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The World’s Youngest Master Sommelier, Roland Micu, Was a High School Dropout

Roland Micu
Roland Micu Photo: Courtesy of International Culinary Center

Roland Micu passed the Level IV exam from the Court of Master Sommeliers last year on his first attempt, and became, at age 28, the world’s youngest master sommelier. That means he was able to identify six wines in a blind tasting, in 25 minutes, naming the varietal, country of origin, district and appellation, and vintage within three years. Prior to earning the honor, Micu was a somm at Coi, and had previously worked at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino. He’s now the associate director of wine education at The International Culinary Center in Campbell (the school formerly known as The French Culinary Institute), and Food Gal Carolyn Jung just profiled him for a new online food mag out of Sweden called TreeFree. Born in Romania, Micu’s parents immigrated to San Jose when he was an infant. And despite being a prodigy when it comes to deductive wine tasting, Micu wasn’t always great with studying, and was actually a high school dropout whose first exposure to wine was as a server at local chain Frankie, Johnnie, and Liuigi, Too in Mountain View. [TreeFree via FoodGal, Earlier]

The World’s Youngest Master Sommelier, Roland Micu, Was a High School