HOW TO BECOME A MASTER OF WINE – THE WINE EXPERIENCE

Okay it’s been a really Busy week so i decided to do a chilled Out video today where i drink a glass of Wine And tell you about the story of how i Became a master of wine So let’s go [Music] The master of one is considered to be One of the most if not the most Difficult qualification in the wine World even though The master of wine has been around since 1953 There are only 417 people who carry the Title of master of wine Living in 31 different countries today And there are only 493 people As a whole who’ve passed the master of Wine over the decades So you may be wondering just like me how The hell did constantine do it And here’s the story when i finished School i didn’t really know what to do Wine wasn’t an option at this point Because the part of germany that i grew Up in didn’t produce anyone so i didn’t Really have a relationship with wine But after a while i decided to do Something that most people couldn’t Understand Instead of going to university like all Of my friends i decided to do an Apprenticeship

At one of the best hotels in germany i Wanted to become the manager of a great Hotel and this was kind of how you were Supposed To start your career an apprenticeship In germany follows a real program so i Spent three years at the hotel Working at different restaurants at the Bar at room service But i also went to school and learned More about service cooking and also wine Wine was a topic that i was drawn to Pretty quickly because it combines so Many different things There’s the sensory side that i liked a Lot and i was really subjective But then there’s also on this other side That combines history Culture religion and science and i Started buying all of the books and went To A lot of different tastings my interest Was really nurtured By my boss and the sommelier at the Hotel So i got to taste a lot with them they Sent me to different competitions and i Also got to work As a summer year at the gourmet Restaurant and i was also invited to Tastings when suppliers came in i Remember one Of those events in particular because The supplier came in with different

Wines from burgundy And he had a wine from the domain Francois La marsh not the claudia boujou here but Another wine called Lagoon which the supplier told us is a Special site because it sits right next To Romane conti which is a vineyard that I’ve heard about Before so i was really excited to taste The wine the supplier poured us a glass I put my nose inside the glass and was Totally disappointed because the wine Didn’t show me Anything it was completely closed up Because it was way too young So at the end of the tasting the Supplier told us that we can take a Bottle with us And i picked up the bottle of laguar we Put the cork back in And went back home the next day i pulled The cork out put myself a little glass And i was blown away this was a really Magical moment the wine was Open it was beautiful it was stunning it Was complex So this really changed my perspective on Wine i sat Over this glass for quite some time and Decided then and there That i wanted to learn everything i can About wine so

I moved on to win the german Championship for the best Young restaurant specialist and look at This picture look how chubby i was back Then kind of cute The next step i took was a really Important one i moved to dublin and Started working in ireland’s best Restaurant restaurant patrick kibo As a summer year this was a very intense Time because i was working in a foreign Country With a team of french guys and under a Lot of pressure because the restaurant Had this iconic status There was also screaming in the kitchen Infighting amongst the staff And there was this 1000 position wine List with lots of wines that i’ve never Even heard of The restaurant was full lunch and dinner There were roughly 100 different seeds And it was very physical very intense Work i lost all of my baby fat and did My 12 hour shifts but I loved it never have i ever before and After Tasted as many great wines aged wines On a regular basis as i did back then So i really managed to expand my palate The Irish like to drink a lot of wine as Well so It was not uncommon at a table of two

Ordered two bottles of wine over lunch i Remember this one table In particular that celebrated a great Business deal and they drank A bottle of dom perignon and then Continued with the flav Petrus and so on and so forth before Staggering out of the restaurant After paying their 7500 euro Bill during this time i read an article In decanter magazine that was titled the Way of the master it was about this Qualification That involved blind tasting and Identifying 36 Different wines and i decided that this Was exactly what i needed to do After a while thinking about it i Realized that working in a restaurant Wouldn’t be enough preparation For the master of wine qualification so I decided that i had to pack up my Things travel and go to the source So i moved to the other side of the World to new zealand why in new zealand Because it sounded exciting and it was Really far away I traveled for two days to get to this Little city called nelson And started working at this winery Called te mania I learned a lot about winemaking but Certainly not everything there is to Learn

