Three Master Sommeliers from the Court of Master Sommeliers were in town Monday to test candidates for the Certified Sommelier Certificate — the second level (of four) for the Master Sommelier Diploma. The Certified Sommelier exam consists of three parts: a blind tasting of two wines, a rigorous set of written questions, and a nerve-racking tableside-service test consisting of taking a beverage order and serving Champagne.

Last spring, 50 Santa Fe restaurant employees sponsored by the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta earned the Introductory Sommelier Certificate. The second level is much more difficult. With a pass rate of only 50 percent, it challenges candidates to prove that they are serious enough to go on to the final two levels toward earning their Master Sommelier Diploma.

Since the Master Sommelier Diploma was introduced in 1969, only 171 people from around the world have earned the title of Master Sommelier; 96 are from North America, and 15 of them are women.

The 24 Santa Fe wine geeks taking the test for the Certified Sommelier Certificate, myself included, were cramming this past month like we were law students taking the bar for the first time. When we bumped into each other, rather than exchanging a normal solicitation, we cut to the chase and quizzed one another.

Thursday morning last week, Quinn Stephenson, the bar manager/partner at Coyote Café called me to confirm a dinner reservation, but his first question was, "What is a DOCG of Umbria?"

"Sagrantino di Montefalco," I replied, asking in return, "What are the grapes in Cava?"

"Macabeo and Xarel-lo," he stated with authority. "See you Sunday." Stephenson, whom I admire for his mixology skills, has already passed the certified exam and is waiting for an invitation from the Court of Master Sommeliers to take the Advanced Sommelier Course — the third level, so extreme in its preparation and testing for potential masters candidates that most study intensively for three to four years before being invited.

Later on Thursday afternoon, I ran into Byron Rudolph, wine buyer and sommelier at La Casa Sena. Byron quizzed me: "Name a geographical indication in New South Wales and what particular grape it is known for."

I felt a cold sweat coming on. "Hunter Valley and the grape is Semillon!" I exclaimed. "Tell me three of the seven Grand Cru vineyards in Chablis."

"Les Clos, Valmur and Bougros," he said calmly. "See you at study group tomorrow night."

Later that night I walked into La Stazione Ristorante and the owner, Louis Moskow, greeted me not by saying hello but by saying, "Name the four white grapes of Alsace."

"Riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot gris and muscat," I said, then greeted him likewise in return. "Name three of the 13 Anbaugebiete of Germany."

"Mosel, Nahe and Pfalz," he said, naming three quality wine-growing regions of Germany.

The next morning while driving to work, Dan Lewis of Global Wines & Spirits called me from California, where he had just taken his daughter to Disneyland for spring break. Even though he was vacationing poolside, Dan sounded frantic.

"Explain to me again the sequence of steps in opening Champagne tableside?"

"From the right of the host, hold the bottle in the air at a
45-degree angle, always pointing it away from the guests. Cut and remove the foil, secure your thumb over the cage and cork, open the cage, then twist the bottle while securely holding the cork and remove it with a sound quieter than a nun passing gas in church. Serve clockwise around the table, always to the guests' right, ladies first, a half glass each, in one continuous stream if possible."

A mainstay of the Court's testing is your ability to blind taste wines. My study group has been meeting weekly at Vinaigrette Restaurant, where each session started with the owner and wine buyer, Erin Wade, herself an astute student of the grape, serving us three pairs of wines from her well-chosen list. Each pair is one white wine and one red and, following the Master Sommelier Court's format, we have 15 minutes to deduce grape variety, region of origin and vintage of each wine.

Using your eyes to assess color, nose to detect fruits and spices, and using your palate to confirm structure, the Court of Master Sommeliers' sensory evaluation follows a deductive format where one starts "blind" with the wine being from any grape from anywhere but then, following clues, begins to throw out what it is not and deduce what it most likely is.

A dark colored wine with an aroma of black fruits could be thick-skinned grape like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel or Syrah, while a transparent red wine with a nose of red fruits might be a pinot noir or gamay-based wine. Bright red at the rim versus orange indicates age in a red wine. On the nose and palate, wines with higher acid and more earthy tones would be from the Old World — Italy, Spain, France — while those with more fruit tones and more alcohol than acid would be from the New World (North America, Australia, South America).

Pass or fail, the result of the Court of Master Sommeliers testing in Santa Fe is a raising of the quality of wine service in our restaurant-savvy town. Next time you are out in a Santa Fe restaurant, test your wine steward and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Greg O'Byrne is executive director of the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta. His column appears in Taste on the third Wednesday of every month. Questions or comments?
Write to vinevents@aol.com.