Will the future sommelier be a robot?
This machine comes from the Aarhus University in Denmark, it tastes wine as if it were a human mouth, but however requests for sommeliers increase
human tasting
Read for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
Please do not laugh, the AarhusUniversityis among the 100 top universities in the world (our first one is Bologna 150th position), it has 32.000 students and is the second university inDenmark. So lets consider the thing with the upmost respect. It seems that the SPR technology – surface plasmon resonance – that uses optical sensors to calculate the level of tannins in wine and simulate even the effect of saliva. In fact according to the Danes their sensors are better than the human palate because more objective.
This research has been published by the scientific magazine ACS Nano creating a turmoil in the world of wine tasters. This artificial tongue does not really substitute the real sommelier because 2/3 of the
electronic sommelier
perception of the quality of a wine is found in its symbolic values: the 1000 years of the Romanée Conti vineyard, the Petrus served at Queen Elizabeth’s wedding banquet and at the White House by Kennedy, the Mouton labels autographed by some of the greatest contemporary artists, or the female Brunello from Casato Prime Donne …. The Sommelier knows the vintages, the great stories, and the little bits of gossip … in other words he can transform a wine tasting into an unforgettable experience made to measure for each consumer, things that the robot cannot do. Not to mention the uncorking rite! However the new method will have useful applications in medical diagnosis and this is good news.
Aarhus University
Sommeliers are among the most requested experts because they can be used in several ways along the wine sales chain: sales personnel for importers and distributors, wine tour guides, wine tasting entertainers and teachers …and of course the more traditional role as managers of the cellar and the wines to be served in a restaurant. It is sufficient to visit the web site for the AIS association or for WineJob to see exactly how many opportunities three are for the more talented and for those who speak fluently English. In fact in the very long lists of those looking for specialized employees many come form American addresses .
So, come on! Those who wish to transform their passion for wine into a profession quickly go and register for a Sommelier course and get a First diploma in English. These are the necessary requirements, more than a degree, to be sure to get a job