Sommelier Service
"What’s happening and what to say to the Sommelier?"
I remember once a long time ago my first encounter with a sommelier in a
restaurant and I was very confused about what was happening and what I should do and
say. Now that I have been working as a sommelier I see sometimes that it’s
confusing for the guest what I am actually doing just like my first time in a
nice restaurant.
I would like to explain just a few things to help with the embarrassment and
any possible misunderstanding. I have never seen anyone write about it and it’s
just accepted what we do and a learning process for new restaurant goers.
Once the wine has been selected and then presented the tricky bit starts. Let’s
explain a red wine but no decanting. Once the wine is confirmed that I got the
correct one from the cellar I will go ahead and open it in front of the guest. Then
I will say to the guest “I will now check the wine for you sir/madam” I will
pour a very small tasting portion in a prepared glass, at this point I will
turn away and taste the wine. What I’m doing is purely checking if the wine is
in good condition or faulty. I will quickly decide the condition and turn back “the
wine is in excellent condition sir/madam” then i will pour a small tasting
portion for the host and say “please check the wine is ok for you and you
guests” and then it’s easy from here.
What I am doing is making sure that I don’t serve a faulty wine to the guest
to try, so I check for the host and the host will confirm for his guests.
No drama, that’s the basic principle of the situation.
Let me know what you think
Cheers
Lee
