Israeli Sommelier in London
20.03.2010
The term ‘Sommelier’ is the one of the most abused words in the Israel wine scene. Anyone who serves wine in a restaurant is referred to as a sommelier and people who complete wine courses also use the term loosely.
Of course, a real sommelier is something virtually unknown in Israel. The genuine article will have spent years learning their trade. They will be responsible for purchasing good value, unusual and high quality wines from around the world. They will have to manage a cellar, maybe containing thousands of wines, some of which will cost thousands of dollars, whilst ensuring all are served at their peak. They will be responsible for compiling a wine list, in an innovative, informative way and keeping it updated. They have to take care of all the wine accessories, like openers, glassware, decanters etc. They will also be responsible for the sales and marketing of wine, the order taking and the service ritual, the training of staff - and the interaction with the customer has not yet even been mentioned! A sommelier has to be a diplomat and psychologist. A correctly trained sommelier will have knowledge not only about wines but also spirits, liqueurs, cocktails, beers, sake, mineral water, soft drinks, cigars, and even coffee and tea! A sommelier will also need to have passion for food and be intimate with all dishes on the menu.
In Israel up to now, a sommelier has been the term used for a wine waiter. The first restaurants which set the standard for wine waiters in the 1990’s were Tapuach Zahav (owned by Chef Israel Aharoni) and Keren (with Chef Haim Cohen). Both were situated in Tel Aviv. Reuven Rubin, who immigrated to Israel from Germany, was referred to as Israel’s first sommelier when he worked at Tapuach Zahav and Hadas Ezer had the same role at Keren Restaurant. Today Rubin works in the education department of the Golan Heights Winery and Ezer is in the wine importing business, specializing in Burgundy.
Since 1994/5, Pras Yarden, aka The Yarden Award for Wine Service, has been held with the objective of raising the standards of wine service in Israel. Some well-known wine personalities have won this competition over the years, including Lior Laxer and Avi Ben Ami. Lior Laxer went on the winemaking route and is now chief winemaker of Israel’s largest winery, Carmel, responsible for producing 15 million bottles a year in four different wineries.
Avi Ben Ami became Israel’s most famous domestic sommelier working at Mul Yam, Roshfeld and other top restaurants. He now manages Israel’s premier trade exhibition, ‘Sommelier’, and organizes Israel’s premier wine competitions, Eshkol Hazahav and Best Value. He also maintains a website, www.sommelier.co.il , in Hebrew.
However, whereas scores of young Israeli have travelled abroad to study, gain winemaking degrees and then gain work experience in the world’s most famous wine regions, there have been few to go through the sommelier route. This is surprising because a winemaker is confined to the winery and vineyard, whereas a sommelier encompasses all aspects of the wine trade outside the winery gates. In Japan some supermarkets have a resident sommelier, but it is true that the profession more usually refers to restaurants, or what they call ‘on-trade’ in the UK (or ‘on-premise’ in the USA.) In the wine trade there are two qualifications regarded with absolute reverence. One is that of a Master of Wine and the other a Master Sommelier. Only three people in the world have both qualifications!
However Israel has a bright new star on the horizon. Yael Sandler, aged 27, is an Israeli sommelier living in London. She is working at Gordon Ramsey at Claridges Restaurant – one of the top restaurants and most prestigious addresses in London. Tall, attractive, with long curly hair, she has an easy, relaxed manner, which camouflages a steely passion for wine knowledge and a hunger to learn.
Yael began her career as a waitress at the Tavola Restaurant in Herzliya Pituach, and then moved to be wine waiter at ‘Al Hamayim’, a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. She entered the ‘Pras Yarden’ competition, which she won in 2009. She then took the Cellar Master Course at Tel Hai College. This is the main, serious wine course in Israel, under the professional supervision of Dr. Yair Margalit, the winemaker, author and wine educator.
As part of her prize she won the opportunity to do a stage at Gordon Ramsey at Claridges, and they were impressed enough to invite her back. She now works with no less than 18 sommeliers, from all over the world, who are deemed professional enough to be at one London’s most ‘in’ venues. Instead of sitting on her laurels, she then became the first Israeli to enter the competition for the Best Sommelier in Europe (Miglior Sommelier d’Europa.) This was a wonderful but an eye opening experience. She is now continuing her studies at the Wine & Spirits Education Trust in London.
Someone in Yael’s position has a few options. She may decide to study oenology, like Lior Laxer and become a winemaker. She could choose to work in the wine trade and do the Master of Wine exams. Israel has some very wine knowledgeable candidates, many of them internationally trained winemakers, but even the best of them would struggle to become an MW, because their day to day work is too focused and specialized. They are simply not exposed enough to the outside world of wine. Alternatively she could go through the sommelier route and eventually become a Master Sommelier. The legendary sommeliers like Gerard Basset in England and Larry Stone in America are world famous figures. Why shouldn’t we have an Israeli sommelier too?
Yael is certainly situated in the best city in the world to learn about wine and for someone so young and talented, who could say what she will be able to achieve?
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I buy Israeli wines in my country (Not for Israelis)
