The other day a man was sitting at the bar in the restaurant where I work. He was looking over our wine list while waiting for the rest of his party to arrive. I introduced myself, and he said, "This is an interesting list. I don't recognize many of the wines." I explained that our chef's dishes are particularly suited to rieslings, which is why they're so prominently featured on the list. His eyes lit up. Twenty minutes later, at the table, he said to me in front of his clients, "I hear that your food works well with rieslings." I could tell his associates were impressed. What people don't understand is that my job isn't simply to make their meal taste better, it's to make them look good as well.
Most sommeliers start off as waiters or bartenders and gain expertise through on-the-job training. Although I trained as a chef at the Culinary Institute of America, I knew that my calling was wine. A serious wine course led to an apprenticeship at a restaurant, where I started out moving wine crates; eventually, I became responsible for maintaining the cellar. (At top restaurants, wine and beverages make up between a quarter and a third of the restaurant's gross revenue, so I had quite a bit to do.) Now I manage a wine list of more than 250 different wines, and yes, I've tasted them all. Every year I travel to the major wine-growing regions-California, France, Italy-to keep up with the latest releases.
After 15 years as a sommelier, I can tell instantly whether the person ordering the wine knows what he's talking about. A connoisseur will read the wine list intently like a catalog. The neophyte, on the other hand, will have that deer-in-the-headlights look, and he'll leaf through the wine list as if it were a magazine with big pretty pictures. So don't try to fake it-it'll be obvious to me and, more important, to your guests.
Someone who has absolutely no idea should simply say, "I'm not familiar with any of the bottles on your wine list, but we'd like something nice to go with our dinner. Could you help us make a selection?" If you like dry wines, say so. If there's a particular wine you love, tell me. The important thing is to be up front and vocal. The more I know about your tastes, the more likely it is I'll come up with a good match.
Labels and Price Points
The stickiest subject is usually price. Despite what you might think, I'm not here to sell you our most expensive bottle. I'd rather you come back every month than have you leave feeling cheated. It's just not worth the few extra bucks. And a good sommelier should make you as excited to drink a $35 bottle as a $350 bottle.
Still, I understand that most people feel uncomfortable saying "I don't want to spend more than $60" in front of their guests. A subtle way to get around that is to inquire about a few wines on the list that are priced at your comfort level. My job is to listen for cues like that. I generally suggest wines in three different price categories-$40, $75, and $175. I get a sense of a customer's range by the wine he or she is interested in.
If you ask about a $75 wine, a good sommelier should stay within $5 or $10 of that. If he takes you to $100, he's not listening. At that point, gently say, "I think we'll save that wine for another occasion," and steer the sommelier back down. Don't get bullied into spending more than you want to-a firm "no, thank you" should stop even the most obnoxious sommelier.
To completely avoid discussing money at the table, you can use a little-known trick that a few of my clients rely on: Make your dinner reservation through the sommelier and set up a wine budget at the same time. For instance, one of my clients recently called and said, "I'm taking four people to dinner and I don't want to spend more than $120 per person on wine. Plus, I want a really good cognac at the end." That was all I needed to know.
Send It Back?
When you get the bottle, make sure the bottom of the cork is moist, which means the wine was properly stored on its side. Smelling the cork really isn't going to tell you anything; instead, put your nose in the wineglass. It should smell pleasant, with no "off" odors. Sometimes fungus grows in the cork; we call that "corked" wine. Corked wine smells a lot like a gym locker, and it's perfectly legitimate to send it back.
If you just don't like the taste of the wine, things get more complicated. If I've persuaded you to order a specific bottle of wine, I'll take it back, no questions asked. But if you order an old, expensive bottle without my input, there's an unspoken code that you've assumed the risk.
Recently a broker type I'd never seen before ordered an expensive bottle, and it was clear he was trying to impress his friends by sending it back. He kept talking about how the wine tasted nothing like it's supposed to, which confirmed for me that he had no idea what he was talking about. Before I took the wine back, I let him ramble on to the point where his guests were getting uncomfortable, and he realized what a jerk he was making of himself. Sorry, he had it coming.
If a sommelier has spent time with you, orchestrating several wines throughout the meal, a gratuity is appropriate. The average tip runs from $10 to $20, although on occasion I've received hundreds of dollars from particularly generous clients. Tips should be given to the sommelier directly and at the end of the meal.
A tip is one way of establishing a rapport, but if you're serious about learning more about wine, ask for the sommelier's card and sign up for the restaurant's mailing list. This tells him you're interested in developing a relationship; on your next visit, he'll remember what you had the last time and the kinds of wine you like.
And yes, the clients I have ongoing relationships with get special treatment. If I receive a small reserve of wine that's rare, I might not put it on the wine list. I'll save it for my longtime clients because I know they'll truly enjoy it. Once you've established a rapport with a sommelier, there's nothing wrong with saying, "Do you have anything special that's not on the wine list?" Just don't expect to barge in the first time and get me to reveal my treasures. My favorite clients are those who have been with me throughout my career at different restaurants, and whose appreciation for wine has grown over time. The most rewarding thing is when they hand me the list and say, "Fred, I'm in your hands." I'm proud to say that I haven't lost a patient yet.
