Mr. Giuseppe Vaccarini's Intervieu: 1rst. Part

Jorge Irribrren, a Peruvian alcoholic beberage specialist and investigator, went to Milan, Italy, to meet Mr. Giuseppe Vaccarini, Past president of the ASI (Association de la Sommellerie Internationale) and actual ASI Director.
They talk about Mr. Vaccarinis' start as a sommelier, the profession of sommellerie, The beginnings of the ASI, its’ present and future.
Jorge: At what age did you start your job as a sommelier?
Giuseppe: I started very early, I was 14 years old when I start working as a waitress, and in a short time more, I pushed my boss to allow me to work as a sommelier assistant. I got, for my first time, a job as a chief sommelier in England at the age of 24, then I came back to Italy after the World Competition and work more than one year more, as a sommelier in one of the best restaurant in Italy at this moment: Gero Marchesse, but then, the owners ask me to be the manager of the restaurant, and since this time I stopped working as a sommelier.

Jorge: Why have you choose to be a sommelier?
Giuseppe: At the beginning was just a curiosity, I wanted to know about all the different wines that were in Italy and the difference between them. I would like to know why they were different, so it was just a curiosity that became a passion and push me to be a sommelier, because is the best way to taste different wines. But then it was also a good way to work, so with the time it became a good combination between work and passion.

Jorge: And this passion began in Italy or England?
Giuseppe: Definitely in Italy.

Jorge: What was your first job?
Giuseppe: I was a waitress in a restaurant in Italy. Then in the same restaurant I was a sommelier assistant, and this job make me decided to go to France where I worked as a sommelier assistant too, but a big restaurant with a big cave, and also I had the opportunity to do many wine curses. So, my curiosity became slowly and slowly a really passion for wines.

Jorge: How have you been involved in to the ASI and what do you have to do with the ASI at this moment.
Giuseppe: Well, It’s a long story. I’m in the International World Association since 1969, I mean, since the beginning, because I was one of the founders. I didn’t do many things because I was very young, but I was there.
When I use to work in the Italian restaurants, there was a lot of Italian wines, but just in the top restaurants we have a few of French wines and probably nothing from other countries, so we needed the opportunity to new others wines. For that reason, we started with the ASI for been in touch with other countries and know a lot of different wines. Since the beginning, the ASI gave me the opportunities to travel and let me do what is my goal: know about wines and people.

Jorge: Well, but I know that you have been the President of the ASI for many years, until 2004, so now, what is your relation at this moment with the ASI?
Giuseppe: Some friends told me to stay as a president, but I decided to leave because I have been much more time. So, finally I didn’t leave it totally and stay as the Director of the ASI, which is my charge at the moment.

Jorge: What is the different between a director and a president in the ASI?
Giuseppe: The President is a political figure that represent the association and the director have to do with the operation management, so I could say that I’m still doing what I used to do before, operating to develop the ASI Association and the sommellerie profession around the world.

Jorge: Well, I have to say that we are now in your classroom in the school were you teach. What do you do besides the ASI?
Giuseppe: I have to tell you that I still doing what is my main occupation since more than 20 years ago: teaching. So, I teach in this school which is the best Hotelier School in Italy.

Jorge: What’s the name of the school?
Giuseppe: Carlo Porta, this is the name of the school. Is a school were we prepare cookers, waitress and sommeliers. It’s the only school in Italy that can teach an official sommellerie course.

Jorge: It’s a gastronomy school, isn’t it?
Giuseppe: Yes, we could say that is a gastronomy school. And we could also say that all the best Italian sommeliers come from this school, so I’m glad for that.

Jorge: Also Enrico Bernardo (best world sommelier 2004).
Giuseppe: Exactly, Bernardo has been one of my students.

Jorge: This is what I heard, and know you are confirming it to me.
Giuseppe: But there are many more. Also others, without the official title.

Jorge: Good! And talking again about the ASI, where and which countries founded the ASI?
Giuseppe: ASI was founded in France on 1969 by sommeliers from Italy and France, half Italian and half French, then, we invited the only association that where at this moment, so finally we where at the beginning sommeliers from Italy, Belgium, France and Portugal. Just 4 countries. We didn’t think at the beginning about the world, we at most thought in Europe, we didn’t imagine that the association will become so big. The first president was Jean Valente, a teacher of mine, who decide to found it in France, because there is a country where the profession borne.

Jorge: What that ASI really mean for you, I mean, you where one of the founders, so what where your principles and objectives at the beginning and how they change now?
Giuseppe: There has been an evolution of the profession. The objectives are some the same, but some of them have changed. At the beginning it was a way to meet other people relative of wines in Europe, there weren’t really a roll.
But now, everything has changed, there are a lot of changes. ASI is not just a group of some associations, is a group that includes almost all the associations in the world, is a way to develop the profession, to increase the number of sommeliers in the world, to organize world competitions and other thing relative to the profession. Plus, in the ASI there is also a professional Club only for professional sommeliers since 2004.

Jorge: This is what I read in the web. How many members do you have at the moment?
Giuseppe: There are not many yet, because there have been many problems with others associations. They say that if there is the possibility of being part of the ASI directly, they will loose clients, because nobody will want to be part of their associations, which is not true. We have found some resistances from others associations that don’t let us grow up.
Jorge: And for being a member, do you need to be also a member of other association, or been at least from a member country? Which persons are allowed to be part of the club?
Giuseppe: The most of the associations say that for being a member of the Club you have to be first member of your country association, but we think that we must be open to everybody and accept the demand from others sommeliers that are not part of others associations.

Jorge: I think that is really good.

TO BE CONTINUED…