Sommelier: A fresh pathway in tourism and hospitality
By Jaslien Chhatwal
There is no question that wine is considered a premium drink. High social gatherings vary and communities raise glasses when enjoying wine, so it is generally accepted that wine is an indicator of high standards.
However, people rarely have the right knowledge about wine. It is a drink usually made from grapes by fermentation, with no added sugar. There are wines made from other products such as rice, cherries, and other fruits.
Sommelier is a new avenue in tourism and hospitality Although wine has been consumed and celebrated for over a millennium, we tend not to realize its beauty. For this work, we have a community of wine lovers who can fulfill their passion for drinking. This area of expertise is known as the sommelier.
Who is the sommelier? A sommelier is a person who is a trained alcoholic who specializes in serving alcohol and pairing certain wines with certain foods. These professionals are more than just winemakers and they have in-depth knowledge of different wines and how to consume them. They require an extremely high level of social skills such as when dealing with guests and guests, which makes them an important aspect of the hospitality team.
The job of a service worker has become increasingly important in recent years, with a focus on increasing customer satisfaction in the travel and hospitality sectors. People often want to know what they are going to consume, especially when it comes to wine. A waitress informs and captivates these guests with her wit and wit.
A person with a love and passion for wine and other beverages can pursue this career. What comes with passion are social skills and a lot of patience because being a sommelier requires mingling with customers and answering their questions.
If your desire to be a sommelier flare-up, you must learn to be extremely polite and kind when talking to guests. A baccalaureate degree is not required to become a sommelier, but a certain level of experience and preparation is required.
A number of certificates and degree courses are offered by a number of institutions, focusing on 1. Viticulture, which is concerned with how grapes are grown and produced wine. 2. Wine tasting
3 Food and Wine
4 History of wine in different cultures
Made with wine! Contemporary historians debate whether to open a 1650-year-old bottle of wine, sealed with wax and filled with a white liquid. The Speyer bottle is installed in the Pflaz History Museum and is considered the oldest wine bottle in the world. It is said that wine tastes better as it ages. The same goes for a service worker as experience is a huge aspect of this job. A person can even take some certificate courses, but what they really get is the experience gained from working in different organizations and communicating with people. They need to develop vocabulary and social skills to get along easily with people. Understanding consumer tastes become an essential part of this job and as such, bartenders must always be knowledgeable about all forms and types of drinks. How much will you earn? At the entry level, sommeliers are typically paid around $15 an hour, but also receive host salaries and tips, with an overall annual salary around 22,14,318 INR to 29,59,638. A top sommelier working with a small organization typically earns between $40,000 and $50,000. As noted in a study conducted by the Guild of Sommeliers Salary Survey in 2014, the average salary for a master sommelier is $150,000 compared to $78,000 for an advanced sommelier.
Sommelier Misconceptions
Becoming a sommelier can attract a lot of misconceptions. One of them is that they drink a lot of alcohol during the service. You must understand the difference between recreational drinking and wine tasting. The job requires you to taste a lot of wine, so they rarely taste it, and especially after tasting it, they spit again. Everyone must understand the seriousness of work and devote themselves to it. All work must be respected. People should realize that the art of understanding something that requires a lot of knowledge and skill is not an easy task. Do you still think you can accept this delicate career choice? Then you must! Focus on your simple taste for wine and make it your livelihood.
5 popular wine-tasting institutes in India:
- Indian Wine Academy, Delhi.
- Manipal University, Karnataka.
- KBR School of Wine, Mumbai.
- Wine Academy of India, Chennai.
- Institute for Wine and Beverage Studies, Delhi.
(The author is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management in SGT University, Gurugram)
