09/10/09 - My life as a working Sommelier

Although Thursdays, for me, are the beginning of the work week, I look forward to the end of this official week earnestly. This is historically one of the slowest restaurant weeks of the year- parents spend money on back-to-school stuff, not dining out. The restaurant I work at doesn't feel the crunch of the economy the same way the rest of the restaurants do (more on reasons for this later), but this week is still dismal for us.
I closed the place down tonight and never once had more than 3 tables at a time. I still managed to showcase Willakenzie Estate. I really support this winery, I like that they're OCSW certified sustainable (oh, you didn't know I was green? I won't berate you for your views, just drink good wine and we'll be cool), I think their winemaker is really on top of his game, and they hit some great price points- fairly and accurately. There are so many products that they produce, it's hard to talk about them briefly, but I showcased their intro-level Pinots (both Noir and Gris) to different tables tonight.
Towards the end of the evening I had resigned myself to making no headway towards my deficit in the contest, but my last table asked for a juicy spicy red, and some Yangarra Estates McLaren Vale Shiraz '06 is on the list. Not a huge bottle, but a little bit here and there helps.
Oh yeah- why don't we feel the crunch of the economy? Well, it's not entirely fair to say we don't feel it, we just absorb it better than many. The place I work is a showcase restaurant- we're 30 stories up in the sky for craps sake! Now, for you big city readers, 30 floors might not seem like much. However, those of you here in Portland know that there's only 1 building in town taller than Big Pink, and it doesn't have a restaurant in it... So! We get anniversaries. We get birthdays. We get celebrations of any and all sorts. We get business meetings. We also get tourists- people from all over the world. We still do over 200 covers on a slow night, and that's darn respectable in my eyes.
As always, if you would like more info about any of the wines that I talk about, feel free to shoot me a line or comment, and I'll get back to you.

09/04/09 - My life as a working Sommelier

Closing the restaurant is rarely my bag. Closing on a Friday or Saturday (when the restaurant is open until 1AM) is even less my bag. Closing on a Friday that happens to be my girlfriend's birthday? Uber lame.

So! Make the best of a bad situation, sling some vino, have a good time! Moved some beautiful bubbles (99 Brut Rose from Veuve Clicquot), a stunning Seven Springs vnyd Pinot from Penner-Ash, and a flinty Kabinett Riesling from Markus Molitor. THAT was a happy 6 top!

Our mini-competition gets more difficult as we sell out of bottles, and last night I only moved 1 (the Chalone 05 Estate Pinot). It's ok- the other guy only moved 1 as well, and I continue to gain ground on him.

08/23/09 - My life as a working Sommelier

Lazy Sundays. I sit outside the US Bancorp Tower and read my book just about every day before I go in to work, and Sundays always seem to be the most mellow- the fewest people around. That was exactly the sort of feeling the restaurant held for most of the night. I had one table looking at some Riesling, and I steered them into a Kabinett from Markus Molitor.

There are some days that I'm a little embarrassed to even talk about what I do at the restaurant. I sit here in retrospect, looking at this one tiny little blurb of wine talk, and I think: "am I really going to post this for any-old-body to read? Is this worth the attention of said any-old-body?" The simple answer is yes, and no, in that order. My little daily journal here in dated format really doesn't warrant the reading from many people. This is not a blog that will ever be a hugely followed/read document. My ramblings about what I sold or watched go out in the restaurant in which I am employed (which, by the way, moved some really nice bottles last night- kudos to other servers!) don't serve any *purpose* that I can note.

My co-workers ask me almost every night why I'm taking a picture of some empty wine-bottles, and I just kind of shrug it off. The pictures sure aren't vanity- I mean, why would I post pics of Columbia Crest Merlot (or any other bottle that retails for $8?). Documentary? Well, I suppose some day it might have that sort of purpose. Really though? I like looking at the trends, I like seeing the patterns, the repetitions. It allows me to see my comfort zone, and see how I can stretch that and encompass new things.

This blog has a very similar goal- I can read a little more in depth about my corresponding pictures, and see what the mood was around those bottles (perhaps taking some strain off an already overloaded memory).

So is it worth you reading? Probably not. But- I like to think of myself as witty, and sometimes I think others find me funny too. So maybe for fun you read about my life and maybe I make you laugh sometimes; I don't mind being the butt of the joke for "big sale of the night" winner with the lone bottle of Apex II cab.

08/22/09 - My life as a working Sommelier

I spent much of the day outlining courses for future trainings. Once upon a time I had all this stuff outlined, .pdfs ready. Once upon a time I'd done all this before- the basic principles don't change. Sadly, it's been a number of years since I have done any professional wine training, and I've lost a computer, an external hard drive, and many many discs in the past two years. So, the day was spent planning out (from memory and resources I still have) classes for the service industry. I still have several classes to outline- not just for servers though. I also have several management classes, a few classes for consumers, and even a class for retail specific portions of the industry!

I've been so focused on Wine Wednesday in the Pearl events, on working at the Grill, and on developing client relationships that I've really dropped the ball on further web-site development over the last week or two.

The restaurant was full for the evening, but with 15 servers on the floor, it doesn't feel too slammed if your tables aren't needy. I had a two table section, so I moseyed around the floor at a quite leisurely pace. My own tables ordered some wine from me, unquestionably "ordered" wine. Well, the Columbia Crest Merlot and the Torii Mor Pinot were orders. The Elk Cove Rose of Pinot was my recommendation from our list of *2* roses. I was also able to get over to the bar and sell a bottle of BV Tapestry.
I actually quite enjoy having a slightly slower section, having the ability to roam the floor and help out selling wine. Naturally, if the restaurant offered a position as a steward or somm, I'd seriously consider it. That doesn't quite show signs of happening, but my manager did come to me the other day to ask my thoughts about supervising the floor once in a while...

08/21/09 -My life as a working Sommelier

I've had the distinct pleasure of waiting on people from all over the world in my career, especially since beginning last year as a waiter at the Portland City Grill. In the last week I've found myself in front of people from all over the U.S., for business trips, family reunions, weddings, etc. I really get a kick out of showing off Oregon Pinots to people, especially people who are interested in learning more.

A wedding rehearsal dinner came in last night, I showed them a new offering from a renowned wine maker- Dukes Family Vnyd "Alyssa" Pinot 2006, Willamette Valley (Gary Andrus, Winemaker). I also showed off the Ribbon Ridge (probably the favorite region amongst my co-workers) in the form of Beaux Freres' Estate Pinot 2006. White? Yes! King Estate's Domain Pinot Gris 2007.

I wish that I could show people what these reds will taste like in 10 or even 15 years, but I'm happy to get the ooh's and ahh's over the youthful examples as well.

Some discussion with the wine buyer at the restaurant. He's instituted a *ton* of changes this year, with *many* more planned. It's a huge and onerous task, and he's done an admirable job of it. I look forward to seeing what's in store for PCG.

The evening ended with beer for me. There's something magical about a cold beer at the end of the day, and my "every-day" sort of beer props go to Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve. Dirt cheap, and by far more palatable than the other stuff in the price range. Keep a six in the fridge, you never know when company'll stop by, and you don't have to be embarrassed of it ;)