The New Sommes of Seattle

By Doug Haugen

Your average dictionary, for better or worse, tends to give the most concise denotation of a term, and perhaps nowhere, depending on your interests, is that more inadequate than when defining a sommelier. Many people flail around just trying to pronounce the word (for the record, it’s sum-ul-yay), let alone actually knowing what a somme really is. Even when pulling out the Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary (you know, the big bug-squisher), you read that a sommelier is “a waiter, as in a club or restaurant, who is in charge of wines.” This is true, in a way—a sommelier is someone who may approach your table to discuss the wine list—but what this fails to capture is the sheer scope of what a sommelier is.

To be a sommelier requires intensive education, disciplined self-study, and a significant financial investment. There are two organizations that certify sommes, the International Sommeliers Guild and the Court of Master Sommeliers, and while their approach is different, in both cases, the process is grueling, the required skills are exacting, and candidates must have the passion and the fortitude to fulfill mind-boggling expectations.

It’s not uncommon for a somme to hear a customer say something like, “Wow, you have the best job in the world—you get to drink wine all day!” The somme would probably agree wholeheartedly, but not for the reasons the customer is thinking. For a somme, drinking wine all day involves sipping wine and spitting it back out, pouring half-full glasses into the spittoon and moving on, evaluating each wine on as many as twenty different factors, classifying and reclassifying it according to style, region, varietal and more, and adding the wine to his or her broadening knowledge base. For them, tasting wine is more than casual enjoyment; it’s academic, systematic and disciplined. And why? Much of it is for their passionate love of the subject, but more than that, it’s so they can help you, the consumer, find a single glass or bottle of wine that you will enjoy on a single visit to their place of employment. When you talk to a sommelier in a restaurant, you’re not merely getting advice from a “waiter who is in charge of wines,” but rather, you’re tapping into thousands of hours of draconian education.

The dedication of the sommelier is well-demonstrated in a loosely formed alliance of young wine professionals, calling themselves the NeoSommes of Seattle (NSS). This gang includes sommes and wine program directors at various stages in their education and certification, but all with one thing in common—the drive to continue to hone their skills and expand their knowledge of wine.

The informal club began this year when the would-be members realized that they were participating in the same tasting groups, attending the same trade tastings and pursuing the same goals, and all at a relatively young age.

Tasting groups are less like cocktail parties, and more like boot camp for the palate. Though they occur in places of business, the groups meet on their own time and on their own dime. Each member of a tasting group buys and brings a bottle of wine found on the Court of Master Sommeliers’ official list of classic wines. They then blind-taste them, and have four minutes to verbally analyze the wine according to the categories on the Court’s exam, identifying the varietal, the specific corner of the world where it’s from, etc. simply by taste and smell. “I don’t think that a lot of people, unless you’re in the game itself, can appreciate the fact of getting up at nine, buying a bottle of thirty-dollar wine, sipping it , spitting it out, and then going back to studying or going to work,” Cole Sisson said, “It’s a lot of work. You drink six wines in the morning, make a lot of note cards, it costs a lot of money, and it takes a lot of time. It’s a horrible place to go at ten in the morning; two and a half hours later, I emerge exhausted, but I know my palate’s getting better.” Buying a good bottle of wine that will end up in a spit bucket before noon and before heading off for a full day of work—you get a sense of their commitment to learning over the rosy-cheeked high jinx that many of us associate with the vino. For some, these tasting groups are a good way to train for the next level of certification; for others, it’s simply a way to further develop their expertise to aid them in their current job pouring wine for people dining out.

Outside of these tasting groups, they also began to run into each other at exclusive, high-level trade tastings (wineries and distributors sometimes hold events to let sommes and wine directors taste their wines in hopes that they will sell them in their restaurants), and got excited that while being relatively young and new to the industry, they were tasting wine alongside others whom many would consider “the greats” among sommes—wine professionals have their own kind of local celebrities.

