Every time we talk about harmonies between food and wine, we refer to the perfect balance and potential that both elements can achieve. While some people can innately find harmonies, my experience has shown me that practice makes perfect. There is no doubt that constant training of the senses allows us to develop more skills and knowledge. And this is precisely what those who decide to become sommelier dedicate themselves to.

 

Sommeliers are the experts in drinks such as water, infusions, liqueurs, spirits, but especially wine. They have the ability to sense the wine and know its potential from the moment it is in the bottle, but from the point of view (and taste, by the way) of the consumer. For this reason, they are an important figure in the viticultural world: they are the professionals of the experience, of the ritual of enjoyment. They have knowledge in oenology, viticulture, wine storage and are probably the best people to choose a pairing or to ask for a recommendation. They tend to work in restaurant service guiding diners to choose the best bottle for their menu, in charge of the wine selection in hotels or doing wine tastings in vineyards. But they can also be seen as wine critics, specialist writers, teachers, or advisers.

The highest title that a sommelier can achieve is the Master Sommelier. A degree can be obtained after 10,000 hours of practice! Although this effort is not a guarantee either, since they also need to pass a rigorous selection process: an oral theory test, a tasting exam and a wine service exam.

On June 3, Sommelier’s Day is celebrated, and that is why we asked four prominent sommeliers from Concha y Toro the following question: If you could give a single tip or secret to enjoy wine better, what would it be?

Here are their responses:

 

• Massimo Leonori, Head Sommelier Concha y Toro

 

“I believe that there are four points to fulfil: have a good quality wide glass of; drink the wine at the correct temperature; serve it with a suitable meal; and finally, be in good company. In my opinion, I think to have a wine alone isn’t as enjoyable”. Leonori explains that there’s no need for wine glass brand, as long as it is crystal glass and of a good size. Any high-end wine, as Carmín de Peumo, to give an example, “will benefit from a glass of this type because it provides oxygenation and the aromatic complexity of the wine can be perceived better,” he adds.

 

• Soledad Manríquez, Sommelier Supervisor

 

“If there is something that helps me a lot to enhance my sensory capacity, it’s closing my eyes when smelling aromas. I transport myself; I connect easily and freely with nature, food, memories, places and people. I can relate it to the knowledge or information that I handle. As the Mexican writer and journalist, Ángeles Mastretta, says, “How many times does one close their eyes not to see and how many times to see better?”, and I totally agree. It is the moment in which I generate expectations of a wine, and the next step is that the mouth or the palate has the verdict.

I think something basic is to stop and enjoy the steps of a tasting. That is essential to connect with pleasure. Each step is very entertaining, you must take time, which can be seconds, to connect with our senses. It is very pleasant”.

 

• Dalva Sulzbacher Renner, Head of Service / Sommelier Wine Shop

“The connection with the environment and the moment are fundamental to be able to enjoy a wine. Because you can open the best wine in the world, but if you are not well with yourself or with your mind in another place, you are not going to enjoy it”.

 

• Jazmin Adriazola, Sommelier Wine Shop

 

“For me, wine is an integrator of great occasions: it usually brings us together when we are with the family or accompanied by friends. I always advise decanting for oxygenation and also having a good glass. I think they are two especially important factors to transform wine into a ritual. Oxygenate it to enjoy the aromatic descriptors that each variety has, because when we poured a glass immediately from the bottle, we are going to enjoy the alcoholic sensation and not the aromatic descriptors that each variety has. That is the biggest mistake the consumer makes”.

Marques de Casa Concha Eiqueta Negra is a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot blend, which Jazmín assures that it gains a lot with oxygenation by decantation as it is “a wine that is young, that needs a little more time and that only it can improve with oxygenation”.

“Another tip, which is like the basic rule, is that it always be taken at the right temperature. In order to have a greater enjoyment, feel the aromas and the different sensations in our mouth, the ideal temperature in the case of whites is cold (like Terrunyo Sauvignon Blanc), and in reds it is 14 or 16-degrees C. Also, to transform the wine into a ritual. Because we are accompanied by friends, it brings us together. I think that is important”.