Geoff Kruth of the Farmhouse Inn is Sonoma County’s first master sommelier
With the North Bay being famous for its Wine Country, it seems only appropriate that we should have a master sommelier in our midst. Geoff Kruth is the first Sonoma County resident to ever pass the exam, and currently the only master sommelier to be living and working in Sonoma County. He’s overseen the wine program at the Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in Forestville for the past three years, and attained the title of master sommelier from the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers in February 2008.
But to fully appreciate what this title signifies, one must look at the designation itself. First of all, a sommelier (at any of the four levels designated by the Court of Master Sommeliers) is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional who specializes in all aspects of wine service, usually in fine restaurants. The role is more specialized and informed than that of a wine waiter, and a sommelier’s responsibilities include wine procurement, storage and cellar rotation. They’re also responsible for developing wine lists and for the delivery of wine service and training for other restaurant staff. Working alongside the culinary team, they pair and suggest wines that will best complement each menu item.
The role of a sommelier today is often thought of as being strategically on par with that of the executive chef. A professional sommelier is also in direct contact with restaurant patrons, and suggests and educates customers on wines that suit their food choices, tastes and budget.
The Court of Master Sommeliers was established to encourage improved standards of beverage knowledge and service in hotels and restaurants. Its first successful master sommelier examination took place in the United Kingdom in 1969. By April 1977, the Court of Master Sommeliers was established as the premier international examining body. It took the Court 10 years to perfect its qualifications, which today are recognized internationally. The first American passed in 1973. Since the time of the Court’s first examination, only 167 candidates in the world have earned the master sommelier diploma.
“There are 96 members in the North American chapter, which also includes Canada and some other countries,” explains Kruth. “So, about half of the masters are part of the North American chapter and about half are in the European/British chapter.”
There are three stages to attain the top qualifications of master sommelier. First, one needs to pass the introductory sommelier course and exam. It’s suggested (although not mandatory) that a person be employed in wine service for a minimum of three years before starting this track. The next level is the certified sommelier exam, and then the advanced sommelier course, whose admittance is via a selection process of the Court’s academic admissions committee and requires successful completion of both preceding levels and a mandatory five years in the wine service industry. The final step is the master sommelier diploma exam, which is by invitation only. As you might imagine, the pass rate becomes exponentially less the higher the designation.
Beyond the basics
“It’s an incredible achievement, in that the body of knowledge you have to possess to be a master sommelier is mind-boggling,” says Catherine Bartolomei, co-owner of the Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant. She purchased the property with her brother, Joe Bartolomei, in 2001 (see “All in the Family,” June 2007) “It’s just extraordinary. To pass the master sommelier exam, you have to be able to identify wine from the most obscure corners of the world, without any information at all. And it’s not just varietal—it’s producer, year and location. It’s not something you can just pass with knowledge, you must also have tremendous talent and ability.”
The exam is really made up of three primary tests, which include tasting, theory and service. In the tasting portion, a student has 25 minutes to correctly identify six wines, including region, varietal, vintage and country of origin, as well as explain what those conclusions are based on, such as the structure of the wine, smell, visual appearance and taste. In the theory portion, which at the master’s level is oral, approximately 100 in-depth questions are asked, ranging from information about various wine regions of the world to wine law, vintages, winemaking practices and geography. In the service portion, real-world service skills are tested, as students serve a group of existing masters in a restaurant setting. They ask students questions about wine pairing as well as practical aspects of service and salesmanship.
“We’re in the service business,” reminds Kruth. “We’re not in the business of being snobs or experts. Part of being a master sommelier is knowing a lot about wine, but it’s just as important to know how to make sure guests enjoy their wine experience. If you approach a table with, ‘I know so much’ or snobbery, that doesn’t serve the goal of customers learning more and enjoying themselves. That’s very emphasized in the master sommelier program—that it’s really about service and combining experience and wine knowledge but with a focus on serving the customer.”
Kruth be told
The master sommelier diploma exam is only offered once a year in the United States (and once a year in the United Kingdom). This year’s U.S. exam was conducted in Healdsburg. Fifty-five people sat for the exam, and only nine passed—one of the highest pass rates the Court has had, with Chris Blanchard of Napa and Emily Wines of San Francisco also passing.
What makes Geoff’s achievement even more amazing is the fact that he’s also one of the youngest master sommeliers. At 32 years old, his age undoubtedly plays a large part in his ability to be approachable and non-intimidating. Yet it also poses a challenge for some customers (especially older patrons) to take him seriously.
“We live in an area where people think it’s very important, for their own stature, to know a lot about wine,” says Kruth. “So, sometimes people can be defensive. You come to the table wanting to help, but there can be a natural antagonism. I think most people, when I come to the table, don’t really think, ‘here’s a guy who knows what he’s talking about.’ To most people, I’m just some young guy who comes to the table to take their wine order. I’m not going to say, ‘Hey, I know what I’m talking about.’ I don’t really have anything to prove. But at the same time, people don’t always necessarily know to take me seriously.”
So what’s Geoff’s secret? How was he able to accomplish this feat, especially at such a young age?
