KRIS MARGERUM
Head Sommelier, Auberge du Soleil
As head sommelier of Auberge du Soleil, Napa Valley’s renowned country inn, Kris Margerum follows a simple philosophy when selecting his restaurant’s wines: One plus one can equal three. The right wine complements the food, and together, they create an unforgettable experience. Margerum has been in pursuit of the perfect food and wine pairings at Auberge du Soleil for more than seven years, even before receiving his head sommelier title in 1999, during which time he has developed close relationships with the top wine makers of Napa Valley. His wine list currently offers 1,500 selections from a 17,000-bottle cellar and has been awarded Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for the past five years.Margerum works in partnership with executive chef Richard Reddington to create the best possible food and wine pairings for the six-course Chef’s Menu, the nine-course Epicurean Menu and all other dishes Reddington dreams up in his kitchen. Margerum is also responsible for the restaurant staff’s wine education and conducts wine tastings and advanced level winery tours for them on a regular basis. “A couple of years ago, I started conducting blind tastings,” recalls Margerum. “This allows me to evaluate each wine on its own merits, without prejudice. I taste more than 100 wines a week to find four or five that meet my ideals and make the wine list and hope our guests can benefit from knowing that each wine has been hand selected.”Margerum has developed wine lists for a number of other Auberge Resorts’ properties, including the opening wine list for Esperanza in Los Cabos, Mexico, and CordeValle in San Martin, Calif. He is currently developing the wine list for Calistoga Ranch, the collection’s newest property scheduled to open in September 2003.- over -
Margerum’s career with Auberge du Soleil spans more than 20 years. Before being appointed head sommelier, he acted as the restaurant’s assistant food and beverage director for six years, helping to oversee daily operations, planning, budgeting, forecasting, hiring and reviews, monthly inventories and guest satisfaction management. Before that, he acted as assistant restaurant manager for the Auberge and was promoted to restaurant manager after a year. He began his career at Auberge du Soleil in the dining room as a server.Margerum always strives to improve his knowledge of wine and his involvement in the Napa Valley wine community. He is currently preparing for the Advanced Sommelier test, after having passed the Sommelier Certificate course in 2001. Margerum is also a graduate of the Sterling School of Service and created the Napa Valley Sommelier Society, which meets quarterly at various Napa Valley restaurants to discuss common issues and strategies – and, of course, to taste wine.
When Kris Margerum first took over as sommelier of Auberge du Soleil, the wine list had 400 or so selections. Now, 1,700 selections pack the list with around 17,000 bottles stored in the restaurant cellars. Jorgen Gulliksen/Register

随着国人经济收入、生活水平的不断提高,随着中国内葡萄酒业的发展以及葡萄酒文化在国内的推广普及,尤其是随着中国对外国际化交往的步伐加快,西方的许多与葡萄酒有关的生活方式以及饮食习惯也都在悄然影响并改变着我们的生活。不仅如此,目前还有一个与葡萄酒业相关的职业——侍酒师正在向我们的生活走来。
那么什么是侍酒师呢?查阅英文词典得知,只有Sommelier是和中文侍酒师相匹配的英文单词,根据解释它是一个法文字,是由古意大利文somigliere衍生而来。
在英汉词典中Sommelier被翻译成斟酒服务员,好像并没有被翻译成是侍酒师一说。也许是斟酒服务员在咱们国家里被认为是酒店饭馆里的一般服务员,是一个简单的工作,而非专职高级工作,所以为了改变人们脑子里固有的旧观念,就在翻译时引入了侍酒师这么一个职业称呼。我理解其实它就是一系列的职业等级职务,就好像工厂里有技师、中级技师以及高级技师系列等级技术职务一样。
曾有人说,过去将sommelier译为侍酒师的解释还不是很精确,因为今日的侍酒师有着比过去更多元的角色和责任。它不是只有餐厅才需要侍酒师,其工作也不只是建议如何去搭配酒与菜,而是应该需要通晓对酒窖的管理、对酒的价值和特性的深度认识与判断、酒单(对应于菜单)的制作以及为客人提供最佳选择的建议等等,这都是现代侍酒师工作的范围。此外在超市或者酒专卖店的从事侍酒师职业的人员可能更要对消费人群的实际结构、消费人群的需要倾向及潜在需求作出相对正确的引导和采买计划。它有别于餐厅里的个人式、特定式的建议,他们是整体的酒类商品顾问。然而,不论是哪一种,侍酒师都是酒专业知识的化身,他要掌握区域范围的消费习惯,口味嗜好信息以及饮食文化和品鉴角度的价值取向。这也是对现代侍酒师的重新定义和要求。
看过日本电视连续剧《葡萄酒专家》(又有译成葡萄酒贵公子的,英文是sommelier)的人们或许就会对侍酒师这个职业有一个感性和直观的全面认识,剧中的主人公就是一个非常专业的侍酒师。
据说,目前全世界大约有129名Master Sommelier,这是侍酒师的最高等级,129名Master Sommelier中有79人是在美国各大饭店、酒店以及餐厅任职,年薪约16万美元(上述数据更新时间为2007年3月),因此人们说侍酒师是一份令人称羡的工作。
那么我们国家侍酒师目前的状况又是咋样的呢?由网上查阅浏览的信息中得知,有专业人士认为咱国内侍酒师的平均水准目前还比较低,合格的侍酒师似乎不超过100人。许多五星级饭店里到现在还没有这个职业,只是一些老牌酒店和新兴的超五星级酒店才配备侍酒师。
最近看到有关报道,某侍酒师培训机构的专业人士在接受媒体采访时告诉记者说目前中国的侍酒师人才缺口应该在20万人左右,可是在国内某葡萄酒专业网站登载的一篇文章(时间大约是2007年12月7日)中我看到的国内侍酒师缺口却是三万人,难道不到几个月的时间里国内侍酒师的需求数就增加到了二十万?未免也太快了吧,当然为了强调侍酒师的重要性对数目掺点水分也是可以理解的,不过一下子就增加接近了七倍这就有点太夸大啦,所以最好还是以具体数据来说明情况。我想这二十万的说法或许大概是与中央台所做的一期与品酒师有关的节目有联系。刘世龙这位泸州老窖有限公司的高级品酒师(他曾于2007年在中央电视台劳动榜样节目中做过品酒绝活表演,震惊全场),在接受主持人采访时说过:品酒师是我们国家劳动和社会保障部在2007年确认的这么一个新职业。刚才大家品尝的这个酒,实际上它只是一个品种,是整个酿酒业当中的一个品种,它是白酒,实际上我们的品酒师从酿酒业来讲,白酒是其中一个酒种,同时还包括啤酒、黄酒、葡萄酒、露酒、果酒,这几个都是作为我们品酒师的职业,我们统称叫品酒师。现在整个酿酒行业差不多有两万家酒厂,每一个厂如果按照十个品酒师来计算,两万个厂差不多要20万人这样一个总的情况。
品酒师是国家劳动和社会保障部在2007年才确认的一个新职业,同样社会也需要侍酒师这个职业,尽管我不知道目前这个新职业是否也得到了国家有关部门的确认。但是它也是目前劳动就业用人大势所趋,也是国内与国外相关行业接轨的需要,同时我认为他们不仅仅只是一种新职业,他们还担负着推广普及葡萄酒文化的责任,此外他们工作在社会的许多领域,有接触面广,与大众交流机会多的特点,所以他们在推广普及葡萄酒文化方面所扮演的角色是极为重要。
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