A person who tastes alcohol. Sommelier who is this? Why does a restaurant need an experienced wine specialist? Knowledge and skills
Different alcoholic drinks need to be tasted in different ways; the taster knows all the peculiarities. For such work you need to have a good sense of smell, memory and taste buds. This article will tell you what else you need to know to evaluate quality.
Interesting! When did the wine taster appear? The profession originated in ancient times, when noble families hired people to taste drinks and food for poison.
Rules for professional tasting
Tasting should take place after the main meal. It must be 11 o'clock in the afternoon or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. You need to taste, starting with simple drinks and ending with complex ones. So dry and young wines are tasted first, then more mature ones.
Each type of drink has its own. They help to maximize taste qualities alcohol. It is better to take tulip-shaped crystal glasses. The thinner the crystal walls, the better. The leg should be the size of a hand, thin, and fit comfortably in the hand. This is important, because the taster holds the glass only by the stem so that the glass does not heat up and fingerprints do not remain on the walls.
It is better to remove the cork in advance to allow the drink to open. Alcohol is poured into the glass by one third so that it is convenient to rotate it, revealing the aromatic notes in the wine. The method of serving determines the professionalism of a waiter or sommelier in a restaurant.
A person who understands wines begins assessing quality with inspection. The glass is brought to eye level and the color saturation is assessed. It is better to evaluate saturation against the background of something light, a sheet of paper, for example. There should be no streaks or cloudiness in the glass. The liquid must be shaken so that it is distributed over the walls of the vessel. The so-called “wine legs” then remain on the glasses. Anyone who understands wines knows that their quality and alcohol content are determined by them. The longer the stains remain, the richer and stronger it is.
In the penultimate step you need to evaluate the smell. Wines have different aromas: floral, spicy or fruity. Depending on the complexity of the bouquet, you can determine the degree of aging. Young drinks have a monosyllabic aroma, while aged drinks have a complex, multi-layered aroma.
Important! What is the name of the person who tastes wine? Cavist, wine critic, sommelier, wine taster. What is the correct name of the profession? All the names are correct, it’s just that each one specializes in different areas. You can become a specialist through master classes and wine schools.
General organoleptic analysis
Organoleptic analysis refers to analysis using taste buds, vision, smell, and touch.
Transparency
There are two rules for tasting and assessing transparency: in the light and in a dark room. In the first case, the glass is placed between the light source and the eyes, the turbidity of the drink and the reflection of particles are examined.
The second method allows you to analyze drinks of deep colors. Reds, for example, look around in dark rooms, are characterized by decreasing degrees of transparency. Wine preparation in oak barrels give a sediment, but it indicates good quality, and not about the spoilage of the product.
Color
The color can be red, white or pink. For example, when tasting Massandra wines, it is especially important to evaluate the quality and richness of additional shades. This is done against the background of a white tablecloth or light paper.
Taste of wine
These characteristics include sweetness, acidity, astringency, fullness and alcohol content. There are drinkable types that leave an aftertaste in the mouth, and there are light ones that contain little alcohol, but have a rich color and noble taste. Mild is a drink without a pronounced taste, without acidity. There are dozens of such characteristics: sluggish, oily, velvety, green, early.
Important: wine tasting in Moscow is carried out in wine stores, gastronomic and wine bars. Alcohol is tasted in St. Petersburg in specialized restaurants and bars.
A person who tastes wine must constantly learn, since it is almost impossible to achieve all the knowledge about grape varieties and methods of preparing drinks. You can order a wine tasting with a trip to a certain place, but you can also taste alcohol at home, keeping in mind a few simple rules and features of the drink.
Simple and original tequila cocktails that...
Spanish Sangria - what is the drink famous for, what is it called...You have probably observed more than once how some heroes of foreign films, when ordering wine in a restaurant, name not only its brand, but also the year of harvest. Yes, many have come across the concept of sommelier, but not everyone knows what it means this definition, or who is called a sommelier. So, a sommelier (French sommelier) is an ordinary restaurant employee, a specialist in the field of purchasing, storing and serving wine to the table. A wine expert who knows how to properly cool and, if necessary, heat wine before drinking, how to open a bottle correctly, how to choose the required glass shape in which the wine will reveal its best positive traits, what method to pour the drink, and most importantly, you can say the most perfect combination with one or another culinary dish.
And why does a restaurant need such a wine specialist? When ordering wine at a restaurant, you mainly rely on the information on the wine list. But what if this information is not enough to independently select wine for certain dishes? After all, not everyone knows which wine is perfect for this or that dish, but what if suddenly the visitor is in the company of a representative of the fair sex and wants to surprise her?
This is where the need for the help of a sommelier comes into play. Restaurants high level a special atmosphere is created around the meal procedure so that everyone can feel like a real gourmet.
