Meet the one Oklahoman who has earned the title of Master Sommelier in 54 years
With thousands of types of wine grapes in existence, understanding wine can be difficult, and knowing how to order it can be intimidating.
That reality led Oklahoman Randa Warren down a path that would eventually gain her the title of master sommelier. But the knowledge required of those who pass The Court of Master Sommeliers' exam for its highest title is extensive. When she passed the exam in 2007, it was only being given once a year. It took Warren five attempts to clear all three sections — theory, tasting and service.
To date, Warren is one of just 273 people worldwide to have passed the exam since its inception in 1969 — and among those, just 25 are women. Warren remains the only person to have achieved the feat in Oklahoma.
What is a sommelier? What is The Court of Master Sommeliers?
A sommelier is a waiter in a restaurant who has charge of wines and their service, or a wine steward. Commonly, sommeliers are employed to help restaurants create and maintain their wine and beverage programs, and are generally knowledgeable in wine and food pairings.
The Court of Master Sommeliers is an international organization that sets standards and provides education for the way beverages, especially wine, are served and handled in restaurants, hotels and more.
Master sommeliers hold the highest distinction when it comes to fine wine and beverage education. To gain the title of master sommelier, a person must pass all four levels of examination — introductory, certified, advanced and master. Warren said almost anyone is eligible to take the introductory sommelier exam, but the process to take the higher levels is much more exclusive.
"You have to be invited to the next level, which is called the certified sommelier and that involves a little bit of the restaurant service and a tasting — little mini tasting test — and the theory exam,” Warren said. “So they're just trying to help you get ready for the big ones, which the third level is the advanced sommelier exam, and then the final level is the master sommelier exam, all of which you have to be invited to take when they feel that you're ready.”
The master exam requires global wine knowledge and an understanding of spirits and beers displayed through tasting, service and theory-based sections. Those who pass the exam receive their master sommelier diploma.
The journey to master sommelier
Becoming a master sommelier was not the initial plan for Warren, but she became interested in it in her early 30s and has spent more than 20 years educating herself and others about wine.
"I really just wanted to know how to order wine in a restaurant. It was kind of intimidating to me, and so I thought I could take some wine classes" she said.
She began a home study program created by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, which at the time offered introductory, advanced and theory diploma courses.
Warren soon found herself immersed in the world of wine and pushing to reach the next step in wine education, eventually landing at the threshold of receiving her master sommelier diploma. When the time came to attempt the master sommelier exam, Warren returned multiple times to pass all three sections.
Each of the three sections of the master sommelier exam is unique and extensive. In the tasting portion, multiple wines are presented in a blind format for the person taking the exam to demonstrate their knowledge of wine types, flavors, aromas and more. But the required knowledge of wine does not stop at tasting.
“There's a theory exam, which can cover anything in the world about wine, whether it's the rivers in Germany or the soil in Piedmont in Italy, or the aphids that can attack the grapevines,” Warren said. "I mean, there's so much about it. Everything in the world about wine is in that theory exam.”
Additionally, hopefuls must pass a service examination to prove their knowledge of proper techniques for everything from carrying and serving wine to glassware use and handling, decanting, proper serving temperatures and more.
"After three attempts, I had to start over and retake everything that I had passed, so that was a blow,” she said. “The fourth time I took it, I passed two parts — I passed tasting, so I had passed that back-to-back and I passed the theory — and I came up just a little short on that restaurant service again.”
Because the test was only given once annually at that time, Warren committed to spending the year honing her skills in restaurant service by working unpaid in Tulsa restaurants like the Polo Grill.
Warren made her fifth attempt at the exam in 2007 and passed all three portions, becoming Oklahoma's first and only master sommelier.
"It's a very all-encompassing exam, and believe me, when you pass one part you're ecstatic, but when you finally pass all three, just it doesn't get much better than that,” she said.
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Life as a master sommelier in Oklahoma
"The very next day after you pass, you're like, ‘Well, what now? What am I going to use this for and and how can I propel my career with this?’” Warren said. “How can I not only share the experience with others and help others, but how can I move forward in my career?”
Since passing the exam, Warren's plan has been to help others learn more about wine through classes and wine tastings. She also wants to see more Oklahomans join her as master sommeliers.
"I feel like I want to help other people get involved in the program and to know that they can do it, but it is a lot of hard work. And a lot of people want to just kind of sail through things in life, but in these programs, you just have to have pretty thick skin,” she said. “If you fail something, you just pick up the pieces and come back and do it the next year and it just makes you a little bit stronger.”
In 2018, she wrote a book "60-minute Wine Expert: Taste Wine the Master's Way." Warren said her book gives people a "systematic approach to tasting,” and is based on the things she would want to know if she were discovering wine for the first time.
"It took me 11 years to write a book which I probably should have done a lot sooner," she said. "It's a simple book that I really wrote it for, not just complete beginners, but people who have an interest in wine. Anybody could pick it up and then thumb through and say, ‘Oh, here's a quick two pages on food and wine pairing or cheese and wine pairing, and here's how to taste wine. Here's some of the things to look for.’”
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Warren said the question she gets asked most often, is what her favorite wine is — a question she says depends on the company, the location, the occasion, the meal and even who's responsible for the bill. More important than choosing a favorite, is experiencing the wine and the atmosphere it creates while appreciating the story that goes into every bottle, she said.
"I like the camaraderie. I love thinking about wine as art,” she said. “There's so many associations with wine, and they're almost always very, very pleasant associations. So that's pretty much what I love that it brings people together and it just enhances — it makes any simple time a great time."