Is it Nebbiolo or Tempranillo? Is the wine aged in French or American oak barrels? Only a member of the Court of Master Sommeliers may know the answer to these pressing questions for sure.
But if wine lovers want to know more about wine, the Ninth Annual TEXSOM Conference is the place to learn. The Four Seasons Resort & Club in Las Colinas, an upscale Dallas suburb, is again the setting for the August 11-12 event.
Iconic Four Seasons Resort and Club in Dallas' Las Colinas. Photo: Victor Carbo
Registration is open and ongoing, but judging from past conferences, waiting until the last minute is not recommended. By the time the wine-centered conference starts, most hotel rooms and wine seminars are sold out.
TexSom draws the who’s who of wine connoisseurs from across the nation and the world. In fact, the conference attracts the largest group from the prestigious Court of Master Sommeliers. But organizers say the general public benefits, too.
That’s because the two-day conference includes a host of educational wine seminars led by experts in the world of viticulture. There are also exciting international wine-tasting sessions at the one-of-a-kind event.
Since its inception, TexSom has attracted more than 2,000 master sommeliers, wine buyers, wine distributors, and wine aficionados. A highlight of the conference is the Texas’s Best Sommelier Competition, which tests the palates of the competitors. Last year’s winner was Ryan Tedder, who received a cash prize in the form of a scholarship.
Texas Best Sommelier Competition Winner. Photo: TEXSOM
It all began in 2005 when Master Sommeliers James Tidewell, Four Seasons Resort and Club Beverage Manager, Drew Hendricks, Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Rudd Winery, and Guy Stout, with Glazer’s Distributors, founded the Texas Sommeliers Association.
The TSA’s stated goals are to promote professional wine service standards, determine avenues for further wine education and certification, and raise public awareness of a sommelier’s adherence to professional wine service standards and certifications.
“Professional salesmanship, proper service of wine and mechanics of service are all ways that we promote service standards,” said Tidewell, Master Sommelier (MS) and Certified Wine Educator (CWE) apart from his position as beverage manager at the iconic resort hotel.
In 2005, Texas had only one Master Sommelier. Now the Lone Star State boasts more sommeliers. These men and women have made the study of viticulture and the savoring of wine their passion and life’s work.
Photo: TEXSOM
“Several beverage education and certification groups are educational partners with TEXSOM. These include the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation, Court of Master Sommeliers, and Society of Wine Educators,” Tidwell said.
“In addition, we work with the Wine and Spirits Education Trust and the Culinary Institute of America-with its only Texas campus in San Antonio-on conference activities. Each of these has a focus and all offer excellent opportunities for wine professionals,” he said.
An added attraction at this year’s TEXSOM Conference is the screening of SOMM, a new film by writer/director Jason Wise. The film run time is 93 minutes and focuses on four candidates preparing to take the Masters Exam, as there are four tests/certifications offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Wise will be on hand for a question and answer session afterward.
The storyline is about the hopes and dreams of the four candidates preparing to take the CMS exam. Industry insiders said the exam is so difficult that only 202 have achieved the title of Master Sommelier in the past 40 years. Maybe the bar and medical exams are not that difficult after all.
Wise wrote, directed, and shot the film over a period of two years. Four Seasons Resort & Club, a hotel famous for the annual Byron Nelson Golf Classic Competition, was one of the settings for the full-length film. There is a $10 fee to the Monday morning screening only open to TexSom attendees.
Photo: Victor Carbo
After nearly a decade, this year’s conference will offer attendees more seminars with more choices and times. Seminar topics to be covered include but are not limited to: geology, a survey of the ancient world, traditional method sparkling wines from around the world, and many more.
Photo: TEXSOM
The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, a nonprofit organization and longtime TexSom sponsor will be joined this year in presenting the conference by the U.S. Chapter of the Guild of Sommeliers, which was founded in England in 1953. The U.S. chapter was formed in 2003.
The Austin-based WFFT was established in 1985 and incorporated in 1997. WFFT members are wine and food lovers as well as wine professionals and foodies. The WFFT began as a rare wine auction that continues to promote education and fund the culinary arts and wine programs. It is an annual presenter of TexSom, donating more than$200,000 since its inception.
Past conferences have also drawn representatives of renowned wine education organizations, such as The Court of Master Sommeliers, which offers its own introductory course, the Society of Wine Educators, which offers its exam and John Gaunthner’s Professional course on sake.
As with past conferences, students and wine aficionados will have more opportunities to take wine certification course exams. While all courses are offered in conjunction with TexSom, each organization administers its own exam. Those interested should contact each wine organization.
New and improved lunch venues featuring unique global wines will be offered this year. And another Hospitality Suite will also be added this year at the conference in order to enhance the wine experience.
The conference will end on Monday evening with a Grand Tasting featuring 175 wines and hors d’oeuvres from Four Seasons Executive Chef Christof Syre. A Rewards Reception will also recognize Texas’ Best Sommelier winner.
Participants may choose both days to attend for $375 or the Grand Tasting and Best Texas Sommelier awards ceremony on Monday for $95. To register for the TexSom conference, go to: www.texsom.com. For information about enrollment in a wine course or a wine exam, contact the following: www.mastersommeliers.org, www.societyofwineeducators.org, www.sake-world.com. For more information on the Dallas Four Seasons, please see: http://www.fourseasons.com/