Lecture and Tasting on Blind Varietal Identification for Cabrillo Culinary Arts Students at Sesnon House
APTOS, CA — Cabrillo College today announces that Frederick Dame, Master Sommelier and President of the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide who was featured in ‘Somm,’ the recent documentary by Jason Wise about preparing for the master sommelier exam, will deliver a presentation and tasting seminar to Cabrillo Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management in the Sesnon House. The event is limited to Culinary Arts students and is not open to the public.
Dame, the first American to have served as president of the Court of Master Sommeliers and currently the Vice President of Prestige Accounts at Southern Wine and Spirits of California, will be describing and demonstrating to students his method of blind varietal identification. Southern Wine and Spirits is donating the wine for the tasting lecture and demonstration. The Master Sommelier certification is a high honor held by a select few in the world, that includes proven mastery of wine, spirits, cigars and table service, as well as mastery of wine and food pairings.
“We are honored to bring Frederick Dame to share his talent with students in Cabrillo’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program,” said Sue Slater, Catering and Wine Instructor. “Fred is known for his incredible palette and a photographic memory – he passed the wine portion of the master sommelier program by identifying five of six wines by smell only – our students are very much looking forward to this lecture and demonstration, and we are grateful to Southern Wine and Spirits for the wine donation that will make this special event possible.”
Influenced by an overwhelming student demand, the wine program at Cabrillo College has recently been restarted. This spring semester, two wine classes are being offered, including Wine and Wine Service (CAHM 172A), Sensory Evaluation of Wine Varietals (CAHM 172B), and Wines of California (CAHM 179). Slater is in the process of working on creating two skills certificates and an associate’s degree for the wine program at Cabrillo College. Several students who have taken Slater’s wine courses at Cabrillo College have left their current fields to pursue careers in the local wine industry.
“I started taking Cabrillo’s wine classes in 2006, ‘just for fun’ with good friends – that first day, we quickly decided it was more than that – we were in it to win it, and studied daily – at the time, I owned a coffee shop,” said Cathy Bentley, former Cabrillo student. “Three years and 10 wine classes later I sold my coffee shop and went into the wine industry full time. After working at Silver Mountain and MJA Vineyards, I created Wineaux Times, a marketing and events consulting business for the wine industry, and currently I’m the Sales Manager for Guurgle, a social media wine application. I’m also studying for the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) exam, and I make wine with a wine co-op of people from the Cabrillo Wine Program. Our label is called Back Door Cellars and we produce 400 cases each year. Next year, I’ll be teaching the Tasting Room Management course at Cabrillo College.”
For Cabrillo’s Summer Session, Slater will offer a course on French Sparkling Wine & Champagne Tuesday evenings from 6-9 p.m., and in Fall Semester 2014 Slater will expand the program to include a Viticulture class. For additional information, visit the Cabrillo College website at www.cabrillo.edu/home/programs and click on Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management.
About Frederick Dame Frederick Dame is the first American to have served as president of the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide, and he assists restaurateurs and hoteliers in developing their wine programs in his role as director of prestige accounts for Beam Wine Estates. He is currently also the president of the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation.
Dame was the first American to pass all three parts of the Master Sommelier Diploma Exam in a single year. He also scored the top in his class, earning him the Krug Cup of the British Guild of Sommeliers in 1984. A sixth generation Californian, Dame graduated from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., with a degree in journalism and communications.