These young wine professionals naturally began to band together, informing each other of tastings and events, trading industry news and articles that they’d read, sharing opinions of wines and trends, and more. With so much going on among the group, Yashar Shayan decided to help everyone get a little more organized by creating a Google Group through which they could all share information more easily. Staying up all night to think of a cool name for the group, he came up with “NeoSommes of Seattle,” not to suggest that they were altogether new kinds of sommelier, but more so to reflect their comparatively young age in the industry and their unique collaboration in their growth as sommes. They have a very high respect for the “old guard” from whom the baton is gradually being passed; they are honored to be counted among them as fellow wine professionals; and they are hungry for the knowledge that can be gained from them, but these are the guys and gals that are helping to usher in the next generation of wine consumers. “This whole NeoSomme thing, it wasn’t something that I think any of us created. I gave it a label and started a Google Group, but I think, actually, it was an organic process. It made itself,” Shayan said, “As the future generation of sommeliers… we should really band together and help each other out,” just like those have that have gone before, though taking advantage of new technological tools that weren’t available to previous generations.

Because they are still relatively in their infancy, they don’t have wineries knocking down their doors to show them wines, and they have to take matters into their own hands. To do this, the NeoSommes organize their own tasting events, enticing producers to pour their juice for a bunch of up-and-comers at the same time—those that will be opening their bottles for diners for decades to come. One such event was a recent tasting held at Wild Ginger, where they gathered at eleven o’clock in the morning to sample selections from the Majestic Fine Wines portfolio out of both the breathable and classic stemware by Eisch Glaskultur. Another was a Woodinville day tour in a rented van that included stops at JM Cellars, DeLille Winery, Pacific Distillery, Soft Tail Spirits, and Efeste. With a full day of rigidly scheduled appointments, the NeoSommes went from place to place, spitting into spittoons and plastic cups and asking a lot of questions to further educate themselves, many of them heading off to work afterward, stone-sober.

At their current trajectory, this motley crew of wine professionals is bound to make an increasingly large splash in the Washington wine industry, bringing their various talents and interests to the wine community, as you will read below. As they continue to dutifully expand their already impressive wine knowledge, become even more ubiquitous in the Seattle wine scene, and spread the love to wine consumers around the state and beyond, the result will be the continued growth of wine’s popularity, and even more assurance that your wine experience will be a great one.

Yashar Shayan
Age: 25
Employer: Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar
Belt: Court of Masters Sommelier, Level 1; Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Level 3 Advanced

When he was twenty-one and in college, Yashar Shayan had some friends that introduced him to the world of wine. He made it a point to ask questions when he’d go to the store to buy, and one day, everything clicked. A wine steward recommended a “white burgundy.” Yashar had heard that white burgundies were really good, but was a little mystified when the steward told him that this one was 100% Chardonnay. Which was it, a white burgundy or a Chardonnay? He went home and looked it up—discovering, of course, that Chardonnay is a white burgundy—and became instantly fascinated. “Even aside from drinking wine, it was so fun to learn about it from the comfort of your own couch or computer chair. It’s science, art, culture, language—that’s all wrapped up in a single bottle,” he said, and he thought that was profound.

Yashar quickly started working wine jobs while putting himself through college and after, ranging from a tour guide and marketing assistant for Washington Wine tours, a wine shop, an internship at Matthews Cellars, pouring wine at Waters Restaurant for a short time followed by a longer stint at Bin Vivant, interning at Washington Wine Commission, and others. Now, he works at Seastar Restaurant, giving diners the full wine experience.

As a sommelier, Yashar says, “I think we’re there to guide and help and answer questions, to recommend—like obviously a lot of people ask for food and wine pairings. Not everybody is a wine expert, not everyone needs to be a wine expert, and I wouldn’t expect everyone to be a wine expert like I wouldn’t expect everyone to be a mechanic, but when a person comes and has an idea of ‘Hey I like a wine with characteristics XYZ,’ I think a somme can discern, in my mind, here’s a list of wines that I think this person would like based on the things they told me they liked in the past and the characteristics they told me they like in a wine, and so based on that, something we can do that’s special is hopefully turn that person on to a new wine…and broaden that
person’s horizons.”

Cole Sisson
Age: 28
Employer: Tilth Restaurant, Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar
Belt: Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Sommelier (Level 2)

While going to college at the University of Washington, Cole Sisson began working for a catering company. He decided to learn more about wine in order to make better tips, and he found a mentor there that started having him try a lot of different wines. Later jobs solidified his newfound love, and convinced him that there was a career to be had in wine. Cole got excited, and started reading voraciously about the wine world.

After backpacking around the world for six months at a time, Cole came to Seattle, where he began working at Tilth as a server, and later took an additional job at Seastar as a floor somme.

