Dressed in exquisite dresses and holding goblets in his hands, he talked and laughed with the guests at the cocktail party, and the topic of conversation was always inseparable from the culture and etiquette of wine... This is the elegant professional image of a fashion sommelier. Since there are not many sommeliers who are actually licensed, it is difficult to see the elegant figure of sommeliers even in five-star hotels. On July 11, the morning post reporter contacted Jing Yan, a female sommelier who has been working in wine in Qingdao for more than 20 years, to learn about the little-known behind-the-scenes story of the sommelier from her "glass of wine life".
Character name film
Jingyan
Age: 46 Occupation: Sommelier
It is necessary to do a good job in the wine culture industry in Qingdao and train more wine sommeliers.
1
In Qingdao, I became acquainted with wine
Simple dressing, extraordinary conversation, a huge aura in wisdom... Jing yan, who was born in 1975, is impressive. On the morning of July 10, a morning newspaper reporter met Jingyan at Shandong Wanwode Liquor Co., Ltd. on Xingyang Road in Chengyang District, Qingdao City.
20 years ago, Jing Yan, who graduated from university, first came to Qingdao from Dalian and fell in love with this fashionable city full of red wine culture. Since then, she has integrated into Qingdao and formed a deep love affair with wine. Unlike most wine owners, Jing Yan's "wine glass life" is a romance of encountering Qingdao.
Jing Yan, who originally studied hotel management, began to have a strong interest in the combination of table and wine because of her encounter with fine wine, and she enjoyed the pleasure of wine tasting and wine serving more than hotel management. Therefore, after Jing Yan had the title of sommelier, he devoted himself to the sommelier profession and was inspired to train more professional sommeliers. Today, she is not only a senior sommelier, but also has obtained a two-star job certificate as a sommelier, becoming one of the few fashionable female sommeliers in Qingdao.
Engaged in the wine industry for 20 years, Jing Yan has mastered a lot of wine culture knowledge. In the eyes of others, the sommelier is simply pouring wine and selling wine, and in the eyes of Jing Yan, the sommelier etiquette is a beautiful enjoyment of life, but also the spread of wine culture, and it is also the embodiment of social civilization and progress.
2
The monthly salary of working 4 hours a day is over 10,000
JingYan's Douyin often updates stories about the sommelier and the wine tasting: pick up a bottle of wine, show the side with the label to the guests, and introduce the wine to the guests, then open the bottle with a spiral drill cork with a wooden handle, slowly pull the cork, gently wipe the bottle with a napkin, and gently place the wine on the table. The dishes are served one after another, pick up a clean goblet and slowly pour the red wine into the glass...
Jing Yan introduced that the status of sommeliers in foreign countries is very high, especially in foreign wineries, sommeliers not only do not need to make a reservation, but also be treated as VIP. At present, domestic state banquets, professional dinners and private business banquets are also inseparable from the sommelier, who will not only enhance the taste of the meal through the matching of meals and wines, but also adjust the atmosphere of the whole event through follow-up professional winemaid services.
"Many large hotels in the country are beginning to realize the importance of sommeliers, but because sommelier talents are in short supply, the treatment is much higher than other professions. Certified sommeliers generally work about 4 hours a day, and their monthly income can reach more than 10,000, some stars are high, and the monthly salary of excellent sommeliers will reach more than 20,000. Jing Yan said.
"Many short videos show the audience the image of the sommelier, most of which is showy, in reality, the domestic sommelier's post practice experience is insufficient." Although many sommeliers and practitioners have learned the theoretical and practical courses of sommeliers, not many of them have really taken the professional road as sommeliers. It is necessary to open the entrance to the training of sommeliers in Qingdao and continuously expand the export of professionalism. Jing Yan was full of confidence when analyzing the professional market of the sommelier.