Professionally prepared food is an art that can only be enjoyed in restaurants. Well, to turn lunch or dinner into a real feast of taste, the sommelier makes every effort and knowledge as a professional wine connoisseur.
First, he creates the restaurant's wine list - something like a second menu, which consists of a small number of drinks and contains only wines from a certain region. It must indicate the year of the grape harvest, the name of the country of origin and a brief description of the characteristics of each specific drink.
Only the sommelier knows which bottle, with which wine, should be opened in advance, and which should be opened in front of the guests. He holds the bottle of drink in a special way and at a certain distance from the glass at the desired angle, since each drink requires its own individual approach.
A real sommelier will determine, based on a variety of characteristics, appearance, gender, age, conversation, mood and well-being of the visitor, which wine he likes best, what men traditionally prefer, and what women choose.
He helps visitors choose the right wine drink for a specific dish, and is also constantly in close contact with the chef for the maximum combination of wines and dishes, answers all questions about wine: what country produces the wine, the grape varieties used, what are the features of the bouquet and taste, how long the wine is aged in a barrel, about the traditions of the country of origin, and will also name the names of the most famous people who prefer this brand, etc.
How to taste wines correctly? What is the name of this specialist?
what he can and cannot do in life so as not to spoil his sensesOne of the main conditions is the order in which the wines are served.
The wines are served in order of age - from young to old. If you taste white and red wines, then start with the whites (except for cases when the red wines are very subtle, with a complex bouquet). Second important criterion
- glasses.
Professional tasters prefer classic tulip-shaped glasses made of thin and colorless glass. The stem should be long enough so that the palm does not touch the bowl of the glass and does not heat the drink. Tasting takes place in a bright, well-ventilated room. Lighting should be uniform and natural. The most right time
day for an adequate assessment of wine, morning is recognized, when sensory perception is most acute and fresh.
All wines must be uncorked and, if necessary, decanted in advance. Samples should be served at the appropriate temperature to bring out the bouquet and flavor of each wine.
Guests are given leaflets with short information about the topic of the tasting, the region, and specific details regarding the origin of the wines. Testing a wine to determine its merits involves determining appearance , smell and taste. Carrying out a sequence of operations and thinking about each impression in turn, taster
1. gets a more complete understanding of the properties of wine. Assessing the color of wine.
Hold the glass by the stem so as not to obscure the wine with your hand, and tilt it so that you can see the color of the wine, preferably against daylight or against a white tablecloth. Examine the wine and determine its hue, purity, depth and intensity of color. Transparency and shine indicate good quality wine. Based on the density and thickness of the drink droplets (“legs”) flowing down the walls of the glass, one can make assumptions about the alcohol content, extract, and sometimes the age of the wine.
2. Determination of wine aroma is divided into 3 waves:
The first wave comes from the drink, which is in a calm state. Bring the glass to your nose and take a short, shallow breath. This will bring out the fresh, fruity aroma of a new wine or the more complex aroma of an older wine.
The second wave is from the “shaken” liquid. Holding the glass by the stem, gently swirl it around so that the wine swirls in the glass. Thus large quantity the wine will come into contact with the air, which will help bring out the fresh aroma of the young wine or many volatiles, which are contained in the bouquet of older wine, as they will concentrate at the top of the glass. If the young wine is in no hurry to reveal its bouquet, splash the glass with a short, sharp movement. This action will help bring out the fruity tone in the aroma of the wine. Before tasting the wine, smell it again.
And finally - the study of the aroma emanating from the wine remaining on the walls empty glass. It is important to feel two lines in the aroma of wine: fruity, coming from the grape berry, and tannin, spicy, which comes from the skin of the grapes and the oak barrel.
3. Determination of the taste of wine. The wine is taken into the mouth - about a tablespoon - large enough to cover the tongue, but so that there is enough room for air in the mouth. By tilting your head forward and pursing your lips, a stream of air is forced through the wine in your mouth to spread the flavor and aroma throughout your palate.
Why do you never meet a cavista in a restaurant, or a sommelier in a wine supermarket? Why can a high-quality wine taster have a permanent employer, but a critic cannot? Want to know the answers to these questions? Then let's figure it out together.
Sommelier: from cattle driver to wine cellar keeper
Initially, or more precisely, in the Middle Ages in France, a sommelier was a sommereier. His duties included monitoring the transportation of the owners’ luggage, which included linen, provisions and wine. At the end of the 17th century, at the royal court, this servant finally turned into a cupbearer (this is how sommelier is translated from French), and his area of responsibility narrowed to the keeper of the wine cellar, who was responsible not only for the safety of drinks, but also for the selection of wine for the owners.
A sommelier today is a restaurant employee whose responsibilities include purchasing wine, organizing it proper storage, drawing up a wine list, as well as advising clients of the establishment on the selection of drinks for their chosen dishes, correct serving of wine and its tasting. That is, calling a sommelier a “wine waiter,” as many do, is not entirely correct, especially considering that becoming a high-class professional in this matter is not so easy.
