World of Wine

SOMM premieres in Austin, documenting the journey of four Master Sommelier candidates

Ever wonder just how serious a sommelier is about wine? Those with the heralded “Master Sommelier” credential have spent hours, months and even years pouring through flashcards; memorizing wine regions, sub-regions and sub-sub-regions; analyzing vineyard maps from all over the world; and tasting thousands of wines to be able to identify any given wine completely blind.

It’s no easy task. In fact, in the 40 years that the Master Sommelier title has existed through the Court of Master Sommeliers, less than 200 have attained it in the world. (Texas has eight of them and two of them, Craig Collins and Devon Broglie, are in Austin.)

Now, you can catch a glimpse of the great lengths these dedicated students of wine take with the official Austin release of SOMM, a documentary film that follows four Master Sommelier candidates as they struggle to pass the grueling exam. CultureMap's Food and Drink Editor, Jessica Dupuy, recently reviewed the film through Texas Monthly online, revealing both the intensity and inspiring dedication of those who endeavor to attain the Master certification. Says Dupuy:

For someone who has completed two of the four levels in the journey to becoming a Master Sommelier, I can say the film is an exhilarating experience. It’s funny, eye-opening and emotional all at once. And if you’ve ever spent endless hours, blood, sweat and/or tears to accomplish anything, you’ll probably agree.

If all this talk of wine has you thirsting for more, you can see the film for yourself in Austin from June 28 through July 4 at the Violet Crown Cinema. The official premiere of SOMM happens Thurdsay, June 27 at the Violet Crown and features a special wine reception hosted by Austin’s own Master Sommelier Devon Broglie of Whole Foods Market.

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Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.