Recently some friends of our recommended to us the Jason Wise documentary "Somm" about a group of friends preparing for the Master Sommelier exam. Talk about a passionate journey! The film follows four young men Ian, Dustin, Brian and DLynn
who have literally set aside their lives to study for this rigorous test
and the film covers the full year leading up to the big event. These four
gents travel to little known wine appellations seeking intimate facts about these regions that might be asked on the test...they memorize
facts about winemaking and are continually working to sharpen their senses in order to be able to identify any wine
they might encounter in the test. It was amazing to me how good they
were at recognizing flavors, terroirs, regions,
grape varietals, vintages, even down to the exact vineyard! The exam
itself is broken down into three sections: theory, service and blind
tasting. Candidates might pass the first two, only to stumble on the
third, which means returning a year later to re-test on the missed
section. The blind tasting of six wines requires not only identifying
the grape varietal, but the region it came from and the year it was
made. Now that is intense! Some argue that the process of testing and
preparing for entry into the Court of Master Sommeliers is
on par with studying for a medical degree. Okay, some of you might not
be compelled to seek this documentary out, but I have to admit, I was
riveted! The most astonishing part to me was their ability to specifically
identify the wines using only sight, smell and taste. It takes lots of
practice to be able to identify the qualities of any wine, and that is
part of the fun. Every growing region has its own distinct soils,
exposures to sun, rain, wind, bugs, characters which all add to the unique flavor of the
wine. You may not be aware of it but when you taste a wine you are
using all of your senses including your memory...what does lemon peel
taste like or crushed violets, or dried black cherry...what about the
smell of wet stone or tobacco or barnyard!?! In the movie Ian describes
a flavor of a wine not as an aroma but rather as "a freshly opened can
of tennis balls". Now that is definitely a scent I can taste!! All of
these things are filed away in our brain and come out to remind us of
what we are tasting in wine. If you do love wine then this documentary
has all the elements of a great movie...drama, humor, tension and all of
the characters are so different and reaching for the same goal. I
highly recommend giving this movie a look! Try to guess who makes it
and who does not...Monday, March 10, 2014
SOMM like the hot seat!
Recently some friends of our recommended to us the Jason Wise documentary "Somm" about a group of friends preparing for the Master Sommelier exam. Talk about a passionate journey! The film follows four young men Ian, Dustin, Brian and DLynn
who have literally set aside their lives to study for this rigorous test
and the film covers the full year leading up to the big event. These four
gents travel to little known wine appellations seeking intimate facts about these regions that might be asked on the test...they memorize
facts about winemaking and are continually working to sharpen their senses in order to be able to identify any wine
they might encounter in the test. It was amazing to me how good they
were at recognizing flavors, terroirs, regions,
grape varietals, vintages, even down to the exact vineyard! The exam
itself is broken down into three sections: theory, service and blind
tasting. Candidates might pass the first two, only to stumble on the
third, which means returning a year later to re-test on the missed
section. The blind tasting of six wines requires not only identifying
the grape varietal, but the region it came from and the year it was
made. Now that is intense! Some argue that the process of testing and
preparing for entry into the Court of Master Sommeliers is
on par with studying for a medical degree. Okay, some of you might not
be compelled to seek this documentary out, but I have to admit, I was
riveted! The most astonishing part to me was their ability to specifically
identify the wines using only sight, smell and taste. It takes lots of
practice to be able to identify the qualities of any wine, and that is
part of the fun. Every growing region has its own distinct soils,
exposures to sun, rain, wind, bugs, characters which all add to the unique flavor of the
wine. You may not be aware of it but when you taste a wine you are
using all of your senses including your memory...what does lemon peel
taste like or crushed violets, or dried black cherry...what about the
smell of wet stone or tobacco or barnyard!?! In the movie Ian describes
a flavor of a wine not as an aroma but rather as "a freshly opened can
of tennis balls". Now that is definitely a scent I can taste!! All of
these things are filed away in our brain and come out to remind us of
what we are tasting in wine. If you do love wine then this documentary
has all the elements of a great movie...drama, humor, tension and all of
the characters are so different and reaching for the same goal. I
highly recommend giving this movie a look! Try to guess who makes it
and who does not...
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