Question to Olivier Poussier...

What is the secret to success in your profession ?

I taste 50 to 100 wines each week. The secret is to go into the vineyards. Working for the Lenôtre group, I've been lucky to be able to travel. A sommelier has to taste wines at every stage of the winemaking process, in barrels, in casks. Wines are living breathing entities.

How does a sommelier choose his wines ?
My role is to discover new wines and new winemakers. I travel a week a month in the vineyards in France and Europe to remain up to date. That's the only way to judge a wine and its capacity for aging. I also make selections upon tasting wines in barrels and tanks prior to being bottled. The human contact with the professionals, exchange and sharing with the winemakers during a tasting also provide me with further information which reinforces my choices. I also work with the magazine "la Revue des Vins de France". For this purpose, I do many vertical tastings  (which means the same wine over several years) or tastings of a given appellation (different wines from the same appellation and the same year).