We are writing at the beginning of 2020, not a speck in the air. The Millennium had just turned 20. The vines that were planted in 2000 are now mature . The millennials who want to dive into wine professionally are now ready to taste the real work “on the field”.
We traveled the world without any worries. From Ningxia to Napa, from Zaragosa to the extreme south of South Africa. Tastings were regularly organised for the general public, sometimes for a select group. The working week for most sommeliers was in many cases mainly the weekend.
The stock of wine had to be monitored everywhere. The accountant or the financial manager kept telling us that we had better be careful. But business was going well, the guests also ordered nice bottles. Now and then the choice was made on a budget, usually when it was for their own account.
We made plans for the coming weeks, months and even years. Which wine region did we want to discover on the spot? When would we head to our favourite winemaker or region again? We would want to revisit our meanwhile friends and like-minded people. And to taste and evaluate recent vintages and new wines. Very often, one or more “older” wines were tasted, in order to demonstrate how beautifully the wine can mature.

Lockdown 2020

March 18, 2020, Belgium goes into lockdown. Fortunately, the sun shines a lot. It would take three weeks.
Quite frankly, we had the impression that most of us didn’t mind at the time. Sommelier challenge groups were set up. On social media, it was widely shared which wine we were tasting again. Personally, I took the time to go through some old and new wine books a little more thoroughly. The evenings were warm and long, above all we had no obligations. The ideal moment to catch your breath in an instructive way.
But the weeks turned into months and everything had already been polished and polished a second time. The container with empty bottles to take to the glass container often turned out to be quite full. Here too we noticed that we were not the only ones. People found that they still enjoyed a glass of wine regularly and with pleasure. What a luck!
The first webinars were organised, some more professional than others. As befits a sommelier and the wine world in general, we are inventive, creative and professional enough to adapt. Not only the Belgian sommeliers, but also colleagues from all over the world did something in their own way online or on social media. All with the same goal: to pass on the passion and love for wine.
So and there is the trigger point of this sanitary crisis. After the first lockdown we luckily had a few summer months where we could perform the beautiful job full of surrender. It was extremely busy in most cases. The people almost all drank nice bottles, even if it was on their own account. They had left again and despite the many rules, everything went beyond expectations.
But most of us wouldn’t survive a second lockdown, yet it was inevitable and it was like that again at the end of October. They said it wouldn’t take very long. Unfortunately, we are now more than five months later and a clear perspective is still not available. Everyone has a certain date in mind, but nobody knows for sure when we can really get back to work. Which when, is a matter of time.

Time to taste and deepen our knowledge

In the meantime everyone had the time to think carefully, and many people came to the realisation that there is also a life besides that great job. I heard two clear tendencies from several like-minded people. On the one hand the group of passionate stress-seeking catering fanatics, on the other hand the rational and honest employee or employer who can now also appreciate life in a different way.
I saw sommeliers immersing themselves and deepening their already broad knowledge even further. There were Toppers in the trade who did winter pruning in Flemish vineyards. Others tasted more wines from our own regions than before. Internationally acclaimed colleagues were more easily accessible online (zoom, Teams,..) than before. Winemakers from all over the world made very instructive films about climate, terroir, new techniques, classical methods,…

The future of the sommelier

The profession as a sommelier was already a bottleneck profession. I’m afraid it won’t get any better after this crisis. But hopefully we are moving towards a brighter future. Why a bright future I hear you ask?
When everything can more or less go back to normal, more than likely, improved working conditions will be taken into account. This had been going on for a while, in an important part of the hospitality industry. But it will now have to be accelerated. The government will play an important role in this. If they do not do this rigorously, the sector will bear the consequences of this crisis for many years to come.
It will be no less than 9 months that we as a sector were technically unemployed. The compensation you got was really just a small cloth for the bleeding. Because (almost) everyone I spoke to is eager to pamper their guests again. To provide fun combinations of text and explanation, to introduce new and old discoveries. To launch or confirm tendencies and trends. To submerge the guests in a responsible way in a delicious and honest wine bath. To use the right glassware, the right temperature, the right choice. To do what we love to do: provide people with that little bit extra, the perfect wine experience.
Because no App, no webinar, no virtual wine tour or tasting can even come close to the original. Enjoy a nice bottle at a restaurant, together with friends, family, acquaintances or business associates. Be impressed by the right choice and passionate explanation of the sommelier.
However, in the future we will be able to travel from Ningxia to Napa, from Zaragosa to South Africa in a few seconds. I still wish to use ALL my senses when we talk about wine. Feel, smell, see, taste and hear what the sommelier has to tell us. Because it is precisely the latter that is the extra added value that people are happy to spend some money for. There has been a lot of time to learn and hopefully the right lessons will be learned. But mainly because sommeliers are positive people, who want to take good care of the guests.
Finally, tools and systems have also been developed in recent months that can support the profession even better. The most important thing will be that, just like with a good wine, the right balance is found between all elements. Then you can be sure that we still have a very bright future ahead of us.

