Techies show off their wine smarts
The tech elite can usually snap up whatever toys they want — private jets, fast cars, expensive vacations. But a new crowd of tech workers wants something that money can’t buy, and yet gives them ultimate bragging rights: a small shiny pin that marks them as a wine expert.
Next to his cufflinks and nicer watches sits Matthew Baier’s coveted certified sommelier pin.
“It’s the sort of thing I would reach for to go to a special evening” event, said Baier, chief operating officer of San Francisco firm Built.io. “I won’t lie. I think when people find out you are a somm, it does bestow (more of ) a sense of gravitas than they would give someone outside of that circle. They know that you have the
knowledge that they share.”
Baier is one of a growing number of wine enthusiasts eager to learn about what’s in their glasses, down to the minute details — grape varieties, food pairings, terroir — in only a few sips. And in Baier’s case, he’s invested a great deal of time and money to obtain that skill.
The Court of Master Sommeliers— the nonprofit organization that oversees sommelier certifications — said the number of people taking its $525 introductory course and exam nearly doubled in five years, to 4,329 candidates in the United States in 2014. Many people invest thousands in coursework and the expense of buying and tasting a lot of wine to prepare for some certifications.
41 percent increase
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, which provides diplomas for wine marketers and distributors, said 973 people in the U.S. took its Level 1 exam in its 2013-14 academic year, up 41 percent in three years. Roughly half the people who complete Level 1 are employed outside the wine and beverage industry, according to a trust survey.
Neither the Court of Masters nor the Trust formally track which industries those hobbyists come from, but wine school instructors said they are seeing more tech employees sign up for classes and certifications.
“A lot of tech people want to travel, and they want to go to different wineries around the world,” said Adam Chase, who leads the Grape Experience Wine & Spirit School. When a Wine & Spirit Education Trust graduate notifies a winery that they’re coming, the winery generally rolls out the red carpet — offering private tours or access to special wines that other people might not see. “It gives the tech person who is a wine hobbyist access to a global club of wine enthusiasts and wine professionals.”
Robert Vernick, who works at video game giant Electronic Arts in Redwood City, spent about $4,000 and 400 hours since November cramming for his Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 4 exam. The product development director spent nights sifting through his wine book and sipping Cabernets with his weekly study group to prepare for his final exam, a blind taste test of 12 wines that he had to analyze in two hours.
“There’s no real financial reason to do it,” said Vernick, 36. “It’s more of a passion more than anything. I’m very goal-oriented.”
And as wine continues to boom in popularity, people want to be able to speak about vino with confidence around the dinner table.
“I think some people are certification happy,” said Catherine Bugue, a Napa Valley Wine Academy instructor. “They see it and want to learn more.”
Neha Sampat, a certified sommelier and CEO of Built.io, says her wine certification has opened more networking opportunities for her and Built.io, which provides mobile software tools to businesses. She’s been invited to special wine events, and her company has hosted educational wine sessions for other techies. It’s also a good talking point on her resume, she adds.
“If I just put ‘likes wine,’ it’s not the same as saying I’m a certified somm,” Sampat said. “When you see certification, it lends credibility.”
The certification exam is intense, requiring test takers to identify wines by country of origin, style and age. People must also demonstrate one of the following: correctly opening and pouring wine or Champagne, or performing a decanting service.
To prepare, Sampat said, she tasted more than 1,000 wines in two years. Sampat and Baier would go to restaurants and each order a glass of wine for the other, without identifying it. Then they would challenge each other to evaluate the wine. Sometimes the pair would also buy cases of inexpensive Champagne and practice opening the bottles for groups of friends.
“I would call it one of the hardest exams of my entire life,” said 38-yearold Baier. “It required such intense study, and it was an incredible sense of accomplishment when we got the certification.”
Exclusive club
One would expect the wine elite to be — well, elite.
London’s Wine & Spirit Education Trust, founded in 1969, said it supports hobbyists taking its certification exams and changed its rules accordingly in 1991. But the Court of Master Sommeliers claims that hobbyists represent just a small portion of people who take the second-level exam. And industry members note that just because techies (or anyone) can pass an exam, that doesn’t mean their skill is equivalent to a working sommelier’s.
Yoon Ha, master sommelier and beverage director at San Francisco restaurant Benu, said there has to be a defining line.
“One is demonstrating that you (have) this knowledge to pass the examination, but that doesn’t translate into being able to perform in a real-life setting,” Ha said. “Someone learning the theory of surgery, and then going into a surgery room with a team and being able to perform that surgery — the two are very, very different.”
David Wrigley, international development director of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, takes a more pragmatic approach to opening the door to amateurs. “A consumer who knows more about the topic is more likely to trade up to spend more on a bottle of wine, and all of that is very good for the trade internationally,” he said.
In the end, some techies who dream about Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs end up making a leap and landing in the wine business. In 2010, Mindy Joyce quit her job as a director of marketing for travel deals website Travelzoo so she could take wine education classes. Joyce said she had traveled to places like Burgundy, enjoyed the wine and wanted to learn more. She was interested in joining the wine and beverage industry in some way, but lacked the experience or background. That’s where the certifications came in.
“I wanted to do something where I wasn’t a sommelier but was taken seriously in the wine industry,” said Joyce, 39.
Joyce has left tech to run her own wine and travel consulting firm, and recently took a Unit 3 exam for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. To prepare for the test, she took part in wine tastings and study groups over Skype. She’ll find out whether she passed in a few months.
“I’m doing my best to focus and see what happens,” Joyce said during a study break.
“There’s no real financial reason to do it. It’s more of a passion more than anything. I’m very goal-oriented.” Robert Vernick of Electronic Arts, who studies wine