Stephen Towler on becoming the first Master Sommelier in the Middle East
Dubai’s MMI Wine Academy manager tells Eloise Feilden about becoming the first Master Sommelier in the Middle East, and reveals why his WSET Diploma certificate brings back memories of the 2004 tsunami.
How did it feel to pass the Master Sommelier qualification this year?
“I’m very happy to finally get through it. It took me a little while – this was my eighth attempt – but I got there in the end.”
What motivated you to keep going after a setback?
“I guess the journey is more important than the outcome. I studied for a few years and understood that I wasn’t at the level I needed to be to pass the MS, so I took a little break. I went back to it after five years, and understood what I needed to do to get through to the end. I then thought, right, let’s just go for it.”
What positive impact do you hope your new accolade might bring to the wine community in the Middle East?
“I currently manage the MMI Wine Academy, and it gives some of our students motivation to believe they can do it too, and hopefully a little inspiration as well.”
You first caught the wine bug while travelling in South Africa – what inspired you?
“The vineyards, the wineries, the landscapes; it was just incredible. It was back in the mid 90s that I first went down there, planning to go surfing around South Africa for a couple of months, and ended up staying there for quite a bit longer. I went down in November 95 and left in February 97. I started working in restaurants and really got the bug from it. When I went back home to Cornwall where I’m from, I went to the nearest four star hotel and asked for a job.”
Your next step was to go to France. What took you there?
“I went to France and started working for Alain Ducasse down in Provence – a beautiful place called Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. from Provence, I went to Bordeaux, and I spent a few years in Bordeaux at a place called Les Sources de Caudalie, which is just the most amazing place. It’s attached to a cru classé chateau called Smith Haut Lafitte – wonderful wines.”
What brought you to Asia?
“I was poached. Paul Jones, the chief operating officer of the One&Only hotel group, asked if I wanted to open a resort in the Maldives. We went out there in 2004 and ended up opening the hotel in 2005, after the tsunami.”
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Where were you when the tsunami hit?
“On a boat. As we went across to Malé on the boat, we could see the water way up the trees. We didn’t understand what was going on, but when we got to the capital we realised what had happened. Whenever I look at my WSET Diploma now it’s stained with water and it just reminds me how lucky we were.”
What was your first impression of Dubai?
“My first introduction to Dubai was in 2006, and I just couldn’t believe it. I got here and thought: what is this place? I fell in love with it. There’s a feeling of optimism, of opportunity, of a real can-do attitude here.”
What do outsiders get wrong about the wine market in Dubai?
“There are two misconceptions; firstly the misconception about how free tourists are to live. Yes, you must respect local laws and regulations but you can live a Western lifestyle very easily. There are a lot of bars and restaurants and beautiful beaches, great hotels. The other one is around the availability of wines. People think that two distributors means they’re going to be very limited in the number of wines that they can purchase, but the portfolios of both companies are very extensive and there is lots to choose from. Dubai is a booming market, and there are not many places in the world these days you can say that about. There are lots of producers who would like to be in this market, and that means that there really is a lot of choice for customers.”
How do you see Dubai’s wine market changing over the next decade?
“The part that we’re playing will help increase the level of service that the customer can expect, particularly in the fine dining area. If you go back five years, we didn’t have the motivation in the industry locally; there wasn’t the opportunity for young sommeliers to really develop their skills and to better themselves; to have a goal to aim for. What we’re trying to do here at the academy is to show them the possibilities, to give them the pathways to develop themselves so that they could go anywhere in the world and would be highly respected in their trade.”
There are very few accolades higher than the MS, but what’s next for you?
“With the Court of Master Sommeliers I will be helping to examine budding Master Sommeliers. I’ll have to be very sharp, and know not just all about wines, but about other areas of the drinks business too. You’ve got to know about cocktails, sake and beers. Knowing them as a student is one thing, but you definitely have to know them as a Master Sommelier. You’ve got to keep your knowledge as broad as possible; that’s the challenge now.”
Is the Master of Wine on the cards?
“It’s not a route I particularly want to go down. I think I’ll leave that one – it took me long enough to get the MS. I’m in my 50s now so I don’t think that I want to go into doing the MW at this stage.”
Just sake, beer and cocktails then?
“Beer, sake, cocktails, and to keep developing the rest of my knowledge to stay at Master Sommelier level. That is the goal from here on in, and to develop young sommeliers – to make the Wine Academy a success.”
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