How to become a “wine keeper”?
To become a representative of this profession, you need to undergo training at a sommelier school, which involves studying the theoretical basis about the history of wine, wine-growing regions, etiquette for serving it - presentation to the client, rules for uncorking bottles, decanting, etc. As well as obtaining practical skills in analyzing the components bouquet and their interpretation: each individually and all together.
Just a good sommelier is able to determine by its aroma the quality of the wine, its age, the variety or varieties of grapes used to assemble the drink, and sometimes the region of origin. Before serving, he tastes the wine to ensure that the drink has no acquired defects or defects.
But to receive the title of “Master Sommelier”, you will need to work in the profession for at least 10 years. Sommeliers also have specialized competitions and championships, but to win them, experience is more important than talent. Their winners, as a rule, are those whose work experience is 15–20 years.
Is Cavist a sales consultant?
If a sommelier is often “simplified” to a wine waiter, then a cavista is a sales consultant of a wine boutique, which, as you already guessed, is also not entirely true. Yes, sphere professional activity Cavista is indeed, first and foremost, consulting, but it affects a very narrow area and requires expert knowledge.
This specialist must have a brilliant understanding of wine varieties, the characteristics of regions and countries where drinks are produced, the types of soils on which grapes grow, successful or unsuccessful harvest years, wine ratings, awards and other subtleties. Only if these conditions are met will he be able to choose a drink for the buyer according to his taste and needs. That is, the goal of the cavist is to win the client’s loyalty, turning him from casual to permanent.
Therefore, practical skills, for example, uncorking bottles, decanting and wine tasting are not as important for cavistas as for sommeliers, although they often undergo training according to the same program and in the same educational institutions. In other words, after receiving a diploma, their professional paths diverge greatly. Cavist rather turns into an expert in wine theory, and a sommelier into a practitioner. However, the main practitioner in this area is not the sommelier, but the taster.
Chief in the wine “kitchen”
Oddly enough, the taster does not need to know how different the taste of Pinot Noir grown in Bordeaux and Burgundy, for example, or Merlot from the same region, but harvested in 2010 and 2016; he does not need to be able to remove wine from the sediment or navigate the prices of elite alcohol. His tasks are purely practical. What are they?
This specialist evaluates the current taste and aroma characteristics of the finished wine or wine materials for assemblage in relation to the reference ones. And knowledge and storage of reference tastes and smells in memory is the most important of his professional skills. The second important skill of a taster can be called “diagnosis,” that is, identifying deviations in the organoleptic properties of wine from the standard ones at the earliest possible stage. His area of expertise includes patterns of drink changes depending on technological processes(for example, aging and its duration in oak, clay or steel), and the tasks include forecasting and providing recommendations on their organization.
But in general, all the specialists listed above are united not only by wine, but also by the fact that they are all dependent specialists, that is, their field of activity is always work for hire: a sommelier is an employee of a restaurant, a cavist works in a wine boutique, a taster works in production or in the field of certification. But there is another representative of the “wine” profession - a critic, who must always remain independent. Why?
On free breads, or Who is a wine critic?
Essentially, this is the same taster, but working not for the wine producer, but for the consumer. It assesses the condition of the drink in terms of compliance with typical indicators for a certain variety, region, aging period, characterizes the flavor and aromatic bouquet, and also expresses this assessment not only in verbal description, but also in points.
But it is precisely his focus on the consumer that requires the wine critic not to show sympathy for this or that producer, so his “bread” is reports from open tastings, conducting master classes, publishing books and all kinds of publications in blogs, magazines and other media.
However, don’t forget that wine critics are people too, which means their tastes may not always coincide with yours. In general, the main thing about wine is to try it. We at the Fragrant World are always ready to offer you best samples according to price-quality ratio. Come and see for yourself.
Barista- specialist in coffee and making drinks from it. He is fluent in his use of a coffee machine, knows which type of pot to make Arabic coffee in, and also knows how to draw beautiful pictures on milk froth.
Sommelier Photo: Shutterstock.com
Sommelier- the most important wine specialist in a restaurant or store that sells good alcohol. This person will always help you choose wine and tell you which dishes this or that brand goes best with. A specialist can also understand strong alcohol. IN Lately Cigar, tea, coffee and even cheese sommeliers also began to appear.
Sous-chef. If we have a good idea of who a chef is, then sometimes we get lost in answer to the question of who a sous chef is. Meanwhile, the sous chef is the second person in the kitchen, the deputy chef.
Sushi man- master sushi maker. This specialist can be found in all restaurants where sushi and rolls are prepared.
Photo: Shutterstock.com
Oenologist- an expert in wine making, a person who thoroughly knows the process and controls it. He also grows grapes, selects the right varieties, and composes new wine recipes.
