Serafin Alvarado

37 • Director of wine education • Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois

Miniature golf, hot dogs, fake waterfalls — Sports Zone Park in Aurora seems like an odd place for a master sommelier. But here is Serafin Alvarado in the batting cage, crushing fastballs like they were grapes in a vineyard.

It's not the picture of the wine connoisseur we're used to. Mr. Alvarado, decked out in a Cubs jersey, defies the stereotype in other ways, too.

A veteran of Charlie Trotter's, where he worked as a wine steward for five years, Mr. Alvarado is the first Puerto Rican to be named a master sommelier, a distinction only 137 people in the world share. And with each swing, he's taking the image of the connoisseur out of its rarified world.

His interest in all things grape started in college. While majoring in chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico, he was drawn to the science of fermentation. As he studied it more deeply, he became intrigued by winemaking's history and the way types of wines reflect the regions they come from.

"Through wine I have a learned a lot about other cultures and countries," says Mr. Alvarado, taking a breather between batting sessions.

Mr. Alvarado moves from the moderate pitch speed cage to the fast cage. The first ball goes by: a swing and a miss. The next few: foul tips. "It's got to be the Cubs jersey," he says, laughing. Six pitches in, he gets a hold of one. "That was out of here," he says. From there on, he bangs them like a big leaguer.

THE JETER MINDSET

As a boy, Mr. Alvarado wanted to be a professional baseball player. At age 11, he was already 5-foot-6 and seemed destined for greatness. But his growth spurt petered out a few years later and he topped out at 5-foot-8, not big enough, he thought, for the pros. Still, a book by New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, "The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams," has been an inspiration for his own challenges: learning English, coming from moderate means to working at Charlie Trotter's and passing the master sommelier test.

"Derek Jeter has a lot of that mindset," he says.

Adopting that outlook, Mr. Alvarado wrote to Mr. Trotter four times from Puerto Rico before the master chef finally responded. After convincing Mr. Trotter of his passion for wine, Mr. Alvarado moved to Chicago in 2001, where, as is customary, he waited tables and seated patrons during his transition to full-time sommelier.

To become a master sommelier, applicants are tested not only on their knowledge of wine, but their attitude and capacity for hospitality.

"He's brilliant at that, at wanting to take care of people," says Joe Spellman, chairman of the American chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers and a former Charlie Trotter's sommelier. "I don't think you can teach that."

After leaving Charlie Trotter's in 2005, Mr. Alvarado joined Southern Wine & Spirits of Illinois, the largest wine distributorship in the state. There, he educates in-house sales staff on wine trends and new products and teaches restaurateurs and retail owners who have purchased Southern wines how to serve them. He's also created a continuing education program that offers classes to those in the hospitality industry.

At the Sports Zone, "Talking in Your Sleep," a bland pop song from the1980s, blares over the loud speakers. Mr. Alvarado, who plays jazz bass and is a fan of pianist Chick Corea, shrugs. "It's not a bad song," he says. "I can enjoy music in every form. It's like wine: You appreciate it within its context."

Mark Scheffler