Why sommeliers are like footballers

In Piedmont last week I took part in a big annual Barbera tasting at which the wines are served blind to tasters by a bevy of experienced sommeliers. The night before all my fellow tasters, old hands at this event, kept telling me how brilliant the sommeliers were so I was looking forward to benefiting from their expertise.

The next morning I got quite a shock however when I saw these beautifully dressed, formal but ultra-chivalrous wine waiters. Not that they weren't charming and very competent, it was just that they seemed so old - in their forties at least...