Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 8:48 a.m.
Ron Mumford loves wine the way a baby boomer loves his collection of Topps baseball cards, the way a 9-year old kid loves gummy worms. Mumford recently achieved the title of Master Sommelier, one of 40 to hold this title in the United States.
That brings the total in Las Vegas to 10, more than any other urban area. What's more, three of our Master Sommeliers -- Claudia Tyagi of the Rio, Cameron Sisk of Southern Wine and Spirits and Barbara Werley of the Palace
Court at Caesars -- are women. And that is an impressive statistic, given that there are only eight women Master Sommeliers in this country.
Mumford and his colleague, Kevin Vogt of Delmonico Steakhouse, were recently awarded these titles, which indicate expertise in wine tasting, theory and service. This honor, along with the more technically-oriented title Master of Wine, is indeed a rarity. It is awarded by the Court of Master Sommeliers, which was established in England 23 years ago, in order to foster better wine service. Mumford went to London to get his; Vogt passed in Orlando, Fla.
The court is mobile. Every year the exam is given in a different locale, and flocks of would-be sommeliers come to take it. Examiners who have already achieved the norm administer it to candidates who have first passed a Certificate exam, and later, an advanced exam, both of which are also administered by their organization.
You must have an Advanced Sommelier award to qualify for the master's exam, and because the amount of preparation is so staggering, many sommeliers simply stop there. From start to finish, the whole process normally takes four to five years, for those who have the chops. The failure rate is well above 90 percent, a lot higher than medical school.
A Master Sommelier must be a connoisseur, geographer, linguist, an able and sensitive host, have pinpoint recall, an excellent long-term memory and an educated palate -- one able to distinguish the country, region, quality level, grape varietal and even vintage of certain wines only by tasting them. He must not be pompous, stuffy or elitist, and must make wine accessible and, when appropriate, make wine fun.
Each must be a master of wine trivia, and know boatloads of information that will probably never come up -- such as the names of grape varietals from the former Soviet Union, or the 12 criteria for grading Vintage Port -- should the examiners happen to ask. In fact, according to Mumford, they will ask such a question if they perceive that Port is your area of weakness. "The examiners probe the depth of your knowledge, and exploit it," he says. "In doing this, they can establish that your knowledge is sufficiently broad."
If you are wondering about the examiners, they are all Masters, such as our own Barrie Larvin of the Rio, current president of the court, and similarly-titled wine world luminaries. Mumford, by the way, is a sandy haired, well-met fellow whose other title is sales manager of the Fine Wine Division of Southern Wine and Spirits. He explained the actual process of becoming a Master Sommelier while sipping a selection of luscious white wines before a dinner at Wild Sage Cafe.
"The exam is given in three pieces -- tasting, theory and service -- and you can take the pieces in different years," Mumford says. "You get infinite chances to pass your first piece, which may be any one of the three, but once you've passed a piece, you only get three tries at the next two, lest you lose all, and are forced to start over."
Believe it or not, that's just what happened to him. He passed the service portion of the exam in 1993 and the theory portion in 1995. But then in 1996 he failed the blind tasting portion for the third time, and had to begin the process all over again. He finally prevailed at an exam given in London last October. In all, it took him almost nine years of study to achieve his goal.
Vogt, a UNLV Hotel School product, had a somewhat easier road to glory, although he did have one heart-stopping moment when he took the service portion. Vogt breezed through the tasting portion, passing it on the first try, and had little trouble with the theory stuff, although his wife didn't care for the 3-x-5 flash cards strewn all over the house as he prepared for his exams.
When it was time for the service portion, he was understandably nervous. He had already failed the portion twice, and was in danger of losing his other two pieces, just what happened to Mumford. And as he was polishing champagne glasses for the service, he heard a loud "tink" as the stem of one of his champagne flutes snapped in two.
Disaster flashed through his mind, but then he became composed. Because he had failed the service portion twice, he decided to prepare uniquely for the third attempt. Instead of studying material that he already knew cold, he worked on his yard instead, a Zen-like activity that probably helped him become calm in a crisis. He then handled the mishap with grace, gaining points in his evaluation. He passed the exam with flying colors, the only person of the seven taking the exam in Orlando in 1999 to pass.
In spite of these lofty achievements, both men come across as humble and above all, personable. Mumford admits that he isn't a great natural taster, but he insists that an educated palate and paying attention easily makes up for it. Vogt's philosophy is to "make wine easy." He will tailor a wine to suit a customer's preferences, price point and mood, never intimidating him with useless information.
If you are wondering what, beyond the respect of one's peers and a possible salary increase, the title means to these men, it is a reasonable question.
To Mumford, who buys wine for Southern, it means being trusted by the other Master Sommeliers in town who buy wine from him, people such as Steve Geddes at Aureole, Larvin and Tyagi at the Rio and, of course, Vogt. It also means that he gets to choose and pour wines at high-end parties, ones at which visiting dignitaries are being entertained.
To Vogt, meanwhile, it means added prestige with his customers, as well as acquiring wines on allocation from top producers such as Harlan, Arajo or Eiseley, wines hard to find elsewhere on Las Vegas wine lists. Wine producers want their top products to be represented by people they know will match them properly with foods, in order that they can achieve their maximum potential.
Finally, it should be mentioned that these new Masters have also done something important for the food and wine world here in Las Vegas. In giving us the honor of having more Master Sommeliers than anywhere else, Mumford and Vogt have increased the credibility of Las Vegas as a new dining mecca for the 21st century, and are bringing better wines for our tables as well.
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