Good Grape Wine Company

April 8 2007

It’s Certified:  Testing and TV in the World of Wine

I came of age professionally in the mid-1990’s, the wilderness years for technology, right around the same time that technology certifications became big business—especially big business for technology publishers like my employer at the time who was doing gangbusters business creating test preparation books based on certification curriculum from technology companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, and a member association called CompTia.

Wine and technology have a lot in common in that then, as now, there are as many technology solutions are there are labels of wine. 

Technology summarizes itself – loosely – by the number of layers in a technology or network stack.  There are seven layers in a network protocol starting out with the physical layer and working its way up to the application layer.

I bring this up because wine, with just three layers, finds itself in a similar situation as technology a decade or so ago.

Essentially, these technology certifications have created an entire category of employment as people seek out the education and the certifications, driving prestige to their resume with an expectation level of compensation and renown for presumed expertise.

But, whereas technology was led in leadership by organization from large technology companies like Microsoft who viewed certification as a means to establish market-defining credibility around a solution, the large wine producers like E& J Gallo and Constellation seem to not recognize, appreciate or seize the same opportunity in wine.

My recent post about food, wine and the Food Network got me thinking about wine certifications and wine competitions—particularly the kind of testing that goes on in most Sommelier-related certifications.

I’ve seen enough Food Network sugar sculpture and cake-making competitions to last me for a while.  In fact, I can mindlessly watch/listen to the Food Network for hours as I plink away on my computer EXCEPT for when these infernal cake competitions are on, almost making my ears bleed at the manufactured inanity and drama.  This leads to two questions for me:

1)  Why aren’t wine certifications more clearly well-defined with a sharper cachet for levels and attainment?

2)  Why wouldn’t this make for some interesting and unfolding drama for programming on the Food Network?

The certification question is an interesting one because the certifications in the states are a jumbled mess of overlapping influence and assumption from the U.K.

The Court of Master Sommeliers, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the Society of Wine Educators has the Certified Specialist of Wine and Certified Wine Educator, Masters of Wine, something of the granddaddy of wine testing, has their own certification that builds off the WSET, and the American Wine Society has a certification for being a wine judge.

And, of course, I’m sure there are other variations and permutations of certifications that I’m missing.

The Society of Wine Educators has aligned with Gallo to introduce the Gallo Wine Academy, now in its second year, but based on mindshare in the industry, it has to be called, at best, a (very) modest success.  The overall notion of the venture, based on an excerpt from the press release seems to be in the spirit of what I think is critically needed:

Committed to furthering wine education not only for its employees and customers but for the industry at large, in early 2004 the E. & J. Gallo Winery approached the Society of Wine Educators, the leading non-profit professional development and certification institution for the wine industry, to forge a strategic alliance to create these e-learning sites.

This new project will allow a significant body of the SWE Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) Exam study guide and syllabus, formerly only available in book form, to become available to a wider audience via the internet.

With wine in the very early stages of changing the landscape of America as an eating and drinking nation, I’m struck that, long-term, now is an exceptional time to treat education as a critically important marketing tool for all three-tiers and for consumers, as well.

You think Gen. Y with their Myspace.com pages and their penchant to enter the wine world as core consumers might not invest a little bit of time into a certification if for nothing else than bragging rights?  I’m guessing the answer is a resounding “Yes.”

Now, given that most of these certifications are aimed at Sommeliers and there is frequently an in-person testing for Sommelier service.  The Court of Master Sommelier diploma exam tests the following, for example, in front of a live panel:

• Discuss, recommend and serve aperitifs, displaying a sound knowledge of the products and the ability to serve them correctly.
• Select, prepare and position glassware necessary for the service of drinks in the lounge, restaurant, function room or private suite.
• Discuss menu content and wine list, recommending wines to accompany food, displaying a sound knowledge of the products, their vintages and characteristics.
• Present, offer, prepare, (decanting when necessary) and serve wines, demonstrating a high degree of efficiency and proficiency.
• Present, offer, prepare and serve brandies, liqueurs and cigars.
• Handle queries and complaints with skill and diplomacy.
• Discuss the sizes of measures that may be expected from each.

So, as a frequent and regular “armchair quarterback” for the world of wine, I’d like to see somebody step up and assume a leadership position in the industry in the category of certification that creates a wake and defines an as-of-now loosely defined category.

And, all the better if that leads to better Food Network programming by televising some of the participants in the testing process.

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