The members of Terroir – The Madras Wine Club in Chennai on Saturday got a good measure of what it takes to become a connoisseur of wine through a film. In the first event organised this year, a documentary film titled Somm , made by Jason Wise, which tracks the mammoth effort taken by four aspiring California-based wine enthusiasts to crack the annual Master Sommelier exam, was screened at Hyatt Regency as part of its agenda to raise consciousness among members and guests.
An active member of the six-year-old Wine Club, says the club helps its members acquire an in-depth knowledge of the world of wines. “We also get sommeliers to visit Chennai to give us a talk from time to time. We have around 6-8 events a year and this is the fifth movie we have screened since its inception,” informs another member.
They couldn’t have screened a better documentary, for it offered a ringside view on what goes on in the lives of those who aspire to pass the Master Sommelier, an exam that has been cleared by only 200 candidates in the last 40 years.
The documentary showcases what it takes to actually acquire a sound knowledge of wines from around the world – memorising the names of wines from around the world, grape varietals, terroir and technical specifics. The exam, conducted by the secretive Court of Master Sommeliers, is one of the toughest in the world. Besides the theoretical part that tests their knowledge of world wines, those taking the exam are expected to identify three red and three white wines via a blind tasting method.
In short, just like how Sherlock Holmes cracks a case standing over a corpse, an aspiring sommelier must know everything – structure, where the grapes come from and which year they were fermented. Today, the wine club has over 35 dedicated members, who meet at least 6 times a year to share their love for wine.At the end, Sudhir Rao, one of the four founding members of club, spoke about its early days, saying, “The idea began at the homes of a few of my friends, who shared an interest in savouring wines from around the world.”
