Ampliare

Ampliare

Cristina de la Calle, head sommelier at Etxeko Martín Berasategui in Madrid, Spain, talked with us about her relationship with wine and the restaurant industry. We go over her thoughts on the importance of technical training and human education to be a good sommelier. During her dialogue with Excelencias Gourmet, she shares her thoughts on the world of wine and the challenges she faces in view of COVID-19's impact in the industry:
Being a sommelier was a hobby, a passion I discovered thanks to my family. Making of it my profession, however, was a big leap -and that is why I wanted to structure and expand my technical knowledge before diving in. Ever since then, I have kept on believing in the importance of professional education. As sommeliers, our goal is to always give the best quality of service to our customers, combining a very deep knowledge of wine with great seriousness -and that is why all good sommeliers must be well-trained, so that they know what they are talking about when they interact with guests.
But that is not all! Sommeliers must also work their restaurant's wineries, adjusting their wine purchases and philosophy in accordance with what the chefs want to convey with their food.
Regarding COVID, I´ believe that we are not going to return to what we had before the pandemic outbreak, at least not in the short term. We will try to get back to normal, but I think that what we will see is not a full reinvention of sommeliers and restaurants. Since it is such a volatile situation, we will see the environment constantly adapting to the circumstances of the moment, to the regulations and recommendations that we have to abide by and follow.
On a positive note, and since I always want to see the glass half full, and I love personal contact with our customers, I'd like to say that I believe that we will be able to fiddle with our work tools and continue giving that connection and proximity to our guests when they visit us. Whenever I talk to my colleagues, I get the feeling that we are all very keen to change what needs to be changed and just get on with work. We all are energetically and optimistically awakening our capacity to adapt!