3
Excellent sommeliers are in high demand
Jing Yan introduced that at present, China's wine market has become extremely hot, and sommeliers have also become a sought-after professional talent in the market, and this profession is becoming one of the golden professions in the next few years. The sommelier originally referred to the waiter responsible for drinks in hotels and restaurants, but now its connotation has been expanded, and a good sommelier not only needs to provide guests with liquor services, but also needs to design menus, wine identification, tasting, procurement, etc. for guests. Professional sommeliers are more demanding, starting with the cup, which needs to be wiped several times, including the foot of the cup.
"Cultivating a qualified sommelier is not a simple matter, a qualified sommelier is not only a service staff, but also needs to have basic aesthetic accomplishment, sensitive fashion insight, noble taste, so that there is a good appreciation ability, in order to really understand wine." The growth process of a qualified sommelier takes at least 4 to 5 years, and the long training cycle is also a reason for the lack of talent. "When it comes to the standards of a sommelier, Jing Yan is very professional.
Talking about his profession, Jing Yan expressed tiredness and happiness, "Perhaps in most people's imagination, a fashionable sommelier is like this: he does not have to rush to work in the morning, wearing exquisite dresses to shuttle through various private clubs and high-end star hotels in the city, and sharing wine tasting stories with everyone." However, when each cocktail party was over and the guests had dispersed, I felt extremely tired. Wine tasting is like learning a language or an instrument, and many people have a talent for discerning nuances. Taste and smell are the focus of tasting, which requires the mobilization of all senses, including the scent experience that was once possessed. Jing Yan said that whether you know wine well before, as long as you understand the basic steps of wine tasting, you can easily open the topic of communication with people with the help of wine.
4
Train more sommeliers for Qingdao
The value of the sommelier is not reflected through a certificate or a medal, but more reflected in his work, can better serve the guests, can better spread the wine culture, which is the core value of the sommelier.
"In the past, our hotel did not have a professional sommelier, with the development of society, the public has great demand in this regard, this time sent 12 outstanding employees to participate in the sommelier qualification training class held by Shandong Wanwode Wine Co., Ltd., and there will be more professional sommeliers in the future." I didn't know what kind of wine I needed to eat Liuting's trotters, but after this training as a star sommelier, I knew that pig's trotters were best matched with cabernet sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot in dry red wine. Wang Feng, head of Qingdao Xinfusheng Hotel, said.
After Jing Yan became a sommelier, she was determined to make a career in Qingdao's wine industry. She introduced that at present, there are not many licensed sommeliers in Qingdao, and even in China, there are not many. Therefore, the first thing Jing Yan did after obtaining the sommelier certificate was to cooperate with the sommelier and invite the national professional sommelier training teacher to train professional sommeliers in Qingdao. Soon, the first batch of 12 sommeliers in Qingdao will be certified in 6 branches of Qingdao Xinfusheng Hotel, when the public can see the elegance of professional sommeliers. Jing Yan said that there will be more professional sommeliers in Qingdao's major hotels.
During the interview, the reporter learned that in addition to wine, Jingyan already had a larger idea. In the future, she will not only do a good job in the wine culture industry in Qingdao and train more wine sommeliers, but also on this basis, she will deeply study the Chinese liquor and rice wine culture, specially train the sommeliers of Chinese wine culture, and tell the etiquette story of Chinese wine culture.
/ Traceability /
The origin of the sommelier
The profession of "sommelier" began in medieval Europe. At that time, although there was no job as a sommelier, there were already prototypes of sommeliers in European royal families. They often hire local winemakers and producers to bring wine to their service. With the prevalence of luxurious royal life, this demand became more and more important, and gradually European royal families had wine officials who specialized in managing the supply and service of wine. After entering the 17th century, the first restaurant in Europe was born, and the service of the sommelier gradually moved from the royal and aristocratic families to the lives of ordinary people. After three or four hundred years of development, the sommelier industry has now developed into a relatively mature catering service industry in the West.
Source | Qingdao Morning Post reporter Kang Xiaohuan
Edit | Zhao Tong