Though he has learned much, Cole’s hunger for more wine knowledge has never waned. “I’m still at a point where I’m still trying to come to terms with what I know and how to convey it, and how to explain things, too,” he said, “I mean, sometimes I think we forget that we’re still pretty young. You know, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s fun because as you delve deeper, and as you become more comfortable, as you learn from watching other people, you realize how far you can go, and how much more there is to keep improving on.” Cole continues to research like a madman, reading up to 150 blogs a day, and shares informational gems that he discovers with the rest of the NeoSommes.

The future is wide open for Cole. He’s planning to start an internship at Betz Winery soon to see what it’s like making wine, but he’s open to other career paths, too. True to the path of his life so far, experience is everything, and the future will unfold accordingly. Working for Tilth and two locations of Seastar, while still attending tasting groups, reading books and researching online, Cole’s entire life is currently immersed in wine. Fortunately, he has an understanding girlfriend whom he says he could not do all this without.

Adam Chumas
Age: 27
Employer: Tilth Restaurant, General Manager
Belt: Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Sommelier (Level 2)

Adam has always had a “thing for dining,” even drawing pictures of restaurants in his grandmother’s living room as a kid, saying, “This is going to be my restaurant.” He worked as a prep cook during summer vacations in New Hampshire where he grew up, and was introduced to the wine program, which opened his eyes and launched his passion for wine. “I think my passion for dining and the restaurant industry and food as a whole really nurtured the wine aspect of it, and I like studying about it. It’s history, it’s geography, the whole theory of wine is a huge realm that’s not just grape juice. My mind has always been wrapped around that kind of stuff.”

Adam moved to Seattle “on a whim and a prayer,” and got a job as a server in Fremont, and was soon offered a management job. He had managed restaurants on the East Coast, and that was his desired career path, so he took the position where he managed the wine program directly while managing the restaurant. Later, the opportunity to manage Tilth arose, and he snatched it up. There, he wears a lot of hats: General Manager, Wine Buyer, Floor Somme, Janitor, etc. With his intense love of food, Adam’s love for wine lies in its ability to complete the dining experience.

One of the things Adam loves about being a part of the NeoSommes clique is always having someone at the ready to geek out with about wine. “Bottom line is that I’m a total nerd… I have a solid network of wine geeks that I can hang out with. Someone I can call and say ‘I just had a bottle of ’04 Cortan!’ and they’re like, ‘Dude, was it good?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, it was really good!’ Unlike my girlfriend, where I’m like, ‘Do you get this, do you get this’ and she’s like, ‘Leave me alone!’” The NeoSommes group represents offers the conviviality that he loves about the wine world as a whole.

Cheri Walters
Age: 31
Employer: Tilth Restaurant
Belt: International Sommeliers Guild, Sommelier Diploma Program

After a long history in art and theater (not to mention journalism), Cheri was introduced to the marvels of wine while working at Teatro ZinZanni, a dinner theater mixing the circus with cabaret. The wine director there would hold weekly wine classes for the staff, and the enthusiasm was contagious. Cheri had that eureka moment, and enrolled in classes through the International Sommelier Guild, where she has just completed the diploma program.

Being a part of the NeoSommes has been instrumental in her continuing education. She loves being around a core group of people who are all trying to expand their knowledge of wine, and who share an excitement for what that means.

Her passion for wine has only grown. Seeking a change in atmosphere, she recently began working the floor at Tilth Restaurant. She has launched a wine blog (www.cheriwalters.com), and hopes to write an e-book on the subject at some point. Her love of theater and journalism translates into her love of wine. She says, “I always thought that putting things in front of people as far as a story and different things that are told helps to open minds or to change somehow. You come into the theater, you come into that experience, and you leave having a different understanding of who you are and the world around you. Wine is that for me, as well, helping people to open their minds a little bit more and try new things and see more of the world around them; because I think that through wine, you really get a connection to the culture, and the people who made that wine, and to the earth and the fruit. It’s really cool to be able to show that to people.”

