Australia

Jarret Buffington

Jarrett is a fine wine merchant at Dan Murphys Double Bay, Australia. He adores tasting wine, and finds that his role as a fine wine merchant affords him the opportunity to do so often, and that with each successive tasting he and his team are “making connections and correlations that they couldn’t make the tasting prior”. For Jarrett, tasting is not only the occasion to learn more about a given wine or grape variety, but rather it allows the taster “a chance to travel without a plane ticket”. Since passing his Advanced Sommelier qualification, Jarrett has continued to lead tasting groups for students preparing to sit the exam, as he finds that he still has much to gain from each session, picking up on and building from the unique vocabulary of each individual taster. When he first began his career in wine, Jarrett felt that the Master Sommelier qualification was the be-all-and-end-all, and would be the pinnacle of his achievement. While he is still very excited and determined to succeed at the MS, Jarrett now realises that it is not the finale, but rather a further step upon his journey. Throughout his career, Jarrett has found that he has often needed to be a “chameleon” to fit in, rather than necessarily expressing his true self. Thus, he hopes that by attaining the MS qualification, Jarrett may encourage others to feel more comfortable with themselves, and also that it is his “chance to do what few people who look like me have achieved”.

“The Gérard Basset Foundation has really helped me… I think everybody needs someone that believes in them. They have really helped me feel seen”