The principal work of a sommelier is in the area of wine procurement, storage, wine cellar rotation, and to provide expert advice to customers.[1]
A sommelier may also be responsible for the development of wine lists,[1] and for the delivery of wine service and training for the other restaurant staff. Working along with the culinary team, they pair and suggest wines that will best complement each particular food menu item. This entails the necessity for a deep knowledge of how food and wine, beer, spirits and other beverages work in harmony. It could be argued that the role of a sommelier in fine dining today is strategically on par with that of the executive chef or chef de cuisine. A professional sommelier also works on the floor of the restaurant and is in direct contact with restaurant patrons. The sommelier has a responsibility to work within the taste preference and budget parameters of the patron.
In modern times, a sommelier's role may be considered broader than working only with wines, and may encompass all aspects of the restaurant's service, with an enhanced focus on wines, beers, spirits, soft-drinks, cocktails, mineral waters, and tobaccos.
There are various tests in their education. One is a blind tasting whereby they need to identify the grape, the region, the vintage and in some cases the vineyard.
A list of their Suggested Reading List:
* Academie du Vin Guide to French Wine, Stephen Spurrier
* Adventures on the Wine Route, Kermit Lynch
* Australian Wine Guide, James Halliday
* Barolo, Michael Garner and Paul Merritt
* The Book of California Wine, Doris Muscatine, Maynard Amerine, and Bob Thompson
* Bordeaux, Robert M. Parker, Jr.
* Bordeaux, David Peppercorn
* Champagne, Tom Stevenson
* Champagne, Serena Sutcliffe
* Chianti, Rosemary George
* Complete Book of Australian Wine, Len Evans
* The Complete Windows on the World Wine Course, Kevin Zraly
* Cotes d’Or, Clive Coates
* Exploring Wine, 2nd edition by Steven Kolpan, Brian Smith and Michael Weiss (Wiley)
* Grands Vins, Clive Coates
* The Great Vintage Wine Book, Michael Broadbent
* The Great Wines of Burgundy, Hubrecht Duijker
* A History of Wine in America, Thomas Pinney
* Life Beyond Liebfraumilch, Stuart Piggott
* Knowing and Making Wine, Emile Peynaud
* Madeira, Rupert Croft-Cooke
* The Making of a Great Wine, Edward Steinberg
* Making Sense of Burgundy, Matt Kramer
* New Classic Wines, Oz Clarke
* New Wines of Spain, John Radford
* Northwest Wines, Paul Gregutt, Dan McCarthy and Jeff Prather
* On Wine, Gerald Asher
* The Oxford Companion to Wine, Jancis Robinson, editor
* Port, Andrew Jefford
* Portugal’s Wines & Winemakers, Richard Mayson
* Production Wine Analysis, Zoecklein, Fugelsang, Gump and Nury
* Red Wine with Fish, David Rosengarten and Joshua Wesson
* Rhone Renaissance, Remington Norman
* Sales and Service for the Wine Professional, 2nd edition by Brian Julyan
* Sauternes, Jeffrey Benson and Alistair MacKenzie
* Sherry, Julian Jeffs
* Sotheby’s World Wine Encyclopedia, Tom Stevenson
* South African Wine, Dave Hughes, Phyllis Hands, and John Kench
* The Taste of Wine, Emile Peynaud
* Tasting Pleasures, Jancis Robinson
* Vines, Grapes and Wines, Jancis Robinson
* Vino, Burton Anderson
* Vintage, the Story of Wine, Hugh Johnson
* Vintage Time Charts, Jancis Robinson
* The Vintner’s Art, James Halliday and Hugh Johnson
* Wine, East of the Rockies, Lee Miller
* Wine and Food Guide to the Loire, Jacqueline Friedrich
* Wine Atlas of Germany, Stuart Piggott and Hugh Johnson
* Wine Atlas of Italy, Burton Anderson
* Wine Atlas of Spain, Hubrecht Duijker
* Wine Science, Ron Jackson
* The Wines of America, Leon Adams
* The Wines of Bordeaux, Edmund Penning-Rowsell
* The Wines of France, Clive Coates
* The Wines of the Rhone Valley and Provence, Robert M. Parker, Jr.
* The Wines of Spain, Jan Read
* The World of Canadian Wine, Michael Schreiner
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
