NZ behind in wine service

Knowledge can take you a long way and for Cameron Douglas it has meant his workplace has become the world.

Last year, the Kiwi only spent nine weekends at home. This year, he guesses it will be fewer.

As a master sommelier, he is one of the world’s top wine and restaurant service experts – his skills are in high demand.

He judges, teaches, presents and writes about wine. He sets up top restaurant wine lists, he’s the academic leader of AUT’s wine and beverage courses, and he’s deeply involved in training sommeliers.

Douglas won an AMP scholarship to study for the award in 2002 – at that time he was a sommelier and university lecturer – and five years of gruelling study later he was awarded the title. Only 240 people have achieved the Master Sommelier title since it was launched in 1969.

Douglas got top marks on his course, and remains the only Kiwi to have passed it.

But he says he gained more than just wine knowledge.

‘‘I learned very quickly there are no shortcuts to this journey and that self-belief and determination to see it through to the end were extremely important. I also learned that taking my time and finding out how I learned was one of the many keys to success.’’

Douglas says a sommelier’s job is to help customers find the best wine for them. It should be done with humility and respect, and in an entertaining way with stories and knowledge.

Kiwis have a strong egalitarian streak. They don’t like being fussed over. They like to make their own decisions. He says New Zealand is in ‘‘desperate need’’ of sommeliers in restaurants, wine stores and hotels.

‘‘We are probably 20 years behind the rest of the world in embracing what sommeliers can do. Restaurateurs also need to step up and start hiring sommeliers and not just food and beverage runners.’’

As he travels the world, he’s an unofficial Kiwi wine ambassador. He says he is very proud of the New Zealand wine industry, which produces worldclass wines.

While the world typically knows us for sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, he likes to show off our chardonnay, syrah riesling, and sparkling wines, as well as the more evolved sauvignon blancs with barrel fermentation, extended lees contact and ageing.

Content produced as part of a partnership with AMP Scholarships.