintage, or appellation, is far less likely to be able to direct their attention to specific features of that wine. The more we know, the more we experience. And conversely, the more we experience, the more we will eventually know.
Third, knowing about wine has social utility as well. Talking intelligently about wine can provide us with social and cultural capital to use in various contexts. In the previous chapter, I have offered my perspectives on the difference between wines snobs and connoisseurs, suggesting it has as much to do with how we use our knowledge than the amount of knowledge we acquire. The world of wine contains large amounts of things to know. There are highly contested concepts like terrior, objectivity, minerality, and structure. Many people have learned to use their knowledge in service of enhancing the profession, while others have learned to use it to bully and demean less knowledgeable others.
I have read many times that people who obsessively study wine often become wine snobs. These insults are usually hurled by people that don’t know shit about wine, but I will save that assertion for a later rant. I am not sure why some wine writers try and make a case for ignorance. It may be bliss, but it doesn’t help you appreciate the nuances of a Grand Cru Burgundy.
Studying Wine
During my preparations for my three certificate exams, I focused on a variety of wine-related topics. One of the certifying bodies focused more on how grapes are grown and how wine is made, while another focused more on wine regions and taste profiles, while a third included all the above and added wine and beverage service to the mix. Here is an overview of some of the topics that I have studied in great depth:
• Basic wine composition and chemistry
• History of wine
• Economics of wine
• Viticultural practices
• Vine management and growth cycles
• Red, white, and rose production techniques
• Wine laws and regulations
• Grape varietals
• Sparkling, fortified, and dessert wines
• Old World wine regions and geography
• New World wine regions and geography
• Wine tasting techniques and procedures
• Wine service techniques and procedures
This list looks more daunting than it actually is. However, each of these topics can be studied and investigated in ways the average wine novice or enthusiast would never care to explore. One of the possible reasons studying wine is so interesting is because of the large amount of knowledge available on the topic and the ever-changing nature of the various fields of inquiry associated with the wine profession. Books on wine influenced by a range of disciplines, for example, economics, philosophy, chemistry, cultural anthropology, geography, history, journalism, and semiotics to name a few, are available for extended research and investigation.
I believe, the more we know about wine, the more we can truly experience it. Now the question is, “What are the best ways to learn about wine?”
Read
Take notes
Flashcards
Blind tasting groups
Service trials
Wine app quizzes
Coravin tasting
Resources for Studying Wine
To prepare for writing this book, I read approximately one hundred and twenty-five books about wine, wine history, viticulture, and the wine profession. I believe the books I studied can be grouped according to the various intended audiences they address. The audiences range from the professional sommelier and wine industry insider to the “trailer-park” wine drinker. Each of these audiences has a different level of knowledge of wine and a different set vocabulary for addressing topics in wine. In other words, each type of audience has its own discourse. The four categories, in ascending order of dedication are as follows:
1. Novices – this is not a commentary on the people themselves, rather the way the book approaches the topic of wine. The Idiots Guide to Wine, and the Reverse Wine Snob fall into this category. Also, books that purport to explain all you want to know in 50 pages would probably fall into this.
2. Casual Consumers – the person who drinks wine from time to time, does not like to spend much money on wine, thinks Yellowtail is a great deal and eschews people that talk about wine all the time.
3. Critical Consumers – passionate, wine enthusiasts
4. Professionals – working sommeliers, collectors, industry insiders, other wine writers, wine educators, and wine devotees.
Bianca Bosker, in her wonderful memoire Cork Dork, believed the certified sommelier pin she was studying for would be her “golden ticket” into more elite wine communities. She was hoping to parlay her newly found connections and network of wine insiders into an invitation to Chateau d’Yquem (I think she was successful). The Certified Sommelier pin and the associated benefits associated with inclusion in the Court of Master Sommeliers would allow her to hang with more experienced wine drinkers and provide opportunities to sample some of the world’s iconic wines without have to directly pay for many of them. In some ways she is absolutely correct. Hanging with somms and wine distributors or wine store owners usually provides chances to drink wines one would rarely be able to afford by oneself.
