A Woman and Her Wine

Melba Allen-Buillard is a unique pioneer in the today’s wine industry. She is the only female wine professional whose interest, education and career development is based in France. A native Houstonian, Allen moved to Paris in 1988, where she worked as a model for houses such as Jean-Louis Scherrer and Balmain. She became interested in wine by accident, learning that she had an excellent nose and memory for aromas and flavours when she was (literally) knocked off her chair by a wine professional in a Paris restaurant.

The man was so embarrassed by his faux pas that he struck up a conversation with Allen and eventually offered her some wine. He challenged her to describe what she could smell from a whiff of the glass, and she surprised both herself and him by rattling off a list of aromas. He invited her to visit his workplace, a wine documentation and learning centre called CIDD, where he and the owner eventually convinced her to join their team as a translator of wine courses for Anglophones.

Progressing rapidly, Allen soon found herself teaching wine appreciation classes. She stayed with CIDD for three years. With her passion ignited, she pursued her interest in wine as an entrepreneur and went on to obtain the title of Sommelier-Conseil after intensive study at the Université de Vin (University of Wine) at Suze la Rousse in France.

Allen’s association with CIDD led her to meet her husband, enologist Michel Buillard. Buillard was the enologue at CIDD, but Allen did not meet him until several months after she left the organization. She and Buillard were brought together to work on a couple of projects, and their shared interest in wines sparked a mutual attraction. The rest, as they say, is history. The couple went on to create a wine consulting firm that specialized in training amateurs and professionals in wine appreciation.

Recruited by the French-owned Culinary Institute LeNôtre in Houston, Texas, Allen and Buillard moved to Houston to provide wine expertise for this school. Allen’s vision of a wine education program that would expand Houston’s gastronomic reputation led to her creation of the first wine institute in Texas. As director, Allen first established the Institute’s series of amateur classes, and subsequently expanded its scope to propose training for aspiring professionals.

Despite the attention that the Wine Institute garnered, Allen and Buillard could not resist the pull of the European wine market. So they decided to move back to France, settling in the Burgundy region. They dissolved their consulting firm, but continue to teach professionally – Buillard at a multinational company devoted to the production and marketing of beer and wine and Allen at the university level.

Allen has taught at the prestigious Institut Vatel in Lyon and currently holds classes at the European Centre of International Hotel Management in Paris. She has provided instruction for more than 600 pupils in recent years, giving lectures on the vineyards and wines of France, the wine making process and wine marketing, as well as practical demonstrations on wine tasting.

Though she primarily teaches professional courses, Allen also instructs amateurs in wine appreciation. She coordinates wine pairing dinners for groups of corporate and leisure travellers, organizing events at restaurants ranging from small neighbourhood wine bars to the three-star Michelin restaurant Taillevent.

With more than ten years in the profession, Allen is well on her way to establishing a reputation as an expert in the industry. She is a member of the Union des Sommeliers de France and the Chaîne des Rotisseurs, and has written a column on wine appreciation entitled “Ask the Expert” for the e-publication Elle.com.

In November 2003, Allen was selected by the travel planning service Discover Paris! as one of the African-American culinary professionals working in France to be featured during Paris – A Culinary Delight! – the first Afro-centric culinary excursion to Paris. She and two additional members of this team were subsequently featured on the Food Network (a US cable television network) show called “Recipe for Success” in April 2004.

Allen places no geographical limits on her services, working in France, throughout Europe and in the US. She is currently pursuing a diploma from the London-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust as a precursor to acquiring the prestigious certification of Master of Wine.

For more information: European Centre of International Hotel Management or Discover Paris!