Training in Boise helps wine professionals take it up a notch

There are a million and one things to know about wine - and possibly more, said Erik Springer, wine director at Chandlers Steakhouse.

With nine years of wine experience behind him, Springer just got a taste of what that actually means as one of 30 wine Idaho professionals who placed themselves in the cauldron of a first-level sommelier course.

"It was great - intimidating but in a good way," Springer said.

"It shows me where I can go with this by being hooked into this system."

Sommelier is French for wine steward, but the designation carries more weight than that description might indicate, said Fred Dane, a master sommelier.

"This is not for the faint of heart. You have to have the skills and fortitude," Dane said.

Dane is one of three master sommeliers who taught the first-level introduction class in Boise for the American Court of Sommeliers, an international organization that supports wine education and culture.

This is the first time a sommelier's class has been taught in Idaho in anyone's memory, said Dodds Hayden, owner of Hayden Beverage, a wine distribution company in Boise.

Hayden organized the class to energize Idaho's wine community, he said. People came from across the region from Sun Valley, Twin and Idaho falls. They work in restaurants as servers or managers, and wine shops.

"You go to larger cities and find a robust professional server culture and you end up with a high level of service," Hayden said. "We just don't have that culture here and I would love to see that develop."

The class taught the finer points of wine service, food pairing, components of tasting and wine region. It touched on elements of beer, sherry, spirits, liqueurs and cocktails and finished off with an intense exam.

"It was very competitive," Hayden said. "People were sweating."

The training to become a master sommelier is rigorous and can take up to seven years to complete. As you move up the levels of introduction, certified, advanced and master, it gets more difficult. The final exam includes a blind tasting of six wines you must identify by grape varieties, country and district of origin and vintage.

It may all sound a bit lofty, but the knowledge gained can help restaurants guide their customers to more satisfying experiences. It isn't about spending more money on wine, it is about offering a better value, which becomes more important as the economy becomes more challenging.

"This was really a big deal to have this here in Boise," said Hillary Blatz, who co-owns The Cottonwood Grille with her husband Peter. She runs the restaurant's wine program. "Even though you are so familiar with your wines, you can make even better recommendations by knowing more."

For Springer, the class inspired a rethinking of his wine presentation.

"Just watching these guys pour wine was so different than the way I do it. The 'show' of presentation is all part of it. And he's got me thinking about ways we can do it better," Springer said.

Springer plans to travel to Seattle in May and take the second test for certification. Hayden is working on getting Dane back to Boise for another class sometime in the future.

Both Blatz and Springer said they plan to retool their wine lists and start passing on their knowledge to their staffs.