“It’s more than just reading a lot of books and taking a test—you need the palate for it,” says Bartolomei. “It’s kind of like being an incredible chef. The difference between a really good cook and an incredible chef is an innate ability that sets you apart from other people who are just very good at what they do. It’s one of those things that’s viewed, by many people in the wine industry, as virtually unattainable because it’s so difficult and rigorous.”
However, there certainly are things Geoff did to prepare for the exam, besides using his natural ability. In addition to working at several fine dining establishments, both at the Farmhouse Inn as well as in New York, Kruth says the key ingredient to learning the complexities of various wine regions has been his travels around the world.
“I think it’s really important, especially in some of the more complex regions in [for example] Germany, France or Italy to visit the area,” he says. “It helps you understand when you can actually walk the vineyards and go from town to town—it would be hard to do without visiting. I’ve been to most of the wine regions in Europe, but there are a lot of other areas of the world that I know more from research.”
When asked about his innate wine tasting ability, Kruth modestly protests that, “Wine tasting is something anybody can learn to do. While not everybody is going to be a master sommelier, there’s a perception out there that wine tasting is this thing that you’re either born with or not, and that’s not true. There’s really a technique to tasting wines. Some people may have a knack for it, but with a systematic approach to tasting wines, anybody can learn to be a good taster.”
One would think that someone with such a fine-tuned palate, able to taste subtle differences between wines from all over the world, would surely have grown up on a vineyard or have some family background in the wine industry. But Kruth didn’t always want to be a master sommelier. This Virginia native didn’t even set foot in a winery until he was in college at Sonoma State University, where he majored in computer science. However, it was during his college years that he became more interested in wine.
After working in the South Bay in the technology industry, he realized his hobby was becoming more of a passion, and he decided to first begin with cooking. He attended the French Culinary Institute’s Classic Culinary Arts program in New York, while working part-time at Balthazar restaurant as a cellar master. He was named assistant wine director at Balthazar upon graduating in 2003 and, in addition to his duties as sommelier, oversaw more than $10 million in yearly wine sales and was responsible for Balthazar’s wine list development, floor service and staff training.
“That’s where I really started working in wine and forming my taste opinions and beliefs about wine lists and programs,” explains Kruth. “At the same time I was in culinary school and working [at Balthazar], I got interested in the master sommelier program and took the first course in March, 2004.”
Come West, young man
When the Farmhouse Inn’s previous wine coordinator left the position in 2005, Catherine Bartolomei advertised the opening. Although she’d have loved to hire a professional sommelier, she couldn’t afford the position at that time.
“We had a good wine program at the Farmhouse, but we had a server/wine coordinator,” explains Bartolomei. “He did all of the buying for the wine list, managed the wine list and wine inventory, and he did sales on the floor. But he was a server as well. It was one of those things that happens when you’re growing organically, where people fill in different positions. And they’re not always replaceable in the same way. So when he gave notice, we thought, ‘Now what do we do? There’s no other server who wants to move into that position, and we can’t really afford to bring on a sommelier as a totally separate position.’”
“We thought, ‘Let’s just see if we can find the right person, then he or she can help us create the position and figure out how the compensation will work.’ So, we put an ad on craigslist, and got a call from Geoff, who was in New York at that time and wanted to move out here while his girlfriend was doing an internship in Sonoma County. We thought [sarcastically], ‘OK, sure…guy from Manhattan running a huge wine program and studying for master sommelier, you bet! I’m sure we can put together something fascinating for you!’ But it was just this great match—the click was immediate.”
Besides the relationship benefiting the restaurant, Kruth also gets something out of the deal, in that he’s able to work at something he has a passion for and really make his mark in the business.
“What I like best is that I’m doing something I love,” he says. “It’s an area that I’m interested in, and I get to taste a lot of great wine and talk to people. Generally, the enjoyment of good food and wine is something that makes life meaningful and enjoyable, so working toward something that brings happiness to people’s lives is more rewarding than doing work that’s less tangible to people’s enjoyment.”
So what’s next for both Kruth and the Farmhouse Inn, now that he’s reached the ultimate level in his profession?
“I want to expand into wine education,” says Kruth. “That’s one of the best areas for master sommeliers—to help broaden the appreciation and knowledge of wine and turn more people on to what’s exciting about wine. Wine doesn’t have to be about spending a lot of money or snobbery, wine is about pleasure; and there’s sort of a connection between winemaking, people, agriculture and culture.
“I want to focus more on consumer and professional education. I mentor younger sommeliers who are interested in the master sommelier program, and I’m teaching classes for the other levels of the Court of Master Sommeliers. I’ll also be doing more classes for consumers, teaching wine tasting. One of the things I’m interested in teaching is, as a consumer, how do you taste wine so you can understand and judge it yourself? There’s too much focus on media reviews of wine and scoring of wines and the people who are judging these wines don’t necessarily have any better taste than you do. Wine is very subjective. So it’s much more important to learn how to taste wine yourself and draw your own conclusions.”
As they say, practice makes perfect. Keep on tasting, and for excellent advice on wine pairings—and just about any information you’d like to know about both domestic and international wines—visit Kruth at the Farmhouse Inn.
