Where can you find a high-level wine expert for an event?
Restaurants, wine shops, and culinary schools often recommend sommeliers for private events, but if you’re looking for an expert who is well versed in a particular type of wine or a specific region, several national groups can connect you with an experienced sommelier to fit your needs.A nonprofit organization based in New York with local chapters throughout the United States, the American Sommelier Association offers sommelier certification as well as classes, meetings, and organized tastings. Staffers can put you in touch with sommeliers in most major U.S. cities.
The Washington, D.C.-based Society of Wine Educators has 1,800 members worldwide who are certified specialists of wine or certified wine educators (a higher distinction). The association will suggest experts depending on the type of event.
If you’re entertaining clients who are wine buffs themselves, consider a master sommelier (the highest designation in the wine industry). The Court of Master Sommeliers, a Napa-based nonprofit specializing in high-level training, can recommend wine experts nationwide who meet their criteria, although it’s a fairly exclusive bunch—there are currently only 124 master sommeliers worldwide.
Restaurants, wine shops, and culinary schools often recommend sommeliers for private events, but if you’re looking for an expert who is well versed in a particular type of wine or a specific region, several national groups can connect you with an experienced sommelier to fit your needs.A nonprofit organization based in New York with local chapters throughout the United States, the American Sommelier Association offers sommelier certification as well as classes, meetings, and organized tastings. Staffers can put you in touch with sommeliers in most major U.S. cities.
The Washington, D.C.-based Society of Wine Educators has 1,800 members worldwide who are certified specialists of wine or certified wine educators (a higher distinction). The association will suggest experts depending on the type of event.
If you’re entertaining clients who are wine buffs themselves, consider a master sommelier (the highest designation in the wine industry). The Court of Master Sommeliers, a Napa-based nonprofit specializing in high-level training, can recommend wine experts nationwide who meet their criteria, although it’s a fairly exclusive bunch—there are currently only 124 master sommeliers worldwide.