Zach Geballe, on the Disgorged podcast, suggested the CMS sommelier certificates, when awarded to people not working on the floor of a restaurant, constitutes a blight on the wine industry, in particular anyone working as a sommelier. Passionate, possibly obsessive, wine drinkers like myself who do not currently work on the floor of a restaurant are the bane of the wine industry? How? Fuck Zach Geballe!
As far as I know there isn’t a certificate for obsessive enthusiasts like myself and a separate one for currently employed restaurant sommeliers. I had to pass the same exams as anyone else regardless of my employment. How does the recognition of my wine knowledge and service abilities “dilute” the wine profession? The relative success and recognition of the various sommelier certificates has become part of the mainstream and pop culture in large part due to the success of the movie, Somm and its two sequels produced by Jason Wise. The first Somm movie, if you haven’t seen it, follows a group of wine professionals studying for the Master Sommelier certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers. The time and dedication required to pass this exam is well documented in this film and it helps people understand the hours and the intensity of the requirements involved.
To put in perspective how difficult this level of certification is, there are about 200 Master Sommeliers in the United States and less than 300 worldwide. Since 1964 over 500 players in the NBA have won a championship ring, just to give you an idea of the exclusivity of this group. More people have gone into space (approximately 560) than have this master level certificate. Getting certified as a sommelier can help you procure certain positions in the wine industry, demonstrates one’s dedication to the wine field, and is often used to increase one’s standing and income level in the industry. It’s more than a pin to be sure.
Over the past eighteen months, I have completed the requirements and passed the exams for the Certified Specialist of Wine (Society of Wine Educators), the Level 3 Award in Wine (Wine Spirits and Education Trust), and the Certified Sommelier award (Court of Master Sommeliers). It has been an adventurous time, one filled with intense study and research, drinking lots of new and amazing wines, making new friends in the wine industry, and trying to figure out the requirements for these three very different wine certificates.
When I tell people I am a Certified Sommelier, they often respond by saying they have seen the film Somm and wonder how I made time to do that given my job as a professor. I have to explain about the four levels of certification and that I am a long way from the level those guys are at. However, I am very proud of the three certificates I hold and have studied long and hard to earn those forms of recognition. Contrary to what my friends joke with me about, I did not take those classes and exams and spend them large sum of money I have spent taking classes and tasting wines just for the pin and its recognition. I did it because I was really interested in learning more about wine and to find new wines to drink that I would enjoy.
I do not go around wearing my pins when I visit Total Wine, go to tasting rooms in Napa, go out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, or join my friends for a casual wine tasting, but I could. Well, actually I can’t unless I am willing to put my marriage in jeopardy since my wife tells me to put them away. Sometimes, I hide them under my collar just to feel more secure in my status and don’t show them to anyone. But even these things can’t possible dilute the wine industry.
Does the pin represent the acquisition of a certain level of knowledge, or is it simply a form of recognition of the knowledge one has already collected? Courtney Schiessl, in an article for the website VinePair, described the “allure of the pin” and why certain individuals might pursue them, citing income increases, elevated status and bragging rights as possible incentives.
There are a couple of ways to alleviate some of these disagreements about obtaining and wearing these pins. First, I could simply tell people to shut the hell up and wear the pins in plain sight, wedded bliss be damned. Second, I could hide the pins and never mention my accomplishments. And third, someone could create a decent wine certificate that is intended for obsessive enthusiasts like myself. Though I am leaning towards the first idea, I think there are many people not in the wine industry itself that would be interested in some type of classes and recognition for learning a lot about wines.
At the recent classes I took at the Napa Valley Wine Academy in pursuit of the WSET Level 3 certificate, everyone in the room was thirty or younger, except my two friends sitting in the back with me, and were somehow involved in the wine industry. Waiters, bartenders, tasting room employees, winery workers, and even an intern at a cooperage. Did these people somehow have more right to be there than I did? I think not.
