Sommelier at last <3

I am writing today to share with you a very special emotion... Laura and I passed the AIS exam on 11 March 2015, but the awarding of AIS Sommelier diploma was only last Friday, 27 November! And so... I am finally a sommelier! If you're still studying (read this article all the way through, because I've put together some amazing resources for passing the AIS exam and becoming a sommelier that will help you so much... but if you're really in a hurry and don't feel like reading everything I write... CONSULT THE BIG GUIDE TO BECOMING A SOMMELIER NOW! I have put the link that opens in a new webpage, just in case you are interested in my gossip about the fantastic AIS ceremony again 😝 )

In the first photo my travelling companions during the journey to become a sommelier: Iacopo, Kristian (practically French origins moved to Ravenna... but how do you do it? 😝 I feel great here!), Stefano, Thomas... and of course me and Laura! But a special thank you really goes to everyone, especially Carla who is the most extraordinary woman and sommelier you can meet on your path! And to Mirko, who if it wasn't for him leading me astray at 18, I might not have been so passionate about wine... to Roberto and Cristina... in short, thank you all! 😍

The first thing I want to tell you is that not everything in life that seems negative to us really is, and that sometimes facts happen that show you that it really isn't, you just have to be patient for 'the wheel to turn'. If there is one thing that I have always thought, ever since I was little more than a child, it is that there is a kind of superior justice that 'adjusts' the things that happen in people's lives. Then of course, it doesn't fix everything... but maybe a little something does. That is why I firmly believe that if a person is good at heart and does his best, sooner or later he will get what he deserves. There, you could say that I firmly believe in MERITOCRACY (but if you are a graduate in Italy, plug your ears! 😉 ) Why all this preamble? At the beginning, the fact that they had postponed the date of the traditional ceremony in Franciacorta from May/June, as previously announced, annoyed me to no end! But thanks to this delay, I was able to share this day with Francesco... so I couldn't have wished for anything better!  [Editor's note: This Francis is my ex-boyfriend... not my current husband! 😉]

But let's go in order... the programme is to be at 11 a.m. from Guido Berlucchi's cellars in Franciacorta... you should know that it is now a consolidated tradition for all AIS sommeliers in Italy to spend the day in Franciacorta drinking Berlucchi wines, and for us too (luckily because it is a really good experience) it was like that. The appointment called for us all to be in our AIS representative uniforms... and I of course did not have a skirt until a few days before... which I ordered in Milan during the 49th AIS congress and the presentation of the Vitae Guide! I only gave an advance on this topic because otherwise the blog would become monothematic... so I'll tell you about the guide in a few days... it's the 2016 guide anyway and we are still in December 2015! I'm sure you won't die waiting... and that you understand me because I'm not the wine blogger standard that either publishes the wine magazine style press release, or he drinks, drinks, drinks and tells you about the emotions of everything he drinks (sooner or later I will hear a wine enthusiast say "and what do I care??" emotions are always subjective, so I think it's fairer to tell you about his experiences around that wine than to inform you about its highly laxative or fornicating effect! 😅 Come on of course I am joking, let's get back to us and our beautiful day of the Sommelier diploma awarding AIS!

In short, after a week of iron diet, more or less the jacket closes (but some say the door is open so as not to look plastered... a good excuse that I share with you!), the buttons on the shirt hold (but some say that on the breasts the buttons are squeezed and sexy... this is also a good excuse that you can use!), my father-in-law tied my tie in a knot (because I tried the scarf that women usually use, but I don't know which way to turn it, so in the end I decided to buy that) and the skirt magically fits and is a bit loose... the only problem are the 10 heel pumps that I was stupid enough to wear... but luckily the caravan after the visit to Berlucchi's historical wine cellar didn't notice that we stopped because that saint of a boyfriend of mine ran to the car to get me a pair of ballet flats (he knows me well 😀 )... we're ready! I'm not going to re-tell you how beautiful Berlucchi's historic winery is, if you follow this blog you've read all about it after my visit during the Franciacorta Festival... if you haven't read the article... READ IT HERE) Berlucchi's cellar is really worth a visit... partly because that's where the first Franciacorta was born, partly because I've been knocking over all the Franciacorta cellars and so far it's one of the most beautiful... partly because the hospitality is excellent... and partly because Palazzo Lana is also there! Cristina Ziliani, daughter of the art (her father Franco Ziliani made the history of the metodo classico in Franciacorta with Guido Berlucchi) was an exceptional 'hostess' who took us to Palazzo Lana for a toast... Palazzo Lana is beautiful on the ground floor... the hall with the fireplace and the entrance with the piano are wonderful, but I wasn't so thrilled with the hall on the first floor where the toast was held! But you absolutely must come and visit, perhaps at the next Franciacorta Festival! Thank you for offering us a toast of Palazzo Lana Franciacorta DOCG Riserva Satén 2006... I must say that here the barrique is very noticeable and it has a nose of butter smeared with lightly toasted bread crust which is beautiful!

