“Sommelier is no longer a profession for the elites.” The professionals in the sector belong to the largest productive sector in the province. The hospitality industry is becoming more professional in restaurants that are more accessible to all customers. “The group is being formed with its own initiatives and we are making an evolution to regulate this teaching and offer specific and more professional training.” The president of the Association of Sommeliers of León (Asle), Adolfo Benéitez Fernández, defends the push of a sector whose association celebrates 25 years of activity in the province and does so with one more step in professionalization after reaching an agreement with the University of León to implement a new Sommelier micro-credential in January 2025. This was announced yesterday by the vice-rector for Entrepreneurship, Employability and Lifelong Training of the University of León (ULE), María José Vieira at the events held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to commemorate a quarter of a century of activity. «This microcredential is a very innovative course. It will be one day a week and it will take us a training period from January to June. It has not yet been launched on a massive scale and we are working on it with a team from the ULE. You will have training in oenology, viticulture, tastings and services. It will also have online training so that different teachers from different parts of Spain can teach it, and it will also have live tasting classes,” explains Benéitez.
«To be a good sommelier you have to have a vocation because we work in the service sector, which is not at its best. It seems that being a waiter is something minor, occasional, and nothing could be further from the truth. They are professionals who handle products that the customer puts in their mouths. That has to give us importance. Elegance in service and knowledge of products are acquired in contact with other professionals and in hospitality schools, as waiters who evolve towards important courses. In universities like La Rioja, work is already being done on a master's degree in sommelier. We prepare ourselves altruistically by traveling, sharing experiences with other professionals and making personal experiences and sacrifices because it is not very regulated, which is what we intend.
The job
The International Vine and Wine Organization requires about 700 hours of training for the trade. «That is very complicated, many of us who are dedicated to this sector are professionally dedicated to this work and it occupies us every day and leaves us little time to study, but based on modules we can stand out as professionals in the sector»
On the day held this Monday at the University of León, wine and cider tastings were organized, a talk about the recovery of the butter cow and products were exhibited in the faculty hall, as well as a tunnel of 25 artisan cheeses.
«The sommelier is a person specialized in pairing and harmonizing the solid part of the products that come out of the kitchen with the liquid part of the winery. “You have to have perfect knowledge of both the solid and liquid parts to make the customer have a pleasant experience in the restaurant.” A professionalization that Benéitez defends with constant training “because there are products that are continually coming out and innovating.”
Asle is made up of 55 sommeliers, “but there are many who are not members. Many do not have an official qualification, but they carry out the service with the premise of professionalism that goes beyond the basic waiter. Benéitez highlights the weight of the hospitality sector in the province of León “what is needed is to raise the level of the hospitality industry so that it is not so rare to see a person perform the job of sommelier.” A professionalism that is seen at first glance by the uniform, made up of a long apron and a silver saucer on a chain that hangs around the neck. «Few people or no establishment has a sommelier, except for high-level ones, but there are still sommeliers without the uniform on but practicing the profession. The sommelier is an investment, he will manage the winery, the most innovative proposals on the market, he will provide an image, he will understand the business from the kitchen to the dining room.
