Sommelier At Your Service
by Katrina L. Spencer
“Champagne goes with everything,” sommelier Louise Olivares of Napa Valley, California, said on the first day of the year. She ordered a glass to accompany her beef tartare mingled with shitake mushrooms, to be followed by a pasta dish dressed with mussels. If there were only one wine she could drink for the rest of her life, this would be it.
She started working in the wine industry before the pandemic and gives ample credit to Northern California’s Napa Valley, a world destination for wine, for the rich education she has received surrounding the liquid gold.
In film and restaurants, the sommelier is the person who comes to the tables in fine dining establishments, uncorks often dark glass bottles and serves measured pours from a collection of curated wines. Were we to use the English term and not the French, we might call Olivares a “wine steward.” No matter the term, as a Filipina American, Olivares is an outlier in her field, which is dominated by white men.
Inasmuch as diversity in the field of wine, Olivares said, “It’s growing, and that’s always exciting.”
No matter the term, as a Filipina American, Olivares is an outlier in her field, which is dominated by white men.
Louise Olivares poses with two glasses of wine, white and red. Photo by Alexander Rubin
There are several ways to go about becoming a sommelier, Olivares said. She started by taking courses through the University of California at Berkeley continuing education extension program. Others may take up books and/or YouTube videos for independent study.
Acquiring what is considered the highest credential with the widest recognition, however, is no cakewalk. The Court of Master Sommeliers is the body that awards those considered the most accomplished, granting “master sommeliers” a pin to wear on their lapel in professional settings and a considerable boost in earning potential. The process is so rigorous that only a few hundred people have made it through in the United States.
To become a master sommelier, one takes a test that consists of multiple parts: theory, service and blind testing. In the third of these, the testee examines six wines and must identify the grapes used to make them, the wines’ regions of origin and the years the wines were made in 25 minutes’ time. Those who eventually pass have often taken the test multiple times before reaching success.
Two master sommeliers who are people of color who have endured and conquered the grueling process include June Rodil, another Filipina American who is based in Texas and works as a leader and businesswoman in hospitality, and Chris Gaither, a Black man who works as the director of education at Brown Napa Valley, a Black-owned winery. But the Court of Master Sommeliers is not the only path to success. Former sommelier Raj Parr, an Indian American man, didn’t get this credentialing and has nonetheless become a winemaker and author of esteem and clout without it. And others like wine consultant and writer Julia Coney have created resources like the Black Wine Professionals database that makes it easier to find Black people within the industry.
In terms of Olivares’s path, she most recently worked in wine at a high-end resort called Solage in Calistoga, California, and managed a wine list of a few hundred bottles and the site’s by-the-glass program. Some of her background that has served her in her sommelier role has been her experience in sales, which has helped her to read what a customer wants.
In approaching a pair of diners, for example, she must determine their vibe: the energy and the goal that are driving their wine-seeking. Are they the traditional sort after something tried, true and safe? Are they adventurous, looking to be surprised and willing to experiment? Are they celebrating a milestone? What food dishes will they pair with their selection? Are there any clues available that indicate their budget? Matching the customer with the right wine for the moment is an analytical process and perhaps always a bit of a gamble. Olivares’s master’s degree in business administration likely gives her a leg up.
As with any industry, it’s not all sprawling green vineyards and luxury getaways.
“It’s a physical job and you have restaurant hours,” Olivares said.
Sommelier Louise Olivares, left, accepts a drink from Belarusian restaurateur Igor Drypsiak at Rosé Gosé, a bistro in Austin, Texas, January 1, 2025. Find Olivares on Instagram @tinysips and the restaurant @rose_gose_austin.
A sommelier is often on their feet, making multiple trips to and from a cellar or storage space, carrying heavy bottles and monitoring drinkers’ reactions and levels of satisfaction. A sommelier’s evenings, weekends and perhaps holidays may not be their own. The sexual harassment of servers is a long-running theme, and wages for this rare group may not be as generous as one might expect.
“This industry is about pleasure,” Olivares said. “You don’t really get rich, going into the wine industry.”
The pandemic, too, hit the service industry hard, placing some sommeliers’ job security in jeopardy. After all, if restaurants are shut down, who is calling on the sommeliers for expertise? Some parts of the field are still making a comeback. Eric Asimov’s reporting in the New York Times “The Twilight of the American Sommelier” revealed that this profession, too, must diversify skills and engagements to survive, especially the hard times.
As new trends develop, people and businesses adapt. There was a time that grape stomping à la Lucille Ball was the way to draw juice from the fruit, and the practice has since diminished. There was a time that screw caps for wine bottles instead of corks were unheard of. And there was a time that canning or boxing wine, methods for making consumption more convenient, was unthinkable. But everything evolves.
It’s a passion-filled business, Olivares said. She draws satisfaction from connecting with customers in this context and will continue to opt in.
“When you choose something,” she said, “you’re naturally happy.”