Interview With A Sommelier – Carlo Cherchi

The World of Wine is beautifully showcased by an army of talented Sommeliers, who help the consumer discover their next favourite bottle, understand the different regions and pair a delicious meal with the right Glass of Bubbly.

In this feature, I speak with a man from, France, who has helped many people to discover the vast world of Wines and Sparkling Wines, his name is Carlo Cherchi, let’s find out about his life as a Sommelier.

Tell Us About Yourself

“My name is Carlo Cherchi and I was born and raised in Sardinia, Italy.

I left Italy when I was 21 after the recent passing of my father, moved to London to learn English and to get a breath of fresh air.

I never meant to stay longer then 6 months but ended up spending 5 years.

I’ve worked in restaurants my whole life since I was 13 years old; my first experiences were during summer school breaks in the kitchen.

In my house work as always been something important and essential so doing nothing wasn’t allowed.

A soon as I arrived in London I struggled a little because my English was very poor but eventually I managed to find a job in a Kebab shop in the kitchen. The pay was ridiculously low (3£ per hour) but at least it kept me going and allowed me to improve my English and stay in London.

During my stay in London I worked my way up to a General manager role in a Egyptian restaurant chain where I managed several shops but my relationship with wine really began when I started working as an Assistant Manager for a Peruvian restaurant in Chelsea called Chicama where I started tasting Argentinian wines and I literally fell in love with it.

I still remember tasting the Cabernet Francs from Pulenta estate, the Malbecs from Catena Zapata and their Nicolas Zapata.

I was hooked !

My father used to make wine for family and friends from a little vineyard we had so since I was little I have been around wine but never really paid attention to it. As soon as I was hooked I started analysing the wine and tried to get every single detail out of it.

The difference between drinking and tasting is paying attention.

While I was working there I realised I was serious about it so I quit I breafly worked in a natural wine bar called Terroir and decided to move to France to pursue my passion for wine.

I did studied French in school but I didn’t remember anything so I had to start from the bottom once again !

I worked briefly for an Italian restaurant while at the same time I improved my French and enrolled with the WSET program in Monaco.

I loved every second of it and after passing the level 2 I’ve enrolled for the level 3 as well.

After completing my Level 3 I’ve managed to find a job as a commis sommelier at La Reserve de Beaulieu 1* star and started my carrier as sommelier.

Ended up working for few other Michelin star restaurants in the surrounding areas and improving my knowledge and my skills during the years working side by side with the chefs Yannick Franques MOF 2004, Julien Roucheteau MOF 2018 and Patrick Raingeard.

At some point I’ve decided to take another direction, the main reason being that in Michelin star restaurants I had the opportunity to taste a lot of wine but never the time to focus on it and I think tasting is such an important part of it to understand appellations, regions, grapes and etc.

So I’ve started working at my current job in a Wine Boutique in Monaco with 3000 labels where the team it’s made from people that had previous experiences in Michelin star restaurants meaning we keep a high standard.

We organise private tastings, events, masterclasses, host producers and supply villas, yachts and few restaurants.

We taste wine very often which allowed me to broaden my palate and my taste helping me also to give better suggestions and reccomendations.

Now I’m getting ready for a new experience in New York but I can’t disclose any details yet!”

Do You Remember Your First Experience With Sparkling Wine? When It Was And What Kind Of Wine It Was?

“I will be honest I don’ have a clear souvenir of my first experience but I’m pretty sure it has been an Italian Spumante at some family occasion ! The first Sparkling wine after I got into wine that I remember being fascinated about was a Pascal Agrapart Venus 2009. Such depth and lenght. I will never forget it.”

What Inspired You To Become a Sommelier?

“I got into wine by passion, in the beginning it wasn’t meant to become a job, I was just so fascinated by all the details that characterise it and that it encapsulates many other fields such as geography, history, culture and so on.”

During Your Time As A Sommelier, What’s The Most Surprising & Interesting Thing You’ve Learnt?

“How wine it’s a living product that changes throughout time. You can open a bottle of wine now and taste it right away and you can come back to the same bottle after two hours and it will be a completely different wine. You can apply the same principle in terms of years rather then hours letting a wine age in bottle.

The oldest wine I’ve tasted it’s a Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1934 which was very much still alive but my best souvenir was a Barolo 1955 from an unknown producer. When I opened the bottle it smelled dusty but underneath you could tell there was a lot to come. I opened it in the morning and served it at dinner.

The wine had gained life and it was still bursting with wild strawberries and dried fruits with a beautiful truffle and smoky character. It was amazing.”

What Sparkling Wine Producing Countries or Regions Hold A Special Place In Your Heart?

“Definitely France, here is where I’ve drunk some of my favourite Sparkling wines. England for sure because it is so promising and in the future would really challenge the Champagne supremacy if they play their cards well and Spain with his magnificent Cavas which most of the time are a bargain for the price you pay.”

What Advice Would You Give Inspiring Sommeliers?

“You will never stop learning, you could spend every single day of your life studying and learning new things so get use to it and don’t ever assume you know everything.

Stick with people that rise you up, share knowledge and wisdom and you will become a great sommelier.”

Where’s The Most Memorable Place You’ve Enjoyed A Glass of Bubbly?

“Probably in terms of venue the Aqua Shard restaurant at the Shard in London.

In terms of experience I would have to say where I currently work at a tasting with clients we knew pretty well that are like friends drinking a Jacques Selosse Rosé.

Good wine/champagne is always magical when shared in good company.”

Thank you, Carlo, for sharing your words, knowledge and experiences with us and we at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!

Images belong to Carlo Cherchi. Glass of Bubbly was granted permission, to use them.