Meet Roberto Durán, the first Spaniard to become a Master Sommelier

Durán, a 45-year-old Madrid native, has just fulfilled a long-held dream: becoming a Master Sommelier. After seven years of intense effort and personal sacrifice, he can now add the prestigious letters MS to his name, joining an elite group of just 291 wine professionals worldwide. He is the 287th to earn the title.

The final stage of the process was particularly demanding, requiring full-time dedication over the past two months. To become a Master Sommelier, candidates must pass a deductive tasting, a theory exam and a practical wine service test within a three-year timeframe. Each test must be passed with a minimum score of 75%. If unsuccessful, candidates must start again from scratch. Durán passed the theory test he had pending at an exam sitting held in Austria last week.

The greatest challenge throughout, he says, was managing frustration. “I failed the tasting exam in my first, second and third years. I should have passed in the fourth, but I caught Covid the day before the exam, lost my sense of smell for seven months, and had to recalibrate my tasting ability. Last year, I sat the tasting telling myself that I couldn't afford to make the same mistakes again. I recognised the first five wines, but had doubts about the sixth and started to argue with myself. You only have 25 minutes to identify the region, variety, classification (cru, village, reserva, etc.) and vintage of six wines. If you know it, you know it; if you don't, you just don't. There's not much time," Durán explains.

To prepare for the theory exam —a timed oral test in front of three MS— he trained like an athlete.  For a year, he ran 15 kilometres five days a week, listening to music and revising via a flashcard app with 19,000 entries. “The goal was to learn how to stay focused in stressful situations,” he says. “Over the years, I have noticed that, in the final stages of an exam, my concentration tends to drop due to fatigue or mental drift. Running the 15 kilometres took one and a half hours, and the exam lasts 50 minutes. ”On the other two days of the week, he played padel tennis to improve coordination. Durán also worked with a coach to manage stressful situations. “Last year, I was stuck on some questions in the theory test. Coaching helped me overcome my fear," he adds.

Even so, he admits that the exam process can become addictive. “If you're passionate about it, you get hooked because you see your level of excellence growing. It's all down to the consistency you build over time"

From Mallorca to Singapore

Durán discovered wine almost by accident. While working in a restaurant in Mallorca one summer, the sommelier left and he was put in charge of a 500-strong wine list. Determined to learn, he began studying and took several courses in Barcelona while working as a sommelier in this city —at chef Paco Pérez's restaurant, The Mirror— and in Mallorca.

A turning point came in 2015. That year, he won the Balearic Championship, went on to claim Spain's Sommelier Championship and moved to London to work at 67 Pall Mall, the world's most famous private club for wine lovers. He has continued to study and train ever since.

As soon as his English improved, he was promoted to assistant head sommelier and joined a high-level team led by Ronan Sayburn MS. Colleagues included Terry Kandylis, who now runs the Bendito Destino winery in Ribera del Duero. Upon arriving in London, Durán enrolled with the Court of Master Sommeliers. Within a few months, he earned the Certified Sommelier qualification, and the following year, the Advanced level, which is the prelude to the Master Sommelier title.

Unlike the Master of Wine (MW), which was established by British wine merchants in 1953 to improve training in the wine industry, the Master Sommeliers (MS) qualification was created in 1977 as a service-oriented certification focused on the hospitality industry. Both require blind tasting skills and deep knowledge of wine regions, grape varieties, and winemaking methods. However, the MS places greater emphasis on practical knowledge and cellar management, requiring candidates to be able to answer any question a customer might ask in a restaurant setting. “In the MS, it is very important to know specific producers and cuvées. As sommeliers are responsible for purchasing wine, they must be familiar with the key vintages of flagship wines to avoid fraud. Detailed knowledge is required,” explains Durán.

To date, five Spaniards have earned the Master of Wine title: Pedro Ballesteros, Fernando Mora, Andreas Kubach, Almudena Alberca and Álvaro Ribalta. Durán now sets a new milestone by putting Spain on the map of top-level sommeliers —and he doesn't intend to stop there. His next goal is to compete in the European Sommelier Championship, expected to take place in 2028 or 2029. He already has international competition experience, having represented Spain at the 2018 World Championship in Antwerp, Belgium, where he was 41st out of 66 candidates from 63 countries.

Durán spent the last few years of his career in Singapore, first as Head Sommelier at Joël Robuchon's restaurants, and later at the city’s 67 Pall Mall branch, which opened in 2022. There, he managed a 6,000-wine list. Now, armed with the MS title, a new world of opportunities lies ahead.

Thinking globally

“Being the first Spanish Master Sommelier is a huge responsibility,” he says. “It demands an incredibly high standard, a great deal of discipline and commitment, and a strong work ethic. Spain deserves not just one, but several MSs."

He credits his international experience as a key factor in achieving the title. "It has given me a global perspective and a deeper understanding of different markets," he says.

He believes Spain must broaden its horizons to raise the standard of its sommeliers. “Being good in Spain doesn't necessarily mean you know the wines of the world,” he says. “Tempranillo Blanco is all well and good, but it's nowhere near as distinctive as a Chenin Blanc from the Loire, a Riesling from Germany, a Pinot Noir from Oregon or a Tannat from Uruguay. We should be more open-minded in terms of both education and consumption."

One cultural shift he would welcome is a different attitude to competition. “In Spain, we are not  taught how to lose. When you fail, it is assumed that you are no good, but in English-speaking countries, failure is often seen as an opportunity to grow, evolve and improve. Ultimately, whether you win or not, you get stronger and move forward." Durán also believes that sommelier competitions in Spain should be aligned with those in other European countries.

In his opinion, a stronger international presence of Spanish sommeliers in Europe and beyond would help raise the profile of Spanish wine. Having witnessed first-hand the misinformation and lack of awareness about Spanish wine in Singapore, he is keen to change that. One of his ambitions is to bring the Copa Jerez competition to Asia.

Photos courtesy of Roberto Durán and The Court of Master Sommeliers, with this year’s new MS. Duran is the first on the right.