Cortney Lease
Age: 26
Employer: Cellar Master, Wild Ginger and Triple Door
Belt: Court of Masters Sommelier, Certified Sommelier (Level 2); Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Level 3 Advanced

Getting into wine was a “stumbling process” for Cortney. Originally studying acupuncture in college, when Georg W. Bush was elected a second time, she decided to head over to England for a while. On a temporary work visa, she got a job in a wine shop and becoming a wine advisor. They supported her going through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, and she got her advanced certificate there. When she came back to Seattle, she returned to Wild Ginger where she had worked in college. They created the Cellar Master position, and she was given the job. As a Cellarmaster at Wild Ginger, she manages a wine list of 400 to 500 selections, and a cellar list of 2,400 selections of higher-end, rare and valuable wines. Since she came aboard, Wild Ginger has been consistently recognized with prestigious awards for their wine program.

Being part of the NeoSommes, Cortney is able to stay connected with the industry outside of her own restaurant. “It’s a great way to feel out the pulse of the city, talking to so many different individuals from all over Seattle, and it’s nice to see other people who are as passionate as I am about wine. And, it’s a proactive group which is also really cool.”

Down the road, Cortney ultimately wants to make wine, probably in Washington State to support Washington’s exposure. “You have a bunch of really cool, open-hearted people making wine, just trying to communicate and connect with ideas. It’s really exciting to be a part of that. They’re not rigid or strict in what they expect, they’re a lot more creative—they have room to be creative. So, it’s kind of exciting to be
working in that kind of environment.”

David Bender
Age: 29
Employer: Bastille Restaurant, D-List Magazine
Belt: Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Sommelier (Level 2)

David has worked in restaurants all of his life, and went to school for a Hospitality Management degree. He set himself up for running a restaurant, but after discovering wine, food alone wasn’t enough. He began to take Court of Master Sommeliers introductory classes at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Florida, and his eyes were opened to the differences in wine, and he got excited. “It really changed my life, and took me from that point on in a direction of the wine world.” He later moved to Spokane, Washington, and knew he wanted to work in wine, so he took on as many wine-related jobs he could find, surrounding himself in wine.

After moving to Seattle, David started actively networking around the Seattle wine scene, and he met Cortney Lease, who invited him to the tasting group at Tilth. He bought a bottle, showed up, and instantly found a group of friends who shared his passion for wine—those that would later organize as the NeoSommes.

“Once I realized I wanted to take the wine world path, whatever it is, I try to get involved, because I know that if you immerse yourself in whatever you’re interested in, opportunity will come of it. “Where do I see myself going? I know that I love wine. I know that I want to be involved with it for the rest of my life. I don’t know where it’s going to take me, but I’m going to take a look at every opportunity that comes my way, and perhaps hop on every one of them if I can, just because it’s what I love doing.” For now, that means talking up the wine list to customers at Bastille, writing about wine for D-List Magazine, and remaining actively involved with the NeoSommes of Seattle.

Erik Segelbaum
Age: 28
Employer: Daniel’s Broiler on Lake Union
Belt: Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Sommelier (Level 2); Society of Wine Educators, Certified Specialist of Wine

Erik’s history has been in restaurants since he was thirteen years old. After developing his culinary skills, he eventually took front-of-house job where he had to know about wine; he got hooked and continued his education. He got into wine programs almost by accident. He had just passed the introductory sommelier exam when the hotel and restaurant where he worked lost both the head sommelier and wine director within three weeks, and he inherited it. To make things work, he overhauled the whole department.

Now, as a sommelier at Daniel’s Broiler on Lake Union (the only Certified Somme in the Schwartz Brothers Restaurant Group), he manages a wine list of 1,100 selections, and is winning awards left and right, most recently the Best of Award of Excellence from Wine spectator for the fourth year in a row.

Being a sommelier is an act of matchmaking. He could and would wholeheartedly recommend any of the 1,100 selections on his list, so to find just the right bottle for a customer, he has developed a short list of questions that can narrow things down quickly. Do you want a Northwest Wine, or another particular part of the world? Red, white or sparkling? Full bodied, medium or lighter? More fruit flavors or earthy flavors? Red fruit or dark fruit? Spicy, and if so, how much? Is there a specific varietal you’re looking for? This narrows things down to ten or twenty bottles. Lastly, the desired price range will bring it home. He tries to recommend less what he currently likes and more what the customer may enjoy.

As an active member of the NeoSommes group, he has access to a wealth of knowledge to complement his own. “We all learn and study differently, and we all have different exposure, so the areas where I am weak, there are others in the group that are strong. And, vice versa, I hope that the area where I might have more experience than others, I can share that.”

