On the 26th of August, we raised our glasses to Kathryn Morgan, the sole Advanced Sommelier to trade her green pin for a red one that says, “Master Sommelier.” The room at the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort, Las Colinas was a sea of green pins and an esteemed group of red pins. Looks of relief, disappointment, camaraderie and joy filled the room, but none more joyous than Kathryn Morgan, MS. Congratulations!
How did I come to be in this room? A chance meeting of Paul Roberts, MS when I was visiting Josh Raynolds and the touring vigneron, Jean- Marie Fourrier, in Houston in 2002. Paul was the first person to encourage me to get involved with the Court, a couple of months later I was taking the introductory course, and now in 2010 here I am.
How did I fare? I did not even pass one section. The Master Sommelier Diploma Examination is incredibly difficult. While the three-section format is roughly the same as the Advanced Sommelier test, candidates must earn marks of 75% or higher, and the level of difficulty is dramatically increased. Just as relative humidity with a searing daytime temperature creates a hotter perceived heat index, the increased difficulty combined with the smaller margin of error felt more like I needed a 90% to pass. It was an amazing week, nonetheless. I now know the level of involvedness and pressure, and thanks to my lengthy exit interview, I know what I need to work on for next year. Disappointment aside, I am thrilled to be on this path, relieved to take a short recess, encouraged to move forward for another attempt, and hungrier than I’ve ever been before.
Dallas The costs associated with the exam were not too bad. Although I spent twice as much on my tasting budget as I did when I passed the Advanced, the exam’s Dallas location was a real blessing. No airfare, no rental car, and no room and board were necessary. My friend Robert keeps a corporate apartment on Cole Avenue and Lemmon, just 12 miles from the Four Seasons Hotel. I’m not familiar with Dallas, but when I pulled into his neighborhood and walked through the door, I just laughed. Sometimes I forget just how wealthy my friend is. “What does he pay for this apartment that he uses only occasionally?” I thought. I had plenty of room and peace and quiet to study. Even though there were many fashionable restaurants below me, I ate in each night. Occasionally, I would walk downstairs to the Starbucks if I needed a change of venue, but mainly my study breaks consisted of a partially frozen Topo Chico mineral water with eight dashes of Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters. I spent less than $250 in a full week in the Big D.
After the reception, I packed up, cleaned the apartment, and drove back to Austin. It felt great to actually listen to music instead of listening to myself flip flashcards on my iPod on the way home. Arriving home at 11:00 pm, Anne was asleep. I took a taxi downtown, said a quick hello to a friend, and then enjoyed a quiet meal by myself with a couple of cocktails at Parkside. I walked home to further decompress.
The Next Round of Sacrifices
What will I do differently to prepare for the next exam? First, I will start studying much sooner. This year I didn’t begin in earnest until late March. I think passing the Advanced after three previous failures created a need to relax my brain a bit. I dove into cocktail mixing hardcore and probably lost my edge a bit. My mixology hobby goes permanently on hold until I pass. Anne and I will visit Oregon at the end of this month. I’m looking forward to finally touring the Willamette Valley and hanging with our old friend Jesse Bates. When we return, I will begin to study, extending the intimate relationship I have with my flashcards another year.
Secondly, I will seek out help with blind tasting from my fellow candidates (if they’ll have me) and find a Master Sommelier to mentor me. The “lone wolf” approach I attempted did not work. My technique did not improve past an Advanced level, even though I tasted over 300 wines between March and August. I came to discover that I am a “recognition taster,” meaning my initial nose of the wines often strongly suggest their possible origin, and I then “call” the grid to suit this prelude. I am not truly using the deductive tasting method, rather an altered version of it. I kind of have to start from square one.
Thirdly, I discovered that being a strictly service sommelier, without crafting a beverage program of my own, created some disadvantages. The test revolves around so much current information that not being immersed in new products severely impedes a candidate’s knowledge- base and overall chances of passing at this final level. One can only learn so much from reading trade magazines. I have to address this issue. A quick solution is to participate in more trade tastings. Although informative and great fun, the format of these tasting can make it pretty impossible to truly concentrate. I have reached the conclusion that I need to find a job where I can buy wine again full- time.
Lastly, my writing, this blog, now must change to be strictly about passing the test: regions I’m studying, wines I’m tasting, service techniques I’m practicing. No more vignettes on Austin, bicycling, Anne’s latest conquests on the sewing machine, or cocktail recipes I’ve created. It’s the test and nothing but the test as far as my writing is concerned. So the blog isn’t so one-sided, maybe Anne will be an occasional guest writer?
Sublimation I’ve often thought that the hours of studying and preparation are a sublimation for something lurking in my subconscious, that I should rightfully feel disappointment when I fail, but remind myself that the journey is as important as the destination. I must remain thankful to hone my craft, using my energy on something constructive and beneficial.
So my opportunity to win the Krug Cup has come and gone, never to return. I gave it my best, but will have to work so much harder now. My new goal is winning the Schlitz Cup. This isn’t an actual award; it’s a term or rather an optimistic concept, coined by Master Sommelier Joe Spellman. This is when a candidate gets shut out his first attempt, but comes back the next year to pass all three. If I do pass next year, I will drink a case of Schlitz!
Anthony Garcia
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