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{ SOMMjournal.com } 111 The Bitter End: THE FORMULATION OF FERNET FLORIO REGION: Sicily WINETASTING: A sampling of the Fernet Florio was ap- pended to the last seminar to help somms digest the day. FACTS Amaro is avored with several herbs and roots: typically juni- per, anise, ginger, mint, thyme, sage, bay laurel, citrus peels, cinnamon, menthol, cardamom, saffron, wormwood, angelica, gentian, cardoon (artichoke thistle), cinchona plants, lemon balm, lemon verbena, the zedoary herb, and elderower. Professor's Perspective "To determine the prole for this Fernet, I kept going back to the tasting lab and ask- ing for dryer samples. Ladies and gentle- men, I give you 'XXX,' named as if to say, it can't get any dryer." —Lars Leicht CRITICAL COMMENTARY FROM 2018'S STUDENTS "I am particularly impressed with the 2007 Poggio alle Mura. We have all the compo- nents in this wine to enjoy right now, but we also can tell that this will also be amaz- ing down the road." —Consultant George Skorka at the Napa session "I wish I could have brought my whole study group to this." —James DeLeon, Adult Beverage Sales Manager for Kroger Houston, at the Austin session "Italy is so complicated. This was a treat." —Mark Gluckman, WSET Level 2 and Southwest Team Lead for Sales Pros, at the Napa session PHOTO: ROBERT GOMEZ James DeLeon, Adult Beverage Sales Manager for Kroger Houston, takes careful notes during the Austin session at the Stephen F. Austin InterContinental hotel. It was clear the competition in this year's blind tastings was fierce as somm students packed into a conference room in Napa. Lars Leicht congratulates Denver's first-place winner Shelby Peterson, Wine Beverage Director at C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, CO, and runner-up Monica Dubar, AS and Sommelier at the Ritz-Carlton Denver. Not pictured is third-place winner Logan Silbert, Wine Director at Black Cat Bistro in Boulder, CO. PHOTO: JOHN CURLEY PHOTO: JOHN CURLEY PHOTO: JOHN CURLEY PHOTO: ROBERT GOMEZ PHOTO: JESSIE BIRSCHBACH Jessie Birschbach, Managing Editor of The SOMM Journal, with two Napa blind-tasting winners: James Jamison, AS and General Manager/Wine Director at Brix (third place), and consultant Eduardo Dingler at the CIA at Copia (second place). The Austin blind-tasting winners from left to right: third-place winner Diane Clemenhagen, CS and Food & Beverage Manager at Geraldine's; first-place winner Justin Sanders, Beverage Director for Juliet; and second-place winner Andrea Moore, CS and Wine Director at La Traviata. First-place Napa winner Thomas Dorman, AS and Wine Director for Oenotri, was awarded an Italian wine scholarship from Wine Scholar Guild. Blind-Tasting Winners First-place winners were awarded a Wine Scholar Guild Italian Wine Scholar Scholarship, while second place and third place received $500 and $200 cash prizes courtesy of The SOMM Journal. PHOTO: ROBERT GOMEZ CAMPAIGN FINANCED ACCORDING TO (EU) REGULATION NO. 1308/2013