But i learned that winemaking is a craft And that it is more than what you read About in books I also learned that winemaking is hard Hard work and it involves A lot of cleaning and that wine color Doesn’t really Come out of your skin for a few days i Brought back some nice bottles from this Winery but after Flying for two days i was so tired that I left them On the train by accident i never got Them back but I got this little bottle of syrah that My sister Bought for me when she traveled through New zealand and stop by At the winery and this is a very nice Refreshing lively wine that reminds me Of my time down there When i got back to germany i started Studying enology and business at Geisenheim university Geisenheim is not your typical student Town it’s in the middle of the rhinegar Surrounded by vineyards so there’s not Much to do there But to drink wine and study wine and That’s kind of what i did I learned a lot about the science behind Enology and viticulture And geisenheim is a very practical Approach to learning so we learned about

Canopy management for example And then went out to prune some Vineyards in order to understand how Canopy is developed this really helped Me a lot And when i finished my course there i Really felt like i’m ready To start the master of wine but in order To do that i moved to london I figured if i do the master of wine i Better be in the place where the Institute of masters of wine is located And the concentration of masters of wine And master of wine students Is the highest plus i always wanted to Live in london london is an amazing And beautiful city and and this might Surprise some people It’s also the wine capital of the world The british have been drinking wine Forever but they haven’t really produced A lot of wine so they had to import it From all over the world Most of it goes through london so all of The big trade events take place in London And you get to taste a lot of really Amazing wines At different tastings all over the year In the city Being a master of one student is not Cheap you have to pay for the course Which is roughly 5 000 euros a year but Then you also have to pay for travel

Other expenses books wine and other Training sessions so I would say on average you’d probably End up paying 10 000 euros A year for the course you can pass the Master of one In three years but the chances for that Are pretty low First of all most of the students who Start the course Don’t finish it only a fraction makes it To the end and out of the ones that make It i would say The average time it takes them is Between six and seven years until They finish the course because of the Cost and the risk of not passing most Muscle or wine students also have a Full-time job This doesn’t make life a lot easier i Got up really early in the morning To do some studying then went to work Spent a few evenings a week At tasting sessions and then spent all Sunday Writing notes writing essays and Preparing mock tastings This was intense on top of your 40 plus Hour week At work but i really loved it the Greatest thing about it though was all Of the people that i got to meet All of the students and other masters of Wine that

I formed friendships with we had a great Tasting group That i got together with on a regular Basis and we tasted wines And had a lot of fun together i still Remember my first blind tasting sessions In that group And how scary it was to tell everyone What you thought the wines were You were never 100 sure and it was Always a bit Embarrassing when you thought the wine Was a riesling and it was a chenin blanc In fact But after a while you realize that Everyone messes up in blind tastings It’s Really difficult but i also realized That even though i’m sometimes Completely wrong I’m actually pretty good at it i didn’t Really feel like i had to do much Catching up on All of the older and more experienced Tasters even though i was usually the Youngest person In the room and that felt really great Because all of the hard work that i had Invested in the previous years Paid off it still was a difficult hill To climb and i had some blind spots when It came to the tasting I didn’t know enough about fortified Wines and i didn’t know

Enough about some regions like for Example south africa and greece I also had to practice writing concise Essays about all different kinds of Questions questions arranged From what are the roles of tenants in Wine and how can a wine maker vary their Extraction and presence in wine To how important is a strong cooperative In the european wine region I remember the days before the exam and Going through my notes Over and over again knowing that if i Don’t make it if i don’t pass the exam Then i’ll have to do all of this again Next year which was a terrible Terrible thought the exam situation Itself is tough i’ve seen people cry Other people just sit there stare at Their desk while they realize That they’re not going to pass the exam When adrenaline pumps through your Bodies your nose closes Up we are not designed to taste and Smell when we are fighting for our life So it’s very important to keep your cool Which is a difficult Thing to do when you’re sitting the Hardest exam in the world But the harder the exam the greater the Joy when you pass it i was so relieved And so happy That i cried jumped around and screamed When i got my results

From the exam you also have to write a Research paper once you pass the exam And then you get the call from the Institute Someone telling you you are a master of Wine now and that is an amazing Feeling i actually opened this bottle This magnum bottle of champagne and Finished it So this empty bottle is very important To me And then you get invited to this special Event the Graduation ceremony which is very very Special Let me show you something Baum master of wife Still feels special reading this great Great feeling And then you’re a certified master of Wine That’s it and your life might change so I hope you enjoyed this little story Time if you did please Like the video down here subscribe to my Channel if you haven’t done so already I got more stuff coming up so stay tuned But whatever you do stay [Music] Thirsty