AN INTERVIEW WITH A SOMMELIER
... and so, and perhaps out of a sense of complete boredom, The South African Sommelier's Association (SASA) decided to go around and interview Sommeliers (without any sense of discrimination) ... which means that we couldn't careless whether or not the individual in question was officially trained or not ... because, for as far as we are concerned we would love to include as many people as possible ... so if you say you are a Sommelier then we would want to talk to you ... our objective being quiet simple, which is to widen the scope as far wide as possible ... systematically moving away from exclusivity and ultimately including the grass roots (incorporating such concepts as Affirmative Action & Black Economic Empowerment) ... Hence, in the long-term gradually infusing consistensy and sustainability ...
Important to note is that as open-minded as we are to engage with all Sommeliers (from various backgrounds), that it should be made clear that becoming a fully accredited member of SASA can only occur in two methods; a) Accreditation - by attending The South African Sommeliers Academy and passing both the Theoretical & Practical Final Exam (70%) ... and; b) Membership could be aquired by an Executive Invitation - subject to the discretion of the Board of Trustees ...
Fact is that we have all agreed that the Sommelier's Profession in South Africa is in its infancy ... that South Africa is yet to produce a Master Sommelier (from the Court of Master Sommeliers, UK) ... that those who claim to be Sommeliers (Jorg Futzner, Niel Grant, Kent Scheermeister, Tobias Brauliewer) are not locally trained ... and then we have our own local favourites (Luvo Nteza, Michel Chuan, Tessa Miles, Higgo Jacobs, Khuzelo Phuta) ... and not to forget the contributions made by such educational institutions as The Cape Wine Academy (initiated and driven by Ms. Marylin Cooper CWM) ... and 'Let's Sell a Lobster' - Fundi/WOSA (with their outrageous 2010 initiative) ...
... and so, out of all these magnificent individuals we decided that our focus would be on Jorg Futzner ... a legend, in a class of his own ... totally down to earth ... supremely confident and pragmatic ... not surprising then that he is of German origin ... professionally trained (Koblenz, German Sommelier's School) and mentored by a Master Sommelier ... always eager to share his hard earned knowledge ...
... we heard about Jorg some years ago ... and to be quiet frank we were intriguded by his resume ... because at the time he was operating just a touch above the rest of us ... he knew a lot more ... he had a lot more experience and he had a lot more clout ... and most important he was stationed at the award-winning restaurant Aubergine (Cape Town) ... Furthermore and most importantly, he had the industrial weight to command an impressive capacity audience for his premium Food&Wine parings and other wine related events ...
... so you can appreciate our delight and awe when the first call came through ... and the fact that we had to somewhat subdue our excitement in preparation for out first meeting with the legend ... which took place at Sins, Wembly Square ... and it was no surprise at all, that in-person the guy is pretty huge ... as so is his voice, quiet commanding ... however, as soon as he was settled we could get down to business ... and we discovered that Jorg was everything that we hoped for ... well educated ... eager to dissiminate knowledge and move on with the business of being a Sommelier - whether it be serving guests in a fine-dinning restaurant or hosting an international wine tasting event or training new and upcomming Sommeliers ... you would always find him to be generous and pragmatic ...
... simultaneously, it would be evidently clear that Jorg is frustrated with the South Wine Industry ... because, there are no funds being made available for Sommelier Training & Education (from either Government or Private Enterprise) ... secondly, most hotel owners and restauranteurs are unwilling to invest in the training and development of competent staff ... thirdly, ... the Government, in addition to facilitating the process, should accelerate the process transforming of the industry - including most importantly remumeration and development ...
It is evidently clear that Jorg wants South Africa to raise the bar much higher ... and this might pose a challenge for individuals imprisoned by the South African Franchise System ... in which the norm is mass production, serving processed food, serving perculated coffee, serving micro-waved eggs and pouring boxed wine (dry white or dry red) ... which means that the accelarated promotion of waiters to management might need to be adjusted ... that is if The South Africa Sommeliers Association wants to compete against the very best in the world ...
Although Jorg is totally awesome and unorthodoxed, we realise that family is very important ... he is quiet willing to invite you into his own house ... to meet his Life-Partner and his daughters (the close bond between them being clearly evident) ... he remains unapologetic with regards to his love for German Rhine Rieslings ... and in addition, he has his eyes set on wines from the Swartland (... "according to him these are wines with meat on the bone") ...
... and before we say our goodbyes and depart he reminds us once again that "the most important thing about our job as Sommeliers is to serve people and to create positive momeries" ...
SALUTE!!!
Dear Sommeliers South-Africa,
ReplyDeleteI have just come across your FB page and have had a look at your blogspot as well.
It is really great to see industry educated professionals coming together to help spread light on our cause.
I am originally from Cape Town and have worked in many of the top restaurants as Assistant Manager and Selft titled Sommelier, i have been working in restaurants since i was 14 but always had a passion for Fine Beverage and Tabacco.
As South African sommelier's working now internationally, myself (ex Assistant Head Sommelier at VERRE by Gordon Ramsay - now wine director for a private member club) and Nicholas Murcott (recently head hunted to the Head Sommelier position at the Burj Al'Arab) we do as much as we can to promote our great wines - with much of our SA wines being brought in exclusively for the properties we work for - we are also previous finalists in the Hotelier Magazine Middle East's Sommelier of the Year awards - with Nic winning it in 2008.
I had a chat with Nic recently about the new Cape Sommelier program being offered by CWA and we both feel having looked at the material for our own qualification (being certified back home is a big passion for us) that the course material does not cover the aspects of what a sommelie is all about..the chapter on soil types within the Wine of Origin doesnt even get a look in - something very hard to believe when the WSET level 1 introduction covers this in small detail.
For us it makes far more sense to go the WSET way, which we both have - achieving PASS DISTINCTION in all 3 of the certificates - now we are moving on to the Diploma Module - an intense 2 year program that covers the worlds wine regions in mass details with deadlines for assignments on top of all that!
I have always wanted to do my CWM, but in order for me to to so i have to cover course material within the CWA that is irrelevent to the actual industry and if anything side steps you away from your main goal.
I agree with many of the points you have made on your blog and people like Jorg are priceless to our industry once all the politics involved is removed - as you will remember the CWA was formally owned by distel/kwv and any other brand powerhouse that wanted to drive basic knowledge inour industry.
I am a HUGE fan of Jorgs, i have looked up to him from the moment i 1st heard of his work (when i was a wee lighty working at Bertha's back in the day) and have come to meet him on a number of events around cape town whilst i was working at theshowroom...likewise peole like Alan Mullins are vital for the development of the industry with his program at Woolworths.
Until such time as the people in the driving seat of wine education come together to offer a program that fits in with international standards i am afraid i do not see a Sommelier's role in a restaurant with in South Africa being a specialised position, pay is on the increase with properties like One&Only and the TOP 10 EatOut restaurant list - all that is needed now is for organisations like yourself to keep the candle light and push forward with your own regulatory body as an independent.
if there is anything i can do to help, please let me know and if you know of any junior sommeliers looking to make the move to further there education abroad i am currently looking for wine waiter assistants - on a R9K salary!
All the best,
Garth Beer.