We continued on to the Relais Franciacorta, the real heart of the ceremony where we would be presented with the diploma, the tastevin, and we would be pinned with the pin (how exciting! Even though Andrea had already given it to me... the great absentee of the day, and not just because of his business trip to Shanghai... I was so sorry not to have him with us that day... after all, he helped us along the way by drinking excellent bottles with us😅 ) The Relais Franciacorta, from what little I saw of it in the general confusion of the day, is very neat and beautiful! When we arrived they were making a Christmas tree using wine bottles... cleverly arranged by colour to create the 'festoon' effect. Very good! Francesco called it (not wrongly) a bit exaggerated... but I'm sure all #winelovers will appreciate it! At the Relais Franciacorta, a simple menu awaited us, paired with Berlucchi wines, which I'll share with you:

Menu for the Faenza and Ravenna AIS Diploma Presentation, 27 November 2015

Whitefish strudel with tomato water - Berlucchi '61 Franciacorta Rosé

Franciacorta Risotto - Berlucchi '61 Franciacorta Brut

Guinea fowl breast with bacon, potato royale, shiny vegetables - Cellarius Franciacorta Brut 2008

Almond and apple tartlet with corn cream - Cuvée Imperiale Franciacorta Demi-Sec

The Coregone... what is it? It is actually called Lavarello and it is a lake fish... which obviously abounds in Lake Iseo! I can see that in a slightly bombastic menu writing Lavarello was wrong 😀 Nice dish, the Coregone is tasty and flavoursome and I really liked the menu of the area! I would have added a drizzle of raw oil on top and a grating of pepper, but overall good! The risotto with Franciacorta was almost perfect... I prefer it more 'all'onda' and therefore a hair pulled, but really good, tasty and well whipped! The guinea fowl was tender and tasty thanks also to the bacon fat, the vegetables were very good, and the potato royale was a sort of layered 'pie'... perhaps the least successful, from the pretentious name I expected more! The almond and apple pie was very good, it's a pity that my Francesco ate practically the whole thing... but then again I had stolen his starter since he has this phobia of barbed fish (which he only eats if he doesn't know it's barbed) 😅 )

And here we are at the moment of the ceremony: exciting! We were called on stage, one from Ravenna and one from Faenza. This was fair but I was a little sorry, we had only been we in Faenza I would have gone on stage with Laura (they called in alphabetical order... Amadei - Bassi is now a must!). When Roberto pinned the pin with the tastevin symbol of the AIS on it, I got a bit excited... both because it's always nice to achieve something you care about, and because I adore the AIS and I adore wine... and although there will always be malicious tongues in this world... or 'bullshit' speeches like the ones I've heard during my career, such as 'I won't become a sommelier because then I'll become biased'... it's all rubbish! But biased for what? Becoming an AIS sommelier is a beautiful journey, made up of a lot of study and sacrifice (because those who have done it know what it means to go at least two evenings a week from 8.15pm to 11.30pm after having worked all day listening to the speaker who talks to you about oenology, terpenes, anthocyanins, etc. etc... in all weathers and maybe even far from home like Laura and I!), it is a demanding educational experience both from a time and economic point of view... but it is really worth it! And anyone who claims otherwise... I invite them to do the course first, then talk! Because if he speaks after having done all three courses I accept that, but anyone who criticises the AIS without having done the courses I would give him a good kicking!

And with our dear classmates and our boyfriends, Laura and I ended the day with a visit and tasting at La Montina... where Alceo, as always, outdid himself despite the fact that I called him two hours before arriving to tell him I was coming by... but those who know me know that La Montina is in my heart... and now also in Francesco's heart! 😍

Good awarding of AIS sommelier diploma to all of you aspiring sommeliers, and many thanks to all of you dear colleagues who have accompanied me on this journey.

A hug,

Chiara

PS I greet you with some useful resources to help you pass the exam!

• Questions & Answers of the 2015 AIS Examination
• How to pass the AIS examination and become a sommelier
• 5 techniques for studying less and better for the sommelier exam
• How to recognise if a wine tastes corked?

And be sure to buy my book if you are in exam range... remember to buy my book Sommelier: the illustrated manual!

Hoping I have given you some excitement and helped you reach your goal... as always I remind you not to make the wolf croak but to get him drunk!

 What about you? Have you graduated yet? Have you already graduated? What memories do you have of the graduation ceremony? What happened afterwards? Leave me a comment <3

All my notes on wine and food in one book.