Renowned wine critic Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages are known as an online hub for educated wine knowledge. As a show of solidarity to the global corps of wine professionals — waiting staff, chefs, bartenders, kitchen porters and, of course, sommeliers — idled by the pandemic, Robinson opened up temporary complimentary membership to those workers. Her one request: they had to describe their work and provide a favorite food and wine pairing.
Over 2000+ laid-off hospitality workers applied for the memberships, many of them from the global sommelier community. The suggestions made for fascinating reading and demonstrated yet another way in which the modern sommelier community — and even the wider hospitality community — are more interconnected and closer today than ever before.