Some people have lots of pins and little knowledge, and some people have no pins and lots of knowledge. And it depends on how you define or evaluate wine knowledge. Hands-on experience is very different from book knowledge and working in a winery is different from working at Total Wine. Like many other famous wine writers, winemakers, and industry experts, Rajat Parr, winemaker and wine taster extraordinaire does not hold a Master Somm credential. There are many ways to learn about wine and many ways to become recognized for one’s knowledge. Most people I have talked with about the certification process have admitted that the courses, exams, and networks involved can be beneficial to one’s employment and standing in the wine community. However, I also know many wine experts that have not taken any exams, hold no certificates and know more about wine than most of the people that do have them. A blend of hands-on experience and book knowledge, like in most fields, is highly advantageous.
The Certified Level Exam of the Court of Master Sommeliers requires candidates to answer 40 or so questions about wine theory and general knowledge, blind taste four wines (two red and two white) and demonstrate competence in serving champagne while simultaneously fielding questions from a Master Sommelier. The blind tasting component is based on the Court’s Deductive Tasting Method. The wines used in the exam can be selected from any of twenty grape varietals; nine white and eleven red (See list in Appendix A).
So What?
I decided that I would spend the entire year tasting a selection of these varietals while I studied service and theory on the side. If I selected 5 examples of each varietal from around the world, I would have a corpus of 100 wines (20 varietals x 5 selections = 100). If I studied two bottles each week, it would take me about a year to complete my tastings and my studies.
Being a sommelier, whether certified or not, is all about providing a service. From the initial use of the word from the Middle French where it referred to someone responsible for organizing and maintaining supplies, to the modern day worker on the restaurant floor, the sommelier’s job is to recommend and serve people wine. To provide the best experience for the wine drinker possible requires knowing a lot about wine and even more about knowing how to read people and effectively communicate with customers.
Some of the recent television shows and movies seem to portray the life of a somm as more glamorous than one can expect in the restaurant industry. Late nights, long hours, carrying heavy cases of wine, doing inventory in the wee hours of the morning, and keeping up with managing a restaurant staff makes the job less glamorous than it actually is. But one thing that really makes the job tough are the obnoxious customers that one has to deal with. If you have ever worked in a front of the house job in a restaurant for any length of time, you certainly have a few horror stories to share. The guest that can’t be pleased, the ignorant show-off, the puker, the condescending girlfriend, the loud talker, the bad tipper are all characters in this revolving theater of the absurd. These people wear you down faster than any other aspect of the job.
So What?
A friend once told me that the two best days when owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. This seems somewhat analogous to becoming a certified sommelier. On one hand it is a profession for the young at heart, the fleet of foot, with a sturdy back and little need for extended hours of sleep. On the other hand, many see the certification process, especially advanced and master levels, as a way to get off the floor and into other management or adjacent aspects of the wine industry.
Working the floor in a high-end restaurant will quickly turn a new somm into an old somm, much like teaching elementary school in the inner city. The horror stories, the challenging lives of the patrons, the neediness of the students reminds me of the life of a somm and other restaurant workers. The life on the floor of a restaurant has a short shelf life. Get out or move up.
Some of the more renown somms who have gained notoriety through documentaries or other means, have chosen to leave front of house service to become wine writers, restaurant or wine store owners. Others have used their notoriety to start wine clubs, wine tours, or work for various wine related organizations. Some have chosen to work for certifying bodies like WSET or CMS, while others have left the industry altogether.
Working as a waiter, bartender or sommelier when you are in your 20s or 30s seems much more fun and glamorous than doing so in your 50s. When I was in my early twenties, it was cool to bartend in a small ski town in Colorado. As a recent college graduate, meeting girls, partying with other bartenders and skiing during the day was a great lifestyle. The money was good, the freedom was enviable and my desire to sleep in late was abated. Unfortunately, I also had to work all the holidays and most weekends. This meant that my social life was narrowed down primarily to other people in the restaurant industry who worked similar shifts and nights of the week.