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William Wouters
President ASI (Association de la Sommellerie Internationale)
since November 2020. Belgian Wine Personality of the Year
2014. Best Sommelier of Belgium 1992, restaurateur and
former head chef of the Belgian National Soccer team on the
World cup in Brazil and the European cup in France. Partner
Vinhos Doidos Pato-Wouters, where the cellar master is his
wife Filipa Pato - winegrower in Bairrada, Portugal.
DEFINE SOMMELIER

Defining what is a sommelier is a little more How the coronacrisis and the pandemic
challenging than you would think as the pro- changed the consumers‘ trends in terms of
fession is evolving. If we were to look at this gastronomy and wine.
from a historical perspective the definiti- Of course, our industry has been hit
on of a sommelier is harder than any. With many of our di-
a wine professional ning rooms closed to guests the entire
charged with the ar- landscape of gastronomy and wine
ticulation and service has changed. While restaurant doors
of wine, most com- are closed, consumers have not lost
monly in a restaurant their love of food and drink. We will
environment. However, likely see a bounce back in wine con-
in the modern context, sumption in 2021, perhaps not qui-
a sommelier is so much te to pre-COVID levels just yet. The
more. A sommelier is evolution in some ways is exciting
not only a wine profes- as broadly speaking, consumers
sional but an expert in reimagine what is a great wine.
all beverages (alcoholic There’s no doubt bag-in-box and
and non-alcoholic), they canned wines are becoming part
have deep knowledge of of the cultural norm. How they
gastronomy and culture, will be incorporated into the restaurant expe-
are communicators, and must be empathetic rience is still to be determined, but I wouldn’t
and socially intelligent. The modern somme- be surprised if at some point you go to a good
lier is what I like to call „marchand de bon- restaurant and the sommelier serves you a can
heur.“ They provide an important service but of wine. We as an industry adapt. Remember,
do it with grace and charm. While sommeliers we initially were unsure but eventually adap-
continue to commonly work in a restaurant ted and embraced screwcaps. The provenance
environment, they may also be applying their of our wine and food will also likely be more
sommelier skills in retail stores, as hosts of pri- on the mind. Consumers are becoming increa-
vate home experiences, on digital platforms, singly interested in how a wine is made, and
or through any number of ways. where a wine is from as they are what grape
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