Professional Wine Consultants - Milwaukee Wine - Sommeliers

In 2007 I passed the advanced level with the Court of Master Sommeliers. This is an organization that now has only 105 members in the United States and just 17 of those are women. Passing the advanced level makes me eligible to sit THAT exam and I will be doing just that in February of 2011.

I started this journey in 2004. I knew of only one person that had taken the first test here and I was the second.  Since then many of my friends here have taken that test successfully and then moved on to take the certified level. Here in Milwaukee there are a good dozen wine professionals that are certified sommeliers. Although I am the only person here to have passed the advanced sommelier exam, I know there are many to come.

Milwaukee has a very sophisticated wine community but the rest of the country hasn’t connected the dots in their (wine culture) view of us. With my passing the Master Sommelier and with each passing first level, certified sommelier and advanced sommelier, the dots will be connected.

A group of wine professionals, and I am proud to say my friends, get together every Monday to taste. Right now we are tasting by varietal and in the mix there will be blind tasting. There are so many possible combinations in regards to tasting that it is almost hard to fathom.

But we continue to taste and sometimes we study. We are taking a test that is coming up so eventually we will hit the books to get that one checked off.

So this is is the beginning of the last leg of my testing journey. I have three years to pass all three parts.

Blind tasting six difficult wines - the advanced level was easy compared to this. There we had Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and possibly Malbec. Compared to what I will be up against those really are easy.

Theory….you can”t even imagine, right now I am committing to memory all of the sub regions of Greece and the grapes soils and producers of each of those then off to Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia. Yipee!!!

And then service which is 45 minutes under a microscope being judged by the clique you want to join!

This is the most ambitious challenge I have ever undertaken and I am determined to succeed!

Napa here I come, in February that is!

Title: Indulge NYGI Tuesday Tastings. Now you get it: Fortified Wines
Location: Indulge Wine Room 708 N. Milwaukee Street Milwaukee WI 53202
Link out: Click here
Description: Port, Sherry, Banuyls, Muscat Beaumes de Venise, Pineau des Charentes, Madeira and Marsala. What are these and how did they come to be? Explore fortified wines from Portugal to Sicily with Master Sommelier candidate Toni Johnson.

Cost: $20.00 per person

Call ahead for reservations:
414-390-9463
Start Time: 5:30
Date: November 3rd, 2009

Title: Indulge NYGI Tuesday Tastings. Now you get it: Cabernet Sauvignon
Location: Indulge Wine Room 708 N. Milwaukee Street Milwaukee WI 53202
Link out: Click here
Description: Going into a wine store or looking at a wine list, you will find Cabernet Sauvignon from $30.00 to $300.00. Are they more from France that in California, or is it just the opposite. Explore the various wine making styles of Cabernet Sauvignon with Master Sommelier candidate Toni Johnson.

Cost: $20.00 per person

Call ahead for reservations:
414-390-9463
Start Time: 5:30
Date: September 1st, 2009

Title: Indulge NYGI Tuesday Tastings. Now you get it: Riesling

Riesling is one of the most versatile food wines on the planet, but can be totally overlooked. Explore the various wine styles of Riesling from around the world and see them in a whole new light with Master Sommelier candidate Toni Johnson

Cost: $20.00 per person

Call ahead for reservations:
414-390-9463

Location: Indulge Wine Room 708 N. Milwaukee Street Milwaukee WI 53202
Link out: Click here
Date: August 4th, 2009

Title: Indulge NYGI Tuesday Tastings. Now you get it: Pinot Noir
Location: Indulge Wine Room 708 N. Milwaukee Street Milwaukee WI 53202
Link out: Click here
Description: Pinot Noir range in price dramatically. From Oregon, France and California they can be astronomical. They can also cost $15.00, why is that? Explore the various wine making styles of Pinot Noir with Master Sommelier candidate Toni Johnson

$20.00 per person
Start Time: 5:30
Date: 2009-06-23

Title: Indulge NYGI Tuesday Tastings. Now you get it: Chardonnay
Location: Indulge Wine Room 708 N. Milwaukee Street Milwaukee WI 53202
Link out: Click here
Description: Have you ever wondered why one bottle of Chardonnay is $10.00 and another is $50.00? Explore the wine making styles of Chardonnay from California to France with Master Sommelier candidate Toni Johnson.
Start Time: 5:30
Date: July 7th, 2009

So it’s about 7:11pm as we pull into Verona. I was hoping to write about my experiences in Italy day by day but…….I didn’t think to buy an electrical converter and there wasn’t wireless anywhere except Florence.Every day was awsome, the scenery was breathtaking and the wines from Trento have to get world wide recognition!! I will write more as soon as I can get online.
A couple things to remember when going to Italy…. say Ciao and Si 5 to 7 times in rapid succession to sound like you belong but you only need to say Grazie and Giorno (Bon not nessecary) three or four times!

Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao Ciao!