Magazine Sep/Oct 2017

Being a Sommelier means a lifetime of learning and tasting. Gone are the days when wine servers drift around the dining room just to open bottles. A modern-day Sommelier needs to be knowledgeable, personable and hardworking, with the ability to think on his/her feet. There are several channels of Sommelier education available in the market, the preeminent and most internationally recognized of which is the Court of Master Sommelier (CMS). CMS was conceived in the UK back in the late 1960s. There are operating branches in both America and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) today. The course starts with an Introductory Sommelier certificate (Level 1) and continues through to Certified Sommelier (Level 2), Advanced Sommelier (Level 3) and Master Sommelier (Level 4) – dubbed by Forbes magazine as the “World’s Toughest Test” in 2013. There are currently only 236 Master Sommeliers in the world. The various qualifications are centred on theoretical knowledge, blind tasting competency and practical service skills in a restaurant. All candidates are required to know everything from wine regions in Bulgaria to the latest American Viticultural Area, as well as be able to identify wine regions, grapes and vintage from just the taste of a wine in the tasting glass. The candidate is then put through a series of restaurant-simulated environments, which could include a crying guest or a wine snob ordering the most expensive bottle. ME E T OUR NEWL Y MI N ED So meliers We are proud and pleased to announce our 2 newly Certified Sommeliers at The American Club! Lei Dong and Justin Wee recently travelled to Auckland and successfully completed both levels 1 and 2 of this very difficult exam. They were among 5 of 15 who passed the Certified Sommelier test. Months of preparation prior to the exams, including daily mugging and weekly blind tasting sessions with other Singapore Sommeliers – on top of regular work hours and family commitments – were just a small fraction of the worthwhile sacrifices Justin and Lei Dong put into their journey towards achieving this remarkable milestone. Do give them a pat on the back the next time you see them at The Club. The difficulty increases substantially from level to level; with the Master Sommelier exam averaging just a 10% passing rate.

Justin Wee

Lei Dong

31 THE AMERICAN CLUB SEP / OCT 2017