Sommeliers My food story— —August —’24 52 JULIE DALTON MS “Food and wine pairing in a restaurant is a true luxury” From learning about wine during a part-time job to becoming a high-standing sommelier, Julie Dalton summarizes her journey, and imparts helpful tips for aspiring sommeliers “Taste! A lot! Taste outside of your comfort zone. Keep an open mind. Revisit wines you thought you didn’t like in the past and give them another chance. Read books starting with Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible. Take notes. But most of all have fun with it.” Julie Dalton’s interest in wine was piqued while waiting tables during college. “I quickly learned that the more I learned about wine, the more my guests would spend with me and the greater my tip would be likely to be,” she shared. While pursuing a degree in life sciences, she began gravitating toward subjects such as grapes, wineries, and the biochemistry of wine. She even began throwing wine-tasting parties in college. “The restaurant where I was working at the time had a female sommelier. I never knew what a sommelier was before that, let alone that it was a male-dominated profession,” she admitted. Julie went on to become a Master Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators, a French Wine Scholar through the Wine Scholar Guild, and obtained a WSET Level 3 through Wine & Spirits Education Trust. One of her most valuable lessons was to be a better listener. “Being a good sommelier is about being an incredible listener, reading between the lines, deciphering language. I learned this the hard way,” she recalled. “Which is why I’m so adamant about these skills when I’m mentoring young sommeliers because that lesson was a very humbling one to learn.” Humility and gratitude are two things she firmly believes are necessary while working in the field. When it comes to advising aspiring sommeliers, Julie mentions, “Taste! A lot! Taste outside of your comfort zone. Keep an open mind. Revisit wines you thought you didn’t like in the past and give them another chance. Read books starting with Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible. Take notes. But most of all have fun with it.” When pairing wines with food, she advises knowing whether the guests want a pairing in the first place, “Food and wine pairing in a restaurant is a true luxury because most guests just want to drink what they want to drink,” she explained. She also added, “If they are interested in a pairing, then what are their budgets and stylistic wheelhouse? Again, this brings hospitality into the equation here. Don’t recommend something uber-geeky and esoteric to someone who typically drinks full-throttle Napa Cabernet. What I’m essentially saying here is that the sommelier needs to have a conversation with the guests and find out what their desired experience is and tailor it to their expectations.” J
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