Merri Jo Majovski
Age: 31
Employer: Impromptu Wine Bar Café
Belt: Court of Masters Sommelier, Level 1

After graduating from college with a degree in Biology, Merri Jo moved to Florida to try something different. Applying for lab jobs, she realized that the environment wasn’t as warm and friendly as the restaurant industry she had always known. She decided to move to Seattle, and once here, was overwhelmed by the wine scene. She got a job at Palisade Restaurant, whose wine director was passionate and erudite about Washington wine, inspiring her to learn more. She began to self-study, and her dad began sending her all the books on her ever-growing reading list.

She went to Aspen to study wine in the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory course. After passing the test, she received a letter in the mail from Paul Roberts, the beverage director for all Thomas Keller restaurants, congratulating her and inviting her to apply for an externship at French Laundry in Napa. Several months later, she was awarded the position. Being completely immersed in wine among others who were just as passionate was a life changing experience. “It made me a better person,” she said, “It really changed who I was.”

After completing the externship, she came back in Seattle and took a job as Manager and Wine Buyer at Impromptu Wine Bar Café in Madison Park, which she says is perhaps the smallest restaurant in the city. Still, she has eighteen wines available by the glass and a bottle list of about eighty selections and would like to grow that to over a hundred.

Being a part of the NeoSommes offers a similar experience to French Laundry, being surrounded by enthusiastic wine professionals. “I think one of the secrets to success is surrounding yourself with successful people,” she said, “It’s especially important to me, because in my current situation, I don’t have a mentor. That is one of the things that’s missing, so being a part of this group really helps.”

Down the road, she’d like to learn the Italian language, and perhaps find a career as a wine director in a great restaurant with a million-dollar cellar, or head into the import side of things, traveling the globe visiting wineries.

Jennifer Schmitt
Age: 27
Employer: Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar
Belt: Court of Master Sommeliers, Certified Sommelier (Level 2)

Attending Eastern Washington University, Jennifer met a guy in one of her classes that worked in the tasting room at Arbor Crest Wine Cellars. She applied for a summer job and was hired; and while there, she blossomed from having an interest in wine to having a love of wine.

After graduating with a Communications degree and looking for jobs, she came across a job posting for a sommelier position, and it seemed to fit everything she loved: public relations, marketing and the restaurant industry that she was used to. To pursue a wine education, she made the move to Seattle where there was more opportunity. She landed a job at Wild Ginger, where the people she worked with were really helpful in guiding her into the next steps. She took the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory course, and at the same time, took the introductory courses through the International Sommeliers Guild. Later, she was certified with the Court, and this year, she made the move to Seastar, where she’s the Assistant Sommelier.

Jennifer is a member of several tasting groups including the one at Wild Ginger, and also one at Canlis where some of Seattle’s most renowned sommeliers gather to taste. For her, tasting groups are a matter of personal growth. “I’m not the type of person to learn just by reading a book. I could read a book three times and I might pick up something new each time, but every time I go to a group, I learn something new about a wine, or something I pick up, or the conversation starts sparking. It’s feeding off of each other.”

For Jennifer, being a NeoSomme provides an opportunity to reach out. “I think that the somme world is kind of obscure, and for people outside the wine world, it can be a little intimidating,” she said, “So, it’s great having a platform where people can kind of see what it is that we actually do, that we’re just a bunch of wine dorks that are getting together, hanging out and doing different events—to see that we’re just people, and we just happen to geek out on wine.” She went on, “We’re a group of friends, and we’re trying to better ourselves, better the somme community and to just kind of show that wine is approachable—that it’s fun. Mostly, it’s a bunch of friends trying to help each other.”

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In the print edition of WINO Magazine, Cole Sisson’s age is reported to be 42, when he is in fact 28. The higher age turned out to be a joke during the interview process, along with a comment about being the “Benjamin Button of the group.” Cole says, ”…there was a lack of communication on my behalf.”

Also in the print edition, Cortney Lease is reported to hold a Level 1.5 through the Court of Master Sommeliers. The Court now calls this Level 2.

Lastly, Yashar Shayan’s time at Waters Restaurant marked his entry into the restaurant industry, but it was a brief stay. He really cut his teeth at Bin Vivant, which wasn’t mentioned due to space constraints and his very long list of participation in the wine industry.

All of these errors and edits have been corrected in this online version of the article.