The announcer may be familiar with the professional titles of bartender and sommelier, but the title of sommelier is unfamiliar. Reporters from the International Sommelier Association today (7) held a press conference in Guangzhou, learned that with the rapid development of China's wine market and star-rated hotels, sommeliers are becoming the domestic market is extremely vulnerable to emerging professions. Told by Julia Zhang:
The reporter, who claims to be the first professional sommelier in China to hold the sommelier's primary qualification, Mr. Qu Rijing, is now working at the Intercontinental Hotel in Shenzhen's Overseas Chinese Town. He worked as a bartender in a bar for eight years before getting his sommelier certification.
Out of the recording "did this line of work to know the details of the Sommelier this occupation, I sent E-mail to the headquarters of the United States said I want to learn sommelier, when they replied to me that Beijing has, I will resign from the job to go to learn."
The reporter when to get the sommelier primary qualification certification, he said he had not found a job for four months.
Out of the recording "including some five-star hotels, I sent my resume, they do not know what I do. I took this certificate, just the junior only, I went to the personnel department to do the interview, the personnel manager to see the first reaction is 'wow', because the domestic do hotels, no one has got this before me."
The reporter sommelier, a senior staff member who specializes in recommending wines, arranging menus, identifying wines, and providing professional sommelier services for valued customers in high-class restaurants. According to relevant data, mainland China currently has more than 13,000 star-rated hotels, of which more than 1,000 are four- and five-star hotels, while few hotels are equipped with professional sommeliers. Guangzhou White Swan Hotel Food and Beverage Department told reporters that they currently have a sommelier is the hotel's own training, with the professional sommelier there is a gap, recently they will send two managerial staff to participate in the professional training of sommeliers.
Out of the recording "One of the most obvious gaps is a range of wines supplied, we are more targeted in our training, the range is smaller, leaving the range of wines supplied by our hotel is more lacking."
The reporter is considered by the industry as the most authoritative sommelier education institutions is the United States of America's International Sommelier Academy, which currently operates branch campuses in more than 60 cities around the world, Guangzhou is one of them. Huang Jianwen, head of the Guangzhou branch, told reporters that many people are now signing up for training.
Out of the recording "In addition to the hotel full-time staff, there are wine dealers, there are those who want to engage in this profession or want to open a bar, and there are also some who are just graduated college students they hope it will help to find a job."
The reporter is understood to be in the domestic star hotels to do a sommelier treatment is about 1-2 million yuan per month. The cost of learning to be a sommelier is also not expensive, 24 hours of beginner's course, the cost of about 10,000 yuan. Elena's biggest impression is her bright smile, unlike the imaginary sommelier with a polite appearance, but inevitably some sense of distance. She says the job is like her boyfriend, enjoying it and devoting herself to it.
Reporter: How did you become a sommelier?
Elena: It's not easy to become a sommelier, you have to pass all sorts of exams, and the highest level for a sommelier is the Master of Wine from the London College of Wine, which only 240 people in the world have achieved. However, I passed the Sommelier qualification first, and then after three years of training, I took the Service qualification and the Sommelier qualification. It takes a long time to become a good sommelier, it's a matter of tasting a lot and getting as much knowledge as possible and learning to manage it.
Journalist: Is appearance and dress important to a sommelier?
Elena: Of course it's important, in general you have to wear a formal uniform to represent your status, and of course to communicate well with the guests you have to be in very good spirits, especially with a pleasant smile.
Journalist: What is the job of a sommelier for you?
Elena: Sommelier is a noble profession and a part of life for me, I enjoy it very much and will never be able to live without it. Just as my boyfriend and I sometimes share our feelings about wine, and sometimes we have a little fight, this job is like my boyfriend, injected into my life, for me to enjoy it is the right thing to do. Reporter: How do you play the role of a sommelier when dealing with a stubborn, even tasteless consumer?
Elena: Actually, it's interesting to meet this kind of customer, because you can know what he thinks. If it's completely against my personal opinion, I'll put forward my personal reasons why I don't think it's a good pairing, and express my personal opinion, but it doesn't matter if he's willing to accept it or not.
Reporter: What is your principle or way of matching wine and food? Complement, contrast, balance or something else?
Elena: Not necessarily, it depends on the specific food to match. For example, it's hard to say what the rules are for pairing fuller flavored wines with more complex dishes, but it's experience that's most useful. Sometimes it's a dish that's too heavy and greasy, so we want a wine that brings a bit of freshness, or a sweet dish with a crisp, acidic wine. Sometimes a wine can be paired with two completely different dishes, or even cheese, and it's interesting to see how the wine presents itself to our taste buds in a completely different way, with different flavors.