The sommelier knife is an important tool of a sommelier.

A sommelier (pronounced /sɔməˈlje/ or suh-mal-'yAy), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all facets of wine service. The role is more specialised and informed than that of a wine waiter. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1893x1257, 262 KB) Description: Sommelier Knife, photo taken in Japan Source: Photo taken by Haragayato using a FujiFilm FinePix40i, and edited. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1893x1257, 262 KB) Description: Sommelier Knife, photo taken in Japan Source: Photo taken by Haragayato using a FujiFilm FinePix40i, and edited. ... A basic corkscrew A corkscrew is a tool for drawing stopping corks from wine bottles. ... Toms Restaurant, a restaurant in New York made familiar by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. ... A glass of red wine This article is about the alcoholic beverage. ...

Their principal work is in the area of wine procurement, storage, and wine cellar rotation. They are also responsible for the development of wine lists and are responsible overall for the delivery of wine service and training for the other restaurant staff. Working along with the culinary team, they pair and suggest wines that will best complement each particular food menu item. It could be argued that the role of a sommelier in fine dining today is strategically on par with that of the executive chef or chef de cuisine. A professional sommelier also works on the floor of the restaurant and is in direct contact with restaurant patrons. The sommelier has a responsibility to work within the taste preference and budget parameters of the patron. A Wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphoras or plastic containers. ... Wine is very often consumed with food, and there is a long history of suggestions about which wines go best with which foods. ... Chefs in training in Paris A chef is a professional cook, who may work in a restaurant, hotel, institutional food service or other professional kitchen. ...

In modern times, a sommelier's role is considered much broader than working only with the wines, and must encompass all aspects of the service, with an enhanced focus on wines, beers, spirits, soft-drinks, cocktails, mineral-waters and tobaccos. Some restaurants will employ a sommelier for the water, one for the whiskies, one for the cigars and so on.

Etymology

French, from Middle French, court official charged with transportation of supplies, pack animal driver, from Old Provençal saumalier pack animal driver, from sauma pack animal, load of a pack animal, from Late Latin sagma packsaddle. Middle French (French: ) is a historical division of the French language which covers the period from (roughly) 1340 to 1611 [1]. It is a period of transition during which: the French language becomes clearly distinguished from the other competing Oïl languages which are sometimes subsumed within the concept of... Provençal (Provençau in Provençal language) is one of several dialects spoken by a minority of people in southern France and other areas of France and Italy. ... Vulgar Latin, as in this political graffito at Pompeii, was the speech of ordinary people of the Roman Empire — different from the classical Latin used by the Roman elite. ...

Education and certification

The International Sommelier Guild is the only Board of Education licensed provider of sommelier training and certification in North America. The ISG delivers courses in more than 20 US states, 6 Canadian provinces, and 2 locations in China. The Court of Master Sommeliers [1] is the most internationally recognized organization and certifies professional sommeliers. Only a tiny fraction of the finest professional sommeliers achieve the title of Master Sommelier, a title similar to Master of Wine. Master of Wine is an internationally recognised qualification (MW) conferred by The Institute of Masters of Wine, founded in 1955 and based in the United Kingdom. ...

In the USA, certification bodies such as the Wines and Spirit Education Trust and educational bodies such as the Wine School of Philadelphia train sommeliers but do not issue a sommelier-specific certification. The Professional Culinary Institute in California [2] trains sommeliers and includes the Court of Master Sommeliers first two exams at the end of their curriculum. The Wine School of Philadelphia is a wine education school based in Pennslyvania. ...

See Also

• Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin
• maître d'