About me
Wine and I
Yes, of course, wine is a very complex affair and it’s almost incomprehensible diversity often seems overwhelming. There are justified reasons why many years can easily be invested in researching this beverage.
But do you need to know everything about wine in order to really appreciate it? No! Wine stands first and foremost for enjoyment and joie de vivre. Nothing would be worse than losing sight of carefree pleasure due to the immense flood of accompanying information or entrenched opinions.
Fortunately, I grew up completely without misplaced reverence towards wine and was privileged to explore its versatility at my own pace for many years without reservations or oversized seriousness. In all my current endeavors, it is therefore of great importance to convey an unpretentious approach to wine and to always keep the focus on pleasure and enjoyment.
Wine has been an integral part of my life from birth. When you grow up as son, brother, grandson and nephew of winemakers in a small village with more than 11,000 vines per resident, you encounter viticulture in early childhood as something quite normal, almost banal. Romping around between tanks and barrels; knowing in which plots the sweetest grapes are growing – everyday routines that one only learns to appreciate from the perspective of an adult.
The first “practical experiences” with fermented grape juice were also gathered with complete ease – practically as a matter of natural course. “It has to taste good.” All that mattered to the adolescent at reaching drinking age. Thus, gradually the journey went on: Starting at sweet late harvest wines and later moving on to drier regions – until based on gathered experiences, a first crude map of the wine world emerged.
This way of growing up certainly set the foundation for todays relationship between wine and me, which is still based on a down-to-earth approach. It was only at the beginning of my career in gastronomy – which I actually hadn’t taken for wine’s sake at first – when the advantages of this great and entirely unconsciously completed wine school, disguised as childhood, became apparent.
With the beginning of a three-year-apprenticeship as restaurant specialist in 1997, wine became an integral part of my professional life.
Quickly I was marked with the stamp of “wine expert” at all stages of my career related “travelling years”. The strong affinity with wine was used profitably and my enthusiasm was encouraged accordingly. In those years my personal wine spectrum expanded to include well-known, international regions and wine styles until I was finally offered a position as Sommelier on the cruise ship “Seven Seas Voyager” in 2005.
Wine and career were now inextricably linked.
07/1997 – 07/2000
Apprenticeship as restaurant specialist
* Jacob Selzer Hotel School Bad Kreuznach
* Kurparkhotel Bad Dürkheim
08/2000 – 12/2002
Crowne Plaza Hotel Heidelberg
* Service staff – restaurant and banquet
* Bar Supervisor: Beer & wine lounge “Gaudeamus”
Winter Seasons 2003/04 and 2004/05
Hotel Misani, St.Moritz/Celerina
* Chef de Rang
* Chef de Cave
Summer Season 2004
Carlton Hotel St.Moritz
* Chef de Rang
06/2005 – 01/2008
Regent Seven Seas Cruises – MS Seven Seas Voyager
* Sommelier
After 10 years, many a seasoned restaurateur questions whether he wants to maintain his unrhythmic, intense and often stressful life. At this point it was clear to me: “Gastronomy, no – wine, yes”. A commitment to wine trade was the logical consequence.
In the spirit of change I returned to Switzerland in 2008, where the next chapter of my life began as wine consultant at Mövenpick Wein. Dealing with a selection of more than 1,000 wines provided a new and exciting challenge. Also, I was employed for the first time at regular hours and made good use of the structured work schedule by simultaneously acquiring a business diploma and the WSET Level 3 Advanced Certificate.
In addition to my promotion to Deputy Manager and later to Manager of the Mövenpick Wine Cellar in Kloten, I also discovered my preference for the organisation and execution of wine tastings and seminars, both for customers and for motivated young professionals.
…until I grew restless again after more than nine years.
03/2008 – 07/2017
Mövenpick Schweiz AG, Wine Cellar Kloten
* 03/2008 – 12/2013: Wine Consultant
* 01/2014 – 06/2015: Deputy Store Manager
* 07/2015 – 07/2017: Store Manager
* 03/2012 – 09/2017: Course Instructor at “Chef de Cave” wine seminar
Vocational training
*01/2011: WSET Level 3 Certificat
* 09/2012 – 03/2014: VSH Diploma in office administration and trade
In 2017, time was ripe again for big decisions. Not only did I harbor great desire for professional change, but a long-considered project was also finally ready to be executed: My dedication to wine was to be crowned appropriately with the WSET Level 4 Diploma – and the title of “Wine Academic”. Setting clear priorities, I spent a “student year” meeting the exams, some of which were close to pain’s threshold – and also making plans for the future.
04/2017 – 04/2019
Training: WSET Level 4 Diploma/Wine Academic
* Graduation 11.04.2019
* Esterházy Business Award
* Weinakademie Top Student Award
* Thesis: Deutscher Silvaner – zwischen Stiefkind und Kultwein
When the hardest challenges of the diploma were successfully mastered by summer 2018, new career objectives were also established: Carrying out creative tasks in the wine industry as self-employed freelancer. Creating events and seminars according to my ideas. Importing wines from passionate German winemakers and promoting them with my own concept.
Inspired by rapid interest in my services, I founded Vinovision in October 2018.
I look forward to raising glasses with you.
Cheers,
Stefan Jost