Putting Canadian Sommeliers on the Map:
A professional Sommelier with international experience and connections, Jessica Harnois is currently President of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers( CAPS / ACSP). Jessica has collaborated with influential wine writer James Suckling, and is a regular contributor to various television shows and magazines. Tina Jones speaks with her about the love of wine, the Sommelier profession, and international Sommelier competitions.
Tina Jones( TJ) You have been in the wine business for a long time, and I know that you have a lot of experience, so tell me how you started.
Jessica Harnois( JH) I started tasting wine with a Sommelier every single weekend at age 7— not drinking, but tasting wine. By the time I was fourteen, I was initiated into the wine world. I loved tasting, smelling; I had so much fun with it. At fourteen, I started working in a restaurant. When I turned 18, I took a bartending class that offered some Sommelier training. Because the types of Sommelier courses we have now didn’ t exist back then, I decided to go to university and study communication to be able to share my passion for wine. Now I’ m an expert in training— that’ s what I do.
After my degree, I did my Sommelier training and then I took off for a year and did a tour of 25 countries. I sort of did my own Masters of Wine. I ended up working as a Sommelier for Tetsuya’ s Restaurant in Sydney, Australia, and then at Charlie Trotter’ s, in Chicago. When I returned to Montreal, I got involved with one of the biggest buyers in the world, Denis Marsan, who ran the Societé des alcools de Québec( SAQ) Signature Service. About 13,000 members got the SAQ magazine called Courrier Vinicole, which would give them access to private imports. I was a buyer for the Signature Service for four years, and I was in charge of the SAQ wine cellar, which housed 75,000 bottles of collectible wines. I left SAQ when I got the opportunity to work with [ wine critic ] James Suckling for a year. Then television came knocking on my door, and now I’ m in the media industry full time and president of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers( CAPS).
It’ s the Sommelier’ s job to make your experience perfect, and find the match that makes you shiver!
Putting Canadian Sommeliers on the Map:
Jessica Harnois
Interview by Tina Jones
I recently started a company called Vin au Feminin( Women in Wine), with a bunch of women involved in the wine industry, like Véronique Rivest, Best Sommelier of the Americas. I also created a new wine game called Vegas Tasting. It’ s a poker-style blind tasting game and should be available in your local stores for Christmas 2013.
TJ You have spent many years as a Sommelier, working in the various roles that the job offers. It is often said that the Sommelier is the“ final link in the chain from grape grower to consumer.” In your experience, what is the responsibility of the Sommelier?
JH I think Sommeliers should master three things. The first is psychology, to understand the needs of their clients, and their own needs. They should be very humble and be able to look for balance, not just what they like. Second, they must be able to project a wine’ s future development in the bottle— that is a very special skill. And third, they should be able to deliver the ultimate experience for their clients: they need to organize themselves to have a good wine cellar, be a smart buyer, and project well while considering each customer’ s budget. The“ experience” you’ ll have in a restaurant is the most important thing a Sommelier can offer. It’ s the Sommelier’ s job to make your experience perfect, and find the match that makes you shiver!
TJ Balancing all of those skills as a Sommelier is difficult. Also, I think that most people don’ t understand what is involved in running a restaurant’ s wine cellar.
JH A very good Sommelier is a very good buyer. Running a cellar is like running a business. You should buy in three
www. banvilleandjones. com 37