Obsessive about their subject, the talent of the new breed of master sommeliers lies in shaping the mood and lining up seamless food and wine matches
Not so long ago, the phrase “star sommelier” would have been considered an oxymoron in the English-speaking world. Wine waiting was not seen as a career for the ambitious. It was reserved for the kind of man (and it was almost always a man) who takes pleasure in making sarcastic remarks while quizzing timid customers about the contents of his big, leather-bound book of potential faux pas, or shaming them into spending more money than they want on something they’ve never heard of.
Such was the stereotype. Today things are rather different. Or at least, they are in the US, where leading sommeliers are treated with something of the reverence and respect afforded to chefs, with huge salaries, book deals and reality TV shows (Uncorked). As the chef Michael Mina puts it in the documentary Somm, these are “the new rock stars of the industry”.
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