The apprentice sommelier's guide to training your wine palate

Sommelier skills are highly sought after in the hospitality industry. With extensive knowledge of wine, beer, and spirits and a proficiency in pairing wines with food dishes, these professionals are critical in providing a fine-dining atmosphere for gourmands across the globe.

Sommeliers understand the process of wine production, ageing, and storage as well as understanding the impact that food has on the overall flavour profile in any given bottles of wine.

The primary benefit of becoming a sommelier lies in its certifications. As recognised experts in the field, certified sommeliers that have trained in the world's most prestigious wine regions are typically amongst the most in-demand and well-remunerated professionals in the culinary world.

Becoming a professional sommelier requires extensive training, however. One important component of this training is developing and continuously refining your tasting palate. Developing a refined palate can help you to accurately assess the characteristics and quality of wines so that you can offer expert advice and pairings to customers.

Here are six ways you can train your palate and strengthen your own sommelier skills.

Professionals need to understand the characteristics of aromas and overall flavour profiles of the world's most popular wines in order to make an accurate judgement about any given wine or grape varietal. This is why the first step for perfecting your wine tasting skills is simply to practise evaluating aromas and flavours rather than just drinking wine for enjoyment.

Make note of the fruity and floral scents, traces of any hint of smoky, bitter, salty, or sweet elements in every glass you pour from here on out. An experienced wine taster will also take inventory of body, tannins, acidity and length of finish as part of their wine evaluation process.

With enough practice and determination towards honing this skill set, you will be likely to see a huge improvement in your ability to identify those subtleties and express meaningful opinions on a growing array of wines.

Having knowledge of the different kinds of grapes used in wines is essential for anyone looking to develop their wine palate. There are hundreds of grape varietals, so it can be quite daunting when trying to identify them from a single taste or aroma.

While there isn't a specific set of rules for recognising each variety, with regular practice and experience you'll soon be a viticultural expert yourself, and become familiar with the most popular types and their distinct flavours. In doing so, you will likely also gain a deeper appreciation for the winemaking process from start to finish and the methods used by winemakers to ensure that their bottles leave a lasting impression.

Gaining knowledge on the winemaking process as well as studying up on the main varietals and styles will help you decipher between wines, perhaps without even having to see labels.

With virtual tasting experiences now available to budding sommeliers across the globe, participants can receive unique perspectives from renowned winemakers and other experts in the field, meaning you can learn all about making wine in Bordeaux even if you live in the heart of Sydney!

Of course, if you have the opportunity to do so, attending in-person industry events will also offer unique opportunities to forge industry connections and experience all the local products that wineries around you have to offer.

Not only will attendees have the chance to sample rare wine varieties, they may also learn approaches to identifying and appreciating flavours, alongside staying in the loop with industry news, emerging trends, or other upcoming events.

Learning the nuances of classic vineyards and the newest labels on the market provides a great way to stay informed both novice drinkers and seasoned tasters alike.

When pairing wines and foods, it is important to consider specific elements such as complementary flavours, texture, colour, sweetness and bitterness levels, acidity, and complexity. The more frequently you engage in this practice, the better equipped you will be to discern and enjoy the nuances inherent in each drink-food combination.

Becoming skilled at matching generally involves making combinations that possess harmonious symmetries as well as mastering contrasts that bring out certain notes or aromas of both the food and the wine.

By regularly engaging in this delightful practice you can expand your own enjoyment of wine while also developing expertise and building confidence in your self-assessment abilities.

Noting aromas, flavours, tannins, types of sweetness and even subtleties in the aftertaste can help you gain more insight into each bottle you try.

As you rate each one of your experiences with different qualities such as nose and body, then you can look over at a later date to understand what characteristics are complementary for the type of wines that appeal to your own individual taste.

Keep in mind as well that wine tasting does not have to be complicated, nor do your notes have to be thorough or detailed. It's best to take honest notes in order to determine which nuances are most perceptible for you. In doing so, you'll also be able to eventually map how your tastes and abilities have changed over the course of your sommelier training.

Finally, there is no better way to gain knowledge about the different types of wines, proper techniques for tasting them, and approaches for pairing them with food than through an in-depth course taught by ambassadors of the art of winemaking.

Not only will taking a course provide trainees with invaluable expertise that can be utilised in a professional context, it is also sure to open up completely new vistas of appreciation when enjoying wines casually. For those seeking to make the most out of their exploration into the world of wine, taking a course from experts in the field is an indispensable first step.

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As you can see, becoming an apprentice sommelier can be a rigorous process. But the combination of studying, tasting and learning how to curate the perfect selection of wines for any occasion makes for an indefatigably rewarding journey.

Developing expertise in viticulture and proper wine selection can make you an invaluable asset to your employer or even enable you to become a sought-after consultant in the hospitality industry, if that's what you'd like to do. With practice, patience, and knowledge, anyone can develop the skill of an expert sommelier