Tatler’s resident wine writer Sarah Heller kicks off our new series featuring Asia-based Masters of Wine and talks to us about the place that piqued her penchant for wine, pairing wine with soup, and the Asian wine regions to keep an eye on
Less than 500 people have passed the Master of Wine exams since 1953, and there are currently just 420 Masters of Wine in the world. That’s fewer people with MW after their name than have been to space. This is partly because the exams to achieve the coveted qualification from the UK-based Institute of Masters of Wine—comprised of extensive theory learning, blind tastings and a 10,000-word research paper—are notoriously rigorous, taking a minimum of three years to complete with pass rates of around just 10%. In our new series, Meet The Master, we talk to MWs about their journey to mastery, those formidable exams and what in the wine world is wowing them right now, from fun pairings to under-rated regions to the rapid developments taking place within wine in Asia.
Sarah Heller may be Asia-Pacific’s youngest Master of Wine and the world’s youngest female Master of Wine, but to pursue a career in wine was never her original intention. Her first love was art, and she had enrolled at Yale University to study Fine Art when she was overcome by a desire to go to culinary school, which in turn led her to an internship in Italy where she discovered the beauty of Barolo and Barbaresco. You could say she’s never looked back—though she also hasn’t abandoned her artistic tendencies as the Hong Kong-based wine expert employs her art background to create visual tasting notes where she combines photographic, hand-painted and digitally crafted elements to produce visual representations of the wines she tastes, as well as working as a wine buyer, brand ambassador, writer, judge and television host.
Do you have any early wine memories that were significant or impacted your decision to pursue a career in wine?
When I was 20, I took a semester off from university to work in a restaurant kitchen in Piemonte in Italy, which I still consider the world’s greatest wine region. After a few wine tasting jaunts to the countryside I quickly set aside my culinary dreams in favour of a career in wine and have never looked back.
Why did you decide to attain your Master of Wine and what were the greatest challenges for you in achieving it?
For the first few years I was back in Hong Kong, I worked with Debra Meiburg, one of the first MWs in Asia. The diversity of projects we were able to work on made it clear to me that having the MW, which is very broad but highly prestigious, could create myriad opportunities. A major challenge was accepting the high likelihood of failure—the pass rate for some of the exams is 10% and you only have one chance a year to pass. Picking myself up after my first attempt, when I passed the theory but not the practical (tasting) portion, and trying to get motivated for a whole year of study when I really wanted to move on with my career and family life was a big lift. However, it felt hugely worthwhile when I passed the next year.
What qualities do you think you need to have to become a Master of Wine? Do you have any advice for others who might be looking to achieve the MW?
You have to have an unassailable sense of your ability to eventually succeed. I had to let go of the concept of “talent”. Most people in the MW programme are told at some point that they’re talented tasters, but that idea can be poisonous because talent is something you either have or you don’t. If you fail, then maybe you aren’t actually talented. If instead you can adopt an approach of incremental improvement, each failure becomes a lesson and even an encouragement.
What is the most common question you get asked when people find out you are a Master of Wine and how do you answer it?
Most people ask how I passed so early in my career—up until fairly recently, the vast majority of MW’s were older (and typically male), so I didn’t really fit the mould, though that is changing, which is heartening. The answer is that I had the opportunity early on to shift to project-based work and focus on my studies, which I believed would be worth it for the ensuing career boost. Luckily, my bet paid off!
What are the most overlooked wines/regions/grapes in your opinion and why?
As the wine world gets geekier, it’s harder to find truly exciting wines that are underrated. However, I still think Spain has a number of regions that sell themselves short. Not least is Rioja, the wines everybody seems to know and like but very few appreciate as some of the world’s best and most age-worthy. Cynically, I would argue that if they trebled their prices people might appreciate the wines’ quality more, but also I think the growing number of producers focusing on site-specificity there will help boost people’s awareness of Rioja as a fine wine.
What are the some of the most overrated wines/regions/grapes in your opinion and why?
I feel Burgundy fever has caused the entire world to start planting pinot noir, sometimes in inappropriate sites. Pinot noir is so beloved because of its terroir-expressiveness but that’s a double edged sword: if it doesn’t like the spot where it’s planted, it will let you know by producing a truly wretched wine.