A wine tasting session organized by the Hanoi Wine Club at the Viet Bistro in Hanoi

The art of tasting and drinking wine is casting its rapture over increasing numbers of Vietnamese gourmets.

In many parts of Asia at least, the word means liquor. Liquor shops are called wine shops in quite a few countries, so one goes to a wine shop to buy beer, whisky, rum or whatever one’s favorite “poison” is. Different kinds of locally produced alcohol are called wines; in fact, any fruit can be fermented and called wine. And the indigenous, ubiquitous drink in Vietnam is rice wine.

The word comes into its own, however, as the fermented juice of grapes, taken to the level of a highly sophisticated art form in European culture. According to the French Gourmet Academy, wine is “a lively liquid that can become diseased, grow old and die.” From Europe, the wine culture has spread across affluent societies worldwide, and over the last couple of decades, entered the annals of modern Vietnamese gastronomy.

Twenty years ago, wine was not a part of popular culture here, and there was hardly any literature on it available in the market. Reflecting the growing wine culture in Vietnam, some of the most popular books now available are: “Wine – A gift from God” by Le Van; and the “Wine sommelier – Professional of the Future” translated by Ma To Viet, a Vietnamese – French member of ASI (International Association of Sommeliers). More and more wine culture conferences held in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Lat, the nation’s winery, are promoting the number of urbanites who are truly interested in appreciating and imbibing wine – to enjoy its subtler experiences.

According to Hung, a connoisseur in HCMC, there are five “S”s – steps, in a manner of speaking – to tasting and enjoying wine.

The first S stands for Sight, to evaluate the wine’s color, which provides hints to its age, degree of sweetness and even the grape variety.

The second S is Swirling the stemware against a white background to look for clarity of the wine,” says Hung.

The third S is Smell. The nose will give you a significant amount of information about a particular wine, about its age or even the soil and weather of the region where grapes were grown. The last two steps, Snapping and Savoring, are the most enjoyable stages of enjoying the winemaker’s art. Swishing the wine in the mouth so the wide variety of taste buds come into play leads to the “fairy finish,” which can last a minute or more, which you cannot get from any other beverage, says Hung.

In HCMC, the Wine World in District 2 and La Cave in District 10 are two ideal places for gourmets to enjoy and buy wines. In Hanoi, the “headquarters,” Viet Bistro of the Hanoi Wine Club on Pho Duc Chinh Street and the Wine Club on Hai Ba Trung Street are the places for wine connoisseurs.

Some remarkable wine events coming up next month can be checked out at the official website (www.daloc.vn ) of Hanoi Wine Club.

A wine pro

The love for wine can lead to a highly paid profession, if one can make it to the top as a sommelier. For the uninitiated, a sommelier is a wine steward with expert knowledge of wine and is responsible for ordering (for the establishment cellar) and serving the wine. A

good sommelier will be able to recommend the wine that would complement the cooking the customer plans to eat, or the other way around – recommend the food that would go with a particular wine.

The sommelier is a professional with highly-developed wine skills who has received formal training. She/he is an important part of the establishment’s reputation and a key contributor to its success.

According to expert wine taster To Viet, food critic and a frequent lecturer at hospitality colleges in Vietnam, there are very few sommeliers in Vietnam, because it is as yet a new-fangled concept with strict requirements. But he feels Vietnam is a promising land for this job, because of its tourist potential.

Thuy Anh, an Overseas Vietnamese student of Switzerland’s Glion Hotel School (GIHE), now working at HCMC’s five-star Sheraton hotel, is also sanguine about the prospects for this career in Vietnam.

“There is no single recognized educational standard when you decide to follow the sommelier profession, but formal education is an important component of pursuing a job in this field.

“There are many organizations, colleges and culinary schools that offer training for those seeking to become wine professionals. This job is really developed in Europe or the US, for their need and wide production of wine. Now, in many five-star hotels in Vietnam, the manager of F&B is the pluralist and, as such, its sommelier.”

In the US, some sommelier certification programs are offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Sommelier Society of America and the American Sommelier Association.

And according to Court of Master Sommeliers, those who have a Master Certification can earn up to US$160,000 or more per year. Getting to that summit is easier said than done, however. There are less than 200 people at this level worldwide.

Reported by Kim