The Wine Masters | 酒中大師

(本文原載於2017年1月5日「葡道」公眾號《The Wine Masters》/《酒世界的行業之巔 | 酒中大師》）

作者：Cedric 編輯：Kwan Lam Tsui / Luna 翻譯：Cedric

Consider this, more people have been to Space on a rocket ship than have passed the MW or MS exam!! Every year hundreds of candidates chase the titles but only several of them can finally achieve, the pass rate can be even 1 in 70(Pass Rate in Latest Master Sommelier Exam: 1 in 70)! Once anyone gets either of them, he/she is on the top of wine world.

設想一下，在這個世界上，乘坐火箭登上過太空的人數已經超過了通過葡萄酒大師和侍酒大師考試的人數了！每年，數百個候選人爭先恐後地追逐著這兩個頭銜，卻只有寥寥數人能夠最終取得，它們的通過率有時甚至僅有1/70(Pass Rate in Latest Master Sommelier Exam: 1 in 70)！當任何人取得了其中之一，他/她就已經站在了葡萄酒世界的頂點。

You may have heard of Masters of Wine (MWs), they are an active bunch in the wine industry and probably you might have even met a few of them in our events already! But what about Master Sommeliers (MSs)? Who are these mysterious creatures and how are they different from MWs?

你們可能聽說甚至已經在我們過往的活動中遇見過葡萄酒大師（MW）了，他們是葡萄酒行業中的活躍分子。但是侍酒大師（MS）呢？這群神秘生物到底是誰，又和葡萄酒大師們有何不同呢？

What is a Master of Wine? (MW)

什麼是葡萄酒大師？

Simply put it, a 「Master of Wine」, as the title has already suggested- is solely dedicated to the mastery of one subject and one subject only-wine. Masters of Wine are expected to know at least a little bit of everything about wine. Hence the MW syllabus includes a wide range of subjects include: vine growing and wine making, wine sensory analysis, the business of wine and contemporary issues such as the impact of global warming. They are also expected to tell you how and why a particular wine style is made (e.g. Amarone) in minute details. What about table service? Peter Marks MW used to respond with this in his column, 「I can never pour wine without spilling it somewhere. My tablecloths at home are littered with red wine stains.」 This self-mocking statement may be a slight exaggeration, but it is not far off from the truth.

簡單說來，「葡萄酒大師」，正如這個頭銜的字面意義，是獻身於並將葡萄酒這個單一學科完整掌握的專業人士。在人們的期望中，葡萄酒大師應當對於一切有關葡萄酒都至少略知一二。因此葡萄酒大師的教學大綱中，包含了一系列廣泛的的學科：葡萄藤種植和釀酒、葡萄酒感官分析、葡萄酒貿易和諸如全球變暖的影響之類的當代議題。他們同樣被期望著能夠非常詳盡地解釋一個特殊葡萄酒風格的形成方式及原因（如義大利東北部威尼托的風乾葡萄酒阿瑪羅尼）。至於餐桌服務呢？葡萄酒大師Peter Marks曾在他的專欄中這樣寫道：「我永遠無法在保證一滴不灑的情況下倒酒。我家的檯布上則到處都是酒漬。」這個自嘲式的回答可能誇張了些，但是離現實情況差的也不算太遠。

Some famous MW:

一些著名的葡萄酒大師：

What is MS and how is it different from MW?

什麼是侍酒大師，和葡萄酒大師的不同？

Master Sommelier, on the other hand, is more focused on wine services and techniques. The ultimate objective of the sommelier is to up sell wines to customers face to face and to ensure every time they had an amazing experience. As Brian K Julyan MS, the Chief Executive of Court of Master Sommeliers aptly puts it, 「Sommeliers do not need to write an article to show their customers, they only need to answer and explain their questions within 3 sentences.」 As MSs have to deal with consumers who comes from all walks of life on a daily bases, they are expected to know and answer questions not only related to wine, but also on beers, spirits, sakes and even cigars. Needless to say, they also should have had already built up an extensive knowledge on different food styles over their careers and should have had an acute awareness on the different dinning intricacies between different cultures. To put it bluntly, it is impossible to achieve the MS certification without any restaurant operation experience. Sometimes even an encyclopedic knowledge is not enough, their role is far more versatile than that, MSs are expected to have a quick wit and provide speedy solutions for all circumstances. In short, they are the ultimate chameleons and general managers in the wine world.

侍酒大師，在另一方面更專註於葡萄酒服務和技術。侍酒師的最終目的是面對面和客戶交流提高酒水銷量，並保證他的客戶每次都能擁有一個完美的體驗。正如侍酒大師理事會的首席執行官Brian K Julyan MS所言：「侍酒師不需要寫一篇論文給他的客人看，只需要在三句話內回答並解釋他們的問題。」侍酒大師工作中每天需要面對各行各業的精英們，不僅僅是關於葡萄酒的內容，啤酒、烈酒、清酒甚至雪茄都要有所涉獵。勿需多言，各種不同食物風格的廣泛知識體系也早已在他們的職業生涯中構建而成，同時對於這些來自不同文化的複雜食品擁有敏銳的直覺以進行餐酒搭配。因此想要在沒有任何餐廳運營經驗的情況下獲得一個侍酒大師的頭銜顯而易見是不可能的任務。有時甚至百科全書式的知識儲備都不一定足以應付所有情況，他們有著比酒更多的技能，侍酒大師總是被期望著能急中生智並為各種情形提供快速反應。總而言之，他們是葡萄酒世界中的總管和究極變色龍。

Some famous MS:

一些著名的侍酒大師:

Brian K Julyan MS

Fancy to become a MS?

如何成為侍酒大師？

According to Jancis Robinson』s 2005 article 「Master Sommeliers – Who are they?」, the number of MS was 132. Now it has risen to 236, since its first inaugural MS examination in 1969 (As oppose to 340 MWs in 2015).The MS exam itself takes three years, the final result is passed or retake, and the preparation for the exam usually could be more than 10 years. A visit to the Court of Master Sommeliers』 official website will tell you the average passing rate for the Master Sommelier Diploma Exam over the years is less than 8%. This is descried by Forbes magazine as one of the toughest tests in the World.

根據Jancis Robinson在2005年的文章「侍酒大師——他們是誰?」里的資料顯示，那時世界上有132位侍酒大師。現在這個數字上升到了236，統計自1969年第一次侍酒大師考試舉辦以來（與此同時在2015年有340位葡萄酒大師）。侍酒大師考試本身需要三年，結果可能是通過或補考，而考試的準備時間通常超過10年。參考侍酒大師理事會官方網站給出的過往數據，侍酒大師考試的平均通過率不足8%。無怪乎福布斯雜誌將其列為全世界最難的考試之一。

At the end, there is no meaning to argue which is harder or better, MS and MW are just like Black Prince Ruby and St. Edward』s Sapphire, both are most brilliant gems in the crown of wine industry and they are the Mount Everest in the wine industry. The path is impossible for many, but the view at the top is certainly something you will never forget.

最後要說的是，討論侍酒大師和葡萄酒大師哪個更難獲得或更好是沒有意義的，他們就像黑王子紅寶石和聖愛德華藍寶石，都是葡萄酒行業的王冠上最閃耀的寶石，同時也是最難以攀登的珠穆朗瑪峰。或許對很多人來說這是永遠無法觸及的高度，但是站在頂點時的景色，會讓人一輩子無法忘懷。

somm電影 - 何為侍酒師？ - 騰訊視頻 https://v.qq.com/x/page/f0360w2ic8i.html

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