Contributing author : Kris Lismont, DipWSET

New Wine Lady Sybille Troubleyn teaches Belgians to drink wine. With her company WineWise, Sybille is the only one in Belgium to offer the renowned WSET courses (Wine & Spirit Education Trust).

Sybille Troubleyn had already gained a lot of wine knowledge before obtaining the WSET diploma. Her passion for wine started at the Hotel School ‘Spermalie’ in Bruges. She then perfected her skills in Bordeaux. For a few years, she backpacked through the vineyards of the New World, from which a book emerged. She worked at ‘Sopexa’, ‘Vinopress’ and ‘Syntra’, after which she founded her own wine school, ‘WineWise’, which she now runs with her partner, Piet Vannieuwenhuyse.

Did you expect this honorary title?

I found it surprising, as it is a public award and I am not active on social media. I am very proud and I hope that the wine lover will find the way to our courses even more. Better knowledge leads to a better quality offering, in the trade and at restaurants. It is also an honour to follow in the footsteps of my predecessor Virginie Saverys.

Women in the wine world could use some extra attention.

In Belgium they could use some extra attention, but in the rest of the world, women are very well represented in the wine business. In most countries it is about a fifty- fifty representation.

How do you explain this backlog?

I think it depends on the women themselves. I don’t have the feeling that women are offered fewer opportunities. In any case, I have not experienced that myself. I have seen many promising young girls who faded away afterwards. Sometimes it is a pity that they are immediately placed on a pedestal. If they do not quite live up to expectations, they disappear into thin air. Men can work their way up more steadily. We give young women too little opportunity to grow in the profession. When I studied in Bordeaux, not many women took that course. I was a kind of guinea pig, their first international student.

Why did you return to Belgium from a wine country like France after the studies?

To be able to do the studies, I took out a loan in Belgium. It seemed the logic itself to start working in Belgium to pay back the loan.

What else does WineWise do besides the WSET courses?

WineWise also provides in-company training, based on the WSET curriculum, but tailored to the company in question. We work with their wines, check what their staff need, give refresher courses… We have 16 trainers in different regions.

What skills should a good sommelier or wine lady have?

First of all, perseverance, especially if you are self-employed. You also need to have your own vision. That is not the easiest way, but it is the most honest and fair way. You have to be very eager to learn, because in the wine & spirits business you are never fully trained. You always discover new things and meet new people with a completely different vision and insight. That’s what makes it so fascinating.

Can you learn to taste?

Yes, anyone who is eager to learn, can learn to taste. Some will master it faster than others. Prior knowledge of tastes and smells is a plus. You have to teach children to smell things. You cannot name something that you have not registered. Many people can’t tell the difference between acids and sugars.

Can they easily mislead you?

Yeah, luckily. We don’t fixate on dates. There is nothing quite like looking for what’s in the glass and putting the puzzle together.

Do you learn to enjoy wine more when you know more about it?

Absolutely. More knowledge also opens you up as a wine merchant or sommelier to people who have a smaller budget. More knowledge also ensures that you drink less but better.

Is wine also important in your private life?

I can still enjoy it very much. But I don’t drink wine every day, I do taste wine every day.

What are the latest discoveries?

A lot is happening. It is no longer the case that only the know-how of the old world goes to the new world. Classic wine countries are also learning from the New World wines. There is really an exchange between young people there, which is a very good thing. In the future, we will see bubbles emerging, and I am talking about much more than champagne and France. Countries also learn a lot. People sometimes pity South Africa, but that country brings top players. Every country has its own input and merits. People are coming back from wood and are moving towards more accessible wines that focus more on fruit.

Do you see a future for Belgian wines?

It remains a niche product, Belgian wines are also quite expensive. There will always be beautiful Belgian wines and I see a clear improvement, but in terms of production quantity we don’t mean much to the rest of the world. I will never choose a Belgian wine purely out of chauvinism. The quality has to be there, from whatever country.

Are there still too many label drinkers?

Unfortunately, yes. That’s why we called our basic course ‘Looking behind the label’

What do you think of wine lists in restaurants?

The wine lists have evolved positively compared to say, 15 years ago. Certainly in the better restaurants there is a varied selection in different price categories. In brasseries there is still a lot of work to be done. A course such as WSET is never wasted, it is an investment that pays off many times over. It gives you more self-confidence so that you can advise your customers better.

Wine Lady of the Year, a word of explanation
The Wine Lady of the Year is elected by internet users and is an initiative of Foodprint, Meyhui and Winterhalter. A total of around 7300 votes were received. A special election to endorse the importance of women in the world of wine who are all too often overshadowed by men. In a world where masculinity is still the magic word for gaining power and responsibilities, the Wine Lady of the Year sets things straight. Because boys and girls are not judged the same. So it’s high time to change